Boston University’s men’s hockey team beat University of Massachusetts Amherst on Saturday night in overtime by a score of 4-3.
The Terriers (4-7-1, 3-4-1 Hockey East) traveled west to the Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, to play the second game of their weekend series against the No. 8/9 Minutemen (6-3-1, 4-1-1 HE). After earning a 2-2 tie on Friday night, the Terriers looked to finish the weekend on a positive note and did so, clinching their second road win of the season.
The Terriers came out strong in the first period, outshooting the Minutemen 12-7. The Terriers controlled the majority of the play in the first period, with some great scoring chances that were almost buried by junior forwards Jay O’Brien and Robert Mastrosimone.
O’Brien, who had missed eight games due to injury, tallied just an assist in his return on Friday night. But at 18:01 of the first in Saturday’s game, O’Brien wired a wrister past UMass graduate student goaltender Matt Murray to put the Terriers up 1-0. Junior defenseman Domenick Fensore figured in for an assist on the play for his ninth point in 12 games this season.
“[O’Brien] was awesome,” head coach Albie O’Connell said in a postgame press conference. “It’s a big boost for our team. When you have one of your best players out of the lineup for eight games, it’s hard.”
The Terriers were back on their heels in the second period, having to defend a Minuteman offense that came out with a lot of jump. Despite spending much of the period in their own zone, the Terriers were able to capitalize on their opportunities.
With just eight seconds remaining in the Terriers’ second power play of the game, junior forward Wilmer Skoog deflected a shot from O’Brien to put the Terriers up 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining in the second period. The Terriers went 1-for-3 overall on the power play while surrendering a short-handed goal in the third period.
However, only a minute later, UMass junior defenseman Matthew Kessel’s shot from the point found its way past sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso to cut the Terrier lead in half with 8:59 remaining in the second period.
Just as the Terriers were looking to head into the locker room with the lead, they were forced back onto the penalty kill, with junior forward Jamie Armstrong heading to the box for tripping with 1:20 remaining in the second. The Minutemen would capitalize on the opportunity, as senior forward — and captain — Bobby Trivigno was able to swing momentum back toward UMass before the third.
In the final frame, the Terriers looked to retake the lead as they went on their third power play of the game. However, UMass freshman defenseman Ryan Ufko was able to pick off the puck at the blue line and head in on a short-handed breakaway. Ufko then deked around Commesso and put the Minutemen up 3-2 with 14:48 remaining in the third period.
It did not take long for the Terriers to respond. Freshman defenseman Ty Gallagher crashed down from the point and found the loose puck in a scrum inside the crease, putting it past Minuteman goaltender Murray to tie the game up at three. It took the Terriers just over a minute to respond, with now only 13 minutes left in regulation.
“We weren’t really too worried on the bench, to be honest with you,” O’Connell said when asked about the Terriers’ mentality after going down 3-2. “We were playing a good game, and we just wanted to stick with it.”
The Terriers and Minutemen would finish the rest of the third scoreless and head into their second overtime in just as many days.
The overtime period opened up slowly, with both sides taking their time to try and set up winning plays. The Minutemen’s best chance in overtime would be thwarted by an excellent save by Commesso, who stopped 20 of the 23 shots faced on the night.
At 3:29 in overtime, the game finally came to an end. Fensore circled behind the Minuteman net and found junior defenseman Case McCarthy for a one-timer in the high slot that found its way past Murray.
“It just speaks to the character of the guys in the room,” McCarthy said in a postgame press conference. “We’re gonna stick together, and we’re gonna do the right thing. We’re gonna stick to our game plan, and obviously, that paid off tonight.”
It was McCarthy’s fourth goal in his past five games. Asked about his recent offensive production, McCarthy credited “a lot of guys making a lot of plays and me getting lucky.”
“I just have to get myself in an open spot, hit the net,” he said, “and luckily it went in.”
Looking on to next weekend, the Terriers will play a home-and-home series with Hockey East rival Northeastern University. The puck will drop Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Agganis Arena and 7 p.m. on Saturday at Matthews Arena.
For complete BU hockey coverage, check out the Boston Hockey Blog and follow along with @BOShockeyblog on Twitter and @boston.hockey.blog on Instagram for updates.
