By James Garrison
The Boston University Terriers’ (29-11-0) magical run came to an end in Tampa Thursday night, falling to the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (29-9-1) 6-2. BU said goodbye to 10 seniors, all of whom returned to play in this very game.
“It’s disappointing because these guys to the left of me (Fensore and O’Brien) and the rest of the senior class, they are a huge reason why we got back to this point,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said postgame.
Both Nick Zabaneh and Wilmer Skoog suited up despite dealing with injuries. Zabaneh skated a regular shift and looked close to his regular self. Skoog though, reportedly dealing with a broken finger, only took shifts on BU’s three power plays.
The Terriers got off on the wrong foot to open the contest. The scarlet and white were caught back on their heels with the Gophers buzzing early. Minnesota came all-too close multiple times in the opening minutes.
Drew Commesso came up enormous in the opening minute with a tip save and a desperation pad stop on Jaxon Nelson. A minute later, Jimmy Snuggerud beat Commesso, only for the dribbling shot to glance off the post.
“At the start of the game, we were on our heels,” Pandolfo said. “They came out hard, I give them credit –– they’re a heck of a hockey team. They were all over us in the first period.”
The Terriers eventually discovered their five-on-five game, getting on the board for the opening tally. An eager Sam Stevens got to the net first and cleaned up the rebound from Domenick Fensore’s point shot. No longer tasked with shutting down the Gopher’s top line, the fourth line contributed at the other end of the ice.
What killed the Terriers in the second half of the period was something they seemed to have grown out of: a lack of discipline. The Terriers took three minor penalties in the first period, with the most egregious one coming from a high hit from Jay O’Brien.
“Penalties cost us,” Pandolfo said. “You can’t give that team seven power plays. It’s just not winning hockey for us and we have to learn from it.”
As great teams do, Minnesota capitalized on the ensuing power play. Mike Koster’s wrister found its way past Commesso following a failed clearing attempt from Zabaneh.
After Koster’s tally, the penalties continued for the Terriers and the goals continued for the Gophers. Luke Tuch took his second penalty of the first period, giving Minnesota an opportunity to double up their total.
It didn’t take long. Minnesota’s second unit quickly brought them the lead. Aaron Huglen found Rhett Pitlick at the back door with a between-the-legs pass, with Commesso having no chance to make a save.
After surrendering two goals in 50 seconds, the Terriers were really just looking to get out of the period. The Gophers had rediscovered their downhill momentum thanks to BU’s parade to the penalty box.
That momentum resulted in another goal for the Gophers –– only for a moment though. Pandolfo wisely challenged the call, as a 3-1 deficit against the top team in the country is a much worse scenario than a mere lost timeout.
The Terriers, resilient as ever, were able to find the equalizer midway through the second with a man-advantage of their own. O’Brien tipped in Fensore’s point shot at 11:54 of the middle frame.
“In the second we adjusted a little bit,” Pandolfo said. “We started doing things that we know could be successful and we started controlling the game. I think they might have only had two shots in the first 10-15 minutes of that second period.”
Once again their own worst enemies, the Terriers’ back end headed to the penalty box, one man after another.
Lane Hutson, Ty Gallager and Cade Webber all took penalties in short order. BU was forced to kill off two separate five-on-three opportunities, with the second occuring in the opening minute of the final frame.
“We were flying in the second,” Fensore said. “Discipline kind of caught up to us there and you give a team that many power plays, they’re gonna score.”
The puck luck that found BU early on in the first period blessed them again late in the third. The Terriers were the benefactors of two late-period goal reviews. Ryan Johnson’s blast from the point rang the crossbar and Bryce Brodzinski’s rebound opportunity nearly –– and almost maybe –– gave the Gophers the go-ahead tally.
At this point, the thread that BU was hanging on by was microscopic.
“It’s really hard to win,” Pandolfo said. “I didn’t think we gave ourselves a great chance.”
Minnesota’s momentum carried over into the third period, and the thread quickly tore. Luke Mittelstadt fired a wrister from the near circle, beating the glove side of Commesso. The Gophers kept it going at even strength –– it was Mittelstadt once again. The freshman defenseman’s blast padded Minnesota’s lead –– one they would not relinquish.
Logan Cooley added a pair of empty netters to ice the contest.
For the Terriers’ infractions, it was a mix of undisciplined play and simply being overwhelmed by the speed of Minnesota. A large factor Thursday night was Minnesota’s ability to neutralize Hutson, with BU having little response to deal with the dominance of the Knies-Cooley-Snuggerud line.
It obviously wasn’t the result the Terriers wanted. It’s not a program built on moral victories or silver linings. Despite that, the program had slipped. It had slipped to a point where anything but change was a disservice to its legacy.
Along with a first-year head coach and a tremendous freshman class, the Terriers’ 10-man senior class played an irreplaceable role in the re-establishment of the programs’ high standard. Domenick Fensore and Jay O’Brien will not be remembered as national champions, but they will be the leaders that brought Boston University hockey back to where it belongs.
“I think all of them as a whole taught the younger guys what it takes and what we expect every day…I think our younger guys bought into it.” Pandolfo said. “For them to buy in the way they did, I think it’s propelled the program moving forward.”