Nov. 15, 2013

Box Score

ORONO, Maine - The Boston University men's ice hockey team suffered its most lopsided defeat in over 18 years on Friday evening, as Maine posted a 7-0 victory at Alfond Arena. The Terriers move to 4-6-0 overall and 2-3-0 in Hockey East play.

Brian Morgan had a three-point night (2g, 1a) and Martin Ouellette made 34 saves to help the Black Bears improve to 5-4-1 on the year with a 2-2-1 conference mark.

BU was faced with a 2-0 deficit entering the first and had the better of the play for the opening minutes of the second before getting a 5-on-3 advantage. Instead of getting on the board, the Terriers allowed Maine to score while two men down and the visitors never recovered.

The last time the Terriers lost by a seven-goal margin was an 8-1 contest at Providence on Feb. 17, 1995. Following that result, BU reeled off 10 straight wins en route to the fourth NCAA title in program history.

Blaine Byron, Ben Hutton, Connor Leen and Devin Shore each recorded a goal and an assist for Maine.

Sophomore Sean Maguire made 17 saves on 20 shots before being replaced by classmate Matt O'Connor, who stopped 10 of the 14 shots he faced. Freshman Robbie Baillargeon recorded a game-high five shots for the Terriers, as each team registered 34 shots on the evening.

Shore opened the scoring midway through the first when his wrister from the outer edge of the left circle went off Maguire and in.

While skating on a 5-on-3 advantage, the Black Bears doubled their lead with just six seconds left in the opening period. A shot by Josh Henke was saved by Maguire, but Leen picked up the rebound at the right post and snuck it under Maguire’s pad.

BU got a lengthy 5-on-3 chance of its own at 8:24 of the second, but instead of cutting the deficit in half, the Terriers instead gave up a shorthanded goal that pushed the momentum even further in Maine’s direction.

Sophomore Ahti Oksanen lost his stick at the of the Maine zone and Hutton took advantage of the opportunity, racing down the left side with the puck before sending a shot towards Maguire that trickled under his legs and crossed the goal line just before BU could clear it out.

Just under six miuntes later, Maine jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to another Terrier turnover at the top of their own zone. Byron scored on a one-timer at the left slot on a pass from Morgan.

The Black Bears established a 5-0 cushion before the end of the middle stanza on a power play when Morgan redirected an offering from Eric Schurhamer off the crossbar and past O’Connor at the 17:23 mark.

Maine continued to capitalize on turnovers, as Bill Norman picked off a pass just outside the BU blue line and skated in all alone before beating O’Connor blocker side exactly seven minutes into the third to push the score to 6-0.

The home team put the finishing touches on the victory with a 2-on-1 rush that resulted in Morgan’s second goal of the night, which came with 10:01 left in regulation.

The Terriers will return to action on Sunday (Nov. 17) when they play host to Connecticut in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Game time at Agganis Arena is set for 5 p.m.