DENVER, Colo. - The No. 6 Boston University men's ice hockey team suffered its first shutout loss in over three years, dropping a 6-0 decision to No. 14/15 Denver in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Magness Arena on Saturday evening.
The Terriers fall to 10-6-0 overall while the Pioneers improve to 10-6-3 and snap an eight-game winless streak.
The last time BU was held without a goal was a 1-0 loss to Northeastern on Nov. 6, 2009 - a span of 125 games, which was the longest such streak in the nation.
Denver got goals from six players and four of them added an assist for two-point nights. Sophomore Juho Olkinuora stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn the shutout in goal.
Freshman Matt O'Connor made 32 saves on 38 shots for the Terriers, who had five power-play chances in the game. The Pioneers scored a power-play goal in each period and had eight man-advantage opportunities overall.
Denver got its first goal 4:59 into the contest on a power-play tally by Shawn Ostrow, but took a major penalty and game misconduct to Scott Mayfield midway through the opening period.
Just seconds into the major power play for the Terriers, a penalty on sophomore Alexx Privitera created a 4-on-4 situation, during which the Pioneers got goals from Zac Larraza and Quentin Shore just nine seconds apart to take a 3-0 lead.
The Pioneers killed off the rest of the major and took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. Despire the Terriers elevating their game in the second period, Denver's Nick Shore scored the lone goal of the stanza, converting on a power play to give the home team a 4-0 cushion.
In the third, Chris Knowlton scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season at the 7:10 mark to make it 5-0. Nolan Zajac created the 6-0 final when he potted a goal on a power play with 35 seconds left in regulation.
The Terriers set season highs in both penalties (17) and penalty minutes (56). Privitera received a game disqualification for kicking in the second period and junior Pat McGregor had a late game misconduct.
BU will return to action on Friday (Jan. 4) when it plays host to Rensselaer. Game time is set for 7 p.m.