Last call for Captain Sin Bin

It will survive as one of the season’s indelible images.

In front of Section 8, on a Thursday night when packed and passionate Walter Brown Arena was at its best, Freddy Meyer did what leaders do when their team has lost three straight and is protecting a 3-2 lead late against the nation’s No. 5 team.

It was Freddy at his finest, beginning with Meyer’s trademark hip check near the Boston University bench. Then, with a sizzling slap shot and a pump of his fist, he picked out the far corner and blasted a bullet by New Hampshire netminder Michael Ayers, giving the Icedogs a 4-2 lead and sparking a late-season streak of 10-4-1 that rallied the Terriers to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The win lifted Babcock’s Boys out of mediocrity and proved BU could beat a top 10 team, but Meyer’s goal will remain memorable at least in part because it was an instance unseen for the Terriers against the Wildcats for the rest of the season.

After Frantisek Skladany completed the Icedogs’ 5-2 win on Jan. 23 by scoring with 2:41 to go, New Hampshire shut BU out in three consecutive games, a span covering 194:15 and the finals of the Hockey East and Northeast Regional tourneys.

‘Ever since that [5-2] game I think the guys defensively have played really well,’ Ayers said. ‘I can’t remember too many hard saves that I’ve had to make in those three games. A lot of that credit goes to the defense and the forwards coming back to help out.’

After the loss at Walter Brown, New Hampshire coach Dick Umile was visibly irritated with the outcome, being curt with his answers and anxiously tapping his feet throughout a post-game press briefing.

‘I think what we did different the last three games is that I didn’t coach – I let the team play,’ Umile said Saturday. ‘I don’t think as a coach I had them ready, and BU beat us. After that, we changed a few little things and let the players play, and they did absolutely terrific the last three outings.’

BU coach Jack Parker agreed, saying that New Hampshire made few strategic changes in the two months between meetings and it was indeed the execution that improved.

‘I don’t think anything was drastically different,’ he said. ‘The games meant more down the stretch here – teams get more thorough in February and March than they are in January – but I know there’s a big change in their defensive approach and how hard they’re playing defensively.’

Part of being more thorough is winning the battles for loose rebounds left in front of the net. The Wildcats were very effective in limiting the Terriers’ second-chance opportunities on Saturday, although Ayers wasn’t leaving much trash to be cleaned up.

‘I do believe our defense is a very strong group, but Michael Ayers doesn’t give himself a lot of credit,’ Umile said. ‘When we make a mistake and they get a good scoring opportunity, he makes us look good and keeps us in there. When we lost 5-2 at Boston University, it wasn’t Michael’s fault, it was the players and coaches in front of him.’

RECORD BREAKER BU trailed 3-2 with 8:38 to play in the middle period Friday night, and the dangerous Harvard University power play was about to get a crack at extending the advantage.

And yet the sizeable BU contingent in the Worcester Centrum’s lower bowl was applauding and cheering wildly, even as referee Mike Schmitt led one of their Terriers to the penalty box.

It was a celebration fit for a win, not for a sin, although this was no ordinary infraction.

This was Meyer doing what many have expected him to do for some time. When he was whistled for roughing at 12:22 of the second period, committing his 32nd penalty of the season and 138th of his career, the senior defenseman became BU’s all-time leader in career penalty minutes with 284.

‘The rest of the team was pretty fired up to be on the team with a record,’ said Captain Contact. ‘It’s a tough situation for me to break the penalty record. I’d like to be able to break, maybe, the all-time points record or something like that. It’s something that’s been a problem with my career, but I don’t know, I guess I went out on top.’

When it was all said and done, Meyer finished his career with 140 penalties for a grand total of 288 minutes in 126 career games. That’s better than a penalty per game, and beats Jack O’Callahan’s previous record of 283 minutes, which was established in 121 games between 1975-79.

The fans loved it, as did O’Callahan’s family, according to Meyer.

‘They got a little cheer,’ Meyer said of the crowd. ‘They’ve been waiting for it I think. I think even O’Callahan’s father has been coming to games, waiting for me to break his son’s record. I kind of knew it was going to happen tonight.’

SO CLOSE Brian Collins was close to a personal milestone of his own, needing two points in the NCAA tourney to become the 73rd Terrier to reach 100 for his career. He got one out of the way early on Friday, giving BU a 1-0 lead with his 50th career goal. Collins looked to have his 50th career assist in the final minute when he fed Justin Maiser, who was streaking toward the empty Harvard net. Maiser got off a clean shot, but sent it wide of the unmanned cage … Observers of Icedog practice will tell you that Ryan Priem’s slapper is among the hardest on the team, yet the senior forward had shot the puck just 15 times in 26 games this season, most of them coming on scraps in front of the net. However, when he won a battle in the corner, skated to the top of the faceoff circle and ripped a slap shot against Harvard, it was too hot for Dov Grumet-Morris to handle, leaving a juicy rebound for Matt Radoslovich, who banged it home for a 2-1 BU lead. Speaking of guys who don’t shoot too often, it was just Radoslovich’s 14th shot and third goal of the season … Bryan Miller was the lone Terrier represented on the Northeast’s all-region team.