Union scores late, defeats No. 3 BU in season opener

SCHENECTADY, New York — New year, new lines and a new team.

No matter the differences, the No. 3 Boston University has billed the mantra of attaining the same success last year, but winning that one last game to get the Terriers over the top. Back to the Frozen Four is the goal.

Unfortunately, the Road to Tampa got off to a not-so-good start, as the Terriers (0-1) fell in their season opener at Union College, losing 5-3.

The Dutchmen (1-0-1) rallied in the final 20 minutes, scoring three third-period goals to steal a win from BU in a back-and-forth contest. Forward Matt Wilkins had the winning tally at the 17:11 mark of the final frame, skating past the BU defense to push in a rebound goal.

The Terriers didn’t do themselves any favors by missing some defensive assignments and taking seven total penalties. Mistakes in all, though, head coach David Quinn said there was still some things to like about this game, positives his team will try to build on moving forward.

“There was an awful lot to like about our team tonight,” Quinn said. “We played our pace, we were physical and that’s a really good hockey team [Union]. They’re well-coached, they’ve had a lot of success over the years and it’s not fluke and we just, we lost this game for one reason: our D-zone coverage.”

And the combination of a penalty and that poor coverage was what hurt BU early in the first period. Sophomore forward A.J. Greer was called for slashing, and forward Ryan Scarfo took advantage of the extra space when he skated into the low slot and deposited his first goal a rebound into almost empty net at 6:03.

But BU battled back, though, scoring twice before the frame ended. The first came from senior assistant captain Matt Lane at the 15:20 mark of the first. Standing near the right side of the crease, he redirected shot-pass from junior defenseman Doyle Somerby.

About two minutes later, a mad scramble ensued in front of the Union net and goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos. With the puck still loose in the goal crease, freshman forward Ryan Cloonan slipped the puck into the net for BU’s second goal and his first at the collegiate level.

It was period in which BU seemed to control for most of the way, getting a lot of zone time and outshooting the Dutchmen 16-10. But as much as BU came out flying in the first, the story was flipped in the middle frame. Union controlled the pace and tested the BU defense for most of the 20 minutes.

The defense was shaky in the period, but senior goaltender Sean Maguire, making his official return to the Terriers after missing all of last season, stood on his head. In good position and form most of the night, stopping 26 of 30 chances, he looked especially strong in the second, making 11 saves, including one at the halfway mark of the second period against a breakaway from forward Eli Lichtenwald.

He couldn’t stop every puck that came his way, however. With 1:58 left in the second period, Union, which was buzzing after a bevy of missed chances, got back on the board with a one-timer from Michael Pontarelli.

In spite of the loss, Quinn was pleased with Maguire’s effort in goal throughout the night.

“Well he played really well, and I thought obviously we had a great first period,” Quinn said. “Second period I thought [Union] obviously turned it up a notch, and down 2-1 and your home crowd gets behind you. I thought we reacted to the crowd a little bit in the second period with the crowd, it happens in our building, too.”

Headed into the final period tied, Union seized control of the game. Lichtenwald, still frustrated after his missed breakaway, came through at the 2:47 mark when he put back a rebound giving the Dutchmen a one-goal edge.

Union held the slim lead for most of the period, but freshman defenseman Charlie McAvoy came through the offensive zone and crashed the net, scoring on his own second-chance opportunity with 4:36 remaining in the period.

What momentum BU had after this, though, didn’t last long. Wilkins scored with under three minutes to go on what seemed to be the theme of the night — a rebound.

Forward Spencer Foo all but sealed the Union win on an empty-netter with 46 seconds to go.

“You want to win every game but I guess the first game, every coach is curious to what type of team they have,” Quinn said. “How they compete, how physical they are, and I thought both teams played really hard and really fast and just unfortunately they got one more than we did.”