PEREIRA LIFTS BOSTON UNIVERSITY PAST WISCONSIN IN ICEBREAKER, 4-3
Senior Joe Pereira scores twice for Terriers

Senior Joe Pereira scored twice, including the game-winner, for the Terriers

ST. LOUIS - Senior Joe Pereira broke a 3-3 tie early in the third with his second goal of the night to lead the No. 14 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 4-3 victory over No. 13 Wisconsin in the opening round of the Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament on Friday evening at Scottrade Center. The season-opening win advances the Terriers to Sunday's championship game against Notre Dame.

The game marked the return of head coach Jack Parker to the Terrier bench, as the 38th-year mentor had a successful recovery from heart surgery that he underwent in July.

The Terriers went 3-for-5 on the power play to help erase an early 2-0 deficit. Junior David Warsofsky tallied a game-high three points on a goal and two assists and freshman Charlie Coyle scored his first collegiate goal and added a helper. Junior Chris Connolly registered a pair of assists in the victory.

Pereira's game-winner came on a breakaway at 2:55 of the third and was created thanks to tape-to-tape passes from freshman Sahir Gill and sophomore Justin Courtnall, who each earned their first career point with assists on the play.

Courtnall's clearing pass out of the BU zone found Gill as he approached center ice. Gill quickly spotted Pereira and threaded a pass right to his stick to spring him free and send him in all alone with only goaltender Scott Gudmandson to beat. The senior co-captain buried a shot to give BU its first lead of the night.

Junior Kieran Millan made 24 saves to earn the win in goal for the Terriers, who held a 32-27 shot advantage. Gudmandson recorded 28 saves for the Badgers, who went 2-of-5 with the man advantage.

BU will attempt to win the Ice Breaker for the second time in three years when it takes on Notre Dame at 3 p.m. CST on Sunday. The Fighting Irish posted a 6-3 victory over Holy Cross in Friday's opener.

Beginning with a power-play tally from Derek Lee 6:59 into the contest, the Badgers scored goals nine seconds apart - the latter coming from Ryan Littel - to take a 2-0 lead.

Pereira got the Terriers on the board when he knocked in a rebound off an initial shot by Coyle at 12:07 of the first on a power play.

Warsofsky, who also assisted on Pereira's first tally, tied up the game with a power-play marker of his own just over three minutes later, as the defenseman wristed the puck through traffic from the top of the zone on assists from freshman Adam Clendening and Connolly.

The Badgers were quickly able to regain the lead, however, and took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission thanks to a power-play goal from Jordy Murray at 15:45.

Coyle knotted the game at 9:18 of the second on yet another power-play tally, as the freshman was parallel to the goal along the left side and knocked in a perfectly placed pass from Warsofsky.

Pereira's go-ahead goal ended up being the only tally in the latter half of the game, as Wisconsin applied late pressure and nearly tied up the contest in the final minute only to have an apparent goal waved off due to the fact it was ruled to have been directed in by a player's leg.