Post Game Reactions: November 21

BU And UNH All Tied Up

In the second game of the home and home series between BU and UNH, there would be no winner, as the teams skated to a 3-3 tie at Agganis Arena on Saturday Night. 

Read up on the recaps from USCHO, GoTerriers and WTBU Sports, as well as the box score.

It was a back and forth game, but the Terriers held a 2-1 advantage heading into the third, but fell flat on their face coming out of the locker room, almost immediately surrendering a goal to the Wildcats just 20 seconds into the final frame.  About six minutes later UNH scored again, forcing BU to fight just to earn one point.

The Terriers were able to do just that with about 8 minutes to play in the game when Corey Trivino scored off a brilliant pass from Kevin Shattenkirk. 

Still, it almost felt like a loss for BU despite coming away with the tie.
One out of Four Ain't Good

The Terriers had the opportunity to walk away with as many as four points from this weekend's home and home series, but they managed to grab just one point in another disappointing effort.  Luckily, BU is somehow just five points out of first place in Hockey East despite stumbling their way through the early part of this season.  BU has played in three home and home series so far, and in those six games the Terriers have come away with a grand total of five points.  That's not how good teams perform.


One Man Show

BU's second goal of the night truly was a thing of beauty.  Sophomore Vinny Saponari received a pass from Zach Coehn low along the left side.  Saponari handled the puck and searched the ice for an open teammate, but was unable to find one.  He spun away from a defender, skated along the goal line, and backhanded one at the net the somehow got through UNH goalie Brian Foster.  It's fitting that the assist went to Zach Cohen, as the goal looked similar to Cohen's magic puck that snuck in to bring BU to within one in the Championship game back in April.


Can't Stop Thompson

Junior Forward Paul Thompson had his way with the Terriers this weekend.  After tallying a goal and an assist on Friday night, the New Hampshire native scored twice and assisted on a third to have a part in all three UNH goals on Saturday.  A five point weekend against a conference rival will definitely make his Thanksgiving week a happy one.  Meanwhile, BU coaches are already drawing up ways to stop the guy when the teams meet again in January.


Differences in Discipline

For whatever reason, BU seems to be taking penalties at crucial moments of crucial games.  In this game, the Terriers took 6 penalites, while UNH sat in the sin bin for a total of just four minutes in the game.  BU's penalty kill was up to the task for the most part, killing off five of the six penalties they created.  However, in such a tight game, it may have been a good idea to stay out of the box.


Captain Clutch

The Terriers were close to losing this game outright, but Kevin Shattenkirk's timely passing kept them alive.  Shattenkirk received a touch pass from Zach Cohen and drifted along the blue line with his stick raised.  He fooled the everyone on the ice but Corey Trivino.  Shattenkirk faked the shot and pushed the puck down low Trivino, who promptly one-timed it past Foster's glove.  It would prove to be the game's final goal.


Career High

Goaltender Grant Rollheiser saved 27 out of 20 UNH shots, good for the highest single game save mark in his career.  Rollie has been average in his two appearances so far this season, saving 52 while allowing 7 to slip past him.  However, he has led the Terriers to more points in conference play in just two starts than Kieran Millan has in seven.  Rollie is 1-0-1 in his two starts, both in conference games, while Millan is a disastrous 1-6-0 in Hockey East.


Colby Clowner

Junior Colby Cohen had another ugly game, botching several big plays in the third period to help UNH stay alive.  He was absolutely undressed by Bobby Butler on the first shift of the third period, allowing Butler to skate past him free toward the net, and drawing Shattenkirk to Rollie's glove side to help on the play.  Butler took a shot that bounced directly to the stick of Phil DeSimone, who was unmarked due to Shatty shading over, and had no trouble finishing the play for a goal.  Cohen went on to earn an honorary assist on UNH's third goal when he failed miserably to clear a puck on the penalty kill, setting the Wildcats up at the point.  A few passes later, the puck was resting comfortably in the back of the net, and Cohen was smashing his stick on the crossbar.


Next Up

BU returns to its Tuesday before Thanksgiving tradition of matching up with Harvard after taking one year off to face Holy Cross.  Since 1990, the teams have met 15 times on the Tuesday before Turkey Day.