Ice Hockey, Sports

When the Saints go limping out

The No. 8 Boston University men’s ice hockey team (9-4-0), after holding off the College of the Holy Cross Tuesday, drove St. Lawrence University (5-7-1) off the Jack Parker Rink at Agganis Arena Saturday evening, 4-1, behind a strong 24-save effort from freshman goalie Kieran Millan.

Rebounding from back-to-back losses to the University of Vermont last weekend, the Terriers pulled themselves out of the beginnings of a tail spin, playing without senior forward Jason Lawrence and sophomore defender Colby Cohen ‘-‘- both scratched by BU coach Jack Parker after lackluster efforts against Holy Cross Tuesday night.

‘I was much more pleased with my team’s effort tonight,’ Parker told USCHO.com after Saturday night’s win. ‘This team is a very hard team to outwork; [St. Lawrence coach] Joe Marsh teams don’t get outworked very often; Joe Marsh teams pride themselves in outworking their opponent.

‘This team beat [the University of Massachusetts-Amherst] and [the University of New Hampshire], two things we couldn’t do, so we were fortunate to play well and get a win against a very good team.’

Generating movement through the neutral zone and establishing a strong forecheck, the Terriers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal from senior forward Brandon Yip 8:13 into the contest.

After giving up a power-play goal to the Saints less than eight minutes later, BU rebounded with an even-strength redirect as junior forward Zach Cohen tipped a slap shot off the stick of senior co-captain Matt Gilroy past St. Lawrence goalie Kain Tisi.

‘I was just in front of the net and Vinny [Saponari] and [Luke] Popko were making a nice play in the corner, got it out to Gilroy,’ Zach Cohen told USCHO.com. ‘He took a shot, and I got a little stick on it ‘-‘- went off the post and in.’

Sophomore forward Colin Wilson added another tally to his team-leading point total, as his insurance goal came late in the second period on a man-up bid.

Earning his sixth win of the year, Millan turned away 24 of the 25 shots he faced, showing veteran poise and rebounding after coughing up four goals last weekend against Vermont.

‘I was very, very impressed with Kieran Millan,’ Parker said. ‘The last eight or nine minutes of the second period was the turning point of the game. We were up, but they were really coming after us. Millan came up with two or three 10-bellers, and I think they had about six grade-A shots, so he had to make some big saves.’

Assisted by senior forward Chris Higgins, Wilson’s conversion netted Higgins his 100th point as a Terrier, becoming only the 75th player in program history to reach the century plateau.

‘It’s an honor just to be in such great company,’ Higgins told USCHO.com. ‘I had a couple chances tonight. I figured when I missed that shot in the second period that maybe it’s not my night tonight, but I was glad to get it out of the way tonight so I can just start focusing on BC.’

The Terriers, with a week of practice ahead, have one more game slated for their six-game home stretch as they face Boston College at Agganis Friday night.

‘It’s been tough for us the past couple of weeks,’ Higgins said. ‘We know that we haven’t been playing well. We’ve been in kind of a rut. It definitely took a toll on our confidence, but it also brought us back to Earth a little bit.’

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One Comment

  1. //www.stlawu.edu/sports/m_hockey/roster.html

    I’ve re-read that sentence 3 times and the journalist spelled the goalie’s name the same way you did – Kain Tisi – CORRECTLY. http