The box score will show that the Boston University men’s hockey team defeated the College of the Holy Cross, 3-2, Tuesday night in front of 4,710 at Agganis Arena.
What it won’t show, however, is the grave level of concern coach Jack Parker has for his No. 8 Terriers (8-4-0), who seem to be gradually losing the confidence and swagger that recently propelled them to national prominence. ‘ ‘
Parker addressed the media after Tuesday night’s win as though BU had just dropped its fourth game in five tries instead of snapping a two-game slide. Shrouded by self-doubt, the longtime bench boss questioned whether the near-flawless team he coached just last month was even capable of showing itself ever again, as if it was just a mirage. ‘ ‘
‘I think we fell into a trap of thinking we’re better than we were,’ Parker said, ‘and now we’re in the trap of thinking we’re not as good as we were. Coming into this game, we were wondering if we can compete with anybody. We’re so far away from where we were the first five or six games of the year as a team as far as decision making, effort, skating. We’re at the point where we’re not sure if we’re any good at all now.
‘I’m at the point where I’m not sure if we’re any good at all.”
Following a scoreless first period in which the Terriers failed to distinguish themselves from last weekend’s lifeless bunch that was swept by the No. 13 University of Vermont, BU found the scoreboard twice in the opening 6:32 of the second stanza to seemingly put the wheels in motion for a lopsided affair.
Just under two minutes into the middle period, senior co-captain Matt Gilroy threaded a cross-ice pass from the right point to classmate Brandon Yip at the top of the left circle, where the winger one-timed the feed past Holy Cross goaltender Adam Roy (25 saves).
Junior forward Zach Cohen doubled the lead 4:35 later with his second goal of the season. The fourth-line winger gained the puck deep in the left circle on a pass from sophomore defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, drew Roy to the left side of the net and wheeled around the cage before lifting a wrist shot under the crossbar.
The 2-0 advantage sent the Terriers into cruise control mode, however, igniting a spirited comeback bid by the upset-minded Crusaders (3-8-1). With less than five minutes remaining in the second, first-line center Jordan Cyr lifted a loose puck near the goal line over the outstretched right arm of sprawled BU freshman goaltender Grant Rollheiser (19 saves).’
‘I liked my team until we got up 2-0 and then we started playing like it was gonna be 7-0 and Holy Cross just kept competing,’ Parker said. ‘Then we got up 2-1 and we tried to give the game away at the end of the game. In general, with the exception of a few guys, it was a pathetic performance by my team.”
BU regained its two-goal cushion on the power play at 9:25 of the third period, when freshman defenseman David Warsofsky hit sophomore forward Colin Wilson (goal, assist) with a pass at the right doorstep that the center one-timed into the top right corner of the net.
Despite their chances coming into the contest, the Crusaders refused to succumb against a Top-10 opponent on the road.
‘They realized ‘Oh Jesus. This is BU? We can more than play with these guys.’ And they did,’ Parker said of Holy Cross.
A mere 13 seconds after Wilson’s marker, sophomore winger Everett Sheen turned the tables on BU’s vaunted power play by burying a shorthanded snipe from the left circle past Rollheiser.’ ‘ ‘
It was the third shaky outing in as many starts for BU’s 6-foot-4 rookie netminder, who struggled with rebound control all night after allowing four goals in each of his previous two appearances.
Rollheiser was hardly the only culprit, however, as Parker benched Shattenkirk, Warsofsky and sophomore defenseman Colby Cohen for extended stretches of the game. Sophomore forward Nick Bonino, who ranked second on the team in scoring coming into Tuesday, was a healthy scratch after a pair of uninspiring weekend efforts against UVM. ‘
Last-minute penalties assessed to senior winger Jason Lawrence (slashing, 19:14) and Yip (hooking, 19:42), coupled with an extra attacker for the Crusaders, made for a frantic final 46 seconds of regulation, but the Terriers persevered to improve to 4-0-0 this season against non-conference opponents.’
Game notes: Tuesday marked the first meeting between the programs since Jan. 5, 1948. ‘hellip; Freshman forward Corey Trivino (knee) missed his seventh game of the season. ‘hellip; Next up for BU on its six-game homestand is a visit from non-league foe St. Lawrence University Saturday at 7 p.m.
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