BOSTON — The No. 1 Boston University men's ice hockey team roared back from an early deficit with three goals in the third period to force overtime but fell, 4-3, to No. 3/4 Michigan State on Saturday night in front of a sold out Agganis Arena. 

BU (2-2-1) was down two goals to Michigan State (3-1-0) through the first 40 minutes before junior captain Gavin McCarthy potted his first goal of the season at 2:13 of the third period. After the Spartans answered back to make it 3-1 at 2:52, sophomore Kamil Bednarik's shorthanded goal at 13:07 brought the Terriers within one. Freshman Conrad Fondrk netted his first collegiate tally at 15:02 to force extra time.

In the overtime period, sophomore Cole Eiserman threw a shot on Spartan junior goaltender Trey Augustine that leaked through his pads, but a goal line clearance set up the game-winning goal for the Spartans at the other end of the ice at 3:50 in the frame.

Freshman Ben Merrill recorded his first two collegiate points with assists on McCarthy's and Fondrk's goals. Sophomore Brandon Svoboda and Sascha Boumedienne both recorded one assist apiece. Sophomore netminder Mikhail Yegorov posted back-to-back 30 save performances. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The Terrier penalty kill went to work to start the contest with Yegorov stopping all four shots faced and freshman Jonathan Morello and McCarthy blocking two more. 
• The Spartans opened the scoring for a second night in a row at even strength at 8:46 of the first period. 
• BU led in blocked shots, 5-3, in the opening frame. 
• The Terriers' best puck movement of the second period came during a flurry of four consecutive shots in a series of 25 seconds, ending with an Eiserman one-timer attempt at 10:27. 
• Fondrk had another good look with a snipe from the right circle at 12:08, but Augustine's sprawling stick save kept the home team off the board. 
• The Terriers spent six minutes of the second period on the man-advantage, generating three shots on net, but could not convert. 
• Michigan State doubled its lead at 18:59 off a Terriers defensive zone turnover.
• BU limited the Spartans to just eight shots on target throughout the middle frame while putting up 12 shots of its own.        
• McCarthy opened the scoring for the Terriers at 2:13 of the third period. On a failed Michigan State clearing attempt, Merrill kept the puck in BU's offensive zone and forechecked with Svoboda before setting up the Terrier captain from behind the net on a one-timer that beat Augustine over his left shoulder.
• The Spartans quickly regained their two-goal lead at 2:53 to make it a 3-1 contest.  
• Bednarik got the home crowd roaring with a shorthanded tally at 13:09. He intercepted a Spartan leaving his defensive zone by poking the puck away, wheeling past a defender and lifting the puck past Augustine on the breakaway. 
• Fondrk completed BU's comeback and knotted the game at three goalie apiece at 15:03. The first-year tipped in Boumedienne's blast from the point for his first collegiate tuck.      
• After 60 minutes of regulation, the contest entered a five-minute, three-on-three overtime period.
• Eiserman nearly scored at 3:41, but the rolling puck was swatted away by a Spartan defender before it could fully cross the goal line.
• Michigan State found the back of the net at 3:50 on a two-on-one rush.              

GAME NOTES

• This contest marked the 19th meeting between these two teams, with Michigan State now leading BU in the overall head-to-head (10-9-0 MSU). 
• With Merrill's two assists and Fondrk's goal, BU's first-years have recorded at least three points in each of Terriers' first five games. 
• Bednarik collected the first goal of his sophomore campaign. His first collegiate goal also came shorthanded against Notre Dame on Nov. 30, 2024.
• Eiserman led all players in shots with five.
• BU took just two penalties, its lowest total of the season so far.
• The Terriers had not been shut out in the first two periods of a game since Jan. 25, 2025 in a 2-0 loss to Boston College.

UP NEXT 

• BU will conclude its seven-game homestand next weekend when the Terriers face No. 12 UConn in a home-and-home series.  
• BU will begin the two-game set by hosting the Huskies on Friday (Oct. 24) at Agganis Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

Fans can purchase tickets by clicking here.