Given that Connecticut came into this season picked to finish last in Hockey East, and came into this week with a 1-4-2 record, no one outside of the Huskies locker room would have given them much of a chance to earn even a point this week against two teams ranked top five in the country.
The UConn players and coaches believed otherwise.
On the heels of an historic 1-0 win against No. 3 Boston College on Wednesday night, the Huskies earned a gritty 4-4 road tie with No. 5 Boston University in an exhausting battle in front of 4,658 at Agganis Arena.
Both teams came from behind to tie the game twice, culminating in Shawn Pauly’s four-on-three power-play goal with 3:14 remaining. Pauly and linemate Trevor Gerling had two goals and two assists apiece. Meanwhile, Danny O’Regan had two goals and an assist, while freshman sensation Jack Eichel assisted on three of the Terriers’ four goals.
“Coming off of the win versus Boston College, we talked a lot about being a team that would celebrate something for 12 hours and move on,” Connecticut coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “We knew how well Boston University had been playing, and we talked about how we can’t just be one-hit wonders and parachute in and win a game.
“If we’re going to be a team that competes in this league for a championship, which is what our goal is, we’ve got to be able to play Boston College one night and Boston University the next night and play them very well, and I thought we accomplished that.”
“Typical Hockey East game,” BU coach David Quinn said. “It usually comes down to the wire, with one-goal games and overtime games. You always like to get four points after you win one on a Friday night, but three points is a good weekend in this league.
“It was a see-saw game, and probably justice that both teams got a point.”
It didn’t look like it would be a cliffhanger based on the opening minute. Just 35 seconds after the puck dropped, BU had a 1-0 lead. Eichel carried it into the zone before dishing to O’Regan, who made a nice move to his backhand to beat UConn goalie Rob Nichols.
If the Terriers inferred that it would be a rout, they had to think otherwise when UConn tied it just over three minutes later when Pauly buried a rebound after freshman goalie Connor Lacouvee made the initial save on a Spencer Naas shot.
After BU freshman Nikolas Olsson was tossed from the game because of a five-minute major for contact to the head, UConn took its first lead on the ensuing power play late in the second period. Once again, it was a goal off a rebound, as Gerling tapped in the rebound of Pauly’s shot.
Just as BU had scored in the opening 40 seconds of the first period, the Terriers repeated the feat in the third. Seconds after the five-minute major expired, Eichel carried it in before passing to freshman Brien Diffley low in the right-wing face-off circle. The defenseman fired a beautiful one-timer that found the top corner glove side for his first collegiate goal.
That set the stage for a hold-onto-your-hat finish. UConn killed off a penalty and then got a pretty goal from Gerling. beating the netminder after a nice pass from Pauly, but BU retied the game just 30 seconds later when junior Mike Moran artfully batted the puck out of midair for a highlight-reel goal.
At 15:43, it looked like the Terriers might have clinched it. Eichel threaded a gorgeous pass up the ice to launch O’Regan on a partial breakaway, which the right wing finished nicely on his backhand.
However, penalties paved the way for another UConn equalizer. With the teams playing four-on-four, UConn forced BU to take a penalty on a scoring opportunity, and the four-on-three advantage proved too much for the Terriers, as Pauly lunged face-first to poke in yet another rebound.
“It just squirted through, and I just pounced on that opportunity,” Pauly said.
That penalty was certainly a good call, but Quinn clearly seemed unhappy with the officiating due to the 7-3 difference in power plays. Afterward, he noted that this has been a recurring trend this season. Looking at the stats, BU’s opponents have a 35-18 advantage in number of power plays called thus far this season.
All the same, it was a good week for both teams, and one that underscored that the Huskies may be able to do much more damage than expected in their first Hockey East season.
“After the BC game, we took a line from [New England Patriots coach] Bill Belichick and said, ‘Ignore the noise.’ Just play,” Cavanaugh said. “We have a foundation that we’re building, and we’re looking to make that stronger with every game.”
UConn (2-4-3, 1-2-1 Hockey East) will look to continue its momentum with a home game against Sacred Heart on Friday, while BU (5-1-1, 3-1-1) plays at Maine on Friday.
