The Boston University men’s hockey team came up with a 3-3 draw against the University of Vermont Catamounts at Agganis Arena on Saturday afternoon. Be sure to check out Brady Gardner’s full recap by clicking here. Here are my three takeaways – as always, opinions are my own.
1. When does David Farrance for Hobey become a legitimate conversation?
Farrance continued his torrid production to start the year as he put away a pretty wrister to beat UVM’s Stefanos Lekkas. The goal was the defenseman’s team-leading tenth of the season, which is the most among Division I defensemen and tied for the second-most in the entire nation. Farrance’s tally also marked his eighth power play goal of the season, which is the most in D-I, in addition to it being his 19th point of the season – most among d-men in Division I and tied for the fourth-most in the nation. Needless to say, the junior’s start to the season has been utterly ridiculous, and there’s no reason to believe he will slow down anytime soon. So, I know it’s early, but how about Farrance as an early candidate for the Hobey Baker?
2. BU still needs to shoot and make better decisions with the puck
Head coach Albie O’Connell touched on it in his postgame presser, but turnovers were costly for BU in this one. Penalties aside, BU had opportunities in their own end to make the simple play and clear the puck, but certain instances of trying to cut the play too fine led to bad giveaways. This was especially true in the seconds leading up to UVM’s game-tying goal as the Terriers had numerous opportunities to simply get the puck out of danger. Vermont deserves credit for bearing down on the forecheck to force overtime. To the point on shooting, this is not as glaring of an issue as it was earlier on in the year. However, specifically in the final minute of OT with BU on the power play, it did not seem like any Terrier on the ice had any intention of shooting the puck until it was too late, after what seemed like extra passes or dekes forfeited opportunities to get a quality shot away.
3. Trevor Zegras being scratched is not the reason BU tied
After being ejected Friday night for what was, in my opinion, a senseless penalty, Zegras was a healthy scratch for Saturday’s contest. One can make their own assumptions as to what went into the decision there, but needless to say, BU must hope that their freshman sensation learned from the experience. In his absence, Sam Stevens slid up to the first line, and performed quite well, tallying his first two collegiate goals. While the Terrier power play was not necessarily firing on all cylinders and one could make the case that BU missed Zegras’s talent, BU still managed to score three goals, and had the lead in the waning minutes of the third. The bigger issues resulted from costly turnovers, which ultimately sent the game to overtime and deprived BU of the full two points.
The Terriers will return to action with Zegras in the lineup, per O’Connell, on Tuesday night as they take on Sacred Heart University at Agganis Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 pm. Stay tuned for my preview, which will be published in the coming days.