It would’ve been understandable if the Boston University men’s hockey team’s defense wore down late in Saturday night’s game. After all, it had to play all but the first 6:19 of the game with just five defensemen following sophomore Max Nicastro’s game misconduct for hitting from behind.
Instead, BU’s back line got stronger as the game went on.
After giving up 14 shots to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in the first period, the Terriers held the River Hawks to 11 shots over the final two periods, including just four in the third.
“It was tough at first,” said junior defenseman and assistant captain David Warsofsky. “We had some guys playing with guys who have never played together before. . . but we kept shifts quick, as quick as we could, and kept our legs fresh, especially in the third. We were all pretty tired after the second. In the third, we all battled.”
The defense’s first hurdle came in the immediate wake of Nicastro’s penalty, when it had to help kill the five-minute major. The Terriers were up to the challenge, allowing just one shot in 3:27 of UML’s power play before the River Hawks were called for too many men on the ice to kill the remaining 1:33. In fact, BU actually outshot UML while shorthanded.
The key to success was taking away the River Hawks’ usual power-play rush and setup and forcing them out of their comfort zone.
“When [UML coach] Blaise MacDonald was here [as an assistant coach from 1990-1996], we played the power-play rush that he plays,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “He plays what I refer to as a BU power play, which is something we always ran. We know it pretty well, so it’s a little bit easier for us to take that away and then they have to do something else.”
Although the Terriers gave up a lot of shots throughout the rest of the first period, most of them came from the outside. UMass-Lowell had just two grade-A chances in the period and six in the game, continuing a season trend of BU preventing quality scoring chances and forcing long shots.
“I think they all played a great game tonight,” said junior goalie Grant Rollheiser of the defensemen in front of him. “For the most part, most of the shots were coming from the outside, which made my job really easy. I think they all stepped up and filled [Nicastro’s] shoes.”
Parker was particularly impressed with the defensive play of sophomore Sean Escobedo and freshman Garrett Noonan, singling them out in his postgame press conference as the only Terrier skaters who played great for all three periods.
“They just kept it simple,” Parker said. “They moved the puck up well. They banged people. They skated well without the puck. They were always there for their partners.
“Escobedo, especially, made some nice hinge plays and dropped it back to his partner, which we’ve been getting on him about because he likes to always go up with it. Sometimes there’s nothing up and you’ve gotta drop it back. He made some nice reads tonight.”
Not only did BU’s blue-liners lock down their own zone in the third period, but when the Terriers fell behind after UML’s goal &- its only grade-A chance of the third &- it was a defenseman who created both the tying and winning goals.
Warsofsky, who was double-shifted a few times down the stretch, set up BU’s first goal with a pinpoint pass from the right point to the left doorstep and then rushed deep into the offensive zone before dishing to junior forward Chris Connolly for the winner.
“I don’t think he played extremely well tonight,” Parker said of Warsofsky. “But he has been a Lowell killer … and he was one of the guys that turned it up a notch when he had to in the third period. And we expect that from him.”
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