By Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff
Offense: B
It would be easier to grade the Terrier offense if we split the game in half. The BU offense looked good in the first period. The Terriers controlled play, got 13 shots on net and had multiple good looks on DiGirolamo. The only negative of the first period was that BU did not score. In the second period, BU struggled to keep up that same pace but made its shots count. The Terriers scored twice in the second despite taking only five shots. After the second BU goal, UNH really increased the pressure on BU, and the Terriers had enough trouble simple clearing the puck out of the defensive zone, nevermind creating any offense. Throughout the game, however, BU did a decent job of getting men (and the puck) to the net.
Defense: B-
UNH only scored one goal, but that number may be due more to junior goaltender Kieran Millan than the BU defense. Again, in the first period, the Terriers looked good. They continued the pattern of getting in passing and shooting lanes that had shut down BC in the last two periods on Friday night. Midway through the second period once UNH ratcheted up the pressure, the defense wilted a bit. The Terriers let a lot of Wildcat forwards walk in close to the net and struggled to get the puck out of the defensive zone. BU also allowed Phil DeSimone and Paul Thompson, two of UNH’s most dangerous players, spray a combined 13 shots on net. The Terriers gave up 29 shots in the last two periods of the game, and sophomore defenseman Max Nicastro even put one of his own shots on Millan.
Special Teams: B+
BU gave up a tough power play goal on a lazy turnover by senior captain Joe Pereira that kept a puck in the zone and a tired penalty killing unit on the ice. The Terriers also allowed five shots on three penalty kills. However, in what this season is always good news on Commonwealth Avenue, BU scored on its third power play of the night. Freshman forward Charlie Coyle slid home an easy rebound off of an Adam Clendening shot that bounced off the crossbar and right onto Coyle’s stick. BU had plenty of good looks on its first power play chance of the evening, but despite controlling the puck in the offensive zone for almost the entire two minutes, it could not cash in. BU also killed off an important penalty in the third period when, with only five minutes and change left in the game, the Terriers were called for a too many men infraction. Despite giving up a couple of shots, BU spent most of the penalty kill simply whacking pucks harmlessly out of the zone.
Goaltending: A+
Millan had one of his best performances of the year against UNH on Saturday, and it was his play that really gave BU the win. Millan remained calm throughout despite many loose pucks in and around the crease. On the one goal Millan allowed, he had already made the initial save but was not able to slide back into position in time to stop a stray puck that was never cleared out from in front of him. At the end of the second, Millan slid forward to corral a snappy one-timer from Thompson to end a series of bids from UNH and keep BU in the lead. Millan even stoned a shot off sophomore defenseman Max Nicastro’s stick. Regardless of how many stops in a row he had to make, however, Millan looked completely relaxed in net. He was the rock the Terriers needed on Saturday.
X-Factor: Not falling too far behind early
For the first time in three games, the Terriers did not trail their opponent by three goals before getting on the board themselves. While UNH did score first on Saturday night, BU never let the game get out of hand and tied it up only 3:36 later. This gave BU a chance to play to win the game, not to play catch-up. Psychologically, it was also a confidence booster for the Terriers not to be looking at a mountain of goals in front of them after a tough loss to Boston College the night before.
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