By Sam Dykstra/DFP Staff
PROVIDENCE, R.I — It’s just something about those pesky Providence College Friars.
Providence again gave the No. 15 Boston University men’s hockey team a tough time for the third time this season Saturday night. But for the third time, the Terriers were the ones to emerge victorious, this time by a 1-0 margin at PC’s Schneider Arena.
With the win, junior goalie Kieran Millan (32 saves) earned his first shutout of the season. He had previously taken a shutout into the third period in his two previous games against the Friars but had the achievement taken away from him in the closing moments of both games.
“It’s always a good feeling, especially to close one out in such a close game, an important game,” Millan said. “I know I’ve had a few chances this year where they’ve scored pretty late on me, but it’s nice to get one. I think the team played pretty well. We need those two points, that’s the most important thing.”
Despite the strong individual performance by his netminder, BU coach Jack Parker emphasized the quality of his team as a whole, especially following a night in which he felt his squad fell apart as the game wore on.
“Everybody was there for us tonight,” Parker said. “No question everybody was there for us tonight, and we didn’t take any stupid penalties. In general, good effort, a big win for us. A nice shutout for Kieran finally.”
The Terriers (16-9-7, 13-5-5 Hockey East) looked like they would get the advantage early – as they did in Friday’s 2-1 win over the Friars (7-16-7, 3-14-6) – after an interference penalty was called on PC center Kyle MacKinnon just 47 seconds into the game. However, the resulting power play did not bare any fruit nor did one seven minutes later. BU had four shot attempts on those two penalties in the first.
However, the visitors didn’t have to wait long to get the power-play goal in the second period. Following a tripping call on Providence forward Ben Farrer 51 seconds into the frame, freshman defenseman Garrett Noonan wound up for a shot along the right wall. The resulting slapper knicked off senior forward Joe Pereira for the first goal by either side.
Pereira’s goal meant that the BU power-play unit – long thought to be one of the team’s biggest weaknesses all season long – had scored in three consecutive games for the first time during the 2010-11 campaign. The captain acknowledged his belief that this recent uptick in production was a long time coming.
“If you look at our roster, we have a lot of talented player, first-round guys, future first-, second-round guys,” Pereira said. “So I think it was just a matter of time. We’re finding something that we like, and it’s working. We’re going to keep doing it.”
Parker expanded on that “something we like” by talking about how his team is beginning to shoot more from the blue line when on the man advantage, a tactic that resulted in two separate goals on the weekend.
“We’re trying not to shoot it hard but just get it to the net, and we’re doing a much better job of that,” Parker said. “I guess that’s how we got the power-play goal too. That’s how we got it last night as well. They like that idea that it’s going to the net.”
BU had a quality chance to make it 2-0 on another power play in the third, this time from up close, when junior center Corey Trivino snagged the puck on the right doorstep with the net seemingly open in front of him. However, PC goalie Alex Beaudry slid to his left just in time to grab the potential goal with his glove.
Providence retaliated with a nifty chance of its own in the third. Forward Jordan Kremyr stole the puck away from BU junior defenseman David Warsofsky in the neutral zone and danced around Noonan. His resulting shot in the slot was kicked aside by Millan. With 58 seconds to go, Millan again had to come to the rescue on a shot from the high slot. With six skaters on the ice and down by a goal, the Friars all jumped on a potential rebound before Tim Schaller put one on net that Millan snagged from the air.
The 1-0 loss for the Friars represented the 9th time this season that they have been involved in a one-goal game, including three against BU. That may seem like a lot, but the Terriers have nearly doubled their weekend opponent in that category with 15 one-goal games. However, the Friars have struggled with a 3-6-0 record in such games, leading to a small amount of sympathy from the BU bench boss.
“I told Timmy after the game, ‘If there was any justice, you might have won two of the three games we played this year,’” Parker said. “They’re just not getting any bounces, that’s all. They’re getting great goaltending. They’re playing hard. They play right to the finish. They’ve missed a lot of games in a row here and yet you see how hard they played here tonight. . . If they make the playoffs, they’ll be a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs, that’s for sure.”
Game Notes: With the win, the Terriers are now just three points away from clinching home-ice in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs. They have four games remaining, with two sets of two against University of Vermont and Northeastern University respectively. . . Sophomore right-winger Alex Chiasson and sophomore defenseman Ryan Ruikka were both healthy scratches Saturday night. Chiasson’s was most likely due to a punishment handed down by Parker as a result of his fight the night before with PC forward Chris Rooney. The reason for Ruikka’s absence was never made available, but it doesn’t appear to be tied to the shoulder injury for four games at the end of January.
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