BU men’s hockey escapes exhibition against Harvard with shootout win after 2-2 tie

BOSTON — After every win at Agganis Arena, the goaltender for the Boston University men’s hockey team greets the Dog Pound in celebration. Typically, it’s Mathieu Caron, but tonight, it was Max Lacroix.

“That’s Chewy’s thing,” the sophomore netminder said postgame. “Just excited for the win, exhibition or not, it’s a big win for us.”

Technically, the result of Saturday’s exhibition was a 2-2 tie against Harvard University. But after a scoreless overtime, the teams competed in a shootout, which the Terriers won, 2-1.

Much like last night against UConn and a week ago against Union, No. 3 BU (3-0-0, 1-0 Hockey East) started the game slow. Neither team recorded a shot on goal in the game’s first six minutes. But, at the 6:05 mark, the Terriers took the lead, or at least they thought they did.

Freshman defenseman Cole Huston ripped a wrister from the point, and sophomore forward Jack Harvey tipped the shot, forcing the Crimson junior goaltender Aku Kosenvuo to make a kick save. Junior co-captain Ryan Greene rifled the rebound home. But the goal was called back as Harvey’s tip was ruled a high stick.

Harvard (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Ivy) flipped a switch after the goal was waved off. It pressured BU into turnovers  in both the neutral and defensive zones, forcing Lacroix to make multiple point-blank saves. He stopped 25 of 27 shots on Saturday night.

“I thought he was excellent,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said of Lacroix. “It’s good to see him in live action.”

After a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Crimson picked up right where they left off, controlling the puck in their offensive zone and keeping the Terriers on their heels.

They finally made the home team pay 1:44 into the period, as Cole Hutson turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Senior co-captain Zakary Karpa picked it up and found freshman forward Justin Solovey, who beat Lacroix high glove side to give Harvard a 1-0 lead.

“Not trying to force plays, not trying to be too pretty,” senior forward Jack Hughes said of BU’s costly turnovers. “I think that’s part of the game we’re missing.”

Harvard didn’t let up after taking the lead, sustaining long periods of offensive zone time — bad enough that the Dog Pound erupted every time BU cleared the defensive zone.

The visitors tacked on another on the power play after junior forward Quinn Hutson was called for a hook.

Freshman defenseman Lucas St. Louis buried one home after playing tic-tac-toe with linemates Mick Thompson and Ryan Healey. That made it 2-0 Crimson at 19:13 of the second.

It seemed as if BU would head into the third down two goals. But with half a second left in the frame, Quinn Hutson cut the deficit to 2-1. Senior forward Matt Copponi found Hutson in the slot from below the goal line.

“We’re going to be in these situations over the course of the year,” Pandolfo said of trailing entering the third period. “Got to find a way to claw our way back.”

That they did. The Terriers seemed to come out for the third with an extra pep in their step.

Eight minutes into the final 20, Cole Hutson fired a stretch pass to a streaking Hughes, who ended up all alone with Koskenvuo. Hughes faked a shot, made a move to his backhand, and slotted it through the five-hole to knot the game at 2-2.

Hughes has been a bright spot in the lineup for BU. He was strong on pucks and made smart plays, said his head coach.

“He was excellent tonight,” Pandolfo said. “He’s a very intelligent player when he’s skating and making the simple plays. He can be really effective.”

BU kept its foot on the gas after tying the game but was unable to find a winner. The clock expired in the third period with the game at a deadlock.

The five-minute, three-on-three overtime period was back and forth as both teams traded shots on goal early, but when the horn sounded, the deadlock remained.

In the shootout, the Crimson took a 1-0 lead when senior forward Alex Gaffney beat Lacroix with his backhand. The third round saw Quinn Hutson tie it up, rifling the puck off the left post and in. In the fifth and final round, Harvey beat Koskenvuo through his five-hole to send the Agganis faithful home happy.

“The crowd got their money’s worth tonight,” Pandolfo said postgame. “It was nice to be able to get some guys that haven’t played much in the lineup.”

After all, it was just an exhibition, but as Pandolfo said, he was able to get freshman forward Nick Roukounakis, sophomore forward Jack Gorton and senior defenseman Jack Page in the lineup.

But more importantly, give key players a rest. Most notably in Caron. Freshman forward Cole Eiserman surprisingly also didn’t dress.

“It’s just maintenance,” Pandolfo said of Eiserman’s absence. “Nothing major at all.”

The team is going to need their anchor in goal and star freshman next weekend as they travel to Grand Forks to take on the University of North Dakota. 

“It’s going to be great for the group,” he said of the upcoming series. “The pressure is going to be on. It’s good for us.”