Game 31 Recap: BU 2, NU 2

In the first game of the weekend with NU, nothing was settled.  On the scoreboard that is.  After a dominating performance in the first period that saw the Terriers take a quick 2-0 lead, the Huskies dominated play for the remainder of regulation.  While overtime would provide some good opportunities for the Terriers, the two clubs left Agganis with a rather un-satisfying 2-2 tie.

A little over 7 minutes into the first, Matt Gilroy fed Brandon Yip right at the goalmouth, and the senior Forward tapped in the puck on an open net.  In the waning seconds of the first, BU would connect at the end of a 5 on 3 power play.  Wilson would roof the puck over a sprawled out Thiessen, and the Terriers would head into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.  From my perspective, the Terriers looked unbeatable.  NU was playing hard, but couldn’t get past the defense, and BU was looking very strong offensively, making the most of their opportunities.

However, it was not to be.  Northeastern was pressing hard, but was unable to beat Millan.  That is, until a Steve Silva shot that knuckled in past Millan at 10:38 of the second.  This seemed to really take the wind out of the sails for BU, as NU would connect again less than two minutes later.  The Terriers were unable to clear the puck from the zone, and Wade MacLeod would sneak one past Millan in the middle of a crowd.  The clubs would head to the locker room all knotted up at 2-2.

The third provided more of the same for BU.  Notheastern was pressing extremely hard, holding the puck in the zone for extended periods of time, and Millan had to make some key saves to keep BU in the game.  As the teams headed into OT, BU seemed to find their legs again, generating a lot of opportunities early on.  It was the post that would save BU though, as NU managed to generate several great shots in the waning seconds.  The end of the game was marred by penalties, which even as a BU fan, were admittedly started by Brandon Yip, and did seem uncalled for.

After the game, Matt Gilroy would express his frustrations as BU seemed unable to hold on to the level of play they exhibited in the first.:

“It’s human nature to get ahead of yourself when you’re up 2-0, but good teams don’t do that, especially down the stretch,” he said. “We’ve got to get that out of our system. Northeastern took over in the second and it was a dogfight from there on in. We have to finish games even if we go up early.” - USCHO

The Good

• The first period play for BU.  The Terriers came out strong, and looked dominant.
• Matt Gilroy was all over the ice… very clearly the best player tonight.
• Millan made most of the saves he needed to.
• Colin Wilson made some excellent individual efforts.

The Bad

• The remainder of the game, minus most of overtime.
• Colby Cohen.  He made some very boneheaded plays that gave up the puck.  It is happening far too often.
• Brandon Yip’s final minute of overtime… too much fire.

Overall, the game solved nothing for the class of Hockey East.  Like I said before, it was unsatisfying, as I would’ve liked to have seen one of the teams really make their point as the best in the league.  However, with the way the Terriers played, we can say that it was a victory for NU and a disappointment for BU.  I would hope that this would be taken into account for the next game.

Other game recaps available:  Hockey East Online — USCHO

The two teams met again on Saturday night… you can check out that recap on this site in a little bit… I’m writing that one next!

Image Credit: Hockey East Online

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