BOSTON — Three takeaways from the Boston University men’s hockey team’s 4-1 victory over Union College at Agganis Arena on Saturday night:
Union couldn’t cash in on a bevy of early chances, and BU made them pay.
Not a minute into the first, Garnet Chargers’ assistant captain John Prokop found himself through on goal and all alone. His shot was saved by Mathieu Caron, but the rebound floated over the senior goaltender’s head and into the mouth of goal. It eventually dropped just inches wide.
It’s impossible to know if the result would’ve been different had that puck — or a rebound attempt at the crease three minutes later, or a point-blank look at the doorstep two minutes after that — gone in. But Union had its chances early.
And when playing against these Terriers, you need to cash in.
After Union’s onslaught of chances came and went, BU (2-0-0) opened the scoring on what was barely a chance at all. Draped by an opponent in the circle at 8:38 of the first, assistant captain Shane Lachance controlled a pass with a deft skate, then rifled a wrister out of nowhere that somehow found the roof of Union’s goal. Freshman forward Alex Zetterberg rocketed a one-timer into the top corner soon after, and the floodgates opened from there. The Terriers found a third after freshman defenseman Cole Hutson split two defenders with an outrageous move at the blue line, then dumped it off for freshman forward Cole Eiserman who calmly slotted it through the five hole.
“I think we can clean it up defensively a lot… we gotta stop making those mistakes,” Lachance said, “but we’re always gonna be a team that’s not struggling to score.”
Union (2-1-0) outshot its third-ranked opponent, 17-13, in the first period.
“I can’t remember the last time we’ve given up 17 shots in a period,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said.
The Chargers still left down, 3-0.
The top line of Shane Lachance, Ryan Greene and Quinn Hutson once again led the way
The line combined for two goals (both from Greene) and seven assists in the opener against Holy Cross, and while it wasn’t nearly as productive on Saturday, it once again came up with a momentum-changing opening goal after a sluggish BU start.
“It was a huge goal,” Pandolfo said of Lachance’s opening tally. “Because they had the momentum. They were outplaying us, outworking us. And then to get that goal, it seemed like our bench relaxed a little bit.”
There was simply nothing the Chargers could do about Lachance’s goal. It was a bonafide stunner. Conventional wisdom suggested the strength of this line — with Greene and Lachance serving as co-captains and Hutson as an assistant — was in its reliability, rather than its capacity for jaw-dropping goals. Against Holy Cross, those moments came from freshman phenoms Eiserman and Cole Hutson, but if the top line can consistently provide them, too, it would add a new dimension to BU’s attack.
“I surprised myself a little bit, to be honest,” Lachance said. “A little bit outside my range.”
Also: It’s obvious what kind of identity the line has assumed as the team’s leaders — specifically Lachance, who scuffled with opponents after the whistle constantly over the first two games and made BU’s case to the officials at multiple instances.
The biggest difference between Cole and Lane Hutson? Cole plays north to south.
When Cole Hutson began moving laterally with the puck in the neutral zone late in the first period, the two Union defenders in the area moved with him.
It was the right idea. Cole Hutson has been endlessly compared to his older brother, Lane, who made a living off adept side-to-side movement in his two spectacular seasons on Comm. Ave.
But Cole Hutson dropped his shoulder. He turned north in a blink, left both defenders in the dust, and as a vicious hit awaited him in the center of BU’s offensive zone, suddenly dropped off a perfect pass for Eiserman, who potted the Terriers’ third goal.
“It’s just stupid, the things he can do with the puck,” Eiserman said.
Hutson paid the price, but his aggressiveness going downhill created the goal.
He’s dazzled so far, and most of his best moments have looked quite a bit like that one — No. 44 moving north to south, and nobody in opposing colors knowing what to do about it.
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