BU Mens Hockey wins 10th Hockey East title in overtime | BU Today

Lane Hutson (CAS26) didn’t see the tournament-winning goal go into the net in the Hockey East championship game Saturday night at TD Garden, but he definitely heard it.

In the Hockey East finals, No. 1 Boston University and No. 2 Merrimack College met on March 18, where the Terriers defeated the Warriors in an overtime thriller 3-2.

As the puck dropped over the raucous crowd at 7 p.m. sharp, opposing teams, bands and student sections exchanged shots both on and off the ice. More than five uninterrupted minutes of hockey set the tone for the start of the game.

That was until Merrimack linebacker Mike Brown committed a minor penalty that put BU on the hook Matt Brown (Questrom23). However, an early occupation opportunity would hurt terriers. Most of the penalty was killed, and Warriors forward Ben Brar made a perfect pass to defenseman Christian Felton, who found the BU goaltender’s five-hole. Drew Clerk (CAS24), beats Merrimack 1-0.

BU’s counterattack came in the form of a swarming offense. The Terriers cut off several shots against Merrimack netminder Hugo Olla, challenging the Swedish sophomore early. Merrimack’s Tristan Crozier drove in Hutson to score the Warriors’ second game.

The Terriers managed five shots, including a shot by Jay OBrien (COM23) that bounced off the pipe before Merrimack managed to kill off a penalty.

As the period ended, BU still couldn’t find the back of the net, and Merrimack continued to play aggressively. BU captain Domenick Fensore (CAS23) was leveled on the boards by Merrimacks Crozier. Fensore slowly got up and left the ice, but returned minutes later, just in time for Merrimacks Brown and Brar to take two minor penalties within nine seconds of each other. BU closed out the final 30 seconds of the first period on a 5-3 run and led Merrimack in shots 10-9.

The second set opened with a two-man advantage in the second minute and a half, and BU continued to knock on Ollas’ door until they evened the scores. On his fifth shot of the night, Hockey East Rookie of the Year Hutson drove Fensore perfectly for a ted-up pass, tying his team at 1-1.

With fresh ice, we wanted to make sure we took the right shot, says the head coach Jay Pandolfo (CAS96). Lane decided he liked the look and, as usual, finished it off.

The second set offered the Terriers more attacking opportunities. Luke tuch (COM24) fired his own shot from the barrel, one of 12 of the season. Meanwhile, Commesso picked up where he left off last night and handled everything the Merrimack threw at him. Against Providence, Commesso made 37 saves.

The Terriers suffered another injury when Nick Zabaneh (COM24), the hero in BUs 7-3 quarterfinal win over UVM on March 11, landed his body awkwardly against the boards. Zabaneh did not return and was on crutches for the postgame award ceremony.

Zabaneh’s exit reminded fans of his injuries Case McCarthy (Questrom23) the night before. In the second period of Friday’s semifinal game, McCarthy fell hard into the boards, momentarily immobilizing him on the ice. He was removed on a stretcher and later found to have a broken collarbone. McCarthy was unable to play, but was present for Saturday’s championship game, where he announced BU’s lineup to the team in a locker room pregame.

Getting him back here was huge, says Pandolfo. He announced the starting lineup for our team and I think it was important that our guys saw that they were fit.

In addition to McCarthy and Zabaneh, BU’s first line forward Wilmer Skoog (CAS23) was also unable to play as he was suspended for Friday’s semifinal game against Providence.

The back-and-forth tempo was broken 15 minutes into the second period when Merrimack’s Crozier made a huge pass and attacked forward Mac Welsher. With the puck on his stick, Welsher put a wrist shot past Commesso to take the lead, 2-1 Warriors.

At the end of the period, BU attacked Ollas and increased its shot advantage to 22-17, but could not find the goal.

Early in the third, BU looked to tie the game as the Terriers fought their way into the Merrimacks’ offensive zone.

Before mid-episode forward Devin Kaplan (CAS26) took on the task of weaving the puck into the attack zone. Dancing through traffic, he crossed the middle of the Merrimacks zone and fired a wrist shot over Ollas’ right shoulder to tie the game at 2-2.

The Terriers continued to bleed into the Merrimacks zone, testing Olla with repeated barrages. The battle between Commesso and Ollas kept the third set tied and sent the Hockey East final into overtime.

In less than two minutes, Hutson rounded the Hockey East final with his stick and buried the tournament winner in the back of the net from the top of the zone, ending the game 3-2. A terrier craze ensued.

BU players tumbled onto the ice and piled on top of Hutson, Commesso and each other in a sea of ​​scarlet and white. Saturday’s result was BU’s 39th conference title and first since 2018. Referring to his brother Quinn Hutson (CAS26) game-winning goal on Friday, Lane says he was happy to beat BU in the final.

I think it’s great that Quinn won yesterday, Hutson says. Today was pretty special. My parents are here and my youngest brother is here. That’s pretty special.

After Saturday’s win, Lane Hutson was named the MVP of the Hockey East tournament. Pandolfo became the first coach to win a Hockey East championship in his first season and was named Hockey East Coach of the Year on March 15.

BU’s Division I No. 5 team automatically advances to the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers will play No. 12 Western Michigan at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 23 at SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH.

If BU wins, they will face the winner of No. 4 Denver and No. 13 Cornell on Saturday, March 25 at 4 p.m. From there, the winner of the Manchester Regions will play in the Frozen Four on the 6th-8th. April at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Manchester Regional tickets are available for purchase here.