BOSTON — After getting dominated by Boston University at home on Friday night, there was little doubt that Providence would come out flying as soon as the puck dropped for the back end of a home-and-home series.
The question was whether BU could weather the initial outburst.
The answer? Not well enough as Providence took a 2-1 win.
Providence outshot BU 17-5 in the first period, and only a phenomenal showing by Terriers goalie Matt O’Connor kept it a 1-0 game when it could have easily been at least 3-0 after 20 minutes.
BU played progressively better as the game wore on, but couldn’t overcome an initial 2-0 hole, losing 2-1 despite peppering Providence goalie Jon Gillies with 18 shots in a nail-biting third period for the Friars.
Gillies made 37 saves, while Mark Jankowski and Shane Luke scored for the visitors.
O’Connor continued his excellent play in the BU net, making 31 saves, and Danny O’Regan scored the lone BU goal.
The loss kept the previously-unbeaten Terriers from their first 5-0-0 start since the 1991-92 season, though the 4-0-0 start matched their best opening season streak since 2001-02.
“I just think it’s pretty gutsy for our team,” Providence coach Nate Leaman said. “We were about as bad as we’ve been since I’ve been the head coach last night, and for the guys to bounce back and put in a pretty gutsy performance on the road, I was pretty proud of them.”
Even after last night’s 4-1 win, BU coach David Quinn knew what to expect tonight – making it all the more frustrating that his Terriers reacted poorly to the predictable early onslaught.
“Well, we just couldn’t overcome a horrific start is what this came down to,” Quinn said. “I wasn’t surprised by their tenacity and their determination. I was surprised at our lack of those things.
“Basically, I felt we played 30 minutes of hockey, and in this league you can’t do that, especially against a team like that. They showed why they were the preseason No. 1 in our league.”
Between the bad Friday loss, a 1-3-1 early season record, and failing to live up to preseason expectations, the Friars looked awfully motivated in the early going. The Friars almost scored at the 2:00 mark, when a whistle blew due to a crease violation just a tick before Kevin Rooney shot the puck into a half-empty net.
Providence scored on its second power play at 8:57. The Terriers had the puck on their stick twice, but couldn’t clear. A rebound went to Nick Roberto, but he turned it over to Jankowski for the shot and score.
BU did have a few good chances in the first period, most notably when O’Regan clanged a shot off a post at 13:40. For the most part, though, BU was fortunate to get out of the period only down a goal.
BU started looking better in an evenly-matched second period, and freshman sensation Jack Eichel set up O’Regan for a great chance at 5:45, only to have Gillies make a nice save.
The Terriers really clamped down defensively until a Brandon Hickey turnover resulted in Luke getting the puck all alone from 20 feet out. He shot a wrister that went in top shelf, glove side for his first goal of the season.
On a power play early in the third, BU finally scored. Eichel passed to captain Matt Grzelcyk in the right-wing circle, and his shot led to a flurry of rebound chances for O’Regan and Grzelcyk until O’Regan finally nudged the puck into the net.
Providence countered with a pair of great chances around the nine-minute mark, when captain Ross Mauermann hit the inside of a post shortly after a wild scramble around the BU crease.
For the most part, though, the third period was all Terriers. Only some great saves from Gillies made that one-goal lead stand up.
“I thought it was actually a pretty even hockey game,” Leaman said. “I thought the first period we really controlled, the third period they really controlled, and the second period was a pretty even period.”
BU (4-1, 1-1 Hockey East) visits archrival Boston College on Friday night before hosting Connecticut Saturday, while Providence (2-3-1, 1-1) looks to keep the momentum going with a home-and-home series against Merrimack.
“After the game, I said, ‘Let’s use this to get back to playing our hockey,'” Leaman said. “Because we haven’t been playing the kind of hockey that’s made us successful since I’ve been at Providence. Some of that is probably the preseason hype. We’ve showed some immaturity and gotten away from what makes us us.”
Leaman feels that the team is still crafting its identity. On that front, this weekend was a big step back followed by a significant stride forward.
