BURLINGTON, Vt. — For 48 days and 48 nights, the goals fell torrentially. Only this was no omnipotent punishment, but a resurrection of sorts for the long-struggling Boston University offense.
The goals came from the top line of seniors last weekend, the White Line before that and the freshmen before that. After 13 straight games with at least three goals — and a 12-1 record and four goal-per-game average over that stretch — it had even gotten to the point that an ample amount of lamp-lighting became almost expected for this bunch.
But surely you remember the feeling when every goal must be treasured, for it might be the last? The Terriers were reminded of it this weekend by group of vicious University of Vermont defenders who clogged up the neutral zone, pinned the Terriers in the corners and threw themselves in front of many shots BU managed to get off.
“You gotta give all the credit to Vermont,” said Terrier winger Kenny Roche — the only BU forward to bury the puck this weekend, when the Terriers only managed three goals in two ties, including a pair by defensemen. It was BU’s lowest-scoring two-game weekend of the season.
“They shut us down offensively,” Roche said. “They played great in their zone and they’re really tough. They just pack it in and they’re real competitive defensively.”
The Catamounts — who allow 1.91 goals per game (and only 1.78 at home), tied for the best average in the nation — clearly baffled the Terriers Friday night, bringing BU within 30 seconds of its first time being shut out all year. After both teams looked cautious in the first period, the Cats clamped down and dominated in the second, putting three men at their own blue line to break up any sort of transition rush that’s been so successful for the smooth-passing Terriers recently.
“We sacrifice a bit in terms of our offense,” explained Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon. “We don’t take a lot of chances. Sometimes it comes back to haunt us when we can’t put up numbers, but I think the way we have to play right now is have a good forecheck, don’t give up odd-man rushes and really take care of our own zone first.”
They certainly did that in the first two periods, when BU only had 10 shots (just four in the second). In the third, though, BU finally broke through, getting 15 pucks on standout sophomore goalie Joe Fallon. But even when they had their chances — like Kevin Schaeffer’s post-ringer on a five-minute power play, Chris Higgins’s too-low shot with Fallon out of position and Kenny Roche’s zinging slapper that Fallon gloved — they were mostly to no avail.
It took Dan Spang’s seeing-eye wrister with less than 30 seconds to play, on a 6-on-4 power play with John Curry pulled, to pull the Terriers even that night and avoid the blanking.
“What we expect from Vermont,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “So tough in their own zone.”
The Terriers were a little tougher themselves on Saturday, when they had far more chances and pushed much of the action into Vermont’s end of the ice. The Catamounts are outshooting their opponents by an average of six shots per game this year. On Saturday, the Terriers had a 27-19 edge.
That translated to an early Roche goal that slipped under surprised senior goalie Travis Russell, and Schaeffer’s equalizer in the third, which looked more like a pass as it slid through traffic — and Russell’s legs. Along with the extra goal, there was an additional jump and swagger to the Terriers’ game — just not the finishing they’ve become used to.
“We coached them wrong [Friday],” Parker said, explaining that he pulled his third forward out from down low in the offensive zone. “[Saturday], we played our usual style, which is to get everyone in there. If they want to outnumber us, we’ll get everyone in the corner. We played much more aggressive there, and we were much more aggressive on our forecheck.”
But still, there was a drought. Russell — the Catamounts’ backup only playing his fifth game this year (on senior night) — was solid, but not spectacular. BU missed some opportunities late — outshooting Vermont, 11-1 in the third period and overtime (and 27-5 in the combined thirds and OTs over the weekend) — but couldn’t seal the deal.
All the factors added up to not much on the scoreboard — as well as BU’s third and fourth ties against Vermont in the past four years (2-0-4). But Parker didn’t seem too worried about the snipers’ sabbatical.
“[Vermont] has six shutouts,” Parker said. “They’ve been winning games with great team defense and their goaltender.”
The results weren’t ideal, but they were far from fatal. The Terriers certainly can’t complain about where they’re at — two points behind Boston College with the tiebreaker in their pocket and two should-win games against Northeastern University, while the Eagles toil against the University of New Hampshire. Hockey East’s top seed is in the Terriers’ sights.
And they proved they still remember how to gut out some tough defensive hockey — shutting out Vermont’s even-strength unit all weekend — even when the goals aren’t there.
“I told Coach Sneddon,” Parker said, “we’ll both win a lot of games if we play like that for the rest of the year.”
Of course, the Terriers wouldn’t mind if the goals returned from their wandering before Spring Break. They’re gonna need them to get to the Promised Land.