Drew Commesso vs. SCSU (NCAA Regionals)
Matt Woolverton

No. 10/11 Terriers Downed by No. 7 St. Cloud State, 6-2, in NCAA Tournament

March 27, 2021

ALBANY, N.Y. – The No. 10/11 Boston University men's ice hockey team had its season come to an end on Saturday afternoon as No. 7 St. Cloud State took a 6-2 victory in the first round of the NCAA Northeast Regional at the Times Union Center.
 
BU opened the scoring in the opening moments of what ended up being a five-goal second period and found itself down 3-2 with a period to play.
 
The Huskies prevented the Terriers from getting an equalizer and tacked on three more goals to advance to Sunday's regional final.
 
BU finishes the season with a record of 10-5-1 while SCSU improves to 18-10-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Neither team got on the board in the opening period but the Terriers were forced to kill off a major penalty after freshman Dylan Peterson had his afternoon cut short after being issued a game misconduct for hitting from behind just 9:08 into the contest.
  • Freshman Drew Commesso was impressive in the first, stopping all 14 shots he faced, including nine on the major power play, to keep the game scoreless.
  • BU came out of the gates quickly in the second as sophomore Wilmer Skoog punched in a loose puck in the slot after senior Logan Cockerill knocked it away from a St. Cloud player.
  • The Huskies got an equalizer on a bizarre play as a deflected puck went high into the air and most of the players of the ice had no idea where it went. 
  • The puck dropped right in front of Micah Miller, who took full advantage of the confusion - and a relatively empty net - and sent it in at 12:14 of the second.
  • Just over a minute later, the Huskies got lucky once again as a shot by Nick Perbix from the right side went off two BU skaters and in to give St. Cloud at 2-1 lead.
  • BU used a power play to get back in the contest as junior Jake Wise took a pass from freshman Luke Tuch and curled around the top of the zone before cutting in through the left circle and wristing a near side shot that beat SCSU netminder David Hrenak high at 15:28, making it a 2-2 affair.
  • That deadlock lasted all of 32 seconds as Easton Brodzinski scored off a faceoff with exactly four minutes left in the middle stanza to give the Huskies the lead for good at 3-2.
  • BU appeared to have a great opportunity to get back into the game when St. Cloud's Chase Brand was dealt a game misconduct for an illegal hit to the head of sophomore Jay O'Brien at 3:29 of the third.
  • That chance changed in the blink of an eye, as a shorthanded breakaway for the Huskies turned into a penalty shot that was converted by Jami Krannila to double the lead.
  • The Huskies successfully killed off the major and then got another goal from Brodzinski at 10:04 of the third before Veeti Miettinen capped the scoring with just under five minutes to play.

GAME NOTES
  • St. Cloud held a 38-36 shot advantage as Commesso made 32 stops and Hrenak had 34.
  • BU went 1-for-4 on the power play and killed off both of the Huskies' chances with the man advantage, including the first-period major.
  • The Terriers were playing their first game in Albany since the 2000 NCAA East Regional.
  • Skoog's goal was his fourth of the season while Wise's was his first since the 2020 Beanpot title game.
  • The Terriers were making their 37th NCAA Tournament appearance, which ranks third all-time.
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