UConn senior Cody Sharib scored in the third period but it wasn’t enough at No. 3 BU outlasted the Huskies in Hartford, 5-2 on Saturday. (Stephen Slade photo courtesy of UConn Sports Information)
HARTFORD, Nov. 22 – Trailing by three goals, the UConn men’s hockey team had scored two goals in less than a minute with about 11 minutes left in the game. The crowd of more than 7,000 fans in the XL Center was rocking. The energy was pulsating through the building.
But No. 3 Boston University didn’t panic. Head coach David Marsh called a timeout. The Terriers regrouped and gave up just two shots in the final 10 minutes and scored two late goals to beat the Huskies, 5-2 on Saturday.
BU (8-1-1, 6-1-1 Hockey East) led 3-0 in the third period. But Connecticut scored twice in 57 seconds on goals by senior Cody Sharib and freshman Corey Ronan to the lead to one goal.
“I didn’t think the game was over by any stretch of the imagination,” Marsh said. “They were relentless. The crowd was into it and (UConn) was feeding off their energy.”
UConn (3-6-4, 2-3-1 Hockey East) nearly tied it with just over 4:07 left in the third period. Freshman Jeff Wight won a puck battle in the right corner and centered a pass to sophomore Joona Kunnas, who shoveled a one-timer attempt on goal that BU goalie Matt O’Connor (20 saves) denied, preserving the lead.
BU got some breathing room when junior Ahti Oksansen made a play deep in his zone to get the puck to Jack Eichel at mid ice on the left boards. The rookie beat the UConn defense and was one-on-one with UConn goalie Rob Nichols, who made the inital save. UConn couldn’t clear the rebound and BU junior Danny O’Regan cleaned up the loose puck for his seventh goal of the year and a 4-2 lead with 2:44 remaining.
The Huskies pulled Nichols for the extra skater but couldn’t keep possession as Brien Diffley deflected a puck to Oksanen who skated in for the empty netter with 1:01 left in the game.
Connecticut came out flying to start the first period, earning a power play in the first 30 seconds of play while outshooting BU, 7-0, over the first five minutes of play. Despite the fast start, UConn couldn’t beat O’Connor and the Terriera produced the game’s first two goals.
BU’s Oksanen scored his first of the afternoon, coming on the power play at the 7:28 mark. Eichel took a feed on the left half boards and fired on net seeing his shot get deflected. Oksanen was waiting at the right post to collect the loose puck and bury it for a 1-0 lead.
Boston University made it 2-for-2 on the power play early in the second period. A hooking call on UConn’s Kasperi Ojantakanen gave the Terriers a power play at 2:28. BU’s Cason Hohmann deflected a Brandon Hickey shot from the point at the right post to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead.
The Terriers made it 3-0 just 2:37 into the third period. Chase Phelps threw the puck on net from the left circle where Roberto was crashing the net and saw the shot deflect past Nichols off his skate right in front. After a review, the goal stood and the Terrier looked to be skating away with the game, leading 3-0.
UConn had other ideas and a pair of goals just 57 seconds apart pulled the Huskies right back in the game. Senior Trevor Gerling got Pauly loose on a break-away up the right boards and the junior forward got a shot on O’Connor that he turned away. The rebound came right out to a hard charging Sharib up the left wing who buried the puck for his first of the season, cutting the lead to 3-1 at 7:49.
The Huskies struck again at 8:46 as senior Ryan Tyson dug the puck out of the corner, feeding junior Patrick Kirland (Rocky Hill) behind the net. Kirtland sent a slick pass to Ronan in the left circle and the rookie buried it top-shelf for his second of the year to cut it to one, 3-2.
NOTES: BU picked up four points in two days. The Terriers beat Maine in overtime on Friday night, 3-2. … The Huskies are back in action in one week when the travel to Brown University for a non-conference affair on Saturday, Nov. 29. … The Huskies were outshot 30-22 and 23-10 over the final two periods. After giving up goals on the first two BU power plays, the Huskies killed off four-straight to end the game. UConn went 0-for-4 on the power play in the loss.
Boston University 5, UConn 2
At Hartford
BU (8-1-1) 1 1 3 — 5
UConn (3-6-4) 0 0 2 — 2
Goals: Ahti Oksansen (B) 2, Cason Hohmann (B), Nick Roberto (B), Danny O’Reagan (B), Cody Sharih (C), Corey Ronan (C); Assists: Oksansen (B), Jack Eichel (B) 2, Matt Grzelcyk (B), Brandon Hickey (B), Brandon Fortunato (B), Chase Phelps (B), Matt Lane (B), Shawn Pauly (C), Trevor Gerling (C), Patrick Kirtland (C), Ryan Tyson (C); Saves – Matt O’Connor (B) 20, Rob Nichols (C) 25; Shots: BU, 30-22; Att – 7,712
You must be logged in to post a comment Login