Almost a year to the day after BU travelled to Michigan and lost two straight games to the Wolverines, the Terriers showed the hockey world that this season would be much, much different.
Before the game, Coach Jack Parker told the Daily Free Press, “We don’t want to wipe it out of our memory. It was not a good trip and it left a bad taste in our mouths. We’re anxious to see if we can play a lot better against a real good team.”
Well Jack, this must have exceeded expectations.
In front of a sellout crowd at Agganis Arena, the sixth-ranked BU Terriers rebounded nicely from their first loss of the year, putting up a seven goal outburst on the number five Michigan Wolverines in the type of game that could prove to be a signature win for this BU team.
The win was BU’s fourth in a row at home to start this season, and ninth in a row at home in regular season games dating back to last year.
The two teams combined for a whopping 30 penalties total in the game, including matching fighting majors and game disqualifications for Michigan’s Ben Lebler and BU’s Vinny Saponari.
But penalties weren’t the story for BU in this contest. The Terriers will remember this game for their offensive explosion and strong goaltending. Jay Lawrence continued his strong senior campaign, tallying two power-play goals in the game. Sophomore star Colin Wilson added three assists for BU, bringing his season points total to six.
Chris Connolly and Kevin Gilroy each scored their first collegiate goals, while Colby Cohen and Brian Strait notched their first goals of the year. Sophomore star Nick Bonino boosted his team-leading points total to 8 with a goal and an assist in the game.
BU was outstanding on the power play, converting on 5 of their 9 power play opportunities. The Terriers now have 8 power play goals on the season.
The Ice Dogs also held strong when down a man, despite playing shorthanded for more than 22 minutes of the game. BU allowed just two goals on twelve Michigan power plays.
The Terriers’ defense was strong throughout, allowing a mere 17 shots to trickle through to rising fan favorite freshman goalie Kieran Millan, who made 15 saves to win his third game in three starts.
The top-ten teams skated without a goal for the first 15 minutes of play. But with 5 minutes left to play in the first period, Kevin Gilroy gave the Terriers a one-goal lead, and they would never look back.
By the end of the second period, the Terriers were up by four goals on Michigan, knocking star goalie Billy Sauer out of the game after just forty minutes of play. Sauer was a stud for Michigan last season, posting a 1.95 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. But BU got to him on this night, as Sauer could manage just 19 saves on 23 shots.
The scoring would not slow down in the third period. Just four minutes after Michigan’s Robbie Czarnik scored a power-play goal to pull the Wolverines within three, Jay Lawrence put home his second goal of the game to put BU back up by four. Bonino made it 6-1 in favor of the Terriers when he scored at 12:52 of the third.
Michigan and BU would each add a power-play goal apiece before the extra curricular activities took over the game. With 21 seconds left to play, frustrations boiled over as the teams fought after a whistle. Lebler and Saponari were suspended a game apiece for dropping the gloves, and Terriers Junior Eric Gryba was given four minutes for cross-checking and hitting after the whistle.
The Terriers will look to take their momentum on the road, as they will play three consecutive games away from Agganis Arena. The Terriers’ next contest will be in Vermont on November 1.
The Terriers were 1-1-1 against the Catamounts in the regular season, but fell to Vermont in the Hockey East Quarterfinals, ending the Terriers’ playoff push. After falling to Boston College over the weekend, Vermont sits at 2-1-0 on the year.
--Phil DiMartino
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