UPDATED: Terriers falter in third period, drop road contest against Providence 3-1

By Kevin Dillon/DFP Sports

The road has not been friendly to the No. 18 Boston University men’s hockey team, which lost its third consecutive game away from Agganis Arena 3-1 to No. 3 Providence College Saturday night at Schneider Arena.

After coming back in grand fashion at home Friday night, BU fell behind by a goal late in the contest and could not put another one past Providence goaltender Jon Gillies as it returned to a .500 record on the season.

The two teams were about as evenly matched as could be in the first period, as BU (4-4, 2-1 Hockey East) and Providence (5-1-1, 1-1 Hockey East) traded scoring chances with nothing getting by Gillies and sophomore goaltender Sean Maguire. Maguire made 12 saves for the Terriers while Gillies stopped nine shots for Providence in a frame that only included one penalty.

“Obviously, when you lose the first game you come out with a little bit more desperation and energy,” said BU coach David Quinn. “I thought we matched it early,”
The Terriers finally jumped out to a lead a little more than 15 minutes into the second period after Providence captain Steven Shamanski took an interference penalty along the Terriers’ bench. BU freshman forward Nick Roberto picked up a loose puck at a sharp angle to Gillies’ right and hesitated, drawing defenders out of position before feeding wide-open sophomore defenseman Ahti Oksanen at the top of the slot. Oksanen stepped in and ripped a one-timer into the top-right corner of the net for his second goal and team-leading ninth point of the season.

While it took a long time for the Terriers to open the scoring, it did not take long for the Friars to answer with a power-play goal of their own. Sophomore forwards Sam Kurker and Mike Moran ended up in the sin bin for tripping and cross-checking, respectively, giving Providence a 23-second 5-on-3 advantage in the final three minutes of the second period.

“Against a team like that you can’t take penalties like that,” Quinn said. “That’s the disappointing part.”
The Friars did not need that long though, as Providence forward Derek Army scooped up a rebound six seconds into the 5-on-3 opportunity and tied the game entering the third frame. The goal was the first power-play goal BU allowed in its previous 11 penalty kills.

Friars junior Ross Mauermann took the game into his own hands as the third period began, as he drove the puck wide before cutting it to the front of the goal and pushing it through Maguire’s five-hole. It was Mauermann’s team-leading sixth goal of the season and his second goal in as many nights against the Terriers.

BU immediately had a chance to get back in the game when Mauermann was sent to the box for cross-checking. However, despite some more crisp passing with the man advantage, BU could not get any clear shots at Gillies and the score remained in Providence’s favor.

Mauermann put the game away with Maguire pulled in the final minute, scoring his second goal of the to put the Friars ahead 3-1 with 46.6 seconds remaining.

Third periods in opposing arenas have been particularly tough for the Terriers, who have not scored a goal while allowing seven in the final frames of their three road games on the year.

The Terriers had a chance to win remain unbeaten in Hockey East play entering the third period Saturday. Instead, the Terriers split the season series with a Friars team that figures to be among the top of the league come the end of the end of the season.

“When you come into this weekend like this, a team as good as Providence and the start that they’ve had, to play five periods and be in a position to get six points is a good position to get in,” Quinn said. “But we have to learn to win games like this, and unfortunately we weren’t able to get it done tonight.