A stress-free weekend for the Boston University men’s hockey team. At long last.
With a dominant 6-1 win over Vermont in a standalone clash at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington Saturday night, the Terriers closed the regular season at 20-12-2 (14-8-2 Hockey East).
“Real happy with our effort,” said head coach Jay Pandolfo postgame. “Thought we started on time…really liked the way we played tonight.”
Next up: the Hockey East quarterfinals, slated for 4:30 p.m. at Agganis Arena on Saturday, March 15.
Takeaways and a rundown from Saturday’s win, below.
Finally, some consistency
The Terriers’ lack of consistency has been discussed all year — by the media, by the players, by Pandolfo.
There have been big wins, such as the 4-1 victory over Boston College in the Beanpot Final or the 4-3 triumph over Notre Dame to win the Friendship Four in Belfast. And then the puzzling losses: a baffling 7-5 defeat to Yale in late December, a 2-1 overtime loss at Merrimack.
Nonetheless, BU heads into the postseason playing some of its most consistent hockey of the season.
After a frustrating 5-1 loss to Northeastern at Agganis Arena on Feb. 21, the Terriers have gone 3-0-1 — the tie being a shootout win on the road against a NCAA Tournament-bound UConn team.
And after Thursday’s dominant 8-2 win over a top-10 Providence squad at Agganis Arena, the Terriers kept their foot on the gas with Saturday’s rout of the Catamounts, which felt like a given after the first period.
“Real important for our team to be consistent in the way we play,” Pandolfo said postgame. “I think we saw that the last two games. I thought it started down at UConn, knowing we had to play a certain style against them…and then to play the way we have the last two games, it was great to see.”
These are the types of wins that were commonplace last season, particularly when the Terriers really got rolling in the second half of the season. In fact, BU closed out last year’s regular season with a 6-1 win over Vermont.
Quinn Hutson continues to be an offensive engine for BU
The junior forward may not have the national fanfare of his two younger brothers — Cole and Lane — but he is enjoying a dominant season nonetheless.
His 1.44 points per game (20 goals, 26 assists in 30 games) is the best mark in college hockey, edging Hobey Baker Award candidates like Penn State’s Aiden Fink (1.42), Denver’s Jack Devine (1.39) and Michigan State’s Isaac Howard (1.35).
The next best in Hockey East are Boston College sophomores Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, both at 1.35.
He added two goals and an assist against Vermont, showcasing his nose for the net and wrister.
“Real happy for Quinn, he got his 20th goal tonight,” Pandolfo said. “I think that was a goal of his to get to that point. He did, and I’m sure he’s going to add more for us.”
How it happened:
The Terriers jumped in front early and never looked back.
On the heels of his hat trick Thursday against Providence, freshman forward Cole Eiserman got BU on the board at 13:13 of the first period, snapping a netfront rebound past Vermont goalie Keenan Rancier on the power play. The tally was Eiserman’s 20th of the season, although it was just the third goal he’s scored away from Agganis Arena.
Quinn Hutson followed with a top-shelf snipe to make it 2-0 at 15:25 of the first. The Terriers dominated the frame, and could have scored a few more if not for some big saves from Rancier.
Tallies from freshman defenseman Cole Hutson and junior forward Devin Kaplan in the second period made it 4-0, leaving the result of the game a foregone conclusion.
Senior forward Timofei Spitserov got one back for the Catamounts in the third period, but Jack Hughes and Quinn Hutson added goals to seal the blowout win.
keep the focus rolling