The University of Connecticut men’s hockey team won an overtime thriller against the Boston University Terriers on Thursday before falling on the road Saturday night.
UConn got to work right away Thursday as Kam Hendrickson left the net and passed the puck up the boards to Ethan Whitcomb. The junior took it up the right side of the ice and snuck it past Mikhail Yegorov to give UConn an early 1-0 lead.
That would not last long as Jack Murtagh got the rebound off a Ryder Ritchie shot and tipped it in to tie the tilt at 1-1 halfway through the first period.
The Terriers tried to take the lead on an odd-man rush, but Hendrickson made a phenomenal save on a Conrad Fondrk shot before also saving Jack Harvey’s shot.
Kaden Shahan then made a marvelous play by picking Mick Frechette’s pocket and scoring from the same spot that Whitcomb scored from to make it 2-1 Huskies.
BU entered Thursday’s game 0-11 on the power play and had their first opportunity when Kai Janviriya was whistled for a high-sticking penalty.
Right before the first period was set to expire, Jonathan Morello snuck the puck over to Nick Roukounakis, who flipped it past Hendrickson to knot the game up at 2 after one period of play.
The Terriers got an early second-period power play thanks to an Alexander Blais tripping call. Hendrickson had another great stop on a Harvey shot, and the Ice Bus was back to full strength two minutes later.
After missed opportunities for both teams, Kamil Bednarik got two minutes for high-sticking. Trey Scott took the puck up the ice and hit Ethan Gardula at the blue line. Gardula passed it back to the cutting defensemen, who fired in his first goal of the year to give UConn the lead back 3-2.
UConn made two more penalty kills before the second period came to a close.
Blais was whistled for another penalty, and the puck found Murtagh’s stick again. Hendrickson was there for the save, and the Ice Bus killed their fifth penalty of the game.
A few minutes later, Blais was back in the game and sent a pass off the boards to Carlin Dezainde. The sophomore ripped a shot past Yegorov to make it a 4-2 game.
The Huskies looked to be in the clear before Carter Amico sniped a goal from the blue line to make it 4-3 with three minutes remaining.
Joey Muldowney got called for a hooking penalty, and all of a sudden, the Terriers had life.
Hendrickson made a few great saves before the pressure finally mounted on the Connecticut defense. Boston University emptied the net, and when it was a 6-on-4, a Terrier shot rebounded its way to Ritchie, who caught Hendrickson off balance. Ritchie buried the goal to tie the game with 45 seconds left. The first BU power play goal of the season came at the perfect time.
The Terriers took two early shots before Muldowney called game. Mike Murtagh hit the forward at center ice, and Muldowney hit the dagger. It was pandemonium at Toscano as UConn won their home part of the series.
Hendrickson had a career high 46 saves in a massive win for the Huskies.
The tide changed for both teams when they arrived in Boston.
The Terriers started early in Saturday’s game when Charlie Tretheway scored on goalie Veeti Louhivaara just two minutes into the tilt. Tretheway was assisted by Caleb Malhotra and Xavier Villeneuve.
Then it took just five more minutes before Ben Merrill added a score for BU. Aiden Celebrini and Bednarik were credited with assisting the sophomore.
The Huskies could not capitalize on a power play late in the first period and headed into the locker room down 2-0.
Another power play opportunity would be available for the Ice Bus, but they could not muster a shot during the two minutes, and the Terriers went back to full strength. Then it was time for a BU power play after Carter Sproule was whistled for a hooking penalty.
Tynan Lawrence got the Terriers back on the board, assisted by Ritchie and Villeneuve.
Fondrk added a fourth goal as it was getting spooky for the Huskies just halfway through the game. Bednarik added his second assist while Villeneuve dished out his third and final assist of the night.
UConn was on the attack in the final two minutes of the second period, and they finally broke through when Jeremy Loranger’s shot took a bounce past Yegorov for a Husky goal. This goal made it 4-1 but, more importantly, was Loranger’s first goal for Connecticut since transferring in from Nebraska-Omaha.
After being denied multiple goals Thursday night, Harvey finally broke through with a third-period goal on Saturday to make it 5-1 Terriers.
Shahan got back in the scoring column as Blais set the junior up with a one-timer that found the back of the net.
Things got physical in the third as multiple penalties were called, including a five-minute major on Bednarik for spearing. On the power play, Whitcomb fired a shot that was saved by Yegorov, and it rebounded to Dezainde. The sophomore could not get the shot past Yegorov, but third time was the charm for the Huskies as Shahan scored off the rebound for his second goal of the period.
All of a sudden, it was a two-goal game with seven minutes left, something BU came back from just 48 hours before.
Alas, BU added a late shorthanded goal, and the game ended in a 6-3 Connecticut defeat.
Another series split puts UConn at 3-3 and 1-1 in Hockey East after their conference opener against the Terriers. Their next two contests will be at Merrimack College next Friday and Saturday.