Boston University Terriers outplayed by UNH Wildcats, lose 5-3
Sometimes it’s fun to watch a game with really few preconceived notions or prior knowledge about it. The wife and I went to last night’s game between Boston University Terriers and University of New Hampshire Wildcats at Agganis Arena on Commonwealth Avenue. While I root for the Terriers in whatever sport they play in (and also in football, which they don’t play, unfortunately) I can’t say I follow them much, so I didn’t know what to expect.
I certainly didn’t expect the Terriers to be clearly outdone in three rather critical areas: Skating, puck handling, and positioning. It all added up to a 5-3 victory for UNH.
The first period was the worst and the Terriers would probably have fallen behind by more than one goal had not one of the Wildcats punched a Terrier in the face, earning himself a disqualification and his team five minutes of shorthanded play. The Terriers failed to score but the power play at least allowed them to stay even for a while (at least on the ice, they were already behind on the scoreboard).
BU had a hard time getting shots off. They threw the puck around instead of at the goal and they generally failed to create good shot opportunities. Their power-play box struck me as being spaced out too much, which allowed the Wildcats to regroup whenever the BU players passed the puck along the blue line. By contrast, the Wildcats power-play box was tighter which allowed them to shuffle the puck faster and get off more and better shots (the box score has it that BU outshot UNH 14-7 in the first period but that just goes to show how nebulous shot statistics are in ice hockey).
The Terriers also lacked in puck handling compared to the Wildcats. Too many opportunities were squandered - or afforded UNH - by Terriers whiffing on the puck. What I didn’t know going into the game is that UNH is ranked seventh in the nation while BU has a losing record.
The second period was quite entertaining. First the Terriers tied the game (Nick Bonino), then the Wildcats took the lead gain and later extended it to 3-1 on a power-play goal. But the Terriers struck, first by converting a power-play situation (Kev Shattenkirk) and then by tying the game 40 seconds later (Jason Lawrence).
Sadly, the Wildcats reasserted their superiority in the final period and eventually won 5-3. I thought the Terriers, while outplayed, at least played hard. My wife disagreed. BU head coach Jack Parker agreed with my wife, according to the The Boston Globe’s game report:
“We acted like we were disinterested in the third period,” said Parker, whose squad is a woeful 2-6-1 at home. “Before we went out for the third period, there was absolutely no emotion, you’d think we’d be all jacked up. It’s almost as if they were waiting to lose. Sad display by my team tonight. Great display by UNH. Without question, the best team won because of effort.”
The best team won, no doubt, but I’m not so sure that effort alone was the difference.
With the win, UNH completes its first ever regular-season sweep of the Terriers in Hockey East play.
On a positive note, both BU student sections produced a lot of noise throughout the game and even the general admissions sections were pretty good for being general admission. UNH had an impressive contingent of fans in tow. 6,024 spectators in all.
Below are some pictures from the game:
From left to right: BU Terriers Nick Bonino, Luke Popko, Colin Wilson, and John McCarthy during warm ups.
Brian McGuirk.
McCarthy in a third period face off.
Wilson wins a third period face-off for the Terriers.
Ryan Weston, McCarthy, and McGuirk chasing a play.
UNH stops a third-period attack.
UNH stops another third-period attack.
BU students dressed as a patriotic hot dog and, I think, Jesus in one of the student sections.
BU’s mascot Rhett fools around during a promotion in the second intermission.
Student section greets players entering the ice.
A group of BU student-athletes who were absolutely determined not to face our way. They were honored for having excelled in the field of athletic excellence.
