JAN. 3: For second straight night, Terriers and Gophers all tied up

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Jan. 3 – Two days and 130 minutes of hockey decided absolutely nothing between old-time rivals Boston University and the University of Minnesota, as the teams battled to their second 5-5 tie in as many nights Saturday.

But after coming back from four different deficits Friday (they came back from two more Saturday), the Terriers (5-5-6) looked like they should have had this one, holding a 4-2 lead early in the third period. Three Minnesota (9-8-3) goals in less than two minutes deflated that hope, however, and BU needed a slapper by Dan Spang with 10:04 to play to earn the tie.

“Déjà vu, huh?” said Gophers coach Don Lucia, referring to the similar outcomes. “Two very good programs going at it, nobody’s gonna concede anything. We saw that all weekend long.”

The Terriers made progress however, finally getting some scoring from the guys whom BU coach Jack Parker has called the “usual suspects.” Brian McConnell scored his second goal in as many nights Saturday, while Frantisek Skladany also notched his second tally of the year.

Mark Mullen, after scoring twice Friday, made some mistakes in the third period that nearly cost the Terriers the game. The BU captain earned a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing with the referees, then got himself a 10-minute misconduct while in the box.

“I thought that we were undisciplined to some of our reaction to the referee,” Parker said. “They may have been right with their argument, but they certainly were wrong in their approach. We saw some home cooking tonight. He did it real nicely, but we helped it by yapping at them.”

Sophomore goalie Stephan Siwiec got his third start of the year, and first ever away from Walter Brown Arena. He started strong and ended up stopping 35 of 40 Minnesota shots, but lacked poise during the Gophers’ third period flurry, allowing a pair of soft goals.

Despite that, the Terriers had to be happy to escape from a raucous Mariucci Arena (10,175 attendance Saturday) without a loss against the streaking two-time defending national champions, even if they did come within one tie of the school record with their fifth and sixth ties of the year, barely into January.

“We got to be a better team this weekend, no question about that,” Parker said.

The good performance could serve as somewhat of a new beginning for the thus far inconsistent Scarlet and White. Lucia, for one, is optimistic about BU’s chances for the rest of the season.

“I was impressed with BU all weekend,” Lucia said. “They’re a very good hockey team and I think you’re going to see them make great strides in the second half of the year now.”