BOSTON - Senior Luke Tuch scored 4:19 into the third period to break a 2-2 tie and lift the No. 9/8 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 3/4 North Dakota on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
BU (4-2-1) and North Dakota (4-2-1) battled to a 2-2 tie after two periods, with senior Dylan Peterson and sophomore Lane Hutson each scoring for the Terriers. Tuch then broke the deadlock with BU's second power-play goal of the contest to give the Terriers a lead they never relinquished.
Six different Terriers - freshman Shane Lachance, junior Ty Gallagher, freshman Macklin Celebrini, sophomore Jeremy Wilmer, junior Jack Hughes and sophomore Devin Kaplan - picked up an assist on Friday. Junior Mathieu Caron was terrific between the pipes for BU, as he made 16 of his 34 saves in the third period to preserve the win.
BU finished the game with 22 blocked shots, led by freshman Tom Willander's four blocks. The Terriers also went 2-for-5 on the power play and were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
This is the Terriers' first win over a top-three opponent since they defeated No. 1 Boston College on Feb. 6, 2021.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- North Dakota got on the board first just 4:18 into the proceedings.
- Peterson evened the score 16:33 of the first. Lachance collected the puck along the half-wall and drove to the left post. Peterson pushed his defender out of the way and was in perfect position to redirect Lachance's bid past Ludvig Persson (17 saves).
- Hutson gave BU its first lead of the game at 12:41 of the second stanza during a 5-on-3 power play, but the Fighting Hawks responded on the ensuing 5-on-4 chance just 26 seconds later with a shorthanded goal to even the score at 2-2.
- Tuch's heroics came just 4:19 into the final frame. Hughes began the sequence by feeding the puck to Kaplan at the left post. With his back towards the cage and a defender on the ground behind him, Kaplan turned, collected the puck, reached past the sprawled defender and somehow dished the puck to Tuch at the right post for the finish.
- BU was fantastic all night on the penalty kill but was especially good in the third period when it killed two chances thanks to some impressive shot blocking and goaltending.
- Peterson had the most memorable block midway through the frame, playing through pain and continuing to disrupt the North Dakota skaters before receiving a standing ovation as he made his way back to the bench after BU cleared the puck.
- North Dakota pulled Persson in favor of an extra attacker with 2:13 remaining in regulation, but BU blocked three shots and got one huge stop from Caron to keep the Fighting Hawks from scoring an equalizer.
GAME NOTES
- The Terriers improved to 7-2-0 against top-10 teams under head coach Jay Pandolfo.
- BU is 6-for-16 on the power play during its four-game unbeaten streak.
- Caron owns a .928 save percentage over the last four games.
- Hutson, Peterson and Tuch have lit the lamp in both Terrier home games this season.
- Tuch has tallied seven points (3g, 4a) during his four-game point streak.
- Wilmer continues to lead Hockey East in assists after recording his ninth helper of the season.
- Celebrini secured his 12th point of the season to remain as the league's leading point producer.
- Gallagher became the 19th different Terrier to notch a point this season.
UP NEXT
- BU and North Dakota will conclude this weekend's series on Saturday night at Agganis Arena.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
