ORONO, Maine - Freshman Lane Hutson had a career-best four assists and five different Terriers lit the lamp as the No. 3 Boston University men's ice hockey team defeated Maine, 5-3, on Friday night at Alfond Arena.
BU (20-6-0, 14-4-0 HE) led Maine (11-13-2, 5-9-1 HE) on four separate occasions, with senior Wilmer Skoog's sensational backhander midway through the third period giving the Terriers the lead for good. Freshman Jeremy Wilmer added an insurance goal with 1:32 remaining in regulation to ice the game.
Freshmen Ryan Greene and Devin Kaplan both found the back of the net, as did senior Matt Brown. Wilmer, Skoog and Brown each added an assist to complete two-point nights. Seniors Domenick Fensore and Jay O'Brien assisted on Skoog's winner, with freshman Quinn Hutson also recording an assist. Junior Drew Commesso made several spectacular stops as part of his 25-save effort.
Jay Pandolfo became the first head coach in program history to win 20 games in his first season in charge of the Terriers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Kaplan gave BU a 1-0 lead just 4:12 into the proceedings. Skoog won an offensive-zone draw to Brown, who tapped it back to Hutson. He skated to his right before dropping the puck back to Kaplan, who fired a shot through a screen and past Victor Ostman (20 saves).
- Commesso made the lead stand up through 20 minutes with several nice stops as part of his 12-save first period.
- Maine used a redirection on the power play to tie the game 6:53 into the second, but Brown regained the lead for BU just 1:50 later. After a lengthy and relentless shift in the Black Bear zone, Hutson found Brown for an attempt that Ostman turned aside. Brown got his own rebound behind the goal line, however, and drove the net for a second time for a backhander that got through Ostman.
- The teams traded power-play goals at the end of the second stanza, with Greene's seventh strike of the season sending BU to the locker room with a 3-2 advantage.
- Maine quickly erased that deficit, however, early in the third to make it 3-3.
- Commesso made an outstanding glove save just minutes before Skoog's winner, as he denied Michael Mancinelli from point-blank range.
- Skoog's highlight-reel goal came with 9:01 to play. With a BU power play expiring, O'Brien kept the puck along the half wall before going down low to Skoog. With his back to the net, Skoog corralled the puck and quickly backhanded it bar down for his 11th goal of the season.
- Wilmer's insurance goal came after some sensational skating and stickhandling from Lane Hutson, who controlled the puck down low until he found a wide-open Wilmer in the slot for the finish.
GAME NOTES
- Hutson is just the second Hockey East player this season to record four assists in a game; he has notched at least two assists in five straight games.
- The four points is also a career high for Hutson, who extended his point streak to 10 games and has now recorded 13 points (1g, 12a) in the last five games.
- Brown (12g, 25a) and Hutson (9g, 26a) lead the league with 37 and 35 points, respectively; Hutson and Brown are also 1-2 in assists, with O'Brien fourth in Hockey East with 19 helpers.
- BU earned a three-game regular-season sweep of Maine for the first time since 2007-08.
- Wilmer extended his point streak to six games (6g, 3a) and has now scored a goal in four straight games.
UP NEXT
- It's officially Beanpot season, as BU will face Northeastern in a rematch of last year's title game that the Terriers won, 1-0.
- The Terriers and Huskies will play the late game at TD Garden, with puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m.
