Terriers drop fourth straight in 6-3 loss at Merrimack

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

NORTH ANDOVER –– If Friday night wasn’t rock bottom, it could be a long season for the No. 17 Boston University men’s hockey team. The Terriers dropped their fourth straight contest, this time losing 6-3 to Merrimack College at J. Thom Lawler Arena in embarrassing fashion.

After a solid first period in which BU (2-6-0, 1-5-0 Hockey East) outshot the Warriors (6-3-0, 3-1-0), 12-5, the teams entered the locker room tied at one. But then the Terriers fell apart faster than a sand castle during high tide, as they gave up four straight goals over the next 23 minutes.

“I was very, very disappointed in my team in the second period,” BU coach Jack Parker said. “We came unraveled. I thought we played a great first period. Then we come out [in the second] and our goalie makes a fabulous save right off the bat. That should’ve reignited us a little bit, but instead, we just stood around and watched them.”

Less than a minute into the second stanza, sophomore forward Jeff Velleca gained entry into the BU zone and dropped a pass back to sophomore defenseman Simon Demers. Sophomore goalie Kieran Millan saved the initial shot, but after the defense failed to clear the rebound, freshman forward Stephane Da Costa came charging into the slot and blasted the loose puck into the net for his seventh goal of the season.

“We had a chance to clear the puck,” Parker said. “We wave at it and leave it right in front of our goalie, 15 feet out front. One of the best scorers in the league comes in and puts it right by him. There’s no need for that puck to ever be there.”

A little more than four minutes later, Merrimack made it 3-1 on another defensive breakdown by the Terriers. Junior defenseman Fraser Allan jumped in on the rush on the right wing and carried the puck into the BU zone. Freshman defenseman Sean Escobedo went for the big hit, but left sophomore forward Elliott Sheen all alone to pick up the drop pass. Sheen then centered for junior forward Matt Moulakelis, who beat freshman defenseman Max Nicastro to the front of the net and redirected the puck past a sliding Millan.

“The defenseman doesn’t quite widen out and play his guy, and they get a tap-in goal to make it 3-1,” Parker said. “Then we wilted. I was extremely disappointed with my club after that.”

If that wasn’t enough to finish off the Terriers, two more Warrior goals in a 22-second span early in the third certainly were. Two-and-a-half minutes into the period, junior forward Joe Cucci led Allan into the zone after a tag-up offsides. Allan then crossed a pass to freshman defenseman Kyle Bigos, who stepped around a BU defender and fired a shot into the top left corner.

Before the goal was even done being announced, junior forward John Jamieson led Sheen in on a breakaway with a long outlet pass. The fourth-line forward faked forehand and then roofed a backhander over Millan’s glove. Following the goal, Parker pulled Millan in lieu of junior Adam Kraus.

BU managed to score two power-play goals in the third, their second and third man-advantage goals of the night, but it wasn’t nearly enough to resurrect the already washed-out castle.

Sitting in last place in the Hockey East standings and already having matched both their season total in losses and conference total in losses from last season, the Terriers have a long climb back to level ground, starting tomorrow night when they host the Warriors in Game Two of the weekend set.

“We’ve lost four games in a row,” Parker said. “That’s rock bottom.”