The Boston University men’s hockey game came into Friday’s contest against the University of Massachusetts Lowell looking to snap a three game winless streak.
However, the Terriers (4-8-2, 4-5-2 Hockey East) fell to the River Hawks (8-6-1, 4-3-1 Hockey East) 5-3 and pushed the winless streak to four games.
BU head coach Albie O’Connell said that the team showed fight despite the end loss.
“I thought the team showed a lot of resilience tonight,” O’Connell said. “Getting down by two, and we battle back, and then down 3-1 and battled back. We tied the game up, and they go off the rush, they shoot one off the pad, and the guy shoots it out of midair and in the net. [It] ended up being the game.”
Despite outshooting Lowell 13-9 in the first period, the Terriers came up scoreless.
The River Hawks, however, found the back of the net two times during the first stanza.
Lowell forward Chris Schultz fired a wrist shot from the slot that beat junior goaltender and assistant Jake Oettinger at 6:37 in the first. Freshman forward Sam Knoblauch and senior defenseman Avni Berisha recorded assists.
Just over seven minutes later, the River Hawks doubled their lead when Bershia’s shot hit off Lowell forwards Ryan Dmowski, and Connor Sodergren pounced on the loose puck and slotted it past Oettinger at 13:45 in the period.
O’Connell noted that the team’s lack of production in the first period is something that has become the norm this season.
“It sounds like a broken record,” O’Connell said. “Three breakaways in the first and plenty of chances, but we can’t find a way to put the puck in the net. The nice thing is we actually scored tonight, that was positive.”
BU struck first in the second period.
Freshman forward Joel Farabee drove down the right wing and passed the puck to sophomore forward Ty Amonte, who then deposited the puck past Lowell goaltender Christoffer Hernberg at 5:47 in the second period.
“I mean, I knew I had the ‘D’ wide, but I couldn’t get it to the net,” Farabee said. “Their back ‘D’ [did] not really see Ty get to the back door, so I kind of just put it to an area, and he happened to tap it in.”
Junior defenseman and co-captain Dante Fabbro recorded an assist.
The River Hawks retaliated just over seven minutes later.
Lowell forward Anthony Baxter’s shot from the left circle beat Oettinger stick side and gave the River Hawks a 3-1 lead at 12:58.
Junior forward Ryan Lohin and freshman defenseman Jon McDonald recorded assists.
Exactly three minutes later, the Terriers answered.
Sophomore defenseman Cam Crotty’s shot from the high point beat Hernberg at 15:58 in the second. Sophomore defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo and Farabee recorded assists.
The goal marked Crotty’s first goal of the season and second in his career. He also scored in last season’s 9-3 victory over Lowell on Dec. 9.
“Cam’s been rock solid all year,” O’Connell said. “He’s been one of our best two-way players all year — it’s nice to see him get a goal. … Cam’s a terrific player, a terrific kid, a great student [and] great role model, so we’re lucky to have him.”
Just over three minutes into the third period, the Terriers found themselves with a power play chance.
With Sodergren in the box for holding, senior forward and co-captain Bobo Carpenter put a loose puck past Hernberg at 4:34 in the period and tied the game at three. Forwards junior Patrick Harper and sophomore Shane Bowers added helpers.
Lowell did not allow the game to remain tied for long.
Schutz fired a shot that Oettinger blocked but could not control, River Hawk defenseman Seth Barton slipped the puck through Oettinger’s five-hole and gave Lowell a 4-3 lead at 7:45 in the period.
With Oettinger pulled, River Hawks forward Charlie Levesque fired a shot into the empty net with 23.9 seconds remaining in the third and made the score 5-3 in favor of Lowell.
Junior defenseman and assistant captain Chad Krys did not play Friday due to injury. O’Connell said that Krys will be out the rest of the semester and that “he should be back for the second semester.”
Although O’Connell said that his team played well Friday, he is not satisfied with the results.
“There’s no moral victories,” O’Connell said. “It’s about winning and losing, and we didn’t win.”
Despite picking up the win Friday, River Hawks head coach Norm Bazin does not see it as an advantage heading into Saturday’s contest between the two schools.
“It just means you got two points under your belt,” Bazin said. “… Whenever you get points in Hockey East, you should be pleased. It’s a tough league, and there’s a of parity, as you know, and they’re a good hockey team, so tomorrow’s a new day.”
