BOSTON - Freshman Macklin Celebrini, sophomore Ryan Greene and freshman Tom Willander all scored on the power play to lift the No. 8 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 9 Maine on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
BU (7-3-1, 4-1-1 HE) trailed Maine (6-2-1, 3-1-1 HE) just 14 seconds into the contest, but Celebrini tied the game at 1:55 of the first before Greene and Willander scored 2:46 apart in the second stanza to give the Terriers a lead they never relinquished. Maine got a power-play goal of its own midway through the third and made a push with an extra attacker in the final 1:06, but junior Mathieu Caron (29 saves) and the Terrier defense shut the door to earn their third straight win.
Greene finished the night with two points thanks to a goal and an assist. Sophomores Lane Hutson, Quinn Hutson and Jeremy Wilmer, freshman Shane Lachance and junior Jack Hughes each added one assist apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Thomas Freel gave Maine a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds into the contest.
- Celebrini wasted little time evening the score when he positioned himself in the right circle and one-timed a Lane Hutson pass past Victor Östman (26 saves).
- Greene gave BU the lead at 5:09 of the second stanza. Quinn Hutson created space for himself with a shot-fake and then skated to the right circle before sending the puck to the crease. Both Greene and Lachance were there, with the puck first hitting Lachance's stick and then immediately going off Greene's tape and into the back of the net.
- Willander extended the lead to 3-1 at the 7:55 mark of the period when his wicked wrister from the top of the zone sailed past Östman.
- Maine got within one at 9:02 of the third thanks to Freel's second strike of the night.
- The Black Bears pulled Östman with 1:06 remaining in regulation, but Caron made three spectacular saves and Lachance sprawled to block a shot in front of his netminder to preserve the win.
GAME NOTES
- Lane Hutson recorded his 60th career point on Friday in his 49th career game.
- He has totaled 23 goals and 37 assists during his time at BU.
- BU is 6-for-16 (37.5%) on the power play during this three-game win streak.
- The Terriers improved to 2-1-0 against top-10 opponents this season.
- Celebrini pushed his point streak to seven games; he has recorded at least one point in all 10 of his appearances this year.
- He is tied for the NCAA lead with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists.
- Lane Hutson's goal streak ended at four games but he pushed his point streak to five games with the primary assist on Celebrini's goal.
- Greene extended his point streak to four games and has now recorded a point in six of his last seven appearances.
- Willander joined graduate students Case McCarthy and Sam Stevens with two of the Terriers' 14 blocked shots.
UP NEXT
- BU and Maine will conclude this weekend's series on Saturday at Agganis.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m.
