College Hockey Update: Boston University prevailed over Cornell University in what I’d call a “sticky” game in second round action of the 2023 NCAA Hockey Championship Tournament in Manchester, New Hampshire yesterday, Saturday, March 25, 2023. I’d say “sticky” because of Cornell’s defense which at times made it seem as though there was glue on the puck when B.U. would get it, and try to move it up ice. The first period was not a wild affair, ending knotted at zero, and with each team managing only four shots apiece. Comparatively, the second opened up a bit, but not much, and B.U. had a slight shots advantage of 9-7. Dylan Peterson aggressively pursued the puck which caused a turnover picked up by Jeremy Wilmer only two minutes into the second. Wilmer fed it to Wilmer Skoog, who was wide open, and it was quickly fired into the net for the first score of the game, making it 1-0, B.U. Cornell had a chance to tie it in the second when a crisp shot by Gabriel Seger from the left circle looked like it was going top shelf to the right corner of the net, but B.U. goalie Drew Cammesso moved just in time to marginally deflect it with his left shoulder, sending the puck to bounce off the crossbar. B.U. had a chance to to up with six minutes left in the second when a Cornell turnover in the B.U. zone led to a breakaway, but the shot by Quinn Hutson bounced off the right post.

The sticky game continued on into the third with B.U. somehow outshooting Cornell 8-3. Seven minutes into the period Ethan Phillips poked the puck away from a Cornell player at the blue line, saw it was heading to Matt Brown, and Phillips raced into the Cornell zone. Brown lobbed it over two Cornell players to Phillips who fired a shot at the goal as the Cornell players raced into place to defend. But Phillips raced to the crease as soon as he shot it, the puck bounced off the pads of the goalie right in front of the net, Phillips was there first and he shot it into the net for the 2-0 B.U. lead. Cornell added an extra attacker with a couple of minutes remaining, and it paid off with a goal by Dalton Bancroft with half a minute left in the game, cutting the lead to 2-1. Cornell’s charge in the closing seconds yielded a couple of wide shots, and a blocked shot, and Boston University took the 2-1 win at the buzzer. Boston University advanced to the Frozen Four in Tampa, FL. to face Minnesota on Thursday, April 6, 2023, at 2:00pm Pacific Time on ESPN2.

OUR POOL

The outcome of this game was in one way a big upset, and in another way it wasn’t; 28 of our 49 participants picked Denver to win this, so it’s an upset in that way but really the upset goes back to the Cornell upset of Denver. One participant picked
Western Michigan to win this game. And of the remaining 20, 17 picked Boston University, and three picked Cornell, so in that regard, it isn’t and upset.

That’s all for now.

Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom