BOSTON - The ninth-ranked Boston University men's ice hockey team closed out November with a 2-2 tie against No. 19 Massachusetts on Tuesday evening at Agganis Arena. Junior forwards Bryan Ewing and Pete MacArthur each recorded a goal and an assist in the third period to give the Terriers a 2-1 lead, but the visitors evened the contest with 10:28 left in regulation.
The draw ends the Terriers' three-game win streak, but completes an undefeated four-game homestand. BU now stands at 5-2-5 on the year with a 3-2-4 Hockey East mark. UMass moves to 6-3-2 and 4-2-1 in conference play.
UMass netminder Jon Quick turned in a tremendous performance, recording 33 saves, including 16 in the third period. BU senior John Curry was also impressive with a 22-save night after being forced to more saves in overtime (seven) than in any of the three periods.
After Cory Quirk gave UMass a 1-0 lead with a late second-period goal, the Terriers came out of the second intermission determined to get on the board. After recording a combined 16 shots in the first two periods, BU launched 18 shots on goal in the third and used hard work behind the goal to take the lead on tallies just over four minutes apart.
Just over a minute into the Terriers’ first power play of the third, junior Ryan Weston won a battle for the puck along the boards behind the cage and sent it towards the crease to Ewing. Upon receiving the puck, Ewing directed a cross-crease pass to MacArthur, who was all alone near the right post to knock home BU’s first goal at the 4:12 mark.
Ewing gave the Terriers the lead just over four minutes later on his first goal of the season. This time, it was senior Kenny Roche who set up the play, as the forward corralled the puck and circled around the backside of the goal before placing a pass in front of the right post. MacArthur returned the favor, finding a wide-open Ewing across the crease at 8:14 to make it a 2-1 contest in BU’s favor.
The lead would be short-lived – 82 seconds to be exact – as a play along the right boards in transition yielded what would be the final goal of the game. A slapshot from the stick of senior captain Matt Anderson caromed off Curry to the opposite side of the ice, where fellow senior Kevin Jarman was there to send home the rebound on a shot just inside the far pipe. Junior Mike Kostka also assisted on the play.
The Terriers continued to put on pressure on Quick and nearly broke the 2-2 deadlock with under six minutes left in regulation. Amidst a scramble in front of the cage, a quick whistle occurred right before sophomore Chris Higgins stuffed in a rebound, negating the goal.
UMass, which recorded just 17 shots in regulation, was aggressive in overtime, throwing seven shots on goal and forcing Curry to make some tricky saves. BU’s best chances in the extra session came in the final minute with a pair of crosses in front of the crease, but a game-winner was not in the books.
Just under six minutes after the opening faceoff, the visitors earned the first power-play opportunity of the night, but BU was able to kill it off despite a shot from Jarman that hit the post towards the end of the penalty. The Terriers also had a man-up chance in the opening period, but were unable to take advantage and headed into the first intermission with a 9-4 advantage in shots.
BU engineered a prolonged even-strength possession towards the end of the middle period but was unable to slip one past Quick. Soon after, a BU turnover deep in its own zone allowed Quirk to gather the puck in the slot before attacking the left crease and slipping a shot past Curry with just 2:07 left in the period.
The Terriers will return action on Friday, Dec. 1, when they kick off a home-and-home series with archrival Boston College at Conte Forum. Game time is set for 8 p.m. The two teams will face off the following night at Agganis Arena for a 7 p.m. start.