By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff
Led by a pair of goals from sophomore Ross Gaudet, the Boston University men’s hockey team rolled to a 6-2 win over the No. 14/15 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Friday night at Agganis Arena.
BU junior Nick Bonino added three assists for the Terriers, giving him 100 points for his career. Junior Colby Cohen added a goal and an assist for BU, while sophomore goalie Kieran Millan made 39 saves.
Gaudet picked up his first goal after Bonino took in the puck in the right corner of the UMass zone and brought Minuteman junior Chase Langeraap to he’s knees with some fancy puck work. From there, Bonino passed to senior Eric Gryba at the right point, who ripped a shot at net.
UMass goalie Paul Dainton (31 saves) stopped the initial shot, but couldn’t control the rebound, which bounced out to the low-slot. Gaudet found the puck there, and with Dainton stuck to the right post, fired a shot into a wide-open cage for his sixth goal of the season.
Gaudet picked up his second tally with 4:33 left in the second period off a faceoff win by Bonino. The draw came back to Gaudet in the upper third of the left faceoff circle, where the Burlington rocketed a shot off the crossbar that bounced down into the goal area.
Friday night marked the first time that Gaudet and junior Joe Pereira joined Bonino on BU’s second line. Gaudet and Pereira finished the night with plus-2 ratings –– Bonino finished at plus-3.
Gaudet’s second goal jump-started a barrage of goals late in the second period. The Terriers scored again just 48 seconds later on the power play. From the right point, junior Colby Cohen wound and fired a shot at the left post. The shot was tipped at the top off the crease by UMass defender Martin Nolet, and snuck by Dainton to put the Terriers up, 3-0.
UMass responded 36 seconds later when senior captain Justin Braun’s shot bounced hard off Millan’s pads and kicked to Brian Keane. The junior had the entire net to look at on the rebound chance and didn’t miss, netting his second goal of the year.
The Terriers finished off the scoring spree with 1:39 left in the period with another power-play tally. C. Cohen, working from the left point, wristed a low shot at net, where sophomore Vinny Saponari was waiting. Saponari got his stick on the shot and tipped it by Dainton for BU’s fourth goal.
The Terriers dodged a bullet midway through the first period when sophomore netminder Kieran Millan was pulled out of his cage by a shot from UMass sophomore Casey Wellman. The rebound from Wellman’s shot skipped to junior Minuteman and the nation’s leading scorer James Marcou, but Marcou couldn’t sneak his shot by BU freshman Max Nicastro, who blocked the attempt with his shin guard and kept the game scoreless.
Senior Luke Popko added his first goal of the year in the final minute with BU shorthanded.
The Terriers put the icing on the cake with 4:53 left in the third. Freshman Max Nicastro netted his second of the year with a slap shot from center point into traffic. It appeared Dainton never saw the shot, which beat him straight through stick side. The goal was Nicastro’s second of the season.
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