Men's Hockey vs. Merrimack College (2/1/08)
by Sopan Deb
If the Boston University Terriers were looking to cure their recent home woes, the Merrimack College Warriors provided the perfect medicine. BU (8-13-4, 7-8-3 Hockey East) defeated Merrimack (10-12-2, 4-12-1 HE) for the 12th straight time, behind a big third period, 4-1 at Agganis Arena. The Terriers broke a three game winless streak and improved to 3-6-1 at home on the year.
Junior forwards Brandon Yip and Chris Higgins each had goals for BU and sophomore goalie Brett Bennett saved 17 shots to buoy the Terriers to a rare home victory. BU also saw their power play come alive with two goals, one from freshman forward Colin Wilson.
“This was the best home game we’ve played all year,” BU head coach Jack Parker said. “It was an excellent effort from start to finish. Our power play came alive again”
BU asserted themselves offensively early, having many opportunities to put pressure on Merrimack sophomore goalie Andrew Braithwaite.
However, it was the Warriors who struck first at 5:40 on a goal by sophomore forward Matt Jones. Freshman defenseman Adam Ross took a slap shot from the left point which deflected to a perfectly positioned Jones on Bennett’s left. Jones shoved in the rebound for his 12th goal of the year.
Senior forward Craig Sanders delivered one of the best hits of the season with about 11 minutes left in the first, when he went head on with Ross and sent him flying on to the rink. Sanders was filling in for injured forward Ryan Weston, who was out with a day-to-day injury.
Yip tied the game at 1 late in the first when junior defenseman Matt Gilroy took a slap shot from the right side and the puck got buried underneath a scrum of BU and Merrimack players. Finally, the puck rattled loose and Yip shoved a rebound home for his seventh goal of the season.
The second period was a back and forth affair with neither team asserting dominance. Only nine shots were taken between the two teams combined. However, it seemed that the Terriers had saved it all for the final frame.
In the third, BU struck early when Higgins put in a power-play goal. Gilroy swung the puck to senior forward Pete MacArthur on the right point who attempted to dump it down low to Higgins. Higgins, with a heads-up play, backhanded the puck through his own legs and past Braithwaite for the go-ahead score. The Warriors were penalized five times in the third period which effectively killed their offensive flow.
“I just kind of threw it through my legs and luckily it got through there,” Higgins said.
Freshman forward Colin Wilson’s slapshot put the Terriers up 3-1 at 9:06 in the third. This prompted Merrimack to call a time out. BU played their trademark aggressive and physical style of play with effective forechecking.
“You have to outwork the opponent. It was just work, effort [and] desire,” Warriors head coach Mark Dennehy said. “It was a good road game. You can’t get outworked when it matters.”
“Obviously, it’s a huge confidence booster for us,” Bennett said. “We’ve had ups and downs all year. People are trying to write us off right now saying we can’t get it done and all that stuff, but the 27 guys in the locker room know that when we come out and play our best, we can make good things happen.”
Freshman forward Nick Bonino poured in his eighth goal of the season to make it 4-1 when he rebounded freshman defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk’s slapshot. He forced his way through Warriors sophomore defenseman Brandon Sadlowski for the rebound.
“We’ve been tied a lot going in to the third this year,” Bonino said. “[The goal] was symbolic of our effort after a week of hard practice.”
Terriers Notes:
- Juniors Jason Lawrence and Matt Gilroy played their 100th game of their collegiate careers.
If the Boston University Terriers were looking to cure their recent home woes, the Merrimack College Warriors provided the perfect medicine. BU (8-13-4, 7-8-3 Hockey East) defeated Merrimack (10-12-2, 4-12-1 HE) for the 12th straight time, behind a big third period, 4-1 at Agganis Arena. The Terriers broke a three game winless streak and improved to 3-6-1 at home on the year.
Junior forwards Brandon Yip and Chris Higgins each had goals for BU and sophomore goalie Brett Bennett saved 17 shots to buoy the Terriers to a rare home victory. BU also saw their power play come alive with two goals, one from freshman forward Colin Wilson.
“This was the best home game we’ve played all year,” BU head coach Jack Parker said. “It was an excellent effort from start to finish. Our power play came alive again”
BU asserted themselves offensively early, having many opportunities to put pressure on Merrimack sophomore goalie Andrew Braithwaite.
However, it was the Warriors who struck first at 5:40 on a goal by sophomore forward Matt Jones. Freshman defenseman Adam Ross took a slap shot from the left point which deflected to a perfectly positioned Jones on Bennett’s left. Jones shoved in the rebound for his 12th goal of the year.
Senior forward Craig Sanders delivered one of the best hits of the season with about 11 minutes left in the first, when he went head on with Ross and sent him flying on to the rink. Sanders was filling in for injured forward Ryan Weston, who was out with a day-to-day injury.
Yip tied the game at 1 late in the first when junior defenseman Matt Gilroy took a slap shot from the right side and the puck got buried underneath a scrum of BU and Merrimack players. Finally, the puck rattled loose and Yip shoved a rebound home for his seventh goal of the season.
The second period was a back and forth affair with neither team asserting dominance. Only nine shots were taken between the two teams combined. However, it seemed that the Terriers had saved it all for the final frame.
In the third, BU struck early when Higgins put in a power-play goal. Gilroy swung the puck to senior forward Pete MacArthur on the right point who attempted to dump it down low to Higgins. Higgins, with a heads-up play, backhanded the puck through his own legs and past Braithwaite for the go-ahead score. The Warriors were penalized five times in the third period which effectively killed their offensive flow.
“I just kind of threw it through my legs and luckily it got through there,” Higgins said.
Freshman forward Colin Wilson’s slapshot put the Terriers up 3-1 at 9:06 in the third. This prompted Merrimack to call a time out. BU played their trademark aggressive and physical style of play with effective forechecking.
“You have to outwork the opponent. It was just work, effort [and] desire,” Warriors head coach Mark Dennehy said. “It was a good road game. You can’t get outworked when it matters.”
“Obviously, it’s a huge confidence booster for us,” Bennett said. “We’ve had ups and downs all year. People are trying to write us off right now saying we can’t get it done and all that stuff, but the 27 guys in the locker room know that when we come out and play our best, we can make good things happen.”
Freshman forward Nick Bonino poured in his eighth goal of the season to make it 4-1 when he rebounded freshman defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk’s slapshot. He forced his way through Warriors sophomore defenseman Brandon Sadlowski for the rebound.
“We’ve been tied a lot going in to the third this year,” Bonino said. “[The goal] was symbolic of our effort after a week of hard practice.”
Terriers Notes:
- Juniors Jason Lawrence and Matt Gilroy played their 100th game of their collegiate careers.
posted by Chris Aliano at
11:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home