Back on Track - BU vs. Merrimack Recap

By: L. Tyler Murray

The road to recovery starts here. The Boston University men’s hockey team (3-6-0, 2-5-0 HE) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and was able to hold on for a 6-4 victory over Merrimack (6-4-0, 3-2-0 HE) Saturday night. The win avenged a disastrous 6-3 loss to the Warriors, which BU suffered the night before.

The Terriers came out firing, as junior captain Kevin Shattenkirk (’11) scored his second goal of the year within the first minute of the game. Sophomore Ross Gaudet (’12) earned his first collegiate goal just two minutes later, as BU bullrushed senior goaltender Andrew Braithwaite early on. He wouldn’t make it past the first period, as goals from sophomore Chris Connoly (’12) and freshman Max Nicastro (’13) forced coach Mark Dennehy to pull Braithwaite in favor of Joe Cannata (3-3-0), who ultimately got the loss.

“I very rarely take a goalie out,” said Dennehey. “Usually it’s for his own good…we didn’t play very well in front of him.”

The coach’s decision to start Braithwaite came as somewhat of a surprise, especially after Cannata shut down the Terriers through several extended 5-on-3s on Friday. Nevertheless, Dennehey was adamant in his belief that Merrimack has “the best two goalies in the league.”

As for the Terriers’ third and fourth goals, each one held far more significance than just extending the lead.

Connoly’s goal was assisted by junior Nick Bonino (’11). The assistant captain made his triumphant return on Saturday, seeing his first action since dislocating his right shoulder against Michigan. Bonino showed signs of fatigue, but his presence on the first line allowed BU to effectively spread the attack and create the most scoring chances they’ve had all year.

“It felt great to get back in the lineup and it felt great to get a win,” said Bonino. “It’s tough to get the timing back; there’s plays where you might lose guys for a second…but hopefully that’ll come back to me.”

Nicastro’s goal was a blue line snipe shot, good for his first collegiate score. The freshman has been solid on defense all year, but his scoring ability could help him adequately fill the Brian Strait-shaped hole left by the current Pittsburg Penguin defenseman.

Staked to a four-goal lead after one period, the Terriers headed into the locker room in high spirits. However, the Warriors returned to the ice with a marked resilience, as they answered back with two goals in the second period. Freshman Stephane Da Costa assisted on the first goal and scored the second, extending his team-leading point total to 13. He would later make it 14 by assisting on Merrimack’s fourth goal.

“He’s real good...I’m not being facetious,” Dennehey said. “He’s ridiculous. He touches the puck and it’s his game.”

As for Da Costa himself, the Paris, France product was less excited about the losing effort.

“We didn’t come out strong, didn’t play our game, and didn’t bring the intensity we should have.”

Midway through the third period, it looked as if Merrimack might claw all the way back and get their first road win of the season. With goals from sophomore Elliot Sheen and junior Joe Cucci, the Warriors cut the lead to 5-4 with 12 minutes to play. To make matters worse for the Terriers, Nicastro, freshman Sean Escobedo (’13), and senior Eric Gryba (’10) all committed penalties within one minute of each other, creating an extended 5-on-3 opportunity for the opposition.

Fortunately for Terrier Nation, the BU penalty kill held strong behind sophomore goaltender Grant Rollheiser (’12), who also returned from injury and got his first start and win of the season.

“We needed a win and he got it for us,” Parker said. “He certainly stood tall in the first period especially.”

“He was great,” said Shattenkirk. “I think he just competed tonight and whenever a goalie plays like that, it just gives the defensemen confidence.”

After BU killed off all three penalties, they played keep-away until the final minute of the game, when Dennehey pulled Cannata from his post. The Terriers handled the 6-on-5 well, and junior Joe Pereira (’11) helped seal the deal with a diving play to get the puck up to Connoly, who methodically scored an empty-netter to put the game out of reach.

 "This is big for us tonight, keeping our team morale up," Shattenkirk said. "We need to kind of remember this feeling and remember what it really takes to get a win"

Quick Hits

- Before Shattenkirk’s 5-on-5 goal in the first minute of the game, BU had gone over 214 minutes without scoring an even strength goal.

-Ryan Santana, Luke Popko, Ross Gaudet, and Nick Bonino all tallied their first points of the season. The only remaining scoreless Terriers are all freshman: Justin Courtnall, Sean Escobedo, and Ben Rosen.

-After defeating Merrimack on Saturday, the Terriers improve to 3-6 overall. The last time Denver University repeated as national champions (2004 and 2005), they started out with a record of 3-6.

The Terriers head to Durham, NH on Friday to take on the New Hampshire Wildcats at 7 p.m. We’ll have all the coverage right here on wtbusports.com.