BOSTON, Mass. - Freshman Lane Hutson scored with 3.8 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the No. 7 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 15/14 Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Agganis Arena.
BU (15-6-0) trailed Cornell (10-6-1) on three separate occasions but equalized each time, with senior captain Domenick Fensore's power-play goal with 8:10 to play tying the game at 3-3 and setting the stage for Hutson's heroics.
Senior Matt Brown made the winner happen with a tremendous play at the blue line, sending a no-look pass across the zone to classmate Jay O'Brien. O'Brien then dished the puck to a wide-open Hutson in the left circle. Hutson collected the pass and quickly fired the puck past Ian Shane (36 saves) to secure the win and send the over 5,300 people at Agganis into a frenzy.
Senior Sam Stevens and freshman Jeremy Wilmer also lit the lamp for BU. Brown and O'Brien both assisted on each of the final two goals of the game, with Brown collecting the primary assist on Fensore's equalizer. Senior Case McCarthy and junior Nick Zabaneh had the helpers on Stevens' goal while freshmen Ryan Greene and Quinn Hutson assisted on Wilmer's strike.
Junior Drew Commesso was excellent between the pipes, stopping 28 shots, including 14 in the first period to keep the Terriers within striking distance. He made several outstanding stops throughout the game as part of his outstanding performance.
This was the 50th all-time meeting between the Terriers and the Big Red. It was also Cornell's first visit to Agganis Arena and first trip to BU since Nov. 25, 2001, when the teams played at Walter Brown Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Cornell scored late in the first to take a 1-0 lead but Stevens answered at 5:41 of the second when he got to the front of the net and redirected a rocket from McCarthy to even the score.
- The Big Red regained its lead at 13:45 of the second but the Terriers tied it again with just 9.7 ticks remaining in the frame. Quinn Hutson kept the play alive in the offensive zone which allowed Greene to thread a pass to Wilmer at the crease for a tap-in finish into a wide-open net.
- Cornell scored with just three seconds remaining on a power play at 8:20 of the third period to grab a 3-2 lead.
- That lead was short-lived, however, thanks to Fensore's goal. Brown sauced a nifty backhand pass to Fensore at the top of the left circle and the captain uncorked a wrister that had eyes for the top right corner.
- The Terrier penalty kill came up huge late in the third to keep the game tied, which allowed Hutson to send the crowd home happy.
GAME NOTES
- This was Lane Hutson's fourth game-winning goal of the season; all four have been in the third period or overtime.
- BU last erased erased three deficits in a game on Jan. 18, 2020, at Boston College.
- The Terriers gave up a power-play goal for the first time since Dec. 9 against BC; they had gone 16-for-16 on the penalty kill prior to Cornell's goal in the third period.
- BU has allowed just three power-play goals at home all season.
- Brown continues to pace the Terriers in goals (9), assists (19) and points (28) after his two-assist effort.
- Both Fensore and Lane Hutson have scored eight goals this season to lead all other Hockey East defensemen.
- BU outshot Cornell, 41-30; the Big Red entered the game having allowed just 20.19 shots on goal per game.
- McCarthy led the Terriers with six blocked shots.
UP NEXT
- BU will continue its five-game homestand on Jan. 20-21 when the Terriers welcome Maine to Agganis Arena for a weekend series.
