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This season has been a story of two different Boston University men’s hockey teams.
One team played Providence College Friday night. No. 9 BU (17-11-1, 11-7-1 Hockey East) lacked effort. No. 7 Providence (17-8-5, 7-7-5 HEA) was able to push its way to the netfront and establish its play in its offensive zone, scoring six goals. Four of those goals were enough to knock Mikhail Yegorov, BU’s freshman goaltender who had proven himself to be a rising star in just six starts going into Saturday, out of the game.
The other team played the Friars Saturday night. BU shut out Providence 3-0 in its response to the game at Schneider arena the night before.
The Terriers controlled the puck throughout the majority of the first two periods in Agganis Arena. The passes were more direct, and the Terriers kept the puck on their sticks for longer. Unlike the night before, they were able to win battles in the offensive zone, creating scoring chances on the forecheck. BU was able to break through the neutral zone as well. The first two goals came off odd-man rushes.
Defensively, BU clogged up the middle of the ice when Providence broke into its offensive zone, forcing the Friars to the outside of the ice. Terrier defenders made 20 blocks in front of Yegorov.
“We clearly weren’t at our best last night, and I thought tonight we responded from our goaltender on out,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said after the game Saturday.
Yegorov has quickly put himself in the spotlight. After joining the Terriers for their second semester, he has posted a .944 save percentage and a 1.67 goals against average in his first seven collegiate games. Friday night was the first time he seemed like a freshman thrown into war.
“He wasn’t finding the puck as well last night,” Pandolfo said. “It’s been a whirlwind for him in the last month, and he was just a little off… Tonight, he certainly wasn’t off. It’s not easy to do, to come back and respond the way he did.”
Yegorov earned his first collegiate shutout on 30 saves Saturday night. He only faced 14 shots through the first two periods.
Providence made a push in the third period, but that was anticipated. The Friars were down two goals at the beginning of the final frame and pulled their goalie to try and swing momentum, but Yegorov held steady in his crease.
“Good for him,” Pandolfo said. “Last night, him not being at his best, and then the way he played tonight, it’s awesome to see. Says a lot about him. And he even took responsibility last night, which goes a long way with his teammates, with his staff.”
BU played better in front of Yegorov to help him out, both offensively and defensively.
Sophomore forward Jack Harvey opened the scoring just over halfway into the game. He and freshman forward Brandon Svoboda broke through the neutral zone in a 2-on-1. Svoboda beat the defender trying to take away the option to pass, and Harvey fired the puck home past Providence goaltender Philip Svedebäck to give the Terriers the lead.
BU broke into another odd-man rush two minutes later. Senior forward Matt Copponi buzzed up the right side of the ice and passed the puck backwards to freshman defenseman Sascha Boumedienne, who was flying up the middle. With his momentum already taking him straight to the net, Boumedienne rifled the puck into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking of for a while, obviously,” Boumedienne said postgame. “It felt good when it went in. All the emotions came out at once.”
Boumedienne turned 18 just under a month ago, and he has been growing his game throughout the season, culminating in that first goal. His defense has improved the most, though. He said he has been working on his stick details and his staking ability to be able to play hard in the defensive zone, and it has been paying off as the Terriers have begun to look better defensively as a whole.
Yegorov earned his first career point on Boumedienne’s goal, earning the second assist after getting the puck to Copponi to jumpstart the rush.
Quinn Hutson scored the third goal for the Terriers, which was both his 50th career goal and 100th career point as well as the final dagger to the Friars. He forced his way to the front of the net, taking advantage of the two Providence defenders and Harvey serving as a screen to fire the puck home.
“It’s an honor to be able to [reach those milestones] here [at BU]. It’s such a great program,” Hutson said postgame. “There’s a lot of history here, and I think it’s just pretty cool I got the opportunity to do that.”
The offense showed out, but after the final buzzer sounded, Yegorov was the player smothered by his teammates for his first shutout. He threw himself at the glass in front of the Dog Pound after the handshake line, too, a slam even more emphatic than the one after his first home game.
Yegorov and the Terriers have shown they know how to learn from a loss and bounce back the next game.
The Terriers will try to string together wins next week against Northeastern with a home-and-home series starting at 7 p.m. Friday night at Agganis.
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