Patrick Curry battles a pair of Warriors for the puck on Friday night. Photo by Jenna VanSickle.
Boston, MA – As uplifting as Monday’s 5-4 double-overtime Beanpot victory over No. 4 Boston College was, Friday night’s 5-1 loss to Merrimack College at Agganis Arena was the opposite for the Boston University men’s hockey team.
The visiting Warriors (7-19-3, 5-11-3 Hockey East) broke the game open with two shorthanded goals in the second period, and BU head coach Albie O’Connell said that was the turning point.
“They got a lot of momentum and belief out of that and they ran with it,” he said. “Special teams definitely let us down tonight for sure.”
The Terriers (10-9-7, 7-5-5 Hockey East) took the lead three minutes into the game when freshman forward Robert Mastrosimone snuck a goal in on a BU penalty kill to score his second in as many games, but it was all downhill for Boston from there.
After Warrior junior defenseman Dominic Dockery’s blast tied the game with 2:49 left in the first, senior forward Tyler Irvine and sophomore forward Logan Drevitch both struck shorthanded in the second period to give Merrimack a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Warrior head coach Scott Borek said Irvine’s go-ahead tally brought belief to his team.
“It just put us in a great position,” Borek said. “I think our team played with a lot more confidence then.”
Freshman goaltender Jere Huhtamaa silenced the Terriers on each of their three second-period power plays en route to 36 saves on the night, and Borek said Huhtamaa’s performance was critical towards the victory, especially in the middle frame.
“I felt that Jere really stepped up [in the second period],” Borek said. “Now looking back on it, that was the game.”
The Terriers came back from 3-1 down in the third on Monday but the magic ran out Friday as the Warriors added two more goals from junior defenseman Patrick Holway and freshman forward Regan Kimens in the final stanza to seal the win.
O’Connell said BU let a chance at two critical conference points slip away.
“It’s disappointing that we gave up the opportunity, especially in the league, especially after a good night the other night,” O’Connell said. “I really like our team, I just didn’t like the way a good chunk of them played tonight.”
Turning the page, the Terriers will try to return to their winning ways under the bright lights of TD Garden at the Beanpot Championship game against Northeastern University (15-8-2, 8-7-1 Hockey East) Monday night.
If a student on an academic scholarship to an institution with, shall we say, a “high-end” tuition invoice only performs well in the classes they deem important at any given time, I suspect that ticket to ride would be under serious scrutiny. Yet in a sports context, this what we have with this Terrier team: a squad that seemingly decides to show up for business only when the opportunity suits their motivations of the moment. Win or lose, I think Monday’s contest with the Huskies will see this team turn in a more spirited performance but therein lies the flaw that will ultimately prevent their larger success: they don’t demand as much of themselves as the spotlight does.
I have seen this for. Years . Change in lines from a winning. Combination of same,. Lose.
I agree with you Caesar on one point, I don’t think O’Connell should have dropped Wise from the lineup (unless he’s injured), because he provides the grip and energy which was needed last night. It was a frustrating game, the Terriers started well and seemed to be on the verge of blowing out the Warriors until they took a late penalty in 1st period and allowed MC to take over the game. Horrible sloppy play led to 2 shorthanded goals!, unbelievable against one of the worst teams in Division 1. In addition coach didn’t change strategy once it became clear that MC was just clogging the middle and stealing pucks to go the other way as the Terriers continued to try to make plays but not take care of the puck. Again another game where an inferior opponent outworked, outskated, and outhustled the Terriers on almost every shift. One game on, one game off, has become this years theme song for BU. Lets hope they are on against NU on Monday in what appears to be the only possible hardware they can win this year.
There are two very legitimate concerns about the current state of BU Hockey. First, the fact that they continually lose to much weaker opponents, and it seems that doesn’t bother them enough to do anything about it. Again and again and again this happens. Second, there doesn’t seem to be a plan to modify our game in-progress, when teams clog up the neutral zone or use some other style against which we need to make an adjustment.
I am particularly pleased with Mastrosimone. He is really progressing and unlike many other guys who contribute, he will most likely be here next year.
Can’t blame able at all … Tonight game was like a 1st half of the season game not 2nd half.. WERE NOT READY TO PLAY TONIGHT AND HALF dogging… I would of sat that top line or tip pp unit for for shifts…. Zegras is good but he is ALL about him and its brutal can’t be bothered to do anything else unless he has the puck !! Good luck after thid season… That said we will rebound Monday … . once game got to 3-1 take a time out and change goalie something to spark them … Overlooked this game … Let’s go win this Beanpot at least with a full game effort!!!
wise provides grit and energy? are you serious, vito? that kid is beyond passive. if i was the coach, i would part ways with that kid at the end of the season. classic case of a big rep at 15 and he stopped developing. useless
monday is our only legit chance at a trophy. lose monday and we play out the string. another season over by february. i can take losing to MC if we competed, but 5-1. cmon, paheeze
Hi Vinnie. Well certainly Wise has been a major disappointment for his first one and a half seasons as a Terrier (though 40% of that time he couldn’t play due to injury); but why would you want to part ways with him when he finally is getting on the score sheet and contributing? He was overhyped and compared to Eichel and was considered as the top player in his birth year. So, what he has done so far in his BU career is nothing what we were expecting. Still, he finally seems to be scoring.
We( I include Albie) all knew this was a classic trap game. The result is what we all feared. That has to fall on the COACH. They are in contention for the HE title. This team is good but young and cocky. Where’s Colin now? Mr. ” always sunny on COMM Ave” is all worried about Northeastern and their dirty play. Not a word to be heard about not showing up at home vs a weaker opponent.The season doesn’t begin and end on the beanpot. They are capable of so much more. Wise needs to go too. He isn’t not who we were led to believe he was. So Frustrating!!! TK out!!!
Well if Wise started his BU career like gangbusters, he would be gone. So, now that he’s taking a while to develop, and is recently starting to produce offense, you want him to go? Bad idea! I will agree that the coaching staff is at fault for having three or four infuriating trap game losses … that have caused us to be eliminated now from any chance of a post-season NCAA at-large bid.
Glenn,
Cmon. wise has played in 25 games and he has 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 point with a -2. he has been given power play opportunities and played on the second line at points with skilled players. i don’t see much changing. i want to use his schollie for another kid. that might sound harsh but this is a business these days. skilled kids do not come here for an education, and if they see an opportunity to fly the coop, they are gone, leaving us high and dry. so what’s fair is fair. ie: hello and goodbye bellows and coyle.
well vinnie , and who would you give Wise’s scholarship to? another player who will depart early? At least It looks like Wise will stay, so at least he can ultimately provide some leadership. I agree he has been a disappointment but he is fast and at least hustles, something none of the Terriers did last night. The problem with this program has been depth (due largely to early defections) the last 2 years. , now we finally have some and we shouldn’t give that up.
Vinnie, granted those are his numbers but he has scored four points in his last eight games. It’s his most recent history that is most relevant. Of course, if he doesn’t do much else for the remainder of the season, perhaps your plan is correct. I do expect him to be a 0.5 to 0.8 point per game player going forward, and even better next season. Some guys, in fact many guys who are talented take a lot longer than expected to adjust and contribute at the next level. These days I am thinking about Bellows and Kappo Kaako (with my NYR).
vito and glenn,
i agree we need experienced upper classmen, but that only makes sense if they produce. look at curry. got better every year. now he is a senior and captain.So who would i give the schollie to? that is up to the coaches to find the next potential Curry. but if wise turns out like a ben rosen, it actually is no different than if a guy leaves early. both situations retard the program
glen, you make a good point about his recent numbers, but know this – wise was a healthy scratch on friday. how come? is the coaching staff missing something?
so maybe he stays and develops. hope so. great. but i just have this sinking feeling that what you see now is what you are gonna get. and if i am wrong, i will be the first one to come on this blog and say i was wrong. i hope i am wrong. seriously
Thanks Vinnie. As for Rosen, I don’t think he ever had the upside that Wise has. And as for Friday’s scratch, I thought I heard that Wise was sick. Wise might not ever be a BU superstar (like he was hyped to be), but I think going forward he will warrant a roster spot. Time will tell.
agreed about time will tell
maybe rosen was a bad example. my point is i want seniors to lead off the ice and on the scoresheet. ryan cloonan might have been a positive influence in the locker room but his on-ice point production was anemic
i think with wise we MIGHT be seeing the perils of being forced to recruit kids at an early age. no way to totally gauge development so early. no fault of wise to the coaching staff. that is why i was thrilled that the NCAA changed the age requirement of when you can approach a prospect (summer after sophomore year).
Well, we assessed Wise when he was 14 and bought in. The Blackhawks must have still had a highly favorable opinion of him when he was 18. And yes, I think Ryan Fine (coming to Agganis in 2023) will be the last of those super-early verbal commits.
Pro evaluations make mistakes too
Most certainly! Still, statistically speaking, the fact that Chicago did take him in the second round makes me think there is a better chance of him having success than if BU offered him that scholarship at age 14 and then he wasn’t drafted at all at age 18.
I see that but I guess we just need to go back to what you sad earlier. Time will tell.