Logan Cockerill unleashes a shot against Merrimack. Photo by Brady Gardner.
Aided by a late no-goal decision, the Boston University men’s hockey team held on after coming back from two goals down to beat Merrimack College 3-2 at Lawler Rink on Friday night.
“I’m happy for the guys,” said BU head coach Albie O’Connell. “It’s hard to win in this building.”
The Terriers (8-7-5, 5-3-4 Hockey East) did not record a shot on goal until 13 minutes had passed in the first period. With seven shots before BU’s first, Merrimack (5-15-2, 3-7-2 Hockey East) broke through with 1:53 left in the opening frame when freshman forward Ben Brar tucked in a rebound at the left post.
Merrimack doubled its lead with nine minutes left in the second period when freshman forward Liam Walsh skated to space and fed freshman forward Regan Kimens, who beat freshman goaltender Ashton Abel one-on-one to the blocker-side.
Freshman defenseman Dom Fensore got one back for the Terriers on their first power play of the game less than three minutes later, taking a pass from freshman forward Ethan Phillips in the neutral zone and going the rest of the way to score his third goal of the season.
“Fensore, I thought, was one of the best players on the ice,” O’Connell said. “I thought in the second period, we kind of took over.”
The Terriers leveled the score at two apiece 4:35 into the third period on the first career goal for sophomore forward Jake Wise, working a give-and-go with senior forward Patrick Curry and ripping in BU’s equalizer.
“It was a long time coming,” said Wise with a smile, having ended his 32-game collegiate scoreless streak. “It feels good to get a goal, [and] it feels even better to get a win.”
The Terriers thought senior forward Patrick Harper had the go-ahead goal for BU just seconds after Wise scored, but the call on the ice was overturned as the puck did not cross the goal line.
Undeterred, BU took the lead off of the ensuing faceoff as sophomore forward Jack DeBoer buried a loose puck created by freshman defenseman Case McCarthy’s long shot, giving BU a 3-2 lead with 15 minutes to play.
“When you play and give up space like we did in the third period, bad stuff happens, and that’s what happened,” said Merrimack head coach Scott Borek.
Looking to respond from three unanswered Terrier tallies, Merrimack found the back of the net off of a drive from distance with two minutes to play. However, the officials determined that the Warriors had too many men on the ice, and the goal was wiped away.
“[Thomas Fyrer] is obviously a veteran official. He called ‘no goal’ right away,” said O’Connell. “It was a good call.”
On the other bench, Scott Borek said, “it’s just a disappointing way to end the game.”
Recording their first win on the road since their season-opener, the Terriers hung on to take home the 3-2 victory.
“We found our game, and we just had to stick with it,” said O’Connell.
Ashton Abel finished the game with 29 saves in his first full 60 minutes of college hockey action, and the midseason addition feels as though his time at BU has started on a positive note.
“I feel like I’ve adjusted pretty well and felt pretty comfortable in the net so far,” said Abel, who arrived at BU less than a month ago.
The game marked the return of BU junior forward Logan Cockerill, coming back from an extended upper-body injury suffered in October. Cockerill was matched up with Wise and Curry, and the goal-scorer, Wise, enjoyed playing alongside the assistant captain.
“I love playing with him,” said Wise about Cockerill. “[Having Cockerill on the ice is] almost like an energy boost for us.”
With BU’s collective health on the upswing, Wise feels confident that the Terriers are heading in the right direction.
“I think we’re just learning to stick together,” said Wise. “As the season goes on, we’re just getting better and better.”
Continuing in Hockey East play, the Terriers will stay local and face No. 5 Boston College (14-5, 8-3 Hockey East) on Saturday night in the season’s first meeting between the historic rivals.
“They’re a great team,” said Wise of BC. “Everyone’s really excited.”
Puck drop at Conte Forum is set for 7 p.m.
Merrimac’s goal was disallowed for their having too many men on the ice – obvious call. Question: What circumstance allowed Merrimac not to be penalized for the infraction?
That’s exactly what I was thinking, PS!
Just wanted to congratulate Mr. Wise on his first BU goal! Hopefully, the floodgates will open!
I’d bet that’s a huge weight off his shoulders, Glenn. Good for him.