In the seventh edition of Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden, the Boston University men’s hockey team was bested by No. 2 Cornell University 2-0 on Saturday night.
“Sometimes you lose and you feel like you’ve really lost. We felt like … we can take a lot out of how we played,” said BU head coach Albie O’Connell.
After BU (4-6-5, 3-4-4 Hockey East) doubled Cornell (9-0, 6-0 ECAC) in shots on goal 10-5 in the opening 20 minutes, the Big Red broke through 7:39 into the second period.
On the rush, sophomore forward Michael Regush benefitted from a fortuitous bounce on a rebound created by senior defenseman Yanni Kaldis.
Cornell doubled its lead just 20 seconds later when junior forward Brendan Locke ripped in a close-range feed from freshman forward Ben Berard.
“We just had a little bit of a mental lapse and lacked physicality in two situations,” said O’Connell.
The Terriers threatened for spurts both before and after the pair of Big Red tallies, but for the second consecutive game, BU could not break through.
“We’re not that far off,” said O’Connell. “We’ve got to be a little hungrier to get in front of the cage and … bang home a rebound goal, get a couple dirty goals.”
Cornell was backstopped by 28 saves from junior goaltender Matthew Galajda, whose finest stops came against a pair of high-quality chances for BU graduate forward Alex Brink.
“I felt like their goaltender made some key saves in some big moments,” said BU senior forward Patrick Curry.
The Terriers didn’t register a shot on goal for more than eight minutes to begin the final frame, and by the time they pulled graduate goaltender Sam Tucker, it was too little too late.
“All it takes for that team is to get a one- or two-goal lead and then they can kind of sit on it,” said Curry.
With the 2-0 score line holding to the final buzzer, Cornell hoisted the Kelley-Harkness Cup for the second time in program history, defending their 2017 Red Hot Hockey title.
“They play for each other and they play for our university, and that’s nice to see,” said Cornell head coach Mike Schafer of his players.
Despite the Terriers going two games without a goal for the first time in more than a year, Coach O’Connell believes his men are headed in the right direction.
“I thought we made good strides as a team,” the second-year BU boss said. ”The way we played tonight versus a really good team in that setting is a real positive.”
For Captain Curry, the exciting opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden was not forgotten in the loss.
“It’s always a great experience when you can play in this type of arena and this type of stage,” he said.
BU will take on another ECAC foe on Tuesday night when they host the No. 6/9 Harvard University Crimson.
“I felt like their goaltender made some key saves in some big moments,” said BU senior forward Patrick Curry.
Sounds like a shot at Tucker?
I think you’re making a little too much of that Steve… Tucker was left out to dry on the first goal, and it seemed like the whole team switched off for the second goal. I didn’t sense any goaltending frustration from Curry or O’Connell after the game.
Another season over by thanksgiving. Thank good they automatically qualify to play in the beanpot
Shut out for six straight periods. Pathetic
Seven periods without a goal Vinnie :/ I wouldn’t say the season is over, but a shot at an at-large tournament bid certainly looks out of the question.
so tell me, Brady, what championships are they playing for this season? the beanpot? well, there are only 4 teams. the HE championship? the regular-season championship? surely you jest. and you just said the at-large NCAA bid is highly unlikely. so what are we playing for? I am an old-timer so I expect BU to seriously compete for trophies. this team will be likely to end up 500.
changes are needed sooner rather than later. what “strides” Albie is talking about escapes me. the last 3 games, they are 0-2-1. sounds like backward strides to me
I’m a sucker for potential, Vinnie, and I think if this team gels down the stretch, they could make some noise in the Beanpot and the Hockey East tournament. Right now it doesn’t look great, but I think there’s still a high ceiling for this group – they just need to move towards it a little quicker than they currently are.
The program is regressing. The crowds could not fill WBA anymore. It has been sinking for a decade but one year of Eichel masked it.
Sad to see this all collapse
I too have watched BU hockey for a long time. College hockey has changed and BU hasn’t kept up with the changes. I think Albie is overmatched as a coach here. And all we can shoot for this year is the Beanpot? They do have a somewhat easier schedule in 2nd half. The goaltending situation still troubles me. Hey, we still have the best strength/conditioning coach in the world. Wonder if the sun is shining on Comm Ave today? TK out!!!
Tk Kyle is the best that’s why all the Nhl guys go to him. I find it ironic that you would go after him. My guess you have no idea how hard he works or how well respected he is in his field. Kyle is considered one of the best in the game. Bu just lost to the best team in the country. We have a good team led by a great coach if you can’t see we are trying to build something here. If you don’t have patience with this team your in for a long year. We are young and yes we won’t be young forever and many guys will be here in years to come we just need to keep getting better. We can beat anybody any day. There are definitely some things we need to get better at Brady and his staff are good about writing about that and I do know a little about this game and I can see what’s going on I see the mistakes and the good things. This team has great leadership and will never quit and I will never quit on them. For the better half of my life I have never given up on a bu team no matter what there record . It’s always sunny when I’m at a bu game !🐾