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No. 3 Terriers open Hockey East play with 4-2 win over UConn

No. 3 Terriers open Hockey East play with 4-2 win over UConn

BOSTON- Freshmen Cole Eiserman scored a career-best two goals and was a classmate Brandon Svoboda scored his first collegiate goal to help the No. 3 Boston University men’s hockey team earn a 4-2 win over UConn on Friday night at Agganis Arena.

BU improved to 3-0-0 in the Hockey East opener and used second-period goals from Eiserman and Svoboda to erase a 1-0 UConn (3-2-0, 0-1-0 HE) lead . Eiserman converted a power play in the third period to make it 3-1 before UConn responded shortly after with a shorthanded shot. However, in the second year Tom Willander He scored a decisive goal 2:17 minutes before the end of regular time, making the final score 4-2.

Co-captains Ryan Greene And Shane Lachance assisted Eiserman’s game-winner, two of the eight different Terriers recorded an assist. Seniors Tristan Amonte And Jack HughesJunior Devin KaplanSecond semester Jack Harvey and freshmen Kamil Bednarik And Alex Zetterberg Everyone had a helper. Senior goalkeeper Mathieu Caron made 24 saves in another strong effort.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Caron was back in top form from the first puck drop and made two huge close-range stops early in the first, keeping the game scoreless.

  • UConn broke through at the 16:44 mark of the first period when Hudson Schandor blocked a shot and converted on the ensuing breakaway attempt.

  • Eiserman evened the score 1:22 into the second stanza. Bednarik won an offensive zone draw in the left circle and Eiserman was first to the loose puck before going to the net and hitting a backhander to beat UConn goaltender Thomas Heaney (25 saves).

  • Svoboda gave BU its first lead of the game with 3:35 left in the middle frame. Zetterberg collected the puck deep in the UConn zone and found Amonte in the left circle. Amonte pulled a defender toward him before passing the puck deep to Svoboda. The freshman quickly turned toward the goal and found an opportunity at the near post for his first collegiate goal.

  • The Terriers extended their lead to 3-1 just nine seconds after UConn was whistled for a five-minute major. Greene brought the puck under the goal line and found Lachance at the top of the crease. Lachance’s attack bounced off a UConn defender and Eiserman knocked the puck out of the air and into the net.

  • The Huskies scored a shorthanded goal just 44 seconds later to cut the deficit back to one, but Willander finished the game at 17:43. Kaplan threw the puck deep to Hughes, who collected it in the right corner, shook his defender and then split two Huskies with a great backhand feed to Willander in the right circle, who scored a one-timer that shot past Heaney.

  • BU then dug deep to close out the rest of the game, as UConn held a 6-on-4 lead in the final minutes after pulling Heaney on a power play in favor of an extra attacker. The Terriers sold out blocking shots and Caron stood tall when needed to secure the win.

GAME NOTES

  • Eiserman is the first Terrier since at least 2002-03 to score four goals in his first three college games.

  • The last Terrier to open a season with four goals in three games, regardless of class, was Logan Cockerill in the 2020-21 season.

  • Svoboda joined Eiserman, Zetterberg and became the fourth Terrier rookie to light the lamp this season Cole Hutson.

  • Zetterberg, Willander, Lachance and Eiserman each scored at least one point in all three games.

  • BU has started a season 3-0-0 for the first time since the team won its first four games in 2014-15.

  • The Terriers have killed 11 of the first 12 power plays they have faced this season, including both of UConn’s chances on Friday.

NEXT

  • BU will host Harvard in an exhibition contest at Agganis Arena on Saturday, Oct. 19.

  • Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m