GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The No. 3 Boston University men's ice hockey team scored twice in the third period en route to a 4-3 victory over No. 3 North Dakota on Saturday night at Ralph Englestad Arena.
BU (4-1-0) bounced back from Friday night's defeat by never trailing against North Dakota (3-2-0), leading after each of the first two periods before scoring twice in a span of 3:40 to turn a 2-2 score into a 4-2 lead. The Fighting Hawks got an extra-attacker goal with 1:55 to play, but the Terriers held strong the rest of the way to preserve the win.
Junior Devin Kaplan broke the 2-2 tie with a shorthanded goal at 12:28 and then had the primary assist on sophomore Tom Willander's power-play goal at 16:08. Sophomore Jack Harvey tallied a goal and an assist to join Kaplan as Terriers with multiple points. Freshman Sascha Boumedienne notched his first collegiate point while classmate Cole Hutson, senior Matt Copponi, freshman Cole Eiserman and senior Jack Hughes also recorded one assist apiece.
Senior goaltender Mathieu Caron made 29 saves to earn the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Terriers struck first with 2:51 remaining in the first period on their first power play of the night. Eiserman snapped his stick on a shot but was able to race back to the bench, get a new twig and rejoin the play in time to recover a puck and dish it to Hutson, who then fed Greene at the top of the zone. With sophomore Shane Lachance screening T.J. Semptimphelter, Greene sent a shot past the North Dakota netminder for his third goal of the year.
- The Fighting Hawks responded at 7:36 of the second period but Harvey restored the Terriers' one-goal edge with just 44.1 seconds on the clock. Copponi got the puck at his own blue line and zipped a pass to Harvey, who got behind the defense and raced in alone on Semptimphelter before firing the puck five-hole for his second goal of the season.
- North Dakota once again tied the game with 10:07 to go on a power play and immediate got another man advantage, but Kaplan came through with a shorthanded goal at 12:28. Boumedienne blocked a shot and then Harvey knocked the puck to Kaplan, who skated out of the zone with Harvey to his right, a defender in front of him and two Fighting Hawks backchecking. Kaplan got to the left circle and cut inside before scoring.
- BU then converted on a power play at 16:08 when Willander fired home his second goal of the season from the right point.
- The Fighting Hawks pushed for two goals and got one with their goaltender pulled, but Caron and the Terriers shut the door in the final 1:55 to ensure the weekend split.
GAME NOTES
- Copponi, Hutson and Willander all recorded a point in each game this weekend.
- Caron has not lost back-to-back starts since Jan. 31.
- Lachance, Harvey, Eiserman, Greene, Willander and Quinn Hutson all averaged a point per game in October.
- The Terriers have scored at least one power-play goal in all five games this year, going 7-for-34 (30.4%) with the man advantage.
- All six Terrier freshmen who have dressed this season have recorded at least one point.
- BU and North Dakota have split the last four games with one another, with the road team winning the second game both this season as well as last season at Agganis.
UP NEXT
BU will return to Agganis Arena to host No. 10/11 Michigan for a two-game series on Nov. 1 and 2.
