The Boston University men’s hockey team (1-1-0) opened the top-10 weekend series against the University of Michigan Wolverines (3-0-0) at Yost Ice Arena tonight with a 9-2 loss. On home ice, the Big Blue showed exactly why they’re a top-ranked squad.
“We have to put it behind us, it’s all you can do,” Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said in the post-game press conference. “You can’t dwell on it.”
Senior forward Wilmer Skoog made his season debut coming off of a summer collarbone injury.
The center didn’t miss a beat, inserting his presence on the second line right from puck drop. Junior forward Luke Tuch –– who last played against Bentley on Oct. 1 –– also made his return after recovering from a matching collar bone problem.
The Terriers were in it through the first five minutes. Both squads came out flying, showcasing their break-out games early on. The back-and-forth action opened up the ice and produced threatening chances on either side of the rink. However, senior defenseman Case McCarthy’s interference call at 3:39 was the start of BU throwing the period away.
While the PK was looking good –– with notable solid sticks from senior forward Sam Stevens –– the Wolverines got on the board right as the penalty expired. Freshman forward Gavin Brindley banked in the rebound of junior defenseman Jacob Truscott’s shot into an empty net on the left side to make it 1-0 at 5:40.
Discipline continued to lack for the Terriers as junior forward Luke Tuch and senior forward Jay O’Brien both got sent to the sin-bin with five-minute-majors for contact-to-the-head within 56 seconds of each other. Michigan started their 5-on-3 man-advantage with 11:36 remaining in the opening frame and continued to net three goals while BU leadership sat in the box.
“We put ourselves in a hole taking the two five-minute-majors,” Pandolfo said. “It’s not a good way to start a game. Glad it’s the second game of the season, and we need to learn from this.”
Sophomore forward Mackie Samoskevich doubled his group’s lead at 8:46. The dish from sophomore forward Dylan Duke down-low hit Samoskevich right in the slot as he slipped it past junior netminder Drew Commesso.
The Wolverines’ scoring sequence continued as Samoskevich added an apple to his game resume at 10:17 with a shot by the right circle that trickled into the crease and was knocked in by freshman forward TJ Hughes to make it 3-0. Michigan kept it coming with the 4-0 tally off the stick of freshman defenseman Seamus Casey less than 30 seconds later.
“They’re an opportunistic team,” Pandolfo said of Michigan.“If you turn pucks over, they have good speed, they have a lot of talent and they don’t need many chances to score.”
The efforts of guys like junior forward Dylan Peterson to get rubber on net for the Terriers did little to crack the home team’s confidence as the period came to a close. After initially keeping pace with the Wolverines, BU shot themselves in the foot with penalties and it ended up defining the first 20 minutes of play and shifted the complexion of the night.
The second period started with some 4-on-4 hockey after Stevens and Hughes both headed to the box at 3:27 –– Michigan added two more goals to their collection during the two minute minors. A rocket from Casey missed wide on the left side, hit the boards and popped out on the other side for Duke to dump it in on the doorstep. The 5-0 lead quickly turned into 6-0 as Casey garnered his second of the matchup at 5:01. Junior goaltender Vinny Duplessis replaced Commesso between the pipes thereafter.
Tuch and senior forward Matt Brown connected for a tic-tac-toe series on the breakaway with 14:17 on the clock to put BU in the scoring column. Tuch’s tap-in tally made it 6-1, but Samoskevich’s second of the evening widened the gap once again a little over four minutes later. The 7-1 score lasted until half way through the third period when sophomore forward Luke Hughes made it 8-1 amidst a mess of penalties from both sides.
“I want us to play hard, but you also have to play smart,” Pandolfo said.
Freshman forward Rutger McGroarty earned his first collegiate lamp-lighter off a snapshot that brought the game to 9-1 at 15:17 in the closing frame. The last goal of the night came on the powerplay from senior forward Ethan Phillips with 30 seconds remaining to reach the final 9-2 score.
Going into Sunday, the Terriers need to reset and prepare to dig deep. A loss like this can build character for a determined team, and BU has the chance to show both mental and physical toughness in the second competition. The puck will drop at 5:00pm on the 16th as the scarlet and white skate for redemption. For continued coverage, be sure to follow along on Twitter @BOShockeyblog and Instagram @boston.hockey.blog.
Wow. Seems someones been telling them they’re better than they are. Like smoking Bentley and Waterloo is some kind of accomplishment. Upperclassmen still have an embarrassing case of ME-itis. JP better flip that script pronto.
Sometimes the best pregame meal is humble pie. Lets just hope they didn’t overindulge prior to Sunday.
I guess BU hockey is not at top level yet?
“We have to put it behind us.”
No sir.
Everyone in that room needs to be haunted by this dark night. Until the group dynamic becomes cognizant of the fact that there’s no quarter for any man who resigns himself to the accomplishments of yesterday.
No excuses.
O’Brien has no self-discipline. Plays like a goon at times. Poor leadership model: hot head
Tomorrow’s game is huge. don’t want any stupid moral victory. we need a W, straight up
And Commesso? seriously. Has he ever won a big game for us?
O’Brien and Tuck. Both need to evaluate themselves and decide if they actually want to play the game. Right now they got nothing and they know it. It scares them. It should. Prove me wrong boys.
Well I think O’B had himself one heck of a night! It takes a special team to regroup after such a shellacking, at a venue like Yost Arena no less, and earn a series split.
He did Glenn. That was much better. Much more reflective of his and the teams talent when applied with discipline. Keep it going boys.
Agree with both of you.