The Boston University men’s hockey team (4-9-2, 3-5-2 Hockey East) lost 6-4 after taking the stage at Madison Square Garden to face off against No. 9 Cornell University (8-1) for the eighth edition of Red Hot Hockey. Under the brightest lights, the Terriers and the Big Red put on a high-scoring performance, but the scarlet and white ultimately could not keep up.
“I think we reverted back a little bit tonight. We had some moments where we didn’t manage the puck properly, which cost us,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said in a postgame press conference. “Cornell’s a good hockey team, and they challenge you in a lot of different ways.”
The Big Red dominated the early minutes of the opening frame and notched the first tally of the night at 7:00. Launched by junior defenseman Sebastian Dirven at the point, the puck was then deflected in front by freshman forward Kyler Kovich to give his squad the 1-0 advantage.
BU kept up by countering Cornell’s rush, eventually getting more shots on freshman netminder Joe Howe. Terrier sophomore forward Dylan Peterson took the alternative approach, driving to the net at 10:30 to tie the competition at 1-1. Carrying the puck on the backhand past three Cornell players, Peterson garnered his sixth goal of the season by roofing it top shelf over Howe’s left shoulder.
Cornell junior forward Zach Tupker was sent to the box at 10:55 for a hooking penalty, giving the Terriers a chance to take hold of the lead. Unsuccessful on the man-advantage, BU then capitalized moments later with both teams at even strength.
Soaring into Cornell territory, freshman forward Brian Carrabes released a snapshot that beat Howe left-side, lifting BU to their first lead of the evening at 2-1. Junior forward Wilmer Skoog collected his seventh apple — in the Big Apple — of the year on the play.
The Big Red quickly tied the game back up with a goal almost identical to their first — this time the initial shot from the point came from senior defenseman Cody Haiskanen. Freshman forward Ondrej Psenicka then redirected the puck past sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso.
With less than two minutes remaining and sophomore forward Luke Tuch out on a cross-checking penalty, Cornell’s senior forward Max Andreev was able to secure the Big Red a 3-2 lead going into the second period.
With the Terriers coming out slow to start the period, Cornell senior forward Brenden Locke took advantage, mustering the puck in the Terriers’ defensive zone, swooping around and snapping it through the five-hole. The goal propped Cornell up 4-2 halfway through the period.
After junior forwards Jack Malone of Cornell and Robert Mastrosimone of BU were sent to the sin bin within 30 seconds of each other, the 4-on-4 play period saw BU come out on top. Junior defensemen Domenick Fensore and Case McCarthy collaborated for BU’s third goal with 1:48 on the clock.
Swinging the puck from the left to the right side with a cross-ice pass, Fensore connected with McCarthy — who leads the defensive group in scoring with five goals — who then dumped it into the open net that a sprawling Howe could not cover. The middle frame would end 4-3, with the late tally giving BU some momentum heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
In the third period, Cornell was the more aggressive team and was able to capitalize on BU’s performance, which O’Connell said was lackluster.
“If you watched the way Cornell blocked shots compared to the way our guys blocked shots tonight, it was night and day,” O’Connell said. “That’s an area that we really need to improve.”
Cornell junior defenseman Sam Malinski deflated the BU bench at 3:40 as he weaved his way through three Terriers, right down the middle from center ice, and lifted the puck gloveside past Commesso. The highlight-reel-worthy goal reclaimed the two-goal advantage for the Big Red.
Junior forward Ben Berard put the nail in BU’s coffin, scoring with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
Although BU freshman forward Tyler Boucher scored at 19:04 to reach a score of 6-4, the team had little time to recover the match. Commesso faced 23 shots in the loss, letting in an uncharacteristic six goals, but O’Connell said he wasn’t worried about the goaltender.
“Statistically, obviously, it’s not a great night when [Commesso] looks at it, but there’s times when goalies don’t have a chance,” O’Connell said. “I think he has played terrific of late, and he’s a confident kid. He’ll bounce back.”
Despite the loss, the game proved eventful and served as a momentous, biannual glimpse of the Terriers on professional, iconic ice. And by facing a strong opponent like Cornell, BU had a lot to learn from the match.
BU will now prepare for the upcoming series against the University of New Hampshire (7-7-1, 3-5-1 HEA) this Friday and Saturday. Friday’s matchup is at Agganis Arena and will start at 7:30 p.m..
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.
