The No. 4 Boston University men’s hockey team took home two important points against the University of New Hampshire in a 8-4 win Saturday night.
The Terriers (20-9-3, 12-5-3 Hockey East) took home three of four possible points in the home-and-home series versus the Wildcats (12-15-5, 7-9-4 Hockey East).
Friday was a tough game for the Terriers, who nearly completed the comeback, but ended with a 4-4 tie. Saturday they deserved the full two points with the convincing 8-4 scoreline.
BU head Coach Quinn said this win was essential for his team, but not just because of the tight Hockey East race.
“We took some steps in the right direction this weekend,” Quinn said. “We have to take more steps in the right direction. We all know that. But to me this was about the psyche and winning. I don’t care how we won. We needed to find a way to win and we found a way to win tonight.”
The game started rough, but the Terriers made it their own before the final buzzer.
Just as they did the night before, the Wildcats got on the board first with a goal from junior Jason Salvaggio 8:06 into the game. The first period was quiet before that goal and even after. Teams exchanged shots and hits until two penalties changed the pace of the game.
The Terriers had a chance to tie the game when senior Tyler Kelleher was called for roughing with just over five minutes to play. Their advantage was short-lived, though. Twenty-four seconds later, sophomore forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson took a seat for tripping, commencing 4-on-4 hockey.
Despite no longer having the man advantage, BU held onto the puck and tied the game thanks to an impressive slapshot from junior defenseman John MacLeod. The Dracut native scored off a pass from Keller for his first goal of the season.
The Wildcats got one back just over a minute later while on the power play off the hands of Keller, a Hobey Baker Award hopeful.
For the first time since the Beanpot semifinal game against now-No. 11 Boston College, the Terriers had more than 10 shots on goal in the first period. Quinn said his team’s mentality was the biggest reason for their offensive success Saturday.
“We definitely were less defendable off the rush,” Quinn said. “We attacked at offensive blue line with speed; we weren’t slowing up to make plays. We had possession of the puck down low. We were moving our feet. We weren’t defendable and we were getting pucks to the net.”
Unlike the first period, the second was exciting from the get go. The energetic five-goal frame began when sophomore forward Jordan Greenway rang the pipe and a near brawl broke out. Senior Dylan Maller and sophomore defender Charlie McAvoy were sent to the box.
Although neither team scored while playing 4-on-4, the intensity carried into even strength play, leading to Salvaggio netting his second of the game.
The Terriers tied it up in a matter of minutes with a goal from junior forward Chase Phelps coming at 4:49 and another from freshman forward Patrick Harper at 6:59. The Wildcats took the lead for the third time with a goal from forward Ara Nazarian. BU showed few signs of frustration, though.
The first chance they got they tied it back up. Salvaggio sat in the box for cross-checking with 1:27 remaining. Just 10 seconds into the power play, freshman defender Dante Fabbro scored his fifth of the season to make it 4-4. The BU power play unit went 1-for-3 on the night.
The goals kept coming for the Terriers come the third period. Harper scored his second of the game and freshman forward Kieffer Bellows scored his second in three games. Two more tallies came from sophomore forward Bobo Carpenter and freshman forward Clayton Keller.
The third line, carrying its success from Friday night ended the game with six points.
Bellows said this game did wonders for his personal confidence and the team’s confidence. As Quinn said, too, this game was key for the Terriers morale heading into their final weekend of regular season play.
“I feel like I’ve been hitting my stride lately,” Bellows said said. “The whole team has been hitting their stride this Friday and Saturday. I think we were down after the Beanpot loss but we pushed that behind us and really brought it into the New Hampshire games and we need to bring that to [the University of] Notre Dame.”
