BOSTON — Perhaps fittingly, Boston University honored its 1995 national championship winning team Friday night.
Two decades ago, the Terriers romped through the Beanpot tournament, Hockey East regular season and league tournament, en route to the national championship.
Tonight was hardly a romp, but it was just as effective in taking that first step.
Coupled with a Boston College tie, the No. 2-ranked Terriers clinched at least a share of their ninth Hockey East regular season championship, tying Notre Dame 2-2 at Agganis Arena.
For BU coach David Quinn, there was no need to dodge the moment. Even with the tie, the title was something to celebrate.
“It’s the pink elephant in the room,” Quinn said, noting that the team talked about having the title on the line before the game. “You’ve got to embrace that opportunity, and I thought we did. I really liked our game. I thought we did a lot of good things. I thought we defended well. It’s frustrating that you tie, but [Notre Dame]’s a good team.”
The Terriers held the Fighting Irish to just 19 shots on the night, and controlled the pace of play from the outset.
“They made life difficult for us, as [Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson]’s teams usually do,” Quinn said. “But I was proud with how we played. From a defensive standpoint, that’s the best we’ve played in a while.”
For Notre Dame, it was also a strong tie on the road in a game where the Irish were outpossessed the majority of the night. The Irish faced a barrage of 36 BU shots, seven of them coming on three BU power plays.
“Coming into the No. 1 team’s venue and getting a tie — we’ve grown up a lot,” Jackson remarked. “We played in a similar environment in Minnesota earlier this season and couldn’t handle it. That’s just confidence, gaining confidence. It’s too bad it’s the end of the season – I wish we could start over again.”
It was a sluggish first period for the Irish, as they were out-attempted 23-10.
BU could have taken the lead on three separate occasions with Danny O’Regan in prime positions to score – in transition after a saucer pass down the wing from Jack Eichel, in front of the net with Cal Petersen out of position, and setting a screen in front aiming for a deflection.
Each try went wide.
The Irish withstood the barrage and came out with more poise in the second period. At 4:41, they took the first lead of the game with Jake Evans beating Matt O’Connor (17 saves) on the blocker side.
BU responded five minutes later with Nick Roberto, a fourth-line winger, banging in a rebound after Jack Eichel carried the puck the length of the ice and tried to stuff it on goal at the end of a penalty kill.
Control of the game truly tilted back into BU’s favor 31 seconds into the third period when Evan Rodrigues pocketed his 14th goal of the season burying a long rebound created by O’Regan.
Even though BU controlled the run of play, freshman Anders Bjork found the equalizer at 16:17 for Notre Dame, sneaking the wrister past O’Connor short-side, tying the game at 2-2.
“I keep reminding people Bjork was supposed to be in high school right now,” Jackson said. “We accelerated him, he came in and has always had the skill level, and it’s just a matter of putting it together and getting the confidence.”
Bjork’s goal was part of a night where, despite a rocky start, the Fighting Irish freshmen showed improved maturity.
“We went through of the early pains of having so many young guys, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence now, which certainly makes us a better team,” Jackson added.
Though it was a 2-2 tie, the Terriers will relish the share of the title, with a chance to clinch it outright tomorrow. And then perhaps win another important title on Monday.
“It is a little strange, usually the Beanpot gives you a chance to warm up to tournament play,” Quinn said.
Instead, perhaps the Terriers will try making it work the other way around this time. Not exactly how they did it in 1995, but step one regardless.
