BOSTON, Mass. - Freshman Macklin Celebrini, sophomore Lane Hutson and sophomore Jeremy Wilmer tallied three points apiece to help lead the No. 9 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 5-2 win over No. 19 UMass on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
BU (3-2-0, 1-1-0 HE) fell behind UMass (4-2-0, 0-1-0 HE) just 46 seconds into the contest, but goals by Hutson and Celebrini at the end of the opening period gave the Terriers a lead they never relinquished. Both skaters added two assists to compete their three-point nights. Wilmer had the primary helper on both those goals and then assisted on senior Dylan Peterson's second-period strike to finish off his third career three-assist effort.
Sophomore Ryan Greene recorded two points thanks to one goal and one assist while senior Luke Tuch scored his second goal in as many games. Sophomore Devin Kaplan and senior Nick Zabaneh each added an assist.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UMass jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 46 seconds into the contest thanks to a Ryan Lautenbach goal.
- BU answered with a power-play strike at 15:51 off the frame. Hutson was given acres of space at the left point and skated just inside the left circle before uncorking a shot that got through Michael Hrabal (31 saves).
- Celebrini made it 2-1 with just 56 seconds remaining in the first. Playing out of his own zone, he deftly flipped the puck over a UMass defender's stick, got to the Minuteman blue line and slid the puck to Wilmer on his left. With Celebrini continuing to skate towards the cage, Wilmer played the perfect pass for Celebrini to redirect past Hrabal.
- Peterson pushed the lead to 3-1 at 14:18 of the second stanza. Freshman Tom Willander began the sequence with a smart pass off the neutral-zone boards to Wilmer at the UMass blue line. Wilmer left the puck for Zabaneh, who entered the zone with speed and skated to the bottom of the left circle. Two defenders picked up Zabaneh, which left Peterson wide open on the right side. He one-timed Zabaneh's feed bar down for his second goal of the season.
- Greene notched the Terriers' second power-play goal of the evening with 6:27 remaining in regulation to create a 4-1 score.
- Taylor Makar got the Minutemen back within two with 4:50 to play and UMass eventually pulled Hrabal in favor of an extra attacker with 2:56 on the clock.
- Tuch ended any hope of a UMass comeback when he fired the puck into the vacant cage with 56 seconds to go.
GAME NOTES
- Celebrini currently leads Hockey East in both goals (6) and points (9) thanks to his first career three-point game.
- Wilmer leads Hockey East with seven assists thanks to his third career three-assist performance and first since he notched three helpers in last season's Hockey East quarterfinal win over Vermont on March 11 at Agganis.
- Tuch has lit the lamp in three of the Terriers' five games this season.
- Junior Mathieu Caron made 18 saves and was an important part of a Terrier penalty kill that held UMass to an 0-for-4 mark on the power play.
- BU finished the night with 15 blocked shots, led by brothers Case and Gavin McCarthy with three apiece.
- The Terriers were 2-for-3 with the man advantage against a UMass penalty kill that entered Friday having killed off 14 straight power plays.
UP NEXT
- BU and UMass will conclude this weekend's series Saturday night in Amherst.
- Puck drop at the Mullins Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
