The Terriers, down 2-1 with just over three minutes remaining in the second period, pestered Boston College goaltender Jacob Fowler with shots, hunting for the equalizer.
However, a Luke Tuch boarding call at 17:51 gave breath to the Eagles’ lethal power play in which sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier scored to extend his team’s lead to 3-1 going into the third period.
That was the story of Saturday night’s Hockey East Championship game at TD Garden. Boston College’s power play and penalty kill each went 4-for-5, neutralizing any of BU’s even-strength efforts, and secured it the conference title with a 6-2 victory.
“Clearly, we didn’t get it done on the penalty kill. Didn’t have an answer for it. That was really the biggest difference of the game,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said postgame.
“Thought we were pushing really well there in the second period to make it 2-1, and then we take a penalty with 2:12 left…We’ve got to kill the penalty.”
A lack of discipline put BU behind early. Freshman forward Will Smith – who finished the night with five points (4g, 1a) – potted two power-play goals in the first period to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The first came while freshman forward Shane Lachance sat for slashing. Smith brought the puck down by the far left hash marks before snapping it on net where it bounced off graduate defenseman Case McCarthy’s skate and in for the 1-0 lead at 5:46.
Smith struck again just under three minutes later after sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson was called for tripping. Freshman forward Gabe Perreault carried the puck into the zone and dished it over the Smith on the right side to laser past junior goaltender Mathieu Caron off the rush and put the Eagles up 2-0 at 8:37.
“It sucks. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s not a fun feeling,” Case McCarthy said postgame. “That’s on us on the PK to shut those guys down. We knew that they had a great power play coming in. Tonight they just found a way.”
The Terriers had two opportunities on the man advantage in the opening frame as well but couldn’t break through BC’s No. 1 ranked penalty kill. The Eagles suffocated BU’s cycle and ended plays near the blue line.
In opposite fashion to Friday’s semifinal win against Maine, BU had its better chances 5-on-5 and struggled with special teams.
“Our power play wasn’t very good early,” Pandolfo said. “[The Eagles] do a good job of blocking shots, getting their clears 200 feet. When you do get a chance, their goalie was good.”
Gavin McCarthy cut the Terriers’ deficit to 2-1 at 4:24 of the second period. The freshman defenseman chose the biggest stage of his collegiate career thus far to score his first collegiate goal – a wrister from the point that whistled in and gave BU a much-needed boost.
“It was fun being on the ice with him and being able to go grab that puck,” Case said of his younger brother’s goal. “It was a cool older-brother moment for sure – to be on this stage and see how excited he was to finally get his first one.”
— Boston Hockey Blog (@BOShockeyblog) March 24, 2024
The Terriers tilted the ice following the tally, showing more tenacity on the forecheck and poise in the O-zone.
Senior forwards Dylan Peterson and Nick Zabaneh had one of BU’s best looks of the period off the breakaway and whacked around Fowler’s crease with second-effort shots, all of which he stopped. The Terriers followed the play with a dominant shift, but the boarding call on Tuch boarding 2:09 on the clock put his team back on the penalty kill.
“I thought we were going pretty good,” Pandolfo said “We didn’t want to get down because we knew we could come back if we got our game going again.”
The Eagles snatched the momentum right back with a power-play goal from Gauthier who knocked in a cross-crease pass from Perreault for the 3-1 lift at 18:46. BC, now 3-for-3 on the man advantage, continued its streak in the final stanza.
Smith secured the hat trick at 6:46 with a one-timer from the right doorstep, before Perreault notched his second of the game for the 5-1 lead at 11:32 while Lane Hutson was off for holding.
Former Terrier Jamie Armstrong was dealt a five-minute major for contact to the head at 12:27, allowing Macklin Celebrini to get on the scoresheet. The freshman forward wired home a classic wrister from the right circle to make it 5-2 at 5:15. It, obviously, was not enough.
Smith collected his fourth goal with an empty-netter at 18:04, sealing the 6-2 Hockey East Championship win – Boston College’s first since 2012.
The Terriers will now await their NCAA tournament fate. Sunday’s selection show will reveal BU’s opponent in the regional semifinals, and where it’ll be playing. It’s looking like Maryland Heights, Missouri.
“We’ve got to get past it. We’re still playing, it’s not the end of our season, that’s the positive,” Pandolfo said. “It’s gonna hurt tonight, but we’ll get past it, and we’ll be ready to get going in the NCAA tournament.”