No. 5 Terriers Defeated at No. 20 Merrimack, 4-1

Friday, February 17

North Andover, MA

7 PM

Boston University

20-9-0, 14-5-0

Merrimack

17-12-1, 12-8-0

Boston U.

Merrimack

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

No. 5 Terriers Defeated at No. 20 Merrimack, 4-1

February 17, 2023 | Men's Ice Hockey

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The No. 5 Boston University men's ice hockey team suffered a 4-1 setback at No. 20 Merrimack on Friday night at Lawler Rink.

Senior Jay O'Brien's sixth goal of the season got BU (20-9-0, 14-5-0 HE) within two midway through the third period, but Merrimack (17-12-1, 12-8-0 HE) added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the victory.

Seniors Matt Brown and Wilmer Skoog assisted on O'Brien's power-play strike. The Terriers outshot the Warriors, 39-21, including 17-4 in the third period.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Warriors opened the scoring at 5:30 of the first period and doubled their lead at 14:35 of the second stanza.
Junior Dylan Peterson generated a great scoring chance during a Merrimack power play late in the second when he drove to the net, but Zachary Borgiel (38 saves) denied both Peterson's original bid and the follow-up attempt by O'Brien.
Junior Nick Zabaneh then had a great opportunity of his own to get BU on the board after he exited the penalty box. He raced past a Warrior defender to reach a loose puck first at the Merrimack blue line. Zabaneh skated in on Borgiel, but the netminder made a great save to keep the score at 2-0 through 40 minutes.
The Warriors took advantage of a defensive breakdown to add to their lead at 3:10 of the third period.
O'Brien got BU on the board with a power-play strike at the 10;37 mark. Skoog kept the play alive by poking the puck to O'Brien at the top of the zone. O'Brien then dished to Brown, who fired a shot on target. Borgiel kicked away Brown's bid, but O'Brien crashed the net and pounced on the rebound.
The Terriers continued to pressure the Merrimack cage in search of another goal, but Borgiel and the Warrior defense were up to the task.

GAME NOTES

This was the Terriers' first Hockey East loss since Dec. 9 at Boston College.
Brown now leads Hockey East with 39 points thanks to his 26th assist of the season.
O'Brien has lit the lamp in two straight games and has registered a point in nine of his last 11 contests.
Junior Drew Commesso made 17 saves on Friday.
The Terriers killed off all four Merrimack power plays.

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