Junior defensemen Dante Fabbro and Chad Krys combined for three goals and six assists in the Boston University men’s hockey team’s convincing 5-1 win over Merrimack College on Saturday at Agganis Arena.
“[Fabbro and Krys] offensively and defensively were very good,” said BU head coach Albie O’Connell.
It was Senior Night at Agganis Arena, as Class of 2019 Terriers Ryan Cloonan, Max Prawdzik, Shane Switzer, Max Willman and captain Bobo Carpenter were recognized in a ceremony before the game.
“It was a big night for the Seniors,” O’Connell said.
It was an especially significant game for captain Carpenter, who made his first appearance in over a month after being kept out for ten games with a lower body injury.
“He’s got a smile on his face,” said O’Connell of his returning captain. “I hadn’t seen him smile in a while.”
The four skaters would lead the Terriers (14-15-4, 12-8-3 Hockey East) into the meeting with Merrimack (7-24-3, 4-18-12 Hockey East) as starters for the opening puck drop, and Prawdzik would enter the game late in the third period.
“I thought the Seniors played well,” O’Connell said after the game.
The Terriers came flying out of the gates, capitalizing on the game’s first penalty with a power play goal four minutes into the period.
After seeing his stick snap on a one-timer attempt just seconds before, junior defenseman Dante Fabbro would grab a new twig and immediately find the back of the net on a shot that redirected off a Warrior skate and inside the far post to put BU up 1-0. The tally came on passes from freshman forward Joel Farabee and Krys, assisting the co-captain’s seventh goal of the season.
Fabbro and Krys would factor in again for BU’s second goal later in the period, as this time it was the penalty-killing unit that provided a goal for the Terriers.
Skating shorthanded 11 minutes in, sophomore forward Ty Amonte spotted a seam in the Warrior defense. Receiving the puck from Krys, Dante Fabbro slid a pinpoint pass forward to Amonte, who deked goaltender Craig Pantano and slipped the puck into a gaping net. Making the lead 2-0, Amonte’s seventh tally of the campaign also brought BU’s shorthanded goal total to a nation-leading 10 on the season.
“I think we had no goals five-on-five,” said O’Connell in regards to his team’s effectiveness in special teams play to put up five goals without a tally at even strength.
While unsuccessful with their two chances on the man advantage, Merrimack would find their legs in the second half of the opening frame. Freshman forward Chase Gresock tallied five shots on target by himself, carrying the visitors to a 17-7 advantage in shots on goal by the end of the period.
We have to be willing to shoot the puck,” O’Connell said about trying to match Merrimack’s offense shot-for-shot.
BU would weather the Warrior storm, holding the 2-0 lead at the break.
With Merrimack taking another penalty three minutes into the second period, BU’s power play unit would go to work once again.
Just twenty seconds into the man advantage, co-captains Fabbro and Carpenter combined to set up Krys with time at the left circle. Taking the space given to him, the assistant captain would unleash a laser past Pantano to provide the third-year Terrier with his sixth goal of the season, and BU with the three-goal cushion.
“The first goal was teed up for me pretty well,” said Krys. “You kind of grip it and rip it at that point.”
Never deterred, Merrimack clawed one back four minutes later, persisting with the pressure that would result in a 30-20 shots-on-target lead by the end of the frame.
Nearing the contest’s halfway point, forward Jordan Seyfert found forward Logan Drevitch shuffling in to junior netminder Jake Oettinger’s right. Firing away uncontested from the dot, Drevitch would beat the keeper to the far post, reducing the Terrier lead back to two with a 3-1 score line.
Nine minutes into the period with the Terriers down a man again, Merrimack would concede a penalty of their own, and the Terriers would get the better of the Warriors in four-on-four play.
At the 9:35 mark in the second stanza, Fabbro hit an open Krys from the first draw after the Merrimack penalty. From one hot hand to another, Krys reached the same position he took aim from for his first tally, and the result was no different. The junior’s shot trickled through Pantano and over the goal line, boosting the Terrier lead to 4-1.
Krys’ two-goal night was just the second of his career, which has seen the Connecticut native find the back of the net 19 times through his three seasons. Krys’ father Mark, who also donned the scarlet and white between 1987 and 1991, only scored one goal as a Terrier.
“I scored more goals tonight than he did in his career,” joked Krys about his father.
With a back-and-forth second half of the middle period, both teams would threaten late, including a five-on-three opportunity for the Warriors. Following the theme of solid special teams play, the Terrier penalty killers would get the job done.
After 40 minutes, BU were still on top, 4-1.
With the power play unit firing on all cylinders through two periods, it was no surprise when BU were successful for the fourth time with the extra skater.
A minute into a Merrimack penalty, Krys tossed the puck to Fabbro, who moved it along to Joel Farabee in the Terrier zone. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect did the rest, soaring through the Warrior defense and made a slick move to beat Drew Vogler, who had taken over for Pantano in net. Coming at the 3:33 mark, it was Farabee’s team-leading 13th tally, and the fourth assist of the night for Fabbro to make the lead 5-1.
“The goal that Joel scored was a highlight reel [goal], ” O’Connell said.
Killing off two penalties in the final eleven minutes, the Terriers put the finishing touches on an impressive victory. Oettinger would finish with 32 saves in just over 50 minutes between the pipes, and Prawdzik had four of his own after coming on in relief for the game’s final moments.
According to O’Connell, “special teams and goaltending at this time of the year [are] going to be important.”
The game would conclude with BU the 5-1 victors.
It was a ten-point night for the defensive pair of Dante Fabbro and Chad Krys. Both were involved in every Terrier tally, as Fabbro notched one goal and five assists, while Krys knocked in two goals of his own to go along with three helpers.
“Our defense helped our offense tonight for sure,” said O’Connell.
The big win pushed the BU point streak to five games, and kept the Terriers in the hunt for home-ice in the Hockey East playoffs. With one game to play, the fifth-place Terriers now sit just one point outside the final position to host a quarterfinal matchup, currently occupied by UMass Lowell. With Saturday’s results across the league, BU is confirmed to finish between third and fifth in the division.
“[The win] was definitely huge for us heading down the stretch here,” said Fabbro.
The Terriers will march north to Orono to face off against the University of Maine in the regular season finale next Saturday at 7pm.
That was a nice game to finish off the home regular season schedule. BU did a good job stretching the ice most of that was due to there defense jumping up into the play and in some cases crashing down low. I did not see so much of this play Thursday but last weekend I saw lots of it. I think our D is smart when they pinch or carry the puck and they certainly helped the offense last night with there play. If this helps generate offense I’m all for it. The one problem with it is if you have a turnover you need forwards to cover and when forwards cover they are now your guys back. Again I’m ok with that risk because BU is sound in there defense I think guys do a excellent job picking and choosing when to make that break. One other thing last night we had shots on net from high percentage areas we did not have many but we shot the puck. Looking forward to next weekend and beyond. Congrats seniors it’s been great watching you guys over the years. Your play your studies and your involvement in the community has made this hockey program what it is today🐾
Well said Colin. The win was more reminiscent of the series sweep against UVM, but a lot of that could be attributed to the competition, as Providence are certainly a notch above UVM and Merrimack. That said, I agree that BU’s defense has been the difference, pitching in offensively and staying solid defensively. High-percentage shots have been a preaching point by Coach O’Connell all year, so it was good to see them demonstrating that last night. Nice note on the seniors, couldn’t have said it better myself!
Spot on Colin … particularly that last sentence!
Farabee’s goal was gorgeous, starting with the first move where it looked like he was going to retreat and then he headed up ice. glad he is getting the hang of HE competition
He sure is! You have to wonder how much longer he’ll be at the collegiate level, but it’s definitely nice to see how quickly he has come along.
As the regular season draws to a close, I would appreciate the opportunity to acknowledge two significant ancillary improvements, or more accurately restorations, to the program.
For reasons unknown, the Friends of Hockey was purposefully decimated over the past few years. This year it was restored, and is in the process of being rebuilt. At the introductory practice, when Albie announced that the FOH Lounge was being reopened, the news was greeted with gratitude and enthusiasm. At the onset, participation and post-game attendance (at both home and away venues) was far less than what was historically commonplace. However, as a direct result of the omnipresent and diligent efforts of Melissa Bissonnette and Nate Olson, a notable resurgence has resulted, numbers have grown, contributions have increased, and the former enthusiasm of the group has been reignited. For those of us who have become “long in tooth”, and hence moved to fixed incomes, the opportunity to participate at a somewhat diminished level, and yet still have a sense of worth to the school and the program was taken away, but now has been gratefully restored. I encourage any readers of the BHB who are unfamiliar with the FOH to drop by the downstairs Friend’s Lounge next season, meet Melissa or Nate, have some complimentary refreshments, meet players and the coach, and consider becoming a member of this great group of friends.
Also, for reasons unknown, the BHB fell into disrepair last season. This year there was a tremendous rebirth, and a return to the standards of journalism that formerly was the BHB’s gold standard. I apologize for not knowing all of the scribe’s names, but certainly need to acknowledge Brady for his professionalism, attention to detail in reporting, and work ethic. I trust that he will credit his peers. Whereas I gave up reading the BHB last season, this season I look forward to reading the reporting and, of course, the banter and parry of the usual suspects who contribute the great comments that make it all the more fun.
Big Roy, Colin, Tara, and I renewed our season tickets last evening; in part due to the reestablishment of the FOH and the BHB.
PSD
Thank you very much for your kind words P.S., I will pass them along to Liam and Paige, who also write for the blog. I wouldn’t discredit last season’s blog contributors, their content was still very strong. I think their philosophy in terms of publishing on this site vs. on the Daily Free Press site was just different ours is now, but I’m glad you’re happy with the direction we’ve taken the blog this year. I look forward to seeing you around this site more often going forward!
I totally agree Paul. When I came up to Boston for the ASU series, it was so nice to have that room back in operation. All the credit in the world to Brady and company for elite hockey journalism. And last but not least, your writing is an especially good reflection on your Boston University education!
Thank you Glenn, I really appreciate it. I look forward to continuing to hear from you for the rest of this season and beyond!
Congrats to everyone, it is fun to participate in and keep up to date with the blog, and to think Brady is a freshman… 🙂
Lots more to come, Juice! 🙂
I echo Paul and Glen on both the friends room and the BHB . Last year the site was down half the time. this year it was up all year and updated quickly. The stories were very incitefull. And of course I consider it a badge of honor for me to protect the program from all the haters. Thanks Brady Paige and Liam for the great work. And thanks Paul for making note of there work as well as the friends of bu hockey and the wonderful work they did this season. I think a thanks to the AD and coach for opening that back up to us this year is warranted as well I really enjoy my time down there.🐾
Thank you Colin. It’s always nice to hear from you on this site. Go BU!
Good to hear that about FOH. Thank to those who worked on this.
While I am happy for the win, I am taking a more cautious approach. Except for Providence, the recent opponents reside at the bottom of the HE sea. We all saw how Providence controlled the game. Oettinger is playing very well but can the offense score vs better opposition? That is the season long question to which we all know the answer. I do expect them to gain home ice (minor miracle in itself). TK out.
I hate to say it, but I kind of agree with your more realistic analysis TK… You never know though, maybe they get on a hot streak here!