As a hockey team develops over the course of a season, it must take several steps on the path to being a contender. Learning how to close out opponents and gain the killer instinct that separates the best teams from the pack usually takes some time.
By halting an offensive surge from Merrimack College with a dominant third period Friday night at Agganis Arena, the Boston University men’s hockey team showed that it’s well on its way to that stage of development.
The Terriers controlled the first 30 minutes of the game, but a pair of Merrimack goals late in the second period allowed the Warriors to climb to within a goal, cutting BU’s lead to 3-2. With the momentum clearly against them, the Terriers stepped onto the ice in the final frame and showed Merrimack precisely why they were the No. 5 team in the nation, scoring two quick goals to put the game out of reach.
BU looked like the Hockey East heavyweight it is supposed to be while jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind a pair of goals from senior Brandon Yip. The penalty box was full all night, as the teams combined for 19 penalties, but the consistent 5-on-4 advantages for each side did little to deter the Terriers.
It wasn’t until Merrimack sophomore forward Chris Barton made his presence felt with two goals at the end of the second stanza that BU had to show off its closing abilities.
‘Going into the third period, I was wondering how they’d react. We had a three-goal lead and we gave two of them back,’ BU coach Jack Parker said.
Barton’s first goal came at the 16:16 mark of the second as he picked up a puck near the blue line, spun and deposited a shot past freshman goaltender Kieran Millan, cutting BU’s lead to 3-1.
Seventeen seconds into a hooking penalty on sophomore Nick Bonino, Barton was at it again, this time batting the puck out of the air on a rebound and sliding it home at 18:47. The Terriers’ energy had carried them through much of the game, but they went into the intermission like a balloon leaking air.
‘I thought we really responded well. We came out and got all over them again, played after them and didn’t give them too much of a sniff until we got a couple goals,’ Parker said.
With the game hanging in the balance early in the third, the Terriers played conservative hockey, protecting their slim lead, determined not to allow the Warriors to even up the score. After slowing down the game to drain Merrimack’s momentum, BU found the knockout punch it needed, capitalizing on a bad bounce to stun its upset-minded opponent.
Sophomore Joe Pereira skated up the left side toward the far boards and dumped a hopeful shot on netminder Andrew Braithwaite from behind the goal. The puck jammed between Braithwaite’s skate and the right post, allowing junior Luke Popko time to crash the net and force the puck through the crease, restoring BU’s two-goal lead.
‘That was a backbreaker,’ Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy said. ‘We had clawed our way back into the game at that point. That’s one that a couple of our guys would want back for sure. It was a pretty innocuous play.’
‘Our energy line came through great there. That was what we needed at that point. That gave us the goal that separated us and we went from there,’ Bonino said.
The momentum swing led to a power-play goal from senior co-captain Matt Gilroy 1:09 later, effectively closing the book and giving the Terriers a victory in their Hockey East opener.
From the time BU took its 4-2 lead, Merrimack failed to produce an offensive threat, closing out the game with a whimper. The Terriers were the big dogs in this game. Their two-goal surge made that clear to both teams.
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