NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — In his weekly media call on Thursday, head coach Jay Pandolfo said that his team couldn’t afford to take any steps back at this point in the season.
That didn’t stop the Boston University men’s hockey team from dropping the infamous Beanpot trap game to Merrimack, 2-1, in overtime at Lawler Arena on Friday night.
“We got back to too many individuals trying to play by themselves,” Pandolfo said postgame.
Freshman forward Caelan Fitzpatrick lifted the Warriors (11-15-1, 7-9-1 Hockey East) over the No. 8 Terriers (15-10-1, 10-6-1 HE) just 20 seconds into overtime.
“Didn’t play a team game. Guys that didn’t even want to compete. Didn’t even break a sweat, some of our guys,” Pandolfo added.
BU was treading water from the opening puck drop on Friday. Merrimack controlled possession in the offensive zone early as the Terriers looked to wake up. Freshman Mikhail Yegorov was stout again, making 26 saves in the loss.
“He’s very good,” Warriors head coach Scott Borek said postgame. “He’s not gonna be in college hockey long.”
But it was BU who opened the scoring at 13:24 of the first period. From the top of the left circle, sophomore forward Jack Harvey rifled a wrister off the crossbar for his eighth goal of the season.
Harvey’s moment of solo brilliance was all the Terriers could hold onto on Friday. The BU offense struggled immensely for much of the game. Merrimack’s team defense was solid in containing BU’s firepower.
Pandolfo was critical of his forwards after the loss, citing a lack of compete. From his point of view, some players “didn’t want to play tonight.”
“Not winning puck battles, not working back, coasting, not finishing a check, all of those things I didn’t like,” he said.
Sophomore defenseman Gavin McCarthy didn’t play Friday after exiting Monday’s Beanpot semifinal early against Harvard. Sophomore Mick Frechette entered the lineup for the first time since Jan. 17 against New Hampshire, in place of McCarthy.
Graduate Brehdan Engum took McCarthy’s usual stop on the top pair with freshman Cole Hutson, and Frechette slotted in with senior Jack Page on the third pair. Pandolfo thought his six blueliners were “fine” against Merrimack.
The Warriors tied the game on the power play at 17:33 of the first. Freshman forward Nick Pierre beat sophomore defenseman Tom Willander around the outside, cut in, and fired a wrister on Yegorov. The netminder got a piece of Pierre’s wrister, but the puck trickled past him and into the net.
“He’s really hard to play against because his center of gravity is so low,” Borek said of the five-foot-nine Pierre.
The final 40 minutes of regulation were a back-and-forth affair. The Terriers struggled to beat sophomore goaltender Max Lundgren, who made 24 saves in the win. The Warriors had the better chances, but Yegorov stood tall.
“He kept us in the game, that’s for sure,” Pandolfo said. “It would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for him.”
Winning the opening draw in overtime is crucial. Fitzpatrick bested junior co-captain Ryan Greene at the center dot and was rewarded with the winning goal. Junior blueliner Zach Bookman carried the puck into the offensive zone and found Fitzpatrick driving the net, who knocked the puck past Yegorov.
The focus now shifts back to TD Garden for the Terriers, who will square off with Boston College in the Beanpot final on Monday. BU needs to reset and “get back to work.”
“Some individuals have to figure out what they need to do to help our team,” Pandolfo said. “That’s a big part of it.”
Just the wrong mix of players this season. Not enough guys who don’t accept losing and don’t accept sub-par efforts. That said, it’s up to Pando and the coaches to bring in the right kids (though it’s not always easy given how early kids are recruited). But the Portal gives you second chances if you use it correctly.
Pando has had tremendous success in 2.5 years compared to most other programs but he has a blind spot RE: defense (the D corps and team defense). We essentially played 4D last season and there’s not enough defensive talent nor depth in this season’s roster. You can’t rely on a generational player (like Macklin) to cover things up nor a goaltender to bail you out night in and night out. It eventually broke Caron.
At some point, the coaches (and perhaps a new assistant who truly knows how to coach defense) will need to adjust and implement a more balanced system. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what BC has done this season. Doesn’t mean they are unbeatable, but it gives them far more margin for error than BU.
BU is a bubble NCAA Tourney team that can make a run if they get in and Big Mike stands on his head. But a shift in recruiting and coaching philosophy is needed starting this offseason to make the final jump and stay consistently elite.
Mike
No argument Mike, (wish we had Ty Gallagher)- but last night the number of forwards who took the night off was alarming. As the coach said: “Not winning puck battles, not working back, coasting, not finishing a check, all of those things I didn’t like,” – “Didn’t play a team game. Guys that didn’t even want to compete. Didn’t even break a sweat.” Embarrassing and frustrating, especially at time in the season when peaking is crucial. PSD
IMO the real problem for BU is not recruiting good players who fit into the system but RETAINING their stars for more than just a year or two. By contrast, BC was able to keep most of the plethora of talent they had last year as well as adding more this year and explains why they are the #1 ranked team in the nation. Could BU have retained players like Leonard, Perrault, Stiga and Fowler for more than one season. Lane Hudson was also a Hobey Baker candidate for 2 years and along with Celebrini present BU reached 2 consecutive Frozen Fours, One beanpot title, one HockeyEast championship. ( Terrific success with Pandolfo , as you say Mike.) However what if the two stayed for more than 3 of a possible 8 years they could have remained? What more could the program had achieved. Yes changing recruiting would help. Ask an incoming recruit why they are coming to play for the Terriers. If the answer is for exposure and training and turn pro as soon as they are drafted than no because it won’t help us long turn building the program. The coaches need to do a better job selling the entire package, an education and hockey to the recruits. Of course if we win Monday , which is entirely possible, we might be having a different discussion post game.
Well said Vito – To that point, I am becoming concerned with our ability to compete with NIL money. PSD
A friend noted that BC kind of lucked out with their ability to keep guys a little longer than normal. If PHI didn’t cheap out on Cutter Gauthier when he wanted to make the jump to the NHL (twice!) he wouldn’t have been at BC last season and they don’t necessarily make the title game. And if they don’t get inches from a title, Leonard may not be motivated to be at BC this season and instead he’d be scoring for the Caps. Domino effect.
The reality is, really no high-pick NHL-ready kids are staying at college any more than 2 seasons so that’s just the landscape we’re now dealing with. Which, IMO, is why you need to have a balanced system (ours is really only one-way focused) and recruit a team of players who are all wired the same way – whether they are stars or 4-year players / role players. Kind of the best of both worlds. Hungry kids and hungry stars.
It’s easier said than done but the Portal helps you make up for mistakes. Regardless, until Pando focuses on both offense and defense in his system/coaching, we’re just an offensive team that requires a stand-on-his-head goalie. You can win that way but it’s not sustainable.
Big Mike has given up only 6 goals in 4 games. Our record? 2-2. Imagine if shell-shocked Caron was still in there. We could have had another Yale situation and been 1-3 or 0-4. I feel for any goalie in our system.
Until BU learns to play team defense, their chances of going all the way are tied to generational forwards and elite goaltending. As PSD noted, as NIL $ slowly ramps up in college hockey, it’s going to be harder for college hockey programs not tied to football schools to pluck those key guys (unless you’re North Dakota). So balance is the key to sustainable shots at a title.
Thus, a few things need to be addressed. We HAVE to recruit more 2-way defensemen and we need an assistant that is a defensive guru. Joe and Kim flipping O and D responsibilities the past few years (from what I understand) feels a little Patricia/Judge Patriots to me. Both have their talents (Joe-recruiting and Kim-skating/skills) but they need to add an elite defensive assistant.
As a parallel (for you hoops fans), Dan Hurley knows he messed up the portal this past summer by wasting a spot on Mahaney when they needed a defensive stopper and/or ball handler to replace Castle and Newton in his balanced system. He knows you can only win titles with offense and defense and will rectify his mistake next offseason with the right pieces. The question is, does Pando know he NEEDS to change to a balanced system and will he adjust accordingly, this summer.
Mike
Monday night could very be a total embarrassment. Yergy needs to pitch a shut out
BU hockey team has a great opportunity to win the Beanpot championship game against BC on Monday and move up to the number one spot in the NCAA.
GO BU!