BOSTON - Sophomore Jeremy Wilmer scored just 1:18 into overtime to lift the No. 2 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 4-3 win over Northeastern on Tuesday night at Agganis Arena.
BU (13-4-1, 8-1-1 HE) never trailed Northeastern (6-10-2, 1-9-0 HE) en route to its fourth straight win and seventh straight Hockey East victory. The Huskies rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to force overtime, but the Terriers prevailed thanks to Wilmer's heroics. Sophomore Ryan Greene skated the puck up the right wing into the offensive zone, drawing all three Northeastern defenders towards him. That allowed him to find a wide-open WIlmer in front of the net, and the second-year forward finished the play to complete a two-point night.
Sophomore Lane Hutson notched a goal and added two assists for a three-point night in his return to the Terrier lineup following his gold-medal performance at the World Junior Championship. Freshman Macklin Celebrini also made the most of his first game back from Sweden, as he lit the lamp and added an assist for a two-point evening. Graduate student Sam Stevens also scored for the Terriers, while junior Jack Hughes, senior Luke Tuch and freshman Shane Lachance each added one assist apiece.
Junior Mathieu Caron made 24 saves to earn the win, including two terrific stops in overtime.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stevens opened the scoring at 15:07 of the first period. He dropped the puck for Wilmer in the left corner, fought through a defender impeding his progress around tenet, and skated to the right post. As Stevens was getting into position, Wilmer changed direction to shake his defender and used his incredible vision to zip a pass through traffic to Stevens, who one-timed it past Cameron Whitehead (36 saves).
- Hutson made it 2-0 on the power play just 2:35 into the second stanza when he went bar down with a wicked wrister from the top of the right circle.
- Northeastern responded with two goals in a span of 1:57, as Brett Edwards and Justin Hryckowian both scored to even the score at 2-2 midway through the second.
- Celebrini regained the lead with a power-play goal at 6:43 of the third when he blasted a one-timer from the right circle past Whitehead.
- Alex Campbell brought Northeastern level again just 1:05 after Celebrini's strike.
- BU killed a late penalty to help force overtime.
- The 3-on-3 session was short-lived but exciting, as both teams had chances to end the game before Wilmer's third goal of the season ensured the extra point in the league standings for BU.
GAME NOTES
- BU is unbeaten in its last nine Hockey East games, going 8-0-1 in that span.
- Celebrini regained the top spot on the league's scoring chart with his 25th and 26th points of the season.
- He is second in the nation with 1.69 points per game.
- Hutson is tied for fifth in Hockey East with 25 points, which is most among league blue liners.
- Stevens extended his point streak to four games (2g, 3a) with his goal.
- BU went 2-for-4 on the power play and killed off both of Northeastern's extra-man opportunities.
- Tuch and senior Nick Zabaneh each played in their 100th game as a Terrier on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
- The Terriers will conclude their three-game homestand on Saturday when they host No. 16 New Hampshire at Agganis Arena.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m.
