BOSTON, Mass. - Sophomore Drew Commesso made 35 saves for his first collegiate shutout as the Boston University men's ice hockey team defeated Vermont, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at Agganis Arena.
Commesso made 15 of his 35 stops in the third period as the Catamounts pressed for a goal until the final whistle. In his last eight starts, Commesso has posted a .954 save percentage and a 1.34 goals-against average.
Junior Ethan Phillips also had a fantastic afternoon, as he registered the first multi-goal game of his career with a pair of tallies. Junior Sam Stevens secured the eventual game-winner with his fourth strike of the year just 2:49 into the proceedings while junior Robert Mastrosimone scored a highlight-reel goal in the third period to help BU pull away for good.
Eight different Terriers recorded an assist on Saturday. As they did last night, juniors Matt Brown and Wilmer Skoog assisted on a Mastrosimone marker. Freshman Brian Carrabes and sophomore Nick Zabaneh assisted on Stevens' winner while freshman Ty Gallagher, senior captain Logan Cockerill, junior Jay O'Brien and sophomore Luke Tuch each added an assist.
BU (11-10-3, 7-6-3 HE) improved to 7-1-1 in its last nine games with the victory over Vermont (4-15-2, 3-8-2 HE).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stevens opened the scoring when he redirected a Carrabes shot past Gabe Carriere (24 saves). Zabaneh began the sequence by gaining the blue line and dropping a pass back to Carrabes.
- Phillips added to the Terriers' lead at the 15:24 mark of the second stanza. Cockerill rushed into the UVM zone and despite being tripped up by a Catamount defender was able to maintain control of the puck and dish it to Gallagher. The freshman defender skated to below the goal line and the goalie overcommitted to Gallagher, who then slid a pass back through the crease to Phillips, who fired a shot past a helpless UVM defender guarding the vacated cage.
- Mastrosimone made it 3-0 just 2:07 into the final frame. As the Terriers exited their defensive zone, Brown pushed the puck to Mastrosimone at center ice. A Catamount dislodged the puck from Mastrosimone for a moment, but the Terrier junior outworked and outmuscled the UVM defender and collected the puck at the blue line to create a breakaway attempt on Carriere. After a sensational move, Mastrosimone slid the puck past Carriere for his team-leading eight goal of the season.
- Phillips closed the scoring with 6:54 remaining in regulation. O'Brien sauced a backhander to a wide-open Phillips in the slot, and Phillips uncorked a wrister over Carriere's glove.
- Commesso stayed strong late in the game as the Catamounts had a flurry of chances in the final minutes to try and spoil the sophomore's shutout bid.
GAME NOTES
- This was the Terriers' first shutout since Feb. 12, 2021, when Vinny Duplessis also held Vermont scoreless for his first NCAA shutout in a 3-0 triumph at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
- All three Terrier goalies now have a shutout on their record, as junior Ashton Abel had recorded the last home shutout for BU, a 5-0 win over UMass Lowell on Jan. 24, 2020.
- Saturday was Phillips' fourth career multi-point effort and first since a two-assist performance at Merrimack on Oct. 22.
- BU went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill to extend its streak of successful penalty kills to 27 straight.
- The last time BU killed 25 straight penalties was from Jan. 24-Feb. 14, 2014, with the Terriers' last stretch of 30 or more successful kills happening from Oct. 22-Nov. 12, 2010 (32 straight).
- Phillips and Mastrosimone finished the weekend with two goals apiece while Brown and Skoog each had two assists over the weekend.
UP NEXT
- BU will visit UMass on Tuesday night in a game that will be televised live on NESN.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
