HARTFORD, Conn. - The Boston University men's ice hockey team scored three times in the second period en route to a 3-2 victory at No. 8 UConn on Sunday afternoon at XL Center.
BU (11-5-0, 8-4-0 HE) earned its third top-10 win of the season in a thorough performance from start to finish. Senior Wilmer Skoog capped the second-period scoring with the eventual game-winner, with junior Nick Zabaneh and freshman Lane Hutson also lighting the lamp. Sophomore Ty Gallagher recorded two assists while seniors Jamie Armstrong, Matt Brown and Domenick Fensore, along with freshman Devin Kaplan, added one assist apiece.
Junior goaltender Drew Commesso was outstanding on Sunday, making 28 saves, including several highlight-reel stops. Nineteen of his 28 saves came in the third period as UConn (11-5-3, 8-4-2 HE) pushed for an equalizer.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Terriers dominated the Huskies through the first 11 minutes, outshooting them by a 10-0 margin, but UConn scored off an offensive-zone faceoff to take a 1-0 lead against the run of play.
- BU finished the first with a 13-3 edge in shots on goal.
- Zabaneh began the Terriers' three-goal second period at the 5:34 juncture with a fantastic individual effort during 4-on-4 play. He took a pass from Gallagher at the BU blue line and dashed through the neutral zone. There were three UConn defenders between Zabaneh and the goal, but the Terrier junior dangled past the lone Husky who dared to challenge him before roofing a backhander past Arsenii Sergeev (31 saves).
- Hutson gave BU its first lead of the game at 7:33 of the second stanza. Kaplan dished the puck to Armstrong, who uncorked a shot that Sergeev turned aside. Hutson got to the rebound first, and with Sergeev out of position, he got the puck to his backhand and slotted home his seventh goal of the season.
- Skoog extended the lead to 3-0 at the 16:05 mark. He won a faceoff and immediately went to the front of the net. Brown fired a perfectly-placed shot that Skoog redirected past Sergeev.
- Fensore made a great diving play on the backcheck to prevent a scoring chance with just under 13:00 remaining.
- Commesso then made the save of the game with just over 9:00 to play, using his glove to rob Chase Bradley on a breakaway bid.
- UConn got an extra-attacker goal with 2:05 to play to make it 3-2, but the Terriers held off the Huskies for the remainder of the contest.
GAME NOTES
- Fensore extended his point streak to six games, totaling nine points (5g, 4a) in that span.
- Zabaneh finished the weekend with two goals and one assist for three points.
- Brown followed his four-point effort on Friday with another assist on Sunday, bringing his team-leading point and assist totals to 23 and 15, respectively.
- Skoog totaled three goals and one assist for four points this weekend.
- Hutson leads all Hockey East defenders with seven goals and 18 points.
- Armstrong closed the semester with an assist in four of the Terriers' last five games, including one in each tilt this weekend.
- This was Gallagher's second two-assist effort of the season; he also had two helpers in the Terriers' 5-2 win over Notre Dame on Nov. 23.
- BU was 5-for-5 on the penalty kill against UConn.
UP NEXT
- BU will return to action on Dec. 30 when the Terriers host No. 9Â Harvard at Walter Brown Arena.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.