No team will finish the college hockey season undefeated. But the University of North Dakota’s 7-2 drubbing of the Boston University men’s hockey team this past Friday night was as uninspiring as it gets for the Terriers.
The No. 7 Fighting Hawks (3-2-0) didn’t just hand then No. 3 BU (4-1-0) its first loss of the season — they ran the visitors out of Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND took a five-goal advantage back to their state-of-the-art locker room after the first period.
The game was over before it started. The Terriers had no chance to win Friday night.
“We got out-battled, out-competed, you name it,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said after the loss. “From start to finish.”
Friday’s outcome wasn’t a shock. The Terriers, now ranked No. 5, have started slow in every single game they’ve played up to that point. The difference on Friday against North Dakota compared to the first three games of the season? The home team made BU pay.
The Ralph is as hostile an environment as any in the sport. For the six freshmen who suited up for the series opener, it was their first taste of an opposing crowd. Surprisingly, the players who’ve played in hostile environments before let Pandolfo down, not the freshmen.
“I’m certainly not putting [this loss] on the young guys,” Pandolfo said. “[The veterans] did not lead the way for us.”
Chalk it up to the slow start, the raucous crowd or the Terriers simply not being ready to play Friday. The loss was an ego check. A punch to the gut. The team needed it.
Saturday’s game was their first opportunity to prove what this team is made of.
“We have to find a way to regroup, respond,” Pandolfo said Friday. “It’s not going to be any easier tomorrow night.”
Saturday’s imaginary to-do list only consisted of those two words. It didn’t include the word win. Why? Winning is a byproduct of regrouping and responding, and that they did.
The 4-3 win wasn’t just a reminder to the rest of the nation about what this team can accomplish — it was a reminder to themselves. Not 24 hours ago, the Terriers looked out of place on that same sheet of ice.
It wasn’t a comfortable win either, but the team was able to block out the crowd and play a more composed game. BU only took three penalties, a number Pandolfo wants to keep it to, as he stated after the win against Union College. Most importantly, they scored the first goal of the game.
“You want to try to silence the crowd and take them out of the game,” junior alternate captain Devin Kaplan said.
It sucks the life out of the home crowd. That’s exactly what happened when junior co-captain Ryan Greene rifled a wrister into the top left corner of the net at 17:09 in the first period on Saturday.
Kaplan had the ultimate crowd-silencing moment in the third period. He scored a do-it-yourself, shorthanded goal that gave his team a 3-2 lead at 12:28 of the third period. His first tally of the season was certainly a knife to the heart of the nearly 12,000 fans in attendance.
The forward needed this moment. It hasn’t been the start Kaplan would have wanted for his third season in the Scarlet and White, but Saturday was a reminder of what he brings to this team.
“The individual effort on that one was incredible by him,” Pandolfo said of Kaplan. “He was excellent tonight.”
Kaplan’s performance on Saturday embodied what his head coach felt was lacking from his team the night before: the veterans stepping up and leading the way.
All four goals in the second game were netted by returning players. Greene with the first, sophomore forward Jack Harvey with the second off a beautiful stretch pass from senior forward Matt Copponi, Kaplan with the third and sophomore defender Tom Willander with the fourth and final of the weekend.
They were called out by Pandolfo after Friday’s poor effort, and what did they do about it? They regrouped and responded.
“Real happy with the response from our group after the way we played last night,” Pandolfo said. “Credit to our leadership group. Right from the drop of the puck, those guys were ready to play. Everyone followed.”
It was an inspiring effort from this team, led by the players who have played in big games before. It’s exactly the type of performance the team wants to build off of, especially heading into another high-profile series against No. 11 University of Michigan (3-2-1) at Agganis Arena.
From the lowest of lows after Friday night’s loss to the highest of highs after Saturday night’s win, the Terriers were just looking to show — and to prove to themselves — that they have some fight in them.
“You’re going to face adversity throughout the year,” Kaplan said. “We wanted to find out what our group was really about.”
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