Four-Goal Second Leads #3 Boston University Past Men's Ice Hockey, 6-2, in Game 1 of HEA QF's
Links: Highlights | Box Score | Dennehy Postgame Comments
BOSTON – Freshman Jace Hennig (Port Moody, British Columbia) added two more postseason goals to his team-leading total, but the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team fell, 6-2, to third-ranked and top-seeded Boston University in Game 1 of the Hockey East Quarterfinals at Agganis Arena.
The Basics
Score: #3 Boston U. 6, Merrimack 2
Records: Merrimack (16-17-4) | #3 Boston U. (22-7-5)
Location: Agganis Arena | Boston, Mass.
How It Happened
After both sides put up a goal in the first period, BU took control of the game with a stretch of six uninterrupted goals from the middle of the first period all the way until the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Merrimack drew first blood at the 8:11 mark of the first; junior Vinny Scotti (Vineland, N.J.) stole the puck behind the BU net and sent a sharp feed into the slot where Hennig was waiting to promptly put it home for his team-leading third marker of the playoffs, giving the Warriors a 1-0 lead midway through the first.
Less than two minutes later, and while skating on its second power play of the game, BU netted the equalizer off a one-time slapper by Robbie Baillargeon at 9:44, beginning a string of six uninterrupted tallies all the way through the third.
The score went unchanged until Danny O'Regan took a diagonal feed from Evan Rodrigues and put it home on the backhand at 7:23 of the second, and then seven minutes later, after a giveaway in the far corner, Rodrigues charged toward the net where it eventually wound up loose near the back door where Jack Eichel poked it in to up the hosts' lead to 3-1.
The Terriers weren't done there, scoring twice in the span of 1:14 late in the period to send them into the locker room with a 5-1 advantage. Rodrigues netted the first before Matt Lane buried his own rebound on a deflection attempt to round out the scoring in the second frame.
Adding to the rough night was a five-minute charging major that was levied against Merrimack early in the third; the Warriors killed nearly all of it before a subsequent slashing call gave BU 24 seconds' worth of 5-on-3. Merrimack fended off the rest of the major, but just as that penalty expired, Eichel clanged one off the back bar on a one-time feed from Rodrigues to give the Terriers a 6-1 lead.
Hennig would get one back less than a minute later after a BU defender knocked the puck back to the slot, and the rookie wristed it into the twine through traffic to bring Merrimack to within five (6-2) with 9:40 remaining.
That would be the last time either side lit the lamp, as the majority of what was left on the clock was played either 5-on-4 or 4-on-4 until the final horn sounded to give BU the 1-0 edge in the best-of-three series.
Inside The Numbers
- It's been quite the postseason for Hennig; after leading all Warriors with a four-point (2g, 2a) performance last weekend against Northeastern, the rookie added two more goals to up his team lead in scoring to six playoff points and push his team-leading goal total to 14
- Scotti earned a point for the first time since putting up an assist on Jan. 30 in a 2-1 victory against UMass Lowell, marking his sixth helper of the year and 31st career point
- Senior goaltender Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) had a busy night in front of him; he finished with 40 saves while his counterpart, Matt O'Connor, stopped 17-of-19
- Merrimack came up empty on its only two power plays of the night; BU, which was awarded eight man advantages, finished 2-for-8
- BU wound up with a 46-19 edge in shots on goal and out-attempted Merrimack, 78-36, and saw 18 of their shots blocked by the Warrior defense
Notes and Notables
Dating back to the 1990 Tournament, Merrimack is 5-11 in Game 2's of the Hockey East Quarterfinals … Merrimack is now 3-8 all-time against BU in the Hockey East Tournament, with all 11 meetings taking place in the Quarterfinals … The only time Merrimack beat BU in the Quarterfinals was as the No. 8 seed in 1998 when the Warriors upset the top-seeded Terriers in three games.
Up Next
Merrimack and BU return to the ice for Game 2 tomorrow afternoon at Agganis Arena. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. The Warriors need a win to extend their season and force a decisive Game 3 on Sunday.
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