BU sweeps UConn behind Caron shutout, Wilmer’s five points

The Boston University hockey team skated toward the Dog Pound waving their sticks at the Terrier faithful who kept the energy high throughout the entirety of the team’s victory over the University of Connecticut on Saturday evening. 

As the rest of the team turned toward the locker room, goaltender Mathieu Caron flew up the ice, jumping into the glass panel separating himself and the student section. Caron had just completed his second shutout in the scarlet and white. 

“It’s always easier when you have fans cheering for you,” Caron said. “They’re all great people, so it was my way of having a little fun.”

In high-scoring affairs, it’s easy to overlook the netminder. While the offense lit lamp after lamp and the scoreboard recorded tally after tally, Caron sacrificed his body at every high-level chance like the score was tied. As the regular season winds down, the goaltender has been stringing together his best stretch of play of the season — five goals allowed in the last four games. 

“He had a great weekend,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “He was excellent last night and to get a shutout going into the break … he was really good for us.”

Behind Caron’s shutout and sophomore forward Jeremy Wilmer’s five-point night, the No. 2 Terriers (22-8-2, 16-4-2 Hockey East) dominated the Huskies (12-17-2, 7-13-1 HEA) for the second straight night with a 6-0 win at Agganis Arena on Saturday.

“I was just happy with the way we finished. That showed a lot about our group,” Pandolfo said. “That’s what you need to do, that’s what good teams do.”

The Terriers dominated possession early in the contest with an offensive barrage on the Huskies’ senior goaltender Ethan Haider.

Sophomore forward Ryan Greene lifted the puck top shelf for a 1-0 lead five minutes in, however, UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh employed his challenge. The lengthy review vindicated Cavanaugh, disallowing the goal for offsides. 

The Terriers once again scratched their zero off the board near the end of the period. Luke Tuch charged into the offensive third and faked a shot causing Haider to over-commit stick side. The senior forward finished the wrap-around goal with ease at 17:53 for a 1-0 lead — his second goal of the series.

BU struck again just over three minutes into the middle frame. Sophomore forward Jeremy Wilmer entered the right side of the O-zone with nothing but space. Wilmer patiently waited for an opening, playing with the puck before tucking it into the near-side top corner at 3:04. 

“That felt good. [Kaplan] made a great play … I had a ton of time,” Wilmer said, humbly continuing, “The bounces were definitely going my way.”

Wilmer recorded a point on every single goal except for one for a five-point night, the first time recording such a stat line in his BU career. The sophomore earned just his sixth goal of the season, but the four assists placed him at the top of the team. 

“It just seemed like every time he had the puck, he was about to make a play,” Pandolfo said. “When he moves his feet, he creates so much offensively.”

Outside of Wilmer’s goal, Pandolfo wasn’t shy to call the second period “one of our worst periods in awhile.”

“Our second period was a mess, it was sloppy,” Pandolfo said. “But the way we played in the third … was excellent to see, and we extended the lead, and that’s how we need to play that to close out games.”

While BU’s newly formed freshman line of Macklin Celebrini, Jack Harvey and Shane Lachance has notched five goals in the last two games, this game demonstrated offensive production top to bottom — every single line recorded a goal in the contest.

After the Terriers shuffled their lines following the shootout loss to Providence last Friday, they have exploded for 17 goals in three games.

“We’re getting production from everyone,” Pandolfo said. “We have a lot of depth.”

Despite flying around the ice all game, the freshmen kid line wasn’t able to find the back of the net until 3:41 into the third period. Lachance perfectly fluttered a pass to the tape of Celebrini, who slotted a heat seeker past Haider for a 3-0 lead.

When it rains, it pours, and Agganis Arena was in a flash flood warning. Sophomore forward Quinn Hutson received a pass from Wilmer and took a hard angle top corner for his second goal of the weekend at 8:12. Then, senior forward Nick Zabaneh flipped the puck on the backdoor for a 5-0 Terriers lead, leading to the end of Haider’s night at 12:32.

The Huskies only recorded three shots in the final period. Frustration boiled over in the waning minutes of the contest as sophomore forward Devin Kaplan was called for a cross-check and, subsequently, UConn sophomore Ryan Tattle was called for roughing as the two kept jawing through the penalty box’s glass panels. 

With 4-on-4 hockey, Zabaneh took advantage of the extra space on his rush, putting his second goal of the night past fresh goaltender junior Matt Pasqual at 17:22 for the final nail in an imposing 6-0 victory over the Huskies. 

The Terrier will now enjoy a week off with their next action coming on March 7 when they return to Providence for a 7 p.m. puck drop.

“We’re focused on ourselves,” Caron said. “When we’re playing our best, we’re playing as a team and playing BU hockey, we’re pretty hard to beat.”