Terriers suffer 4-1 loss to Notre Dame in a game marked by familiar issues

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — After a 4-1 loss to Notre Dame on Friday, the No. 6 Boston University men’s hockey team dragged through its postgame stretches in dead silence. 

Players hunched over in frustration; others shook their heads. It was a scene unbecoming of the team that waltzed into the season three weeks ago ranked as the best team in college hockey.

In the defeat, BU (1-2-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East) was soundly outplayed by the Fighting Irish (2-2-0) at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, marking the Terriers’ second consecutive loss. 

“We started well, and then for whatever reason, as a group, we just seemed to get away from it,” said BU head coach Jay Pandolfo postgame.

That pattern — a strong start, followed by a lackluster performance — has become the norm. Just as the Terriers did against Bentley and New Hampshire, the team pieced together an impressive opening six minutes and took the lead, but faltered and ultimately crumbled later on in the frame, setting the stage for the frustrating loss.

Adding insult to injury, star defenseman Lane Hutson exited the game with an apparent injury early in the third period, and did not return. According to Pandolfo, Hutson will undergo an evaluation and the team will learn more on his status on Saturday. 

At 4:44 of the first period, sophomore forward Ryan Greene cashed in a series of strong BU shifts to earn the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Freshman defenseman Tom Willander rifled a shot into traffic from the blue line, and sophomore forward Quinn Hutson controlled the rebound and tossed the puck to the netfront, where Greene snapped a wrister into the empty net.

The lead didn’t last for long. Senior defenseman Drew Bavaro knotted things up five minutes later with a power play blast that squeaked through junior netminder Mathieu Caron. Then, at 14:11 of the period, the Irish took the lead. Senior captain Landon Slaggert netted the tally off a bang-bang feed from fifth-year forward Patrick Moynihan — a transfer from Providence — who assisted on both of Notre Dame’s first period goals. 

Junior forward Justin Janicke added a third for the Irish with just under a minute to go in the period, shortly after Notre Dame easily diffused a BU power play. 

Things only unraveled from there. Danny Nelson blasted a goal past Caron less than two minutes into the second period on the power play to make it 4-1 Irish, after junior forward Jack Hughes inexplicably took a double-minor roughing penalty seconds into the period.

Hughes had highs and lows in his first action in a BU sweater. The Northeastern transfer, who missed the first games of the season with a lower-body injury, had six penalty minutes in the contest. Those penalties resulted in two Irish goals. Still, Hughes picked up an assist on Greene’s goal, and impressed Pandolfo with his offensive play.

“He created some offense for us. He was a big part of that first goal we scored, so for the most part that line [Hughes, Greene, Quinn Hutson] was pretty good,” Pandolfo said. 

BU found itself on the power play twice more after Nelson’s tally, but the Terriers played disorganized, clumsy and rattled nonetheless. BU struggled to piece together time in the offensive zone on the man-advantage. The team went 0-for-8 on the power play in the game.

Discipline, too, came back to haunt BU. The Terriers took six penalties, ranging from tripping and roughing calls to a penalty for too many men on the ice in the third that defined BU’s disorganization and frustration in the game.

“Special teams right now is a really big issue for us. That’s certainly hurting us,” Pandolfo said.

When the penalty boxes cleared halfway through the period, the Irish sat back into a defensive scheme, which proved effective. Quinn Hutson, whose play was one of BU’s few bright spots Friday, generated a few quality chances — a partial breakaway and a scrappy drive to the net — but Notre Dame netminder Ryan Bischel staved off those chances to preserve the Irish’s firm hold on the game.

Pandolfo praised Quinn Hutson, who notched a team-high seven shots.

“I thought his game got much better as the game went on. Really good at the end of the second into the third period,” Pandolfo said. “He was on pucks, moving his feet. He was getting his opportunities.” 

BU managed 44 shots in the game to Notre Dame’s 26, but the Irish dictated much of the play — at least after the Terriers’ burst to start the first period. Another strong defensive performance in the third period helped Notre Dame stave off BU’s offensive efforts, sealing the 4-1 win for the Irish.

Caron struggled at times, conceding soft rebounds to the Irish all game. The highly regarded transfer from Brown has had a difficult start to his BU career, giving up 12 goals through three games — and 10 tallies in his last two starts.

Pandolfo admitted that Caron would likely “want one or two back,” but noted that BU’s defensive errors let the netminder out to dry on several occasions.

“There were some cross-ice passes that are tough saves for a goalie. So we had to do a better job for him,” Pandolfo said. “For us, we win as a team and lose as a team. We don’t put it on anyone.”

BU’s struggles against UNH and the U.S. Under 18 team — zone breakouts, the power play and offensive-zone turnovers — seemed unsolved, and perhaps exacerbated, on Friday night. 

Pandolfo also noted that graduate defenseman Cade Webber, who missed Friday’s game with an injury, will be “unlikely” to play the series’ second game. 

The puck will drop at 6 p.m. Saturday in South Bend, where the Terriers will be searching within themselves for a bounce-back performance. 

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Pandolfo said. “We get an opportunity again to play this team tomorrow night, and come back and right the ship here.” 

The Boston Hockey Blog will have on-the-ground coverage, so follow along on Twitter (X) @BOShockeyblog and on Instagram @boston.hockey.blog.