Live Blog: Terriers vs. RPI at Denver Cup
January 2, 2009 | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 2, 2009
The Boston University men's ice hockey team enters the second half of the season ranked third in the country and returns to action at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup on Jan. 2-3.
The Terriers will take on Rensselaer on Friday at 6:37 p.m. EST in the first round of the tournament before host Denver and Holy Cross take to the ice in the second game at 9:30 p.m. The two winners will meet for the title on Saturday at 9 p.m. after the 6 p.m. consolation game.
BU's freshman class is featured in today's Boston Globe. Click here to view the article.
Check back to this page throughout Friday's game for live updates.
BU 6, RPI 2 - FINAL
8:44 p.m.
BU closes out the 6-2 victory and finishes the game with a 38-15 shot advantage. The go-ahead tally at the end of the second ignited a run of four unanswered goals for the Terriers, who are now 6-0-0 in non-conference play. That marks the first time in 11 seasons that BU has won its first six non-league contests. Check back to GoTerriers.com later tonight for a full recap.
8:41 p.m.
The Terriers are on their way to their third straight win and will take a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) into tomorrow's championship game against either No. 5 Denver or Holy Cross.
8:39 p.m.
The BU power play will look for its third goal of the night following a boarding call on RPI's Mark Zarbo with 4:07 left in regulation.
8:32 p.m.
BU has scored three goals on just five shots this period and the three tallies all came in a span of just under five minutes.
8:26 p.m.
TWO MORE BU GOALS! Junior Luke Popko scores at 13:07 and Yip follows up with another just 30 seconds later and suddenly it's a 6-2 contest. Freshman David Warsofsky assisted on both goals and Zach Cohen and sophomore Nick Bonino also picked up helpers.
8:20 p.m
Lawrence strikes again! Following an absolute blast by Connolly, the puck went off the rear boards and popped right in front of the left post, where Lawrence backhanded it in for his second goal of the game at 2:24 of the third. The tally came just 26 seconds into a BU power play following a slashing call on RPI's Jordan Watts.
8:15 p.m.
Period number three is underway. BU will look to continue the momentum from the end of the second and hopefully extend their five-game unbeaten streak. The Terriers are a perfect 9-0-0 this season when leading after two periods.
7:59 p.m.
The go-ahead goal ignited the Terriers, as they played great in the final two minutes of the period and nearly reestablished their two-goal advantage with a handful of scoring chances. However, Trivino was sent to the penalty box for hooking with 20 seconds left in the period. After two, BU holds a 26-12 shot advantage.
7:56 p.m.
BU GOAL! Senior Jason Lawrence followed up a rebound off a shot by freshman Chris Connolly. The power-play goal came at 18:06 and was also assisted by senior Chris Higgins. Following a wrister by Connolly from the top of the slot, the puck went off Lange and dropped still right in front of the right post. Lawrence dove towards the puck and elevated into the net to give BU the lead back.
7:52 p.m.
The Engineers successfully kill off the major after the Terriers never really threatened on the power play. However, BU will have another chance as sophomore Joel Malchuk is whistled for hooking with 3:38 left in the period.
7:42 p.m.
RPI ties it up on a shorthanded goal at 10:07. Following a five-minute major and game misconduct on Jeff Foss, the Engineers won the ensuing faceoff and Alex Angers-Goulet ended up all alone on a breakaway and beat Rollheiser. The Terriers will look to regain the lead with their lengthy man-advantage.
7:40 p.m.
To make up for Pereira's absence, the Terriers are going with seven defensemen, as senior Steve Smolinsky has filled in as the fourth-line right wing. This isn't a big change for Smolinsky, as he was a forward his first three seasons.
7:35 p.m.
We're nearly halfway through the second with the score still 2-1 in BU's favor. A shot by senior Brandon Yip from the high slot bounced off Lange and then off Kevin Gilroy, who was right outside the left crease, but the puck rolled just outside the left post.
7:32 p.m.
RPI is back on the power play following a rare penalty on Matt Gilroy. The senior co-captain is sent to the box for hooking. Just 18 seconds into the power play, RPI's Josh Rabbani is also whistled for hooking, giving us another 4-on-4 situation.
7:29 p.m.
We're back to even strength, as BU comes out unscathed from the major penalty.
7:26 p.m.
We'll have 4-on-4 play, as RPI's Scott Halpern is called for tripping.
7:25 p.m.
The second period is underway and the Terriers still have 3:20 left in Pereira's penalty. On first-period goals, junior Eric Gryba picked up a secondary assist on Kevin Gilroy's tally and for RPI, senior Kurt Colling was credited with an assist on his team's lone tally.
7:08 p.m.
The Terriers take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Shots for the opening period were 10-6 in favor of BU.
7:03 p.m.
First penalty of the game goes against the Terriers, and their down to 17 skaters for the rest of the game. A game misconduct was issued to Joe Pereira for a check from behind near the RPI goal.
6:58 p.m.
This is the second of three games against ECAC opponents for the Terriers this season. BU posted a 4-1 victory over St. Lawrence at Agganis Arena on Nov. 29 and will face Harvard in the first round of the Beanpot one month from today.
6:52 p.m.
RPI gets one back at 10:48 as senior Matt Angers-Goulet's effort from the right circle got a good piece of Rollheiser's pads before trickling in. Sophomore Bryan Brutlag assisted on the play.
6:50 p.m.
The Terriers have now scored a goal in seven straight periods and also have scored first in 13 of their 17 contests.
6:46 p.m.
Just like that it's 2-0, BU, as Kevin Gilroy scores from the left crease in his return to the lineup. Fellow freshman Corey Trivino set up the goal, which came at 6:43.
6:43 p.m.
BU GOAL! The Terriers get on the board first at 5:00 as junior Zach Cohen sent home the puck outside the right crease off a pass from sophomore Joe Pereira.
6:37 p.m.
The Engineers won the opening face-off and the 2009 Denver Cup is underway. The Terriers are the home team for tonight's contest and are wearing their white alternate jerseys. The Engineers are wearing their red jerseys, which have white patches on the left shoulder with the word "NED", honoring their late coach, Ned Harkness. Harkness, who passed away on his 89th birthday on Sept. 19, 2008, led RPI to the national title in 1954 before guiding Cornell to NCAA championships in 1967 and 1970. He was in attendance and honored on the ice during the Terriers' 6-3 victory over Cornell at the Red Hot Hockey contest at Madison Square Garden last season.
6:30 p.m.
The Terriers are in Denver for the first time since the 2004-05 season, as BU dropped a 4-1 contest to the Pioneers on Nov. 26. This is BU's first appearance in the Denver Cup and just its second holiday tournament appearance since winning the Great Lakes Invitational during the 2002-03 campaign.
6:23 p.m.
Here is RPI's lineup for tonight's contest:
Uryadov - Klerer - Rabbani
Watts - Polacek - Halpern
A. Angers-Goulet - M. Angers-Goulet - Colling
Vassel - Malchuk - Smith
Brutlag - Jensen
Zarbo - Foss
Burgdoerfer - Merth
Lange in goal
6:18 p.m.
The Terriers are without the services of sophomores Kevin Shattenkirk and Colin Wilson, who are playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championship. The U.S. squad suffered a shocking 5-3 loss to Slovakia in the quarterfinals today. Freshman Kevin Gilroy and senior Steve Smolinsky have taken their spots in the BU lineup and freshman Chris Connolly moves up to center the top forward line.
6:14 p.m.
Good evening from Magness Arena in Denver. The teams just completed their warm-ups and small groups of fans from both schools are starting to trickle in. Here is the Terrier lineup:
Higgins - Connolly - Lawrence
McCarthy - Bonino - Yip
K. Gilroy - Trivino - Vin Saponari
Z. Cohen - Popko - Pereira
Strait - M. Gilroy
C. Cohen - Smolinsky
Warsofsky - Gryba
Rollheiser in goal
