After a lethargic first period, it looked like the Boston University men’s hockey team was headed for another unconvincing performance to begin the season.
Midway through the second period, that sentiment still rang true.
The No. 2 Terriers, however, grew into the contest with a dominant last 30 minutes to secure a 3-0 exhibition victory over RPI at Agganis Arena on Sunday.
RPI (0-0) did not register a single shot on goal from the 13:58 mark of the second period to the 17:34 mark of the third, when it pulled sophomore goaltender Carson Dorfman in favor of the empty net.
“In all three zones, we were playing together as a five-man unit, and we weren’t doing that enough last night. We weren’t doing that in the first period,” said head coach Jay Pandolfo. “I thought it was much better.”
The Engineers sent nine shots on goal in the final minutes, but junior goaltender Max Lacroix stopped all of them, and freshman forward Ryder Ritchie sealed the contest with an empty net goal at the 18:39 mark.
Lacroix stopped all 21 shots he faced, earning his first shutout in a BU (1-0) uniform. While sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov is expected to see most of the time in net this season, Lacroix’s performance inspired confidence.
“I thought he was awesome,” said Pandolfo. “Max is a competitor. He wants to push Big Mike.”
The first period failed to generate many high-end chances for either side. RPI, however, had the best opportunity of the frame when junior defenseman Mick Frechette turned over the puck in the defensive zone. His errant pass found the stick of sophomore Mathieu Bourgault, who unleashed a slapshot that rang the crossbar at 15:43.
BU’s first dangerous chance of the second period came at 13:43 of the frame. Sophomore Brandon Svoboda had a shorthanded breakaway opportunity, but was turned away at the doorstep by freshman goaltender Nate Krawchuk. It was BU’s only penalty kill of the day, with the Terriers whistled for a too-many-men bench minor.
After leading the nation in penalties last season, the Terriers accumulated 10 penalty minutes on Saturday night against LIU, including six in the first period.
The Terriers remedied the issue on Sunday.
“That was much better than last night,” Pandolfo said. “We don’t want to get into the same habits we did last year with the discipline problems.”
Junior captain Gavin McCarthy opened the scoring at 15:46 of the second period on a right circle wrister shot into a crowd of bodies. The puck deflected off the stick of RPI defenseman Gunnar VanDamme and flew high in the air, over the shoulder of Krawchuk, and into the back of the net. Sophomore assistant captains Cole Hutson and Cole Eiserman collected the assists.
The third period marked BU’s strongest of the night. RPI struggled to enter the offensive zone, and when it did, it failed to get shots on net.
Freshman Jonathan Morello doubled BU’s lead with a power play goal at the 9:47 mark of the third period. An extended power play, which featured 28 seconds of 5-on-3 action, ended with a Morello slapshot from the left circle on a feed from Hutson. Hutson skated around two Engineer defenders to enter the offensive zone before finding Morello with a cross-ice pass, which Morello buried into the stick side top corner for his first goal as a Terrier.
“He’s been a real good player for us,” Pandolfo said of Morello. “I expect him to really help our group this year.”
Morello moved up to the first line, alongside Eiserman and Ritchie, after sophomore forward Sacha Boisvert exited the game in the first period. Boisvert clattered into the boards on his second shift and did not return, for what Pandolfo called “precautionary” reasons.
“We weren’t going to put him back in tonight. It’s not worth it,” Pandolfo said of Boisvert’s status. “He got banged up a little bit, but I think he should be fine.”
Ritchie’s empty netter sealed the contest for BU. Eiserman and sophomore forward Kamil Bednarik tallied the assists.
“There’s definitely some things we needed to get better at,” said Pandolfo. “And I thought over the course of the game, we did. So that’s a positive for sure.”
