BU Sneaks Out Of Harvard With OT Win

Six Goals, One Win, No Points For BU In Non-Conference Thriller

It's almost a joke that it's this difficult for BU to get past teams like Harvard, but unfortunately that's the state of affairs for the Terriers right now.  If you dare, read up on the recaps from GoTerriers, WTBU Sports, and USCHO.  Also check out the box score.

Let's try to piece this one together as best as we can.


Last Second Heroics

Harvard took the lead with 1:18 to play in the game when Conor Morrison scored his fourth goal of the contest for what looked like the game winner.  BU trailed 5-4 in the final minute of play when Jack Parker pulled Kieran Millan to bring an extra attacker onto the ice.  David Warsofsky got the puck at the left point, where he ripped a shot toward the net.  Zach Cohen was in the right place at the right time to delfect the biscuit into the basket with just under 20 seconds to play.

And The Winner Is....

Getting a last second goal to send the game to OT is great, but the job does not end there.  BU went to overtime with the momentum, and Nick Bonino created an opportunity for the Terriers to win the game.  Bonino attempted a wrap around the bounced trhough traffic and crawled all the way through to a patient Chris Connolly on the other side.  Connolly buried it to send BU home happy.  After the game, Connolly talked to USCHO:

“We were fortunate enough to get it down low, cycling the puck.  Nick got it in his favorite position, and I knew it was going to either go in or pop out to the other side. There was a scrum in front, so I figured I’d just wait off to the side and see what happened. I got lucky. It popped right there, and I had a wide open net.”

I Get Knocked Down...

After taking an early 1-0 lead, The Terriers found themselves constantly fighting to get back in this game.  They were forced to climb back from four separate one-goal deficits until they finally re-gained the lead with the game winning goal in overtime.  This is a fight that BU needed to show to prove that they even care about playing hockey.  This game should not have been nearly as difficult as it was for BU, but the fact that they were capable of pushing themselves to fight to the end for this one is certainly an encouraging sign.


Twice As Nice

The box score doesn't tell the whole story of Zach Cohen's great day for the Terriers.  Cohen scored twice, but each timeit was due to excellent positioning and some fancy stick work.  Maybe The Crimson didn't get the memo to get a man on Zach, but he was able to deflect home two separate David Warsofsky slappers for goals.  Aside from the game tying goal with just a few heartbeats remaining, Cohen had also tied the game at two way back in the first period.


First of the Year

I almost thought it was a mistake when I heard that Nick Bonino's goal at 13:51 of the 3rd period was his first of the year.  But alas, the junior forward had not put one home yet this year, despite drawing a ton of attention from opposing defenders and opening up space for his fellow Ice Dogs.  Bonino also recorded two assists in the game, giving him 6 points in 7 games on the season.  By the way, BU is 34-0-4 in the last 38 games in which Bonino has registered a point.


Special Teams

The Terriers did an excellent job on the power play and penalty kill against Harvard on Tuesday night.  BU had just 5 power play opportunities, but they made the most of them, scoring three times.  Joe Pereira had two power play goals, and Zach Cohen had one of his own.  Add to that BU's goal with the extra attacker and you've got a team that went 4-6 with a man advantage.  But the most exciting thing about BU's play was their discipline.  BU put Harvard on the power play just twice in the game, holding the Crimson to 3 shots and no goals in those chances.


Shaky Goalie

I'm starting to wonder about Kieran Millan.  He had my ultimate vote of confidence after putting up ridiculous numbers in his freshman year, but he has been anything but the brick wall he once was.  He is 3-7 with a 3.42 GAA and an .866 save percentage.  He has seemed to lack the big play ability he had last season when he always seemed to come up with the big saves when the team needed it most.  Of course there is a chance he'll turn it around, but Grant Rollheiser is starting to look like a pretty good option.


Super Morrison

Lost in the Terriers' victory is the outstanding performance by Harvard Freshman Stud Conor Morrison.  Morrison put on a show, scoring four goals for the Crimson in the losing effort, including the go ahead goal with 1:18 to play.  The next time BU would potentially have to deal with him would be in the second round of the Beanpot.


Next Up

Another ECAC opponent is on deck for BU, in the form of old rival Cornell.  The two will play the second installment of Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night after taking a year off from the exciting contest.  Last time, BU beat Cornell 6-3 in front of a sold out Garden.  It should be a good time.