BOSTON, Mass. - Junior goaltender Mathieu Caron stopped all 36 shots he faced for his first shutout as a Terrier, backstopping the No. 2 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 3-0 victory over No. 16 New Hampshire on Saturday night at Agganis Arena.
Caron was sensational all night for BU (14-4-1, 9-1-1 HE) for his fifth career shutout and first since Jan. 14, 2023, while he was with Brown. Eighteen of his saves came in the first period as he helped hold UNH (11-6-1, 4-3-1 HE) scoreless on three power-play attempts, including two full minutes of 5-on-3 time.
Graduate Sam Stevens scored the game-winning goal with 8:35 remaining in regulation, with freshman Macklin Celebrini doubling the Terriers' advantage just 39 seconds later. Celebrini added an empty-netter with 1:57 to play for his third multi-goal game of the season.
Seniors Luke Tuch and Dylan Peterson each added two assists while freshman Tom Willander and graduate student Cade Webber also recorded one assist apiece. Webber was even more immense on the defensive end, as he led BU with six blocked shots. The Terriers totaled 25 blocks as a team, with graduate captain Case McCarthy blocking five shots and sophomore Lane Hutson securing four blocks of his own.
BU extended its win streak to five games and has not lost a Hockey East game since its league opener at UNH on Oct. 13, going 9-0-1 since that 6-4 defeat.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Caron was great right from the get-go, as the Wildcats outshot the Terriers, 18-8, in the opening frame.
- His best stop of the first 20 minutes came during the Wildcats' 5-on-3 power play when he slid to his right to deny UNH's leading goal scorer Ryan Conmy from point-blank range.
- BU generated some momentum following its PK success and nearly took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but Jakob Hellsten (23 saves) was equal to the task on a Celebrini shot.
- Both teams generated nine shots on goal in the second stanza, but once again both netminders were unbeatable. Hellsten made a pair of terrific saves, including a sprawling glove save on a Nick Zabaneh chance early in the period.
- Caron had another highlight-reel save to open the third period when he made a fantastic right-pad stop on Cy LeClerc as the Wildcat forward got behind the defense and right to the crease on a broken play in the Terrier defensive end.
- Stevens finally broke through at the 11:25 mark. Willander got the Terriers out in transition with a pass to Peterson, who gained the UNH blue line and slid the puck underneath a Wildcat stick to the tape of Stevens, who raced ahead of Peterson. Stevens skated to the right circle and then fired a shot that beat Hellsten low to the blocker side.
- Celebrini made it 2-0 just 39 seconds later. Tuch got to a puck behind the net at the same time as Hellsten and redirected Hellsten's clearing attempt over the net and onto the backhand of Celebrini, who quickly sent it into the empty net before Hellsten could recover.
- UNH pulled Hellsten in favor of an extra attacker with 2:53 remaining in regulation, and BU got an empty-netter with 1:57 on the clock. Webber blocked a shot and then cleared the puck to Tuch, who found a wide-open Celebrini in the center of the UNH zone for the easy finish.
GAME NOTES
- BU is 25-for-27 (92.6%) on the penalty kill since Nov. 22
- The Terriers have killed off the last 12 power plays they have faced, including a 5-for-5 performance on Saturday.
- Celebrini has scored twice in both games against UNH this season.
- At just 17 years old, Celebrini leads Hockey East in points (29) and points per game (1.71), and is third in the league with 13 goals.
- Stevens extended his point streak to five games thanks to his third goal in the last four games.
- In addition to those three goals, Stevens has recorded three assists for six points in that span.
- This was the second time in three games that Peterson recorded two points.
UP NEXT
- BU will trek to Vermont for a two-game series at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Jan. 19-20.
