LOWELL, Mass. - Sophomores Ryan Greene, Quinn Hutson and Lane Hutson each found the back of the net to help lead the No. 9/8 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 victory at UMass Lowell on Friday night at Tsongas Center.
Greene gave BU (5-3-1, 2-1-1 HE) a 1-0 lead after two periods and the Hutson brothers added insurance goals late in the third to push the Terriers to their second straight win over UMass Lowell (4-5-0, 1-4-0 HE).
Senior Luke Tuch assisted on the Terriers' final two goals of the game, including the primary assist on Lane's eventual game-winner. Freshman Shane Lachance and sophomore Jeremy Wilmer assisted on Greene's goal, Tuch and graduate student Cade Webber combined for the helpers on Quinn's marker and sophomore Devin Kaplan had the other assist on Lane's strike. Junior goaltender Mathieu Caron made 10 of his 18 stops in the third period to preserve the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wilmer nearly opened the scoring early in the second stanza with a deft redirection that beat Henry Welsch (27 saves) but hit the post.
- BU needed just 15 seconds to convert on its first power-play chance of the contest at 6:05 of the second. Wilmer fed the puck to Lachance down low who quickly bumped it to Greene in front. Welsch turned aside Greene's first bid, but Greene knocked home his own rebound for his third goal of the season.
- Caron made a nice right-pad save early in the third period and then came up with two straight point-blank stops midway through the frame to keep UMass Lowell off the board.
- Quinn Hutson pushed the Terrier lead to 2-0 with 6:31 remaining in regulation. Webber gained the blue line and dropped it for Hutson, who blasted a shot towards goal. Welsch made the save, but he blocked the puck off his defender and it caromed into the back of the net.
- The River Hawks answered just 37 seconds after Quinn's marker to cut their deficit back to just one goal.
- Freshman Doug Grimes' hard work to clear the puck out of the BU zone drew an interference minor with less than 5:00 to play, giving the Terriers a power play after UML was pushing for an equalizer.
- BU made the most of the opportunity, as Lane Hutson took a feed from Tuch and beat Welsch low to the stick side.
- Caron then made a terrific stop on a shorthanded breakaway bid with less than two minutes to play in the contest to keep BU ahead by two.
- The River Hawks pulled Welsch in favor of an extra attacker and, with a BU player in the penalty box, cashed in on a 6-on-4 opportunity to get back within one.
- That was as close as UML got, however, as BU closed out the final 19 seconds of the contest.
GAME NOTES
- This was the fourth straight one-goal game between BU and UMass Lowell.
- The Terriers outshot the River Hawks, 30-20.
- BU went 2-for-4 on the power play and was 3-of-4 on the penalty kill.
- Lane Hutson has scored five goals in his last three games.
- Tuch has tallied nine points (3g, 6a) over the last nine contests.
- Kaplan extended his point streak to six games (2g, 6a).
- Wilmer recorded his 10th assist of the season, good for second in Hockey East.
- Webber led BU with four of the team's 16 blocked shots on Friday.
UP NEXT
- BU and UML will conclude this weekend's series on Saturday night at Agganis Arena.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
