Nov. 14, 2008
UMass 5, BU 1 -- Final
9:11 p.m. - After Rollheiser was pulled with over two minutes left, Berry scored his second goal of the night on an empty-netter with 57 seconds left in regulation to put the finishing touches on a 5-1 UMass victory.
9:05 p.m. - The Terriers had their second power-play chance of the night, but came up empty.
8:59 p.m. - The men's basketball team is in a battle in its season opener against George Washington, as it's a 49-49 deadlock with under three minutes left in regulation. Back to the hockey... the Terriers killed off the two-man advantage, but are still down 4-1 with under seven to play.
8:56 p.m. - Just as Cohen's penalty expired, freshman David Warsofsky took his spot in the sin bin on a tripping call. Senior Chris Higgins joined Warsofsky 47 seconds later on a slashing minor. A 1:13 5-on-3 for the Minutemen. Tonight's attendance is an impressive 7,212.
8:52 p.m. - BU's Colby Cohen is heading to the penalty box for cross-checking at 7:12.
8:46 p.m. - And just like that, it's back to a three-goal deficit for the Terriers. UMass scores its fourth goal of the night at 3:33 of the third.
8:44 p.m. - It didn't happen in the first or second minute, but the Terriers struck early in the period as junior Zach Cohen scored his first goal of the year at 2:27 on assists from freshmen Vinny Saponari and Chris Connolly to make it a 3-1 game.
8:40 p.m. - After two periods, BU holds a 23-19 shot advantage and has won 27 of the game's 49 faceoffs, but has gone scoreless in consecutive periods for the first time this season. A goal in the first minute or two of the third would go a long way to kick-starting a possible rally.
8:25 p.m. - The crisp passing that the Terriers have exhibited the first month of the season is absent tonight. A 4-on-1 BU rush in the closing seconds of the second did not even result in a shot attempt. Second period is over - UMass still leads, 3-0.
8:20 p.m. - The Terriers hold a 23-15 advantage in shots, but can't seem to solve Dainton and the UMass defense. Just over three minutes left in the middle stanza.
8:10 p.m. - UMass killed off its 26th straight penalty and then set up in the BU zone before a long wrister from the left point by Matt Irwin eluded Rollheiser to give the Minutemen a 3-0 lead.
8:04 p.m. - BU is on the power play for the first time tonight as Brett Watson was whistled for holding at 8:10. The Minutemen, however, have not allowed a power-play goal in their last five games, killing off 25 straight penalties in the process.
8:01 p.m. - The Terriers killed off the penalty and we're back to 5-on-5 play.
7:58 p.m. - First penalty of the night is charged to the Terriers. Lawrence to the box for roughing just under four minutes into the second.
7:53 p.m. - Second period is underway. The Terriers have not been held scoreless in consecutive periods yet this season.
7:37 p.m. - The first period has come to an end with the home team holding a 2-0 lead. The Terriers had their share of chances, but enter the first intermission with a two-goal deficit for the first time since trailing 3-0 after one against UMass Lowell in the second game of last year's Hockey East quarterfinal series.
7:35 p.m. - The Terriers are looking to get a goal back before the first intermission, but Dainton has stopped all 12 shots he's faced so far for the Minutemen.
7:23 p.m. - The Minutemen jump out to a 2-0 lead at 11:21 of the first on a backhander from the slot in transition by senior Alex Berry.
7:16 p.m. - UMass gets on the board first, as senior Cory Quirk backhanded a rebound high glove side just over seven minutes into the game.
7:08 p.m. - Freshman forward Corey Trivino is missing his fourth straight game due to a left knee injury. He is expected to return to the lineup before Thanksgiving.
7:00 p.m. - A large crowd is expected tonight at the Mullins Center. Starting lineups are being introduced. As usual, the Terriers will send out their top forward line. Higgins, Wilson and Lawrence have combined for 30 points this season, averaging over four points per game.
6:50 p.m. - The last time the men's hockey team came into a regular-season game as the top-ranked squad in the country was Jan. 10, 1998, during Chris Drury's senior year. This season, the Terriers are off to their best since that 1997-98 team won 11 of their first 12 contests.
6:45 p.m. - The Boston University women's basketball team just posted a 50-45 victory in its season opener at Rhode Island. The men will be kicking off their season at 7 p.m. tonight with a home contest at Agganis Arena against George Washington.
6:33 p.m. - UMass, which had its five-game unbeaten streak snapped last Saturday in a 3-1 road loss against Merrimack, is playing its second home game of the season. Against Providence in the home opener on Halloween, the Minutemen posted a convincing 9-4 win after trailing, 4-3, early in the second period. Here is tonight's lineup for UMass:
Berry - Quirk - J. Marcou
Langeraap - Wellman - Davis
Syner - Lecomte - Ortiz
Concannon - Watson - Crowder
Nolet - Braun
Bevis - Wessbecker
Irwin - M. Marcou
Dainton in goal
6:27 p.m. - The teams just hit the ice for the pre-game warm-ups. Here is BU's lineup:
Higgins - Wilson - Lawrence
K. Gilroy - Bonino - Yip
McCarthy - Connolly - Vin. Saponari
Z. Cohen - Popko - Pereira
Strait - M. Gilroy
C. Cohen - Shattenkirk
Warsofsky - Gryba
Rollheiser in goal
6:00 p.m. - Welcome to the BU Blog, as we're live from the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass., for tonight's hockey game. The team bus got ahead of the westbound traffic on the Mass Pike and had one of its quicker trips to UMass - especially for a Friday. The Terriers enter the weekend ranked first in the country for the first time since taking over the top spot following its 2006 Hockey East title. We'll be back shortly with the lineups for tonight's match-up.
