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Joe Pohoryles·Mar 24, 2024·Partner

Will Smith, Boston College Storm Past Boston University to Win 12th Hockey East Title

Will Smith had five points to lead the Boston College Eagles to the 2024 Hockey East Championship with a 6-2 win against Boston University on Saturday. BOSTON – Leading 3-1 in the third period of the Hockey East Championship at TD Garden, Boston College had Boston University on the ropes. Will Smith, with two goals and one assist on the night already, had the puck fall to his stick on the doorstep at 6:32, but BU goalie Mathieu Caron snapped his glove as he fell into a sitting motion to rob the BC freshman by the literal seat of his pants. After the ensuing offensive zone face-off, Ryan Leonard danced around the BU defense and found Smith in the bottom of the right circle, and the San Jose Sharks draft pick wouldn’t be robbed again. He completed the hat trick at 6:46, and Boston College went on to capture the Hockey East title for the first time since 2012 with a 6-2 win. “I’ve been dreaming of coming to BC for my whole life,” said Smith, who became the first rookie to have a hat trick in a Hockey East Championship game. “Being there as a little kid, watching [2014 Hobey Baker winner] Johnny Gaudreau and now to be in his shoes just playing in TD [Garden], it’s really special.” Smith finished with four goals and an assist to earn Tournament MVP Honors. Jacob Fowler made 34 saves, while Cutter Gauthier and Gabe Perreault each had a goal and two assists to lead the top-seeded Eagles to their 12th Hockey East Championship. “We did a decent job in the first period moving our feet and eliminating time and space,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “Then in the second period, they made a great push and the game started to go sideways on us, but [Fowler] was there with some huge saves to keep us in the lead.” Macklin Celebrini scored, Gavin McCarthy tallied his first collegiate goal and Caron made 23 saves as the second-seed Terriers fell short of going back-to-back. Ryan Greene, who scored twice in the semifinals, had two assists. “It sucks,” BU captain Case McCarthy said. “I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s not a fun feeling. It’s an emotional night, but good news is we have more hockey to play.” Each side had a handful of power-play opportunities but only the Eagles capitalized, going 4-for-4 on the man advantage while BU squandered all three chances before scoring on a garbage-time major penalty. “Clearly we didn’t get it done on the penalty kill,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “We didn’t have an answer for it. So that was really, I guess, the biggest difference in the game when you give up four power-play goals.” Smith opened the scoring at 5:46 with a tight-angled wrister from the left side, which bounced off Case McCarthy’s leg and in. After Terriers defenseman Lane Hutson was called for tripping at 7:38, Smith doubled it up for the Eagles. Gabe Perreault sent a cross-ice pass to Smith, who sniped it from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 8:37. Gavin McCarthy gave the Terriers light at 4:27 of the second period to cut it to 2-1, beating Fowler from the right point. The Terriers continued to test Fowler, but another penalty put BC back on the power play, where Perreault fed Gauthier to put the Eagles back ahead by two entering the third period. “They had a little bit of momentum,” Fowler said. “I think as a goalie, at any point in the game, you want to give your team a chance, and to kind of keep that lead was something that I felt we really needed.” After Smith’s dagger pushed it to a three-goal lead, Gauthier returned the favor for Perreault, setting him up with BC’s fourth power-play goal of the night to make it 5-1 at 11:32. BC forward Jamie Armstrong – who won the Hockey East Championship as a member of the Terriers last season – was assessed a five-minute major for contact to the head at 12:27, giving his former team one last gasp at an improbable comeback. Celebrini (13 shots on goal) finally got one past Fowler at 14:45 to make it 5-2, but it was too little, too late. Smith capped off the night with an empty-net goal at 18:04, becoming the first player to score four goals in the Hockey East Semis or Finals. Fowler, Gauthier, Perreault and Eagles captain Eamon Powell joined Smith on the All-Tournament Team. Hutson, who earned MVP honors in 2023, was the lone BU representative. Now, both teams turn attention to the NCAA Tournament as the first and second seed, respectively. “You see around the country, other teams lose and they get fueled by their anger of losing in the tournament, so you can take it positive either way,” Brown said. “Back in the day when we were doing pretty well in national tournaments, it was usually just that boost of confidence that you got from winning this tournament.” Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' NCAA Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Related

Joe Pohoryles·Mar 23, 2024·Partner

Boston University Outlasts Maine; Boston College Thumps Massachusetts in Hockey East Semifinals

Boston College defeated Massachusetts 8-1, and Boston University topped Maine 4-1 in the 2024 Hockey East Semifinals, setting up a Battle of Comm Ave in Saturday's championship game against the conference's top two seeds. BOSTON – The 2024 Hockey East Semifinals took place at TD Garden on Friday, with the top-seeded Boston College Eagles taking on the fifth-seed Massachusetts Minutemen in the first matchup followed by the defending champion second-seed Boston University Terriers clashing with the third-seed Maine Black Bears. Boston University 4, Maine 1 When Boston University forward Shane Lachance scored a power-play goal at 4:27 of the third period, it looked like the nail in the coffin. The Terriers would lead the Black Bears by three and have a large cushion to defend for the next 15-plus minutes. Not so fast. Maine challenged the play for offsides, successfully, and the score reverted to 2-0. Just over two minutes later, Black Bears captain Lynden Breen would strike on the power play to cut it to 2-1 with 13:12 left to play. Maine pressed for a tying goal, until defenseman Liam Lesakowski committed a holding penalty at 9:31 to give BU another man advantage. This time, they made it count. Quinn Hutson leaped up to keep an airborne puck in the zone with his hand, Lachance won the board battle and he sent it around to Macklin Celebrini, who centered it to Ryan Greene for the 3-1 lead at 10:43. “Our guys, they do a lot of the talking on the bench this time of year,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “They lead the group, they hold each other accountable. They just said, ‘Hey, it’s not gonna hurt us. Let’s just keep playing.’ And we ended up getting another opportunity on the power play and capitalizing.” Maine continued to push, pulling goalie Albin Boija with over three minutes remaining and testing BU goalie Mathieu Caron until the end, but the Terriers held on to punch their ticket to the Hockey East Finals with a 4-1 win. Greene had two goals, and Caron made 32 saves in a standout performance for BU. Celebrini had three assists. “Knowing [Caron’s] back there, it makes it real easy for all our D,” Lane Hutson said. “He’s just that extra layer. No one’s gonna be perfect, mistakes are gonna happen but knowing he’s back there, he always has out backs and we’d like to have his back too.” Breen scored for Maine, and Boija had 14 saves. The Black Bears outshot the Terriers 33-18, but BU’s two power-play goals made the difference. “Our guys played hard. They play hard every game,” Maine coach Ben Barr said. “I feel bad for them that they’re not going to get a chance to play for a championship tomorrow night, but hopefully we can use that to drive us in the [NCAA] Tournament next week.” Greene opened the scoring at 8:59 of the first period, finishing off Quinn Hutson’s centering pass. Lane Hutson doubled the lead at 9:21 of the second period with a power-play goal to finish off a lengthy cycle. Sam Stevens iced the game with an empty-net goal at 19:33, and the Terriers will have a chance to defend their 2023 title on Saturday against their archrival Eagles. “I’m sure it’s gonna be, obviously, a crazy atmosphere like it always is,” Greene said. “But we’re gonna be ready. It’s always exciting playing [Boston College], and we get to play them in the Hockey East Championship [which] makes it even more special, so we’ll be ready to go.” Boston College 8, Massachusetts 1 With 5:26 left in the first period and the score tied 1-1, Boston College faced a massive obstacle against Massachusetts. Eagles forward Mike Posma was called for an illegal check to the head, receiving a five-minute major penalty upon official review. For essentially the rest of the period, the Eagles would be short-handed – creating an opportunity for the Minutemen to seize momentum and set themselves up nicely for the remaining 40 minutes. UMass defenseman Scott Morrow put a shot on net immediately after the first face-off, and the Minutemen had little trouble on subsequent zone entries, but BC goalie Jacob Fowler and the Eagles penalty kill held strong and neutralized UMass, which posed little threat of scoring with just four shots on goal. “I think that was a good momentum shift for us,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “We were playing pretty well, when you kill off a five-minute penalty and you’re not exhausted doing it. They had some pressure, but it wasn’t like we felt like we were completely under siege.” After surviving the major penalty and entering the first intermission tied, BC rode a four-goal second period to defeat UMass 8-1 in the Hockey East Semifinals. The Eagles set a Hockey East Semifinals record for most consecutive goals scored. BC’s vaunted freshman line of Will Smith (one goal, three assists), Ryan Leonard (one goal, two assists) and Gabe Perreault (two goals, two assists) dominated, and sophomore star Cutter Gauthier added two goals and two assists of his own. Fowler made 27 saves. Lucas Mercuri scored the lone goal for the Minuteman, and Michael Hrabal made 28 saves in the loss. “Against that team, you better be at your best,” Massachusetts coach Greg Carvel said. “And we were a long way from it tonight.” Perreault slipped the puck past Hrabal at the right post to give BC a 2-1 lead at 4:11 of the second period, and the Eagles poured it on from there. Minutemen forward Aydar Suniev had a chance to cut the deficit back to one shortly after Eagles forward Andre Gasseau pushed it to 3-1 at 6:43, deking in alone on Fowler at 8:58, but it was pushed wide. Smith and Gauthier tacked on goals to make it 5-1 by the end of the second period, and Aram Minnetian, Perreault and Gauthier added insult to injury in the third period to arrive at the 8-1 final. “Shift after shift after a goal is huge, and ‘Cut’s’ goal was huge for momentum,” Smith said. “Definitely gave the bench some big cheers there, so it’s awesome.” Boston College returns to the Hockey East championship for the first time since 2019 with a chance to win its first title since 2012, and 12th overall. “Anytime you have the opportunity to win a trophy, your mindset is not making any mistakes and just trying to win,” Gauthier said. “We haven’t been in this position for a while, at least when I’ve been here, so it’s a pretty cool feeling having a great group of guys we have in that locker room.” *** BU and BC are meeting in the Hockey East Championship for just the third time. BU won the first two meetings: 9-4 in 1986 and 2-1 (OT) in 2006. BC swept their two-game series in late January, but BU got revenge in the first round of the Beanpot in February. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' NCAA Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Related

Joe Pohoryles·Feb 13, 2024·Partner

Fontaine Scores Another Overtime Winner, Northeastern Tops BU 4-3 in 71st Beanpot Final

Northeastern's Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored in overtime for the second week in a row to topple Boston University 4-3 and win the Huskies' ninth Beanpot. BOSTON – Gunnarwolfe Fontaine did it again. The Northeastern senior forward scored with 28.6 seconds left in overtime to secure a 4-3 win for the Huskies in the 71st Beanpot Championship against Boston University at TD Garden on Monday. Fontaine scored the overtime winner last week against Harvard to send Northeastern to the final, and he did it again for the championship. The Huskies never led prior to the winning goal, and overcame three different one-goal deficits en route to their fifth title in the last six tournaments. “We knew going into the third it was going to be a close game and we needed to find a way to win in the third period,” Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe said. “Good teams do have to give ourselves a chance… You need your best players to make plays, and they did in overtime.” BU outshot the Huskies 6-1 in overtime, but Northeastern’s one made the difference. Fontaine and Huskies captain Justin Hryckowian charged up ice on a 2-on-1. Fontaine dropped it off for Hryckowian, who fended off two Terrier defenders between the right circle and goal line before dishing it back to a wide-open Fontaine on the inner edge of the left circle. “We were confident in our ability to play any team, any game,” Fontaine said. “And we know if we play our style, we can win any game, so we’re a confident group.” The win marked Northeastern’s ninth title in the history of the tournament. Fontaine had two assists in addition to his overtime winner and was named tournament MVP, while Northeastern goalie Cameron Whitehead (33 saves) earned the Eberly Award as best goalie of the tournament. BU forward Macklin Celebrini scored his 23rd goal of the season to move into a tie with Boston College’s Cutter Gauthier for most goals in the NCAA. Lane Hutson, the nation’s top-scoring defenseman (11 goals, 25 assists), broke his six-game goal drought to give BU a 3-2 lead late in the second period. Goalie Mathieu Caron made 13 saves in the loss, despite the Terriers outshooting Northeastern 36-17. “Obviously disappointed with the end result,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I mean, taking nothing away from [Northeastern], they kept fighting, but I thought we were the better team for the majority of the game. I thought we controlled possession. I thought we had better scoring chances, but hey, we ended up on the wrong side of it. We lost, so tough way to go down.” BU led 3-2 entering the third-period thanks to Hutson’s go-ahead goal. Jeremy Wilmer fed it to him in the slot from behind the net to put the Terriers ahead for the third time of the night with just 7.2 seconds remaining in the second period. It took Northeastern 48:36 until they got their first power-play opportunity, but they took advantage. BU defenseman Gavin McCarthy went to the box for holding, and Northeastern forward Jack Williams tied it 3-3 with a one-timer at 9:51 of the third after Terrier defenseman Cade Webber lost his stick. Celebrini opened the scoring at 14:41 of the first for BU. Huskies defenseman Pito Walton whiffed on a pass up ice right in front of Northeastern’s net. BU forward Jack Harvey picked up the puck and dished it back to Celebrini, who cashed in on the easy shot to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Northeastern tied it 1-1 at 5:52 of the second period, taking advantage of a 3-on-1 rush with BU caught behind in the play. Eventually, the puck got over to Matt DeMelis, who tapped it in at the net front. The Terriers got back in front when Northeastern defenseman Hunter McDonald deflected BU forward Devin Kaplan’s cross-ice pass attempt into his own net at 9:11 of the second, but Hryckowian drew it level just 39 seconds later. Terriers defenseman Aiden Celebrini blocked the Huskies captain’s first attempt from the right circle, but Hryckowian picked it up and slid it through Caron’s legs for the 2-2 equalizer. “[Caron] was a little square to me trying to locate the puck,” Hryckowian said. “I was just trying to get pucks on net and luckily it squeaked through.” The Terriers threatened to retake the lead for a fourth time in the final minutes of the third period, including on a Quinn Hutson wraparound attempt on a wide-open net that bounced off the post at 15:47, but the Huskies forced overtime before taking the Beanpot crown. “Going into the third period, there wasn’t panic,” Keefe said. “I thought our guys did a great job of just staying in that moment saying, ‘Hey, we’re right here. We got to go out, execute and win a third period, and we’ll have a chance to win the Beanpot.’” Fontaine and the Huskies took that chance and earned bragging rights in Boston to extend their Beanpot dynasty.

Joe Pohoryles·Feb 6, 2024·Partner

BU Star Freshman Lifts Terriers to Beanpot Semifinal Win vs. BC, To Meet Northeastern in Final

Macklin Celebrini scored two goals for No. 3 Boston University in a 4-3 win against No. 1 Boston College; Justin Hryckowian had three points in a 3-2 overtime win for Northeastern over Harvard in Beanpot semifinals. BOSTON – The 71st Annual Men’s Beanpot semifinals took place at TD Garden on Monday night, featuring an overtime thriller followed by a smackdown between two of the top teams in the country. Boston University 4, Boston College 3 The Terriers wanted revenge. After getting swept by Boston College just nine days prior, Boston University had a chance to respond at TD Garden. They didn’t waste any time. Macklin Celebrini, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, scored twice in the first 6:11 for BU. He took the puck in himself and beat Eagles goalie Jacob Fowler stick side at 4:00 before beating Fowler again on a power-play one-timer at 6:11 for an early 2-0 lead. Celebrini put 12 shots on goal in the two games against BC last week but only one went in, and it came in the final minutes with the game just about out of reach. Monday was a different story. “You’re not gonna score every shot,” Celebrini said. “You got to keep trying and changing things, practicing different things. We’ve been working a lot in practice of just seeing different looks and just talking it over, and when it goes in, it’s really nice.” The Terriers eventually built their lead to 4-1 by the third period thanks to goals from Luke Tuch and Ryan Greene, but BC fought back to cut it to 4-3 with 8:36 remaining. The Eagles threatened to tie it down the stretch, but BU held on for the win. “It’s a good response from our team,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Getting swept by BC two weeks (nine days) ago was tough. I thought we played very well in the first period, really well. And then I thought in the second period, they started pushing a little bit. We got away from our game, I thought, and then it was huge here when [Tuch] got the big goal for us to go up 3-1.” Tuch also had an assist, and Quinn Hutson had two assists for BU. Mathieu Caron made 34 saves. Gabe Perreault scored twice for the Eagles, and Fowler made 26 saves. After Perreault cut it to 2-1 at 6:06 of the second with a power-play goal on the doorstep, Tuch took advantage of a defensive miscue to push it to 3-1 at 11:49. Eagles defenseman Drew Fortescue mishandled a pass from behind the net, which fell right into Tuch’s stick. The senior forward spun around and fired on Fowler to double the lead. “I was just trying to get on the forecheck,” Tuch said. “I was out there a little bit longer, so I was just trying to buy some time for our guys changing, and I got lucky.” Greene roofed Tuch’s cross-ice pass to give BU its largest lead at 4:47 of the third, but Gentry Shamburger slammed in Connor Joyce’s centering pass at 8:07 and Ryan Leonard connected with Perreault at the back door to cut it down to 4-3 at 11:24. “The third was our best period by far,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “We just had a couple turnovers; one in the third, one in the second. It’s hard to win games like that if you have costly turnovers. Full credit to BU, they came out and established their game plan much better in the first than we did.” The Terriers improved to 30-17 against BC in the Beanpot and advanced to the final for the seventh time in nine years. *** Northeastern 3, Harvard 2 (OT) The 5 p.m. matchup between the Huskies and the Crimson may have been the ‘undercard,’ but Gunnarwolfe Fontaine delivered the knockout punch 33 seconds into overtime to send Northeastern to its sixth straight Beanpot final. Fontaine brought the puck in the zone before dropping it back to Justin Hyrckowian, who had two points on the night already. The Huskies captain drew in all three Crimson skaters in the right circle, leaving Fontaine open for the cross slot pass. “Me and [Hryckowian], I mean we’ve played with each other for three years now,” Fontaine said. “I think we have pretty good chemistry on the ice, and it was just a heck of a pass by him. I just had to put it in the empty net.” Said Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe: “Well, that’s the Beanpot. You can throw the records away coming into this tournament.” Hryckowian’s goal and two assists led all scorers, and Northeastern goalie Cameron Whitehead made 21 saves. Harvard goalie Derek Mullahy made 35 saves in the losing effort, and Ben MacDonald and Matthew Morden scored for the Crimson. “We had nine forwards playing in their first Beanpot. I thought they handled themselves pretty well,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “We do have a particularly young team this year, but I think they’ve persevered and I think we’re starting to develop an identity.” Ryan Healey had a chance to turn the game on its head with the game tied 1-1 at 7:32 of the second period. The Harvard forward dangled through the offensive zone and drew a penalty shot after Northeastern defenseman Vinny Borgesi tripped him from behind. With the ice clear, Healey took the puck down the left side before drifting into the slot and firing on Whitehead, who made the stop to keep it level. “The penalty shot was huge, to come up and make that save when [Whitehead] did,” Keefe said. “He made a huge save against a really good player, and our team has so much confidence in him, and sure he’s a freshman, but he’s got so much swagger to his game.” Morden eventually gave the Crimson a 2-1 lead with his first collegiate goal – a long-range shot through traffic – at 4:21 of the third, but Hryckowian tied it 2-2 at 10:43, picking up the loose rebound from Vinny Borgesi’s shot and backhanding it into the open net. “We know how important the Beanpot is playing in those high-stake moments,” Hryckowian said. “And you feel a little more poised in these situations when you get older and you’ve been through it.” *** Boston University will take on Northeastern for the 71st Beanpot title next Monday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET. It’s the 16th time the two sides have met in the final, with BU holding a 10-5 advantage. However, Northeastern has won four of the past five tournaments. Harvard and Boston College will play in the consolation game at 4:30 p.m. “We have a hard time with Northeastern since I’ve been here,” Pandolfo said. “They play us very tough. It seems like they’re always at their best playing against us, so we certainly have to be ready.” Related

Joe Pohoryles·Jan 27, 2024·Partner

Boston College Tops Boston University 4-1 in Battle Between Nation’s Best

Goalie Jacob Fowler and the Perreault-Smith-Leonard line powered the No. 2 Boston College Eagles to victory against the No. 1 Boston University Terriers in the Commonwealth Avenue rivals’ first meeting of the season. CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue dates back over 100 years, but for the first time in its history, the two teams that make up the heated rivalry – Boston University and Boston College – entered the matchup as the No. 1- and 2-ranked teams in the country, respectively. Despite all its history, it was Boston College’s new kids on the block that put their fingerprints all over the game on Friday. The Eagles’ star freshmen line of Gabe Perreault-Will Smith-Ryan Leonard combined for four points in a 4-1 win against the Terriers at Conte Forum. “They don’t need much space to make a play,” BC coach Greg Brown said of the trio. “It seems like if they just get a little bit of room, they start to read each other and they can throw some confusion on the defense with some overlaps and cutbacks. They know how to find each other so well in space, so they create great chances.” Leonard had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Fowler made 26 saves for the Eagles (17-4-1, 10-3-1 HE). Perreault scored a goal, and Smith had an assist. Jack Hughes scored the lone goal for the Terriers (16-5-1, 11-2-1 HE). Mathieu Caron stopped 28 of 30 shots faced. Star freshman Macklin Celebrini put five shots on Fowler, but his six-game point streak was snapped. “I thought as a whole, we were okay,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “They’re a very good team and they don’t need a lot of chances to score, and you have to manage the puck against them.” The Eagles led 2-1 with 2:11 remaining when Pandolfo pulled Caron for the extra attacker, but BC nullified the attack and scored two empty-net goals; first from Cutter Gauthier at 18:03 followed by Andre Gasseau at 18:57 for the 4-1 final. After a scoreless first period, which saw both sides exchange possessions, Leonard struck first for the Eagles at 3:34 of the second period. Terriers forward Jeremy Wilmer sent a weak pass attempt back to Aiden Celebrini, which was picked up by Eagles forward Mike Posma. Once established in the zone, Eagles defensemen Drew Fortescue and Eamon Powell got the puck down to Leonard, who beat Caron with a wrister from the right side. Terriers forward Luke Tuch nearly tied it at 11:04, but his shot rang off the post and out, marking one of several instances where the Terriers were inches away from turning the game around. With BU trying to establish possession in the offensive zone, Perreault and Aram Minnetian worked together to knock the puck loose and send it up ice. It got to Smith, who went across ice to Perreault, and the Hinsdale, Ill. native finished off the 2-on-1 rush from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 17:15 of the second. The Terriers brought desperation into the third period, but Fowler and the Eagles defensive corps got in front of every puck. “Our forwards and [defensemen] were both pretty well-structured tonight with all the details,” Fowler said. “Having sticks in lanes and being able to block shots. So any time they do that, they make it pretty easy on me.” Hughes finally got on the board for the Terriers to cut it to 2-1 at 13:23 of the third, snapping it past Fowler from the left circle on a feed from Dylan Peterson. That’s as close as the Terriers would get, as the empty-netters from Gauthier and Gasseau put the nails in the coffin with the Eagles taking the first game of the home-and-home set. The two teams meet again on Saturday, when the Terriers will get their shot at revenge on home ice. “We’re right there. We hit a few posts. We have to clean up a couple things, come back home,” Pandolfo said. “We know they’re a good team, but we’re a good team, too. We got a pretty resilient group in there, so we’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Joe Pohoryles·Nov 26, 2023·Partner

No. 16 Cornell Stages Third Period Comeback, Upsets No. 5 Boston University at Red Hot Hockey

Cornell goaltender Ian Shane made 35 saves, and forward Ondrej Psenicka scored the winning goal at 8:24 of the third period to win their fourth Kelley-Harkness Cup in a row at Madison Square Garden NEW YORK – Cornell was looking for a break. After a sluggish first period led to a more productive second period, the No. 16 Big Red had no answer for No. 5 Boston University in the ninth installment of Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Freshman Doug Grimes gave BU a 1-0 lead entering the third period, but back-to-back penalties – tripping on Jeremy Wilmer at 1:03 and interference on Lane Hutson just six seconds after Wilmer’s ended – gave Cornell a massive opportunity to bounce back, despite Terrier netminder Mathieu Caron (17 saves) continually shutting the door on the Big Red offense. Cornell failed to convert on the Wilmer penalty, but they wouldn’t be denied on Hutson’s. Ryan Walsh’s rip from inside the left circle tied it 1-1 at 3:58, abruptly shifting the momentum into Cornell’s favor. Just 4:26 later, Ondrej Psenicka took the 2-1 lead, knocking home a slick backhanded pass from Jonathan Castanaga. Psenicka has played at Madison Square Garden three times and has scored in all three games. The junior Czech forward now has three points (one goal, two assists) in nine games. “I just had in my head a plan, we have as a team,” Psenicka said. “And some personal goals I want to achieve in this game. Yeah, I think I get some luck in this arena, I guess. But yeah, guys help me a lot during that situation, so obviously I’m super, super happy to be one as a team.” The Big Red and goaltender Ian Shane (35 saves) had to kill off two more penalties, including 38 seconds of 5-on-3, and 1:33 of 6-on-5 at the end of the game to hold on to the win, their fourth in a row claiming the Kelley-Harkness Cup. “All the things that you think about facing adversity, the guys just stuck together as a team, and it was just a building block for us,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. “We know we have to get a lot better as a hockey team still, that’s just the first start of it, and very proud of our team for just finding a way to win tonight. It wasn’t beautiful, it wasn’t pretty, but with a young team you have to learn how to win.” BU’s freshman phenom Macklin Celebrini, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, went without a point for the second game in a row, and just the third time this season. Lane Hutson also failed to score, but the duo drove BU’s offense all night, combining for 11 shots on goal. They couldn’t crack Shane and the Cornell defense, which blocked 19 shots. The Terriers went 0-for-4 on the power play, and the Big Red dominated on the face-off dot, winning 37-of-58 draws (63.8%). “We couldn’t find a way to tie it up,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Give them credit, I thought their goalie was excellent. I thought they did a heck of a job selling out and blocking shots. But overall, I mean, I liked the effort of our group.” BU threatened to tie the game multiple times down the stretch. Freshman forward Shane Lachance, who assisted Grimes’ goal, lifted a puck just over the crossbar when facing an open net at 10:50, and Shane absorbed a high Celebrini snap shot with his shoulder with just 1:08 left in regulation. BU outshot Cornell 18-6 in the third period, and 36-19 the entire game, but Shane, who had not faced more than 20 shots in a game so far this season, held firm when it mattered most. “I don’t think there’s really any other team that we’re going to play against that has that much better, that much more skilled than I see on my own team,” Shane said. “So they do a great job preparing me throughout the week, and I hope they can say the same for me too.”