BOSTON - Freshman Cole Eiserman scored 2:59 into overtime to lift the No. 9/7 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 14 UMass in a Hockey East quarterfinal contest on Saturday night at Agganis Arena.
Third-seeded BU (21-12-2) led by a goal on two separate occasions, but sixth-seeded UMass (20-13-5) twice equalized, including with 8:43 remaining in regulation, to force overtime. After freshman Mikhail Yegorov made the final of his 36 saves, freshman Sascha Boumedienne cleared the rebound off the crease and sent Eiserman on a 2-on-1 with senior Jack Hughes. Eiserman skated into the left circle before ripping a shot under Michael Hrabal's pads for his team-leading 21st goal of the season.
Boumedienne scored his third goal of the season and joined Eiserman as Terriers with multiple points on Saturday. Sophomore co-captain Shane Lachance got BU on the board first with his 11th goal of the campaign while Hughes, sophomore Tom Willander and junior co-captain Ryan Greene each had a helper. For Greene, that assist was the 100th point of his illustrious career.
BU will face either fourth-seeded UConn or second-seeded Maine in the Hockey East semifinals on Thursday, March 20, at TD Garden. Game time will either be at 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lachance took advantage of the Terriers' lone power play of the night just 5:14 into the proceedings. Hrabal turned aside a one-timer by Eiserman and Lachance was on the doorstep for the rebound. Lachance's first bid was stopped, but Lachance stayed with the play and from his knees, just below the goal line, he banked the puck off Hrabal's shoulder and into the back of the net.
- Jack Musa evened the score just 3:32 into the second period.
- Boumedienne made plays at both ends of the ice to give the Terriers a 2-1 lead at 11:26 of the second stanza. He began the sequence by breaking up a 2-on-1 rush for the Minutemen. Willander eventually got the puck out of the zone and up to Hughes on the left wing. Hughes carried the puck into the zone and he and Willander drew three defenders to them. That left Boumedienne wide open on the right wing and Hughes found him
- Junior Quinn Hutson thought he made it 3-1 late in the final minute of the period, but UMass successfully challenged that the zone entry was offside, keeping the score at 2-1 entering the final 20 minutes.
- Aydar Suniev tied the game at the 11:17 mark and UMass continued to push for a go-ahead goal, forcing Yegorov to make 19 saves in the third period.
- The Minutemen hit a post and then Joey Musa had a golden chance stopped by Yegorov. That was the game-winning stop, as Boumedienne quickly cleared the rebound and set the stage for Eiserman's heroics.
GAME NOTES
- BU will make its third straight and 28th overall appearance in the Hockey East semifinals.
- Greene became the second Terrier to reach 100 career points this season, as Hutson notched his 100th point on Feb. 15 at Agganis Arena.
- Greene has totaled 34 goals and 66 assists in his illustrious career.
- Eiserman has lit the lamp in three straight games, totaling five goals in that span.
- Hughes has recorded a point in three straight and four of his last five appearances.
