STORRS, Conn. — After squandering three separate leads and giving up eight goals less than 24 hours prior, Saturday’s performance by the Boston University men’s hockey team was exactly what BU needed.
The Terriers shipped down to the Toscano Family Ice Forum and took the game to No. 11 UConn (3-3-0, 1-1-0 Hockey East), taking down the Huskies 3-1 — something they struggled to do after the opening period on Friday.
Saturday’s series finale saw back-and-forth play for the first 20 minutes. No. 4 BU (3-3-1, 1-1-0 HE) forechecked well in the offensive and neutral zones but struggled to break out of its defensive zone at times.
Freshmen Jonathan Morello, John McNelis, and Ben Merrill — the Terriers’ fourth forward line — provided quality shifts in the first but were unable to crack Huskies’ senior netminder Tyler Muszelik.
Sophomore forward Cole Eiserman took a hard hit on the boards late in the first, went straight down the tunnel, and did not return to the game.
Junior forward Jack Harvey opened the scoring on the power play. The play started with freshman forward Conrad Fondrk, who found a streaking Jack Murtagh on the left wing. Murtagh, a freshman forward, fired a shot at Muszelik. Muszelik stopped the initial shot, but the puck squirted behind him, and Harvey swiped home his first tally of the season at 19:40 to put the Terriers up 1-0.
BU carried its momentum into the middle frame, maintaining its aggressiveness on and off the puck, earning a power play at 11:04 when senior forward Jake Percival was called for checking from behind.
The Terriers cashed in once again on the man advantage, this time, courtesy of senior forward Owen McLaughlin. He received a pass from sophomore forward Kamil Bednarik at the point, skated in, and ripped a wrist shot off the crossbar and in at 11:22 to double the BU lead.
UConn responded just over two minutes later at 13:37. Junior forward Joey Muldowney rifled home a one-timer from the right circle past sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov. The Huskies threatened after getting on the board, but the Terriers stuck to their game, limiting the damage.
Harvey’s second goal of the game put BU up 3-1 at the 15:11 mark of the second. McLaughlin found Harvey in the slot, who fired the puck home past Muszelik. Sophomore forward Sacha Boisvert, who’s missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, picked up an assist on the tally.
After killing off a tripping penalty to start the third period, UConn pressed hard to cut back into the BU lead, outshooting the Terriers seven to three in the final frame.
Yegorov, who was pulled after allowing six goals in Friday’s loss, stood on his head to preserve the BU lead. He finished with 24 saves.
Muszelik skated off for an extra skater at the 17:43 mark, but the Huskies were unable to find the back of the net despite a late push.
This story will be updated.
