BU Men’s Hockey Tops UNH on Senior Night

By Marisa Ingemi 
BU News Service

The Boston University Terriers took the ice at Agganis Arena on Saturday night for the last time in the 2015-2016 regular season, and they did so on the team’s senior night. Senior captain Matt Grzelcyk got the scoring started in the first period when he gave BU its 1-0 lead, a lead the Terriers would hold on to throughout with a 3-2 victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats.

Grzelcyk gave BU its first lead of the game when he came streaking down the ice and his shot took a weird hop on UNH goalie Danny Tirone. It looked like Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson may have tipped it, but the puck bounced straight off the ice and into the back of the net to give the Terriers a 1-0 advantage.

A few minutes later BU scored again as fellow senior Danny O’Regan tallied his 14th of the season. The San Jose Sharks prospect was at the doorstep and his shot bounced behind Tirone and past the goal line to make it a 2-0 lead for the Terriers. Shane Switzer, a freshman defenseman playing his sixth game this season, made a terrific pass to find O’Regan ready to bury the goal. It was Switzer’s first point this season.

Switzer was playing for Brandon Hickey, who was banged up in the game the night before at New Hampshire. Robbie Bailargeon, a forward, also was out with a lower body injury and taking his place was junior forward Dillon Lawrence, playing his third game of the year.

Around halfway through the second period ,a freshman chipped in on senior night as Bobo Carpenter scored his ninth goal of the season. On the power play, Carpenter picked up a rebound and lifted a backhand shot over the shoulder of Tirone to give BU a 3-0 lead.

New Hampshire scored two goals in the third period to make it close, but sophomore goaltender Connor LaCouvee came up big in the final moments to close out the game. Both of UNH’s goals came in a span of 3:18 early on in the period, and BU had to hang on for the remainder of the contest.

The win was big for BU as it puts the Terriers in a tie for fourth place in the Hockey East standings with UMass Lowell. Depending on how things go on a road trip at Notre Dame next weekend, BU can finish anywhere between third and fifth in the conference.