By Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff
In an up-and-down battle at Agganis Arena on Saturday night, the No. 7/8 Boston University Terriers bowed to the Holy Cross Crusaders, 5-4.
Holy Cross struck first 6:26 into the period when senior goaltender Kieran Millan came out to the top of his crease to make a stop on Mike Daly but Erik Vos was camped out to Millan’s left, and he banged the rebound into a virtually empty net.
The Terriers got even soon after when senior forward Corey Trivino dropped a pass back to sophomore defenseman Adam Clendening, who fed the puck across the zone to sophomore forward Sahir Gill. With Matt ginn on the other side of the crease to defend Clendening, Gill simply tucked the puck into an empty net at 8:04.
BU took a 2-1 lead 40 seconds later when sophomore forward Charlie Coyle sent a puck across the zone to sophomore forward Matt Nieto, who found Chiasson down low. Chiasson beat Ginn easily for the score.
But the Crusaders, sparked by penalties from the Terriers, took control for the rest of the period. Just over halfway into the period, Patrick MacGregor was sent to the box for hooking. Sean Escobedo joined him 44 seconds later on a clear slash, and the Crusaders took advantage. Just 15 seconds into the two-man advantage, Adam Schmidt slipped a shot through a scrambling Garrett Noonan and Kieran Millan to tie the game.
The Crusaders regained the lead with just 2:23 left in the period. Millan stopped the initial shot from Andrew Cox, but left the puck lying in the crease. Schmidt put it away for the 3-2 advantage.
In the second period, Holy Cross doubled its lead to 4-2 with a little help from junior defenseman Max Nicastro, who booted a rebound off Andrew Cox’s shot past Millan.
At 12:53 in the third period, junior forward Wade Megan laid a nasty hit on Shayne Stockton. The Crusader was down on the ice for several minutes and Megan was ejected from the game. Holy Cross cashed in ten seconds into the man-advantage when Brendan Baker blasted a shot from the blue line past Millan.
Chiasson tightened the game to 5-3 at 9:31 when he scored right off a faceoff win by Trivino.
The Terriers killed off a 5-on-3 situation a little more than halfway through the period, and responded in due fashion when, at 12:45, Nieto caught a pass from Charlie Coyle, circled in front of the net and backhanded a shot past Ginn, bringing the Terriers to a 5-4 deficit.
Okay, we’ve seen this play before and before that and before that. At some point Parker has to look in the mirror and ask himself if he’s the right guy.
If the players can’t get motivated that he’s recruiting and signing then he has the wrong kids and that is the coaches fault. If they make mistake after mistake he needs to tell their agents he doesn’t care what deal he’s made with them, he will play the kids that aren’t first round picks but care.
This is pathetic and the coaching is pathetic. It will be a long season. The talent is there but the coaching and character of the “leaders” of this team is sorely lacking.
Thank you anonymous. I’m so sick of people calling me a hater when I question Parker’s coaching. These players play for nothing but themselves. If there aren’t recruiters at the game, they don’t even play. How is it that BC has high level recruits every year and they keep their players for four years much more than we do. There is no team here. It’s just a group of players looking to get to the NHL. I’m sick of watching very talented players lose to bad teams because they don’t care. It’s been like this for years. Even in ’08-’09. We almost lost so many games because of their lack of effort. The HE semi’s against BC, the NCAA tournament games against UNH UVM and Miami. We should have beaten Miami easily, but waited until the last minute to play. Also, when is Rollheiser going to get the time in net he deserves. I don’t care about the defense, Milan is mediocre and needs to miss a game when he does not perform.
This defense is terrible! Why have Nicastro, Escobedo, and Clendening all made no progress so far in their BU careers?
Clendening is easily the worst player on the team. He’s arguably the worst defenseman in college hockey. Give me one of those Mite B defensemen that play in between periods over him.
At least one member of the sophomore class has improved. Nieto is lookin sharp game in and game out.
The grace period on 09 NC is over. 3 years of this is enuff. BC is down at NE but shows pride and wins in OT. BU sleepwalks through games vs. inferior teams and plays hard at the end to lose a close one. We’ve seen this over and over again for the last 2 years and the start to this one. Parker must go.
Parker has lost it. Everyone above is right about this team. Why does BC get recruits that are game ready and we get the Rodrigues and Hohman’s? Asst. coaches are the worst. Need majoe shake up but will not get it until the seats are empty.
Parker hasn’t lost it. At least not completely. When they play big games, they are motovated and prepared to play. He doesn’t seem able to get them to play the games that they should win, with a reasonable amount of effort. BU looked really good against UNH and Denver, and pedestrian at best against PC and HC. Parker needs to take responsibility for that.
In another matter — the BU Pep Band. Time to learn some new tunes.
On the plus side, the band had the Greek rocking in the last 10 minutes of the game.
On the minus side, the “We’re halfway there” sing along has to go. It is more annoying than “Sweet Caroline” at Red Sox games.
Our students are singing “ohhhh, we’re halfway there” last night, and the team is losing, 3-2.
Halfway to where? A loss?
It is pathetic, and has no place at hockey game. Unless they want to start selling pink BU hockey caps at the souvenir stand.
The “we’re halfway there” song belong on Glee, not at Agganis Arena.
Yeah, let’s insult the band because they’re the only people that show up the games half the time.
Best comment of the day award goes to Anonymous No. 8.
We’ve got a really good band, but it is the same songs at the same time at every game, year after year.
The halfway there sing-along is pretty lame at a hockey game.
But I love the Peter Gunn theme and the Drop Kick Murphy’s Boston song before the start of periods.
The band is the least of our worries. They do a terrific job. They come to play every night! I hope the same will be said of the 2011-2012 Terriers when we look back on this season.
No one is knocking the band. Even the first post to mention the band gives the band ctedit.
What is being knocked is the ‘Halfway There’ song, and it is out of place at a hockey game, particularly when we are losing at the point that it is played.
Hey so, I’m in the band. The reason we do the sing alongs like that is because it unifies the band and the Dog Pound. Those are the best cheers/chants/songs/whatever. By the way, the band has been taking requests since…well, forever. If you want new songs you can always email the band and ask for them.
Here is a request for the band: dump the ‘Halfway There’ song.