In a game highlighted by two goals from freshman Joel Farabee and a milestone assist for senior captain Bobo Carpenter, the BU men’s hockey team skated to a 4-2 victory over #17/15 Arizona State on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
The Terriers (10-9-3, 8-5-2 HE) conceded first for the fourth consecutive game, lasting just about six minutes at a scoreless deadlock before the Sun Devils (16-10-1) took the lead. It was senior Anthony Croston who netted the opener, scoring from close range off the pass from sophomore Filips Buncis.
“We have to find a way to get the first goal,” remarked BU head coach Albie O’Connell. “But our response is normally pretty good.”
BU’s response to this early deficit was no different than the positive response Coach O’Connell alluded to, as the Terriers came storming back with a goal of their own through Joel Farabee at 10:46. On a turnover deep in the Arizona State end, freshman Jack DeBoer found Farabee alone in front of the net, and the standout freshman did the rest, deking around junior keeper Joey Daccord to slide in his seventh goal of the season.
“Joel’s been really coming on,” said O’Connell. “He’s a threat.”
The initial turnover was forced by captain Bobo Carpenter, providing the senior with a milestone point on the second assist. With a total of 56 goals and 44 assists, Carpenter reached 100 points as the Terrier – the 83rd player in team history to hit that mark.
“It’s makes you look back [at] the players you played with that helped you get to that mark,” reflected the captain. “It’s pretty special.”
“I love Bobo,” commended Coach O’Connell. “Everything he gets, he deserves.”
As the period came to a close, junior Patrick Curry gave BU the lead with 38 seconds remaining before the first intermission. After sophomore Ty Amonte won the puck in the corner, junior Patrick Harper moved it along to classmate Patrick Curry, who lofted the puck over Daccord to pot his sixth goal of the campaign and put the Terriers on top at the break.
The teams traded punches at the start of the second period before the Terriers doubled their lead at the 7:16 mark. It was Farabee again who lit the lamp for BU, with his centering pass taking a convenient bounce off a defender and into the ASU net for his second goal of the game, and eighth as a Terrier. The assists were credited to co-captains Carpenter and junior Dante Fabbro.
“I just kind of got a lucky bounce there,” admitted Farabee.
Just as the Terriers had in the first period, the Sun Devils came up with a quick response to bring the BU lead back to one. At 9:12, junior captain Brinson Pasichnuk drove in a laser from the point on the assist from freshman Demetrios Koumontzis to quiet any momentum held by the Terriers after the second Farabee tally.
BU did end up with the last laugh in the middle stanza, again benefitting from a fortunate deflection to restore their two-goal lead. After passes from senior Ryan Cloonan and sophomore Shane Bowers just under 13 minutes into the period, Chad Krys’ effort from distance glanced off a Sun Devil and past Daccord for the sophomore’s fourth goal of the season.
“We got some bounces,” acknowledged O’Connell. “It was nice the puck was going in the net for us.”
The focus for the Terriers shifted towards defense in the last 20 minutes, and BU’s work in their own zone was rock-solid throughout the final period, killing off two Sun Devil power plays along the way. Jake Oettinger stood tall for BU, making several key stops late en route to totaling 38 saves on the game. BU’s defensive emphasis would pay off, as the game finished 4-2.
Between Farabee’s two goals and Carpenter’s 100th assist, the two linemates had quite a night. As both players acknowledged after the game, this freshman-senior duo has developed a strong relationship on the ice that has helped the pair get the most out of their respective play.
“We’re both hard workers,” said Farabee. “that creates offense for ourselves.”
“I’ve never seen a player see the ice so well,” responded Carpenter. “The chemistry is there for sure.”
The Terriers will look to take the series sweep over the Sun Devils when the teams return to Agganis Arena for a rematch at 7pm on Saturday, January 25.
Played a tough battling game. The best news is we beat a good team and still did not play our best. I thought we did some very good things we went to the net we just turned the puck over to much. We also made them turnover the puck as well. Good goaltending we need to do a better job of limiting there shots jake is consistently seeing 40+shots a game. Fabro and Ferance move the puck so well and settle the team down and set the pace. Crotty has picked up his game as well he’s moving the puck with confidence. I’m also very happy with Cloonan. A lot of people won’t remember but Arizona was making a big push at the end of second we iced the puck the Arizona forward had 4 steps on Cloonan and Ryan beat him to the dot which was huge if that’s icing we loose the last change we have tired guys on ice and we may burn our time out. Great job remember terrier fans this team is rolling and we have not played our best hockey yet. Go bu🐾
Also one thing we need to do better is break out of our zone. Our D need to move the puck faster our wings are high and stationary. Teams are able to anticipate where the puck is going we need to come off the wall and move. It’s harder to cover a moving target. The key is D needs to get the outlet pass off quicker. Small tweaks and we will be even more dangerous
You score, you win. Simple. Just maybe BU is finding itself as a team. Beanpot win ? Looks good.
The Beanpot is wide open this year. BC right now is TERRIBLE, something we haven’t witnessed in decades, Northeastern has been up there both in Hockey East and nationally all year, but we almost beat them twice earlier this year. Harvard is a good team but also a team we mostly shut down in our meeting earlier this month. The Terriers are starting to hit their stride as a team now, skating well, taking advantage of their opportunities and gaining confidence needed in order to have consistent success. There was some puck luck last night vs Ariz. State but that’s what you need against a top goalie like Daccord who earlier this year shut out the beagles. Terriers gave up a lot of shot in 3rd last night but mostly due to Aziz. State multiple PP. rteme,ber when you’re ahead you don’t have to score. Lets hope the trend continues.
Loving the optimism guys – Also, couldn’t agree more with the points about the Terriers improving on offense and simultaneously improving their results. Go BU!