ORONO, Maine — Early this season, it was almost impossible to talk about a strong Boston University men’s hockey performance without mentioning multiple freshmen. That was true again on Saturday, as rookie goalie Sean Maguire held his team in the game long enough for his classmates – Danny O’Regan and Matt Grzelcyk chief among them – to secure the 5-4 BU win at the University of Maine.
Through two periods, Maine (8-16-6, 4-11-6) had 24 shots and just one goal. That goal was the one Maguire said he’d like to have back, a second-chance shot for Maine’s Ryan Lomberg after the initial attempt was blocked.
By the end of the night, Maguire had allowed four pucks past him but stopped 40 more, a season high for BU (14-2-2, 11-7-2 Hockey East) goalies.
“I thought he was terrific in the first period,” BU coach Jack Parker said. “I don’t think he had a chance on the last two [goals].”
While Maguire was turning away shot after shot, O’Regan scored twice on the power play, his 11th and 12th goals of the year. He got the Terriers on the board with a power-play goal in the second, and his next tally, which gave BU a 4-1 lead, was set up by his classmate Ahti Oksanen. Oksanen controlled a rebound on a third-period power play and found O’Regan wide open at the side of the net.
Oksanen also took the initial shot that led to O’Regan’s first goal, picking up two assists the night after scoring the game-tying goal and an assist on Friday. After not recording a point since Jan. 19, he had four this weekend.
Despite cooling down offensively somewhat this semester, Grzelcyk still ranks second in Hockey East in points by defensemen (and ties for third in freshman scoring, behind O’Regan and Northeastern’s Kevin Roy).
He got back on the scoresheet in a big way Saturday, driving into Maine’s zone alone and snapping a wrist shot over Ouellette to make it 3-1 with less than a minute remaining in the second period. Grzelcyk also blocked two shots and played a more physical game than usual in the defensive zone.
“We have our defensemen scoring goals, and that’s huge,” Maguire said. “Secondary scoring. Our freshmen are a big part of our group here.”
Of course, the nine players who recorded at least one point for BU Saturday make clear that the freshmen didn’t win the game alone. But the Terriers’ first-semester success was largely defined by its rookies: strong performances from both Maguire and classmate Matt O’Connor, consistent offensive production from O’Regan, scoring threats from Grzelcyk and Oksanen on the blue line.
Since New Year’s, those contributions have been less consistent. Saturday’s win was far from perfect, but it was one small return to early-season form for a team that’s a long way from where it was in December.
“We’ve got to have O’Regan scoring goals,” Parker said. “We’ve got to have Grzelcyk chipping in.”
BU’s two sophomores were crucial to Saturday’s win as well. Second-year center Cason Hohmann had a goal and an assist, and right wing Evan Rodrigues, after being denied by Ouellette on multiple Grade-A chances throughout the night, finally set up the winning goal with 3.8 seconds left in overtime.
“In general, it wasn’t just the freshmen, but … a pretty good effort from everybody,” Parker said.
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