HARTFORD, Connecticut — When it came to five-on-five hockey, the No. 8 Boston University men’s hockey team was arguably more well-rounded than the University of Connecticut on Tuesday evening.
The Terriers peppered UConn (3-2, 1-1 Hockey East) goaltender Rob Nichols to the tune of 29 even strength shots, and sophomore forward Chase Phelps bested the netminder from the slot with 52 seconds remaining in the third period.
Yet, when one factors special teams into BU’s (2-2, 1-1 Hockey East) 5-2 shellacking at the hands of the Huskies, the storyline changes entirely.
“Obviously the story is the penalty kill,” BU head coach David Quinn said. “They get four power play goals, every puck they had at the blue line found its way through.”
As Quinn alluded to, BU’s penalty kill unraveled in nightmarish proportions, as four of UConn’s seven man-advantage opportunities resulted in the lamp illuminating behind sophomore goaltender Connor LaCouvee.
Freshman Tage Thompson and forward Evan Richardson’s power-play tallies painted the box score, but the intangible effect took a far greater toll on the Terriers. With 16 of the contest’s 60 minutes spent in the box, BU often chased the puck in their defensive zone and couldn’t get an attacking rhythm going.
Penalties, of course, are inevitable in college hockey, but too many of them can amount to a detriment that even the best teams can’t overcome.
“You want to stay under four penalties,” Quinn said. “If you get three, it’s manageable, but when you take seven, it’s just very difficult to have success that way. That’s certainly something we’re going to have to clean up, and when you play a more mature game, you’re more inclined to take less penalties. It all ties together.”
While immaturity shone through on the penalty kill and Thompson stole the show, BU also struggled mightily on the power play. Yes, senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan capped off a highlight-worthy passing sequence while UConn’s Derek Pratt sat in the box, but difficulties persisted throughout.
As led by O’Regan, the first power play unit of freshman forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, senior forward Ahti Oksanen, sophomore defenseman Brandon Fortunato and freshman defenseman Charlie McAvoy was routinely stymied by UConn’s patience in defense.
Along with the second unit’s help, BU tested Nichols nine times on the power play, but quality chances were few and far between. According to Quinn, the floundering attempts revealed a lackadaisical approach to opportunities that could’ve swayed the momentum in BU’s favor.
“Immaturity, just lazy coming up the ice,” he said. “No urgency, casual stuff that we’ll correct.”
Although Tuesday’s special teams performance was of concern, early season signs suggest that they’re merely an anomaly.
Before Thompson and Richardson’s onslaught, BU had only suffered once while killing a major or minor penalty. That singular goal came in Oct. 10’s 5-3 loss to Union College – a game in which Quinn said defensive issues persisted throughout.
Meanwhile, by all accounts and measures, the power play has been fruitful for Quinn’s young side. In the 4-1 victory over the University of Wisconsin on Oct. 17, Fortunato’s power-play tally was the game-winner. Also, power-play goals from Forsbacka Karlsson and Fortunato propelled BU to a 4-2 win over UConn on Saturday night.
With all of that in mind, special teams single-handedly determined the outcome of Tuesday’s affair. History suggests the issues shouldn’t persist, but Quinn and his staff will surely look to correct them in swift fashion.
“I think we had given up one power play goal up to this point and all of a sudden we give up four,” Quinn said. “So, when it rains it pours.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
