College Hockey Update:  Boston University prevailed in a stomach-churning nail-biter that perhaps shouldn’t have been so difficult, except that the Terriers tried so, so hard to give the game away at the end.

BU came out and dominated the first period, keeping play in the North Dakota zone, playing very unlike their “save it ’till the third” typical approach.  Five minutes into the period during a BU power play, a mob at the crease squirted the puck out to the left circle to BU’s Jack Eichel, who followed it around to his left, looked over his right shoulder, and fired a backhander on a line right into the middle of the opening in the net, to put BU up, 1-0.  BU continued to dominate the direction of the game, but when North Dakota did get into the BU zone, they did take their shots.  With about a minute left in the first, on another BU power play, Cason Hohman passed to BU freshman defenseman Brandon Hickey, of Leduc, ALB., at the left point, who one-timed a vicious slapshot into the net at hyperspeed to make it 2-0, BU.  Through the first, North Dakota ended up matching BU in shots on goal at nine apiece.

In the second, on a North Dakota power play only a minute into the period, Luke Johnson scored for North Dakota to make it a 2-1 game.  But the advantage returned to BU as they continued to constantly press North Dakota in their zone.  With about nine minutes remaining the second, Jack Eichel found A.J. Greer across the ice at the point and fired a pass that Greer one-timed into the net for the first of the two even-strength goals of the night, making it 3-1, BU.  Only two minutes later, BU defenseman Doyle Somerby fired a shot through a crowd from the boards at the left circle, between a few pair of legs, and under those of North Dakota Zane McIntyre, for the second even-strength goal of the night, to make it 4-1, BU.  Despite the claim of ESPN’s Barry Melrose that this was a “questionable goal,” the shot went in the net and counted on the scoreboard, and was certainly not the first time in the history of hockey that a goal had been scored by simply firing into a crowd in front of the goalie!  But immediately after this goal, the alarms went off for the crew from Grand Forks, and North Dakota took over the pace of the game, pressing BU at every opportunity; BU did contain North Dakota, and the second ended 4-1.  In the second, North Dakota had a bit of a shots on goal advantage over BU, 16-12.

The third opened right where it had left off, and the game was being played in the BU zone, and BU’s skates seemed to be set in reverse.  But again BU contained the North Dakota rush.  Then a tremendous lack of focus, execution, and discipline set in on BU like a house on fire.  About eight minutes into the period, when BU was actually on a power play (one they were not particularly pressing on), North Dakota cleared the puck out into the BU zone, and it was pursued by a BU defender, and North Dakota defensman Troy Stecher.  BU goalie Matt O’Connor followed the puck behind the net (something I have never, ever felt comfortable watching a goalie do — leaving the net wide open), and while O’Connor did not manage to actually kick the puck into the net (bad angle, I suppose), he did manage to kick it out about a foot in front of the post, alongside the crease, as if a mint on a pillow to the oncoming Stecher, who obliged and tapped the puck in to make it a 4-2 game.  Goal to Stecher, assist to O’Connor.   Unbelievable.  With the North Dakota pace grinding on, BU continued to contain it and hold them back.  Four minutes after O’Connor’s bonehead play, on a line change, Jack Eichel made one of his own, jumping on the ice before the last BU player had left the ice, snagging a penalty for BU, on which North Dakota’s Connor Gaardner capitalized with a power play goal, making it a nearly incomprehensible 4-3 contest. Any BU fan who was not yet feeling sick in the stomach, was now on the verge of passing out from anxiety-induced skyrocketing blood pressure.

“Ok, Ok, only four minutes to go, you can contain them, protect your lead, just play without doing anything stupid or getting anymore penalties,” was the thought that must have been carried by tens of thousands of BU fans watching.  Although this was clearly not the thinking of ESPN’s Barry Melrose, who must have been wearing his green and white North Dakota underwear, as he cheer-led North Dakota on, yelling things into the microphone as subtle as, “Come on North Dakota, you gotta win this face-off, doncha-know!”  With about a minute and a half to go, some pushing and shoving went on at the net, a great opportunity for BU to back off, take a fall to the ice on a shove if need be, let the guys who are behind on the score board  blow it and do something stupid, end up with a penalty, and have them end the game playing shorthanded.  After all, BU was wining, right?  But no, the BU players got sucked into it and started shouting back, pushing here and there.  And when it seemed as though all was calm, as a line change was being made during this break in the action, BU’s Evan Rodrigues had to distinguish himself for the first time ever as a dirty player by hitting a North Dakota player in the neck with his stick as they passed each other.  The North Dakota player went after Rodrigues, and as a result, both of them were sent to the penalty box.  Could very easily have been Rodrigues only.  With the empty North Dakota net, the team formerly knows as the Fighting Sioux had a five on four advantage with the extra attacker and the heat was on BU.  But BU again contained the action, and about seventy seconds into this extra-attacker play, a pass to BU’s Jack Eichel led to him taking a shot straight up the middle, and 130 feet away, the much needed BU insurance goal was in the bank, with only nineteen seconds left.  The final, 5-3 BU.  Four bottles of Maalox, six rolls of Tums, and five glasses of Alka-Seltzer later.

Boston University stumbled out of this one, and advanced to the NCAA Championship game to face Providence College tomorrow, Saturday, April 11th, at 4:30pm Pacific Time, on ESPN.

Don’t miss it.  These are two hot teams that have each beaten three excellent opponents so far in the NCAA Tournament.  Should be a great one.

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers, go College Hockey!

— Tom