DURHAM, N.H. - Junior Jack Hughes and senior Nick Zabaneh each tallied two goals to help lead the No. 3 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 6-3 win at No. 18/17 New Hampshire on Friday night at Whittemore Center.
Hughes added an assist to match his career high with three points. Freshman Jack Harvey assisted on both of Hughes' goals for his first multi-point game as a Terrier while classmate Macklin Celebrini collected a goal and an assist. Freshman Shane Lachance also lit the lamp, one of 11 different Terriers to produce a point. Freshman Tom Willander, sophomores Quinn Hutson, Lane Hutson and Jeremy Wilmer, senior Dylan Peterson and graduate student Cade Webber all recorded one assist apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- BU opened the scoring just 1:11 into the proceedings.Hughes blocked a shot and skated the puck out of the zone before sliding it to Harvey at center ice. Harvey, Hughes and Celebrini created a 3-on-1, with Hughes skating to the left post. Harvey showed incredible patience and skill to wait until the last possible moment before dishing the puck to Hughes for the finish.
- Junior Mathieu Caron kept the Terriers in front with a spectacular pad stop on Mary Lavins, who forced a turnover in the BU zone and was alone on the doorstep.
- Harvey and Hughes once again combined for an early-period goal to get the Terriers going in the second, with Hughes knocking home the rebound off a Harvey shot from the slot just 1:41 into the stanza.
- Zabaneh extended the lead to 3-0 at the 9:33 mark when Wilmer and Peterson combined to quickly transition the puck to Zabaneh, who skated up the left wing before uncorking a bar-down beauty past Jakob Hellsten.
- Celebrini pushed the lead to 4-0 just 1:31 later when he redirected a Willander shot into the back of the net.
- UNH got on the board just 45 seconds after Celebrini's strike.
- Lachance regained the Terriers' four-goal edge with less than a minute remaining in the second when he got to the front of the net on a power play and pushed home a perfect feed from Celebrini.
- Robert Cronin cut into the deficit just 1:02 into the third period, but Zabaneh responded with his second bar-down beauty of the night at the 4:55 mark during 4-on-4 play.
- The Wildcats made it a 6-3 game with 5:00 remaining in regulation thanks to a power-play strike and had another man advantage shortly after that, but BU came up with a clutch penalty kill to maintain its three-goal lead.
GAME NOTES
- Friday was Hughes' first multi-goal game as a Terrier and his first three-point effort since Jan. 1, 2023.
- Harvey has recorded three assists at Whittemore Center this season.
- Lane Hutson recorded the 80th point of his career on Friday, reaching that number in just 62 games.
- Celebrini leads all NCAA rookies with 19 goals, which ranks fourth among all skaters.
- He has lit the lamp in seven of the last eight games.
- The line of Hughes, Celebrini and Harvey combined for three goals and four assists.
- Both teams recorded 25 shots on goal, with Caron making 22 saves.
UP NEXT
- BU will face No. 1 Boston College in the opening round of the 71st annual Dunkin' Men's Beanpot at TD Garden.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m.
