Less than 24 hours after the No. 10 Boston University men’s hockey team used a come-from-behind effort to defeat No. 12 University of Michigan, the Terriers were back in an all-too-familiar position.
They played sloppily the first two periods, but trailed by only two goals heading into the final 20 minutes. Right where they wanted the Wolverines.
Except not quite.
This time, the Terriers (6-4-2, 3-2-2 Hockey East) could not overcome the deficit, falling to Michigan, 4-2. A three-goal hole in the first period was enough to sink BU.
Michigan’s (6-2-1) victory snapped BU’s six-game unbeaten streak and also gave the Wolverines their first win at Agganis Arena in five tries.
“We can’t afford to play 20-minute games in this league, especially against a good team like Michigan,” said senior assistant captain Matt Lane. “And just it’s tough to see that back-to-back nights.”
BU head coach David Quinn, who said he had been happy with his team’s play over the recent stretch, said after Saturday’s game that the team moved in the wrong direction after taking a weekend split.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Michigan,” Quinn said. “They’re big, strong, fast, their forwards keep you on your heels. They were the better team over the weekend, without question and it’s disappointing because I really feel over the past three weekends, we’ve really done a good job getting better and doing the things we have to do to have success and we obviously took a big step back this weekend.”
What was a major reason for the regression of BU was the way it started in both nights of the series.
Friday night’s first period was bad. Saturday’s was worse.
Michigan got on the board with three goals and held possession in the Terrier zone for the majority of the period.
The Wolverines scored quickly at 3:52 with a power-play strike from center Cooper Marody. He redirected a slap shot from defenseman Michael Downing, giving sophomore goaltender Connor LaCouvee no shot at a save.
Lacouve kept feeling the pressure, and a little under five minutes later, after some miscommunication in the neutral zone, BU allowed forward Brendan Warren to skate in on an odd-man rush, and he beat LaCouvee with a backhanded chance near the net.
Winger Alex Kile finished the first-period scoring barrage with Michigan’s second extra-man goal. LaCouvee got a piece of Kile’s rebound, but the puck snuck past him and into the net.
BU had few opportunities in the Michigan zone, and was outshot 17-6 but the end of the first.
“We actually came out ready to play and then we got the penalty and they did a great job on their power play and we weren’t,” Quinn said. “Again, I didn’t think we were mentally sharp and if you’re gonna do a good job killing a penalty, you gotta be mentally sharp and we weren’t so they end up going up 1-0, it really looked like we got deflated a little bit.”
LaCouvee continued to face a tenacious forecheck from Michigan, but mostly held his ground. He finished the night with 34 saves and stopped all shots in the second and third periods, save for center Max Shuart’s goal at the 16:32 mark of the final frame.
Though LaCouvee kept the Terriers in play as much as he could, BU’s offense sputtered and never really got going. When Lane got a pass at the offensive blue line and beat Michigan goaltender Steve Racine on a backhanded chance near the net at 17:37 of the second, some momentum appeared to be going BU’s way.
And with a power play going BU’s way in the final minute of the middle period, there were all the ingredients for a second straight comeback. But BU recorded no shots on goal on that power play and put just 10 on net in the final period. By the time senior winger Ahti Oksanen wristed his seventh goal of the from the slot with five seconds left in the game, a comeback was not in the cards.
At the seven-minute mark of the third period, there was more to be concerned about than an offense that put up a season-low 21 shots.
Senior captain Matt Grzelcyk charged for the puck in a battle behind the BU net and crashed knee-first into the end boards. Grzelcyk limped off the ice with assistance and did not return to play. But after the game, Quinn said Grzelcyk did not re-injure his right knee that required offseason surgery and the team is hopeful that he returns to the lineup for Tuesday’s matchup with Bentley University.
It was hard to be happy with a loss, but the Terriers took solace in one thing — they have a game in three days.
“We’re all in good shape. And to be honest, it’s an advantage,” Lane said of the quick turnaround. “We don’t gotta sit with this for long, we get another game in a couple days, hopefully get another win there, and move forward.”
Andrew is one of the men's hockey beat writers for The Daily Free Press. He was Sports Editor during the Spring 2014 semester and has also interned with NESN, WEEI.com and SportsNet New York. Follow him on Twitter at @squidthoughts for sports-related tweets and random quotes from "The Office," or you can contact him via email at arbattif@bu.edu.
