PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Domination is not an attribute that’s been synonymous with the No. 16 Boston University men’s ice hockey team much this season. But last night, with home ice hanging in the balance, the Terriers were just that – simply dominant.
Taking it to No. 17/15 Providence College (14-14-5, 11-10-5 Hockey East) from start to finish, the Terriers embarrassed the Friars, 6-0, securing themselves home-ice advantage for the Hockey East playoffs. No player was more dominant than co-captain Pete MacArthur. Staking the Terriers to a 3-0 lead by way of a natural hat trick through a period-and-a-half of play, MacArthur scored twice in the first and once in the second.
“We played a terrific hockey game tonight,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “It was as sharp as we’ve looked in a long time, and for this team to come back, after where we were in January, to get home ice in the playoffs is really gratifying for me and gratifying for my team.”
There wasn’t anything about this game that wasn’t gratifying for BU. After withstanding a strong Friar attack to begin the game, MacArthur reeled off three goals in a row before freshmen Nick Bonino and freshman Joe Pereira added two more and junior John McCarthy capped off the scoring in the third.
Sophomore Brett Bennett recorded his third shutout of the season, turning away quality Friar scoring chances all night, including making huge saves in the first and second periods that, had PC scored, could have drastically changed the complexion of the game.
The Terriers defeated the Friars for the second time this season and can secure second place in the league tonight in the second game of the home-and-home series at Agganis Arena (7:30 p.m.).
MacArthur opened the scoring midway through the first period. With PC’s Eric Baier in the penalty box for holding, the Terriers made good use of the man advantage. Junior Chris Higgins – back in the lineup after being sidelined for one game with a concussion – hit senior Bryan Ewing with a pass to left side of the net. PC goalie Tyler Sims came out to cover while Ewing sent an easy pass to MacArthur who tapped the pucks in for the easy score.
With less than two minutes to go in the frame, MacArthur gave the Terriers the two-goal edge on an outstanding individual effort. Nabbing an up-ice pass from Higgins, MacArthur beat the PC defense and took his breakaway to the net. Sims was there for the initial stop but on a second effort, MacArthur got a stick on the rebound and snuck it five-hole on the Friar netminder.
The senior winger then finished off his natural hat trick just over four minutes into the second. With the entire Red Line causing havoc in front of the Friar net, Higgins ripped a wrister at Sims and MacArthur was there for the put-back.
“I thought I was going to get six,” MacArthur said of his thoughts after the third goal. “It was weird, I mean, I was just hanging out, Higgins made a move and it was right on my stick. I didn’t have to do anything.”
It was the second hat trick of MacArthur’s career, the first coming Jan. 12, 2007 against the University of Maine at Alfond Arena. The goals gave MacArthur 40 points this season – a new career high – and 142 for his career, tying him with Terry Meagher for 24th all-time in program history.
But the Terriers weren’t, by any means, finished exploiting the Friar defense when freshman Nick Bonino tacked on another power play tally at 7:03 of the second period. Nabbing the pass from defenseman Matt Gilroy, who Parker singled out as having had the best game of his career, Bonino took the puck into the slot and fired a wrister on Sims.
At 15:05 Pereira added his name to the scoring list, collecting a centering pass from Jason Lawrence and slipping the puck five-hole on Sims.
The Friars pulled Sims in the third in favor of Ryan Simpson, who gave up the Terriers’ sixth goal, McCarthy’s fourth of the season at 9:02 of the final frame. Assistant captain Ryan Weston sent a pass to McCarthy on the left side of the crease who flipped it top shelf BU’s sixth and final goal.
The Terriers cemented home ice for the fourth year in a row, moving into second place, two points ahead of the University of Vermont. Providence remains tied for fourth with Boston College.
“We knew that if we won either of these two games we’d get home ice but you can’t take anything for granted,” Parker said. “We didn’t want to come back home [tonight] and have to do it. We don’t know who we’re going to play but we know we’re going to be home.”