Looking to return to winning ways after a late loss to Quinnipiac University, the Boston University men’s hockey team broke out for three unanswered goals in the third period to down Merrimack College 7-2.
Forward Chase Gresock got the Warriors (7-17-1, 4-11 Hockey East) on the board first with a goal immediately from a faceoff win by senior forward Derek Petti just under nine minutes into the match.
It was the third straight game that saw the Terriers (9-9-3, 8-5-2 Hockey East) go down early, having fallen behind by two goals in the first period against both Providence College and Quinnipiac University.
However, as they did against both the Friars and Bobcats, the Terriers responded well to the early deficit. At 14:34, sophomore defenseman David Farrance powered in a shot from the point on the power play to knot the game up at one.
It was the sophomore’s third goal of the season, with assists from junior forwards Patrick Harper and Patrick Curry.
With less than a minute remaining in the first period, BU would earn the lead through senior forward Ryan Cloonan and an assist credited to sophomore defenseman Cam Crotty. In a frenzy in front of the net, Cloonan jammed the puck in to give the Terriers the advantage at the break — his first goal of the season.
“It was a sigh of relief,” Cloonan said about finally scoring his first as a senior.
Not only was this the first tally of Cloonan’s 2018-19 campaign, but it was also his first since his freshman year. Still, BU head coach Albie O’Connell said he has been impressed by the play of the Massachusetts native.
“He’s played really well in the second half, and for the most part, all year,” O’Connell said.
In the second frame, BU doubled their lead through a shorthanded goal by graduate forward Max Willman at 9:39. It was the former Brown University Bear’s first goal of the season.
“[Willman] scored a really nice goal,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully that gives him a little bit of confidence.”
With Willman and linemate Cloonan both netting their first goals of the season, O’Connell said he was optimistic about the potential for the two veterans to contribute offensively down the stretch.
“[Those were] two guys with no goals, now they have a goal each, and hopefully that can springboard those guys and give us some more scoring,” the coach said.
Harper would make the BU lead three at 13:17 in the period, attacking a loose puck just outside the Merrimack crease for his second goal of the season. Just 20 seconds later, Merrimack forward Logan Drevitch negated the Harper goal with a breakaway effort to send the teams into the final intermission at 4-2.
In the third stanza, BU went on to score three goals in nine minutes to seal the victory. Junior defenseman Dante Fabbro kicked off the onslaught with a rocket on the power play for his fifth of the season, assisted by junior defenseman Chad Krys and freshman forward Joel Farabee.
Four minutes later, Farabee assisted again, banking a pass off Merrimack netminder Craig Pantano and into position for sophomore forward Shane Bowers to net his ninth of the season. After four more minutes, Farrance fired in his second of the game to cap off the victory for BU, assisted by Harper and sophomore defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo.
With his third and fourth goals of the season, Farrance has surpassed his total posted in his freshman campaign.
“I think I just have a lot more experience now,” the sophomore said. “The game is coming a little easier.”
The 7-2 BU victory was a far cry from the 4-0 defeat the Terriers took at the hands of the Warriors in October 2018.
“Tonight [BU] had their legs, and we had trouble keeping up,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said.
From BU’s perspective, O’Connell said it was the performance the Terriers needed to rebound from a loss against Quinnipiac two nights before.
“They gave a good effort and played pretty physical tonight,” he said. “It was big.”
The Terriers will return to the ice Friday night as they host a weekend series against Arizona State (16-9-1) in their final non-conference fixtures of the campaign, excluding the Beanpot.
