For the third time this season, freshman Jack Eichel delivered an overtime game-winner after the Terrier had rallied in the third period to force an extra session. His 13th goal gave BU a dramatic and hard-fought 2-1 win over Vermont for a sweep of the weekend series at UVM. The right-shot center from Chelmsford, who is co-leader for most points in the nation with 36, deftly deflected a shot by senior assistant captain Evan Rodrigues off the right post and into the net exactly three minutes into overtime.
Rodrigues had earlier provided his own heroics, scoring the tying goal late in the third period and forcing the overtime. The winger from Etobicoke, Ont., knifed between a pair of Catamount defenders to steal a pass, skated in on Vermont goalie Mike Santaguida and quickly wristed a shot under the netminder’s arm. E-Rod nearly scored again in the waning moments of regulation before assisting on the game-winner.
With the NCAA Division 1 Championship Trophy and the Hockey East Lamoriello Cup on hand as part of the conference’s Road to the TD Garden tour, BU got off to a strong start with 12 first-period shots, including a six shot flurry on a power play, but the period ended scoreless.
A Catamount power play early in the second gave UVM a lead it would hold for 36 minutes. Mike Paliotta’s hard wrist shot that beat a screened Matt O’Connor high on the glove side would be the only goal allowed by the BU netminder, who turned aside 31 shots, raising his record to 13-3-3. In the two game series, he yielded only one even-strength goal.
Eichel’s goal was his 13thof the season and his third in three games, including Friday night’s empty netter to seal the winner and last Sunday’s overtime winner against UMass Lowell. BU’s record in games where Eichel has scored a goal is 11-0.
Coach David Quinn praised his team’s “poise with the puck” and the poise shown by the young defense corps, which was without Doyle Somerby. The sophomore from Marblehead was suspended for one game resulting from an interference penalty he took on Friday night.
►Three stars: Rodrigues, Eichel, Santaguida
● Video highlights
● Daily Free Press recap; Rodrigues continues hot streak
● Boston Hockey Blog Pluses & Minuses
● Daily Free Press recap; Rodrigues continues hot streak
● Boston Hockey Blog Pluses & Minuses
● Hockey East Online recap
4 - OC was tremendous in net again and is benefitting from being the clear-cut #1 goalie.
Looking ahead
● College Hockey News recap
►BU Hockey historian Sean Pickett reports that "Eichel is the first Terrier since the formation of Hockey East to have 3 overtime goals in the same season. The only other Terriers to have 3 OT goals in a career since then are Colby Cohen and Bryan Miller."
Terrier TakeAway–Observations from Glenn Staub
1 - While the Terriers have E-Rod and Eichel to thank for producing the goals that tied and won the game, Matt Grzelcyk"stood on his head" defensively with one of his best performances of the year. His hip checks and stick checks broke up several odd-man UVM rushes that could have put the game out of reach.
2 - Although BU had yet another scoreless first period, it was far from uninspiring. The power play had sustained pressure and the Terriers were only held off the score sheet because of UVM's strong goaltending and shot-blocking.
3 - BU played an extremely physical game with several bone-jarring checks. For the most part, BU's penalty killing was extremely aggressive and resulted in few grade-A opportunities for Vermont.
Looking ahead
2015 recruit Robert Carpenterscored a goal and added an assist in Sioux City’s 4-1 win over Green Bay. Carpenter now has a 16-19-35 line in 36 games.
2015 recruit Maxim Letunov scored his 15th goal in Youngstown’s 3-2 win over Cedar Rapids. Letunov has 40 points, tied for third among USHL scorers
2015 recruit Jakob Forsacka-Karlsson assisted on three Omaha goals in the Lancers’ 6-3 win over Lincoln. The center from Stockholm has 36 points (10G, 26) in 34 games. 2016 recruit Hank Crone also added an assist for Omaha.
2016 recruit Clayton Keller scored a shorthanded goal for the NTDP U17s who lost to Bloomington, 3-2.