No. 13 Men's Ice Hockey Downs Merrimack in Friendship Four Opening Round, 6-2

BELFAST, Northern Ireland Thanks to a three-goal first period, Boston University's No. 13 men's ice hockey team got off to a successful start to the 2024 Friendship Four on Friday with a 6-2 opening-round win over Merrimack at SSE Arena.

The Terriers advance to the Friendship Four championship game for the second time in as many trips abroad and will face the winner of Friday's late game between Harvard and Notre Dame. The title match takes place on Saturday (November 30) at 2:00 PM ET.

Senior Tristan Amonte had a few games while sophomore defensemen Aiden Celebrini And Gavin McCarthy each scored his first goal of the season. Junior Quinn Hutson and sophomores Shane Lachance also found the back of the net.

BU took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission before the Warriors scored the only goal of the middle period and then made it a one-goal affair 21 seconds into the third.

Hutson set up a key insurance goal with just under 12 minutes to play and Amonte sealed the win with a long backhand that rolled into an empty net with 1:14 to play. Lachance capped the scoring with a power play goal in the final minute.

Senior Matthew Caron turned in a 31-save performance to earn the win in goal for BU.

The game counted as a Hockey East game and the Terriers now sit at 7-5-1 overall with a 4-2-1 conference mark. Merrimack falls to 3-8-1 and 2-5-1 in Hockey East play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After early penalties for both teams that resulted in short power plays, the Terriers got on the board at 7:10 in the game.
• A pass from the right corner from junior Devin Kaplan found Celebrini in the right slot, where the blue liner ripped a shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
• BU doubled the lead just over a minute later on a freshman rush Cole Hutson found Amonte between the tops of the circles, where he calmly collected the pass and fired a shot past Merrimack netminder Nils Wallstrom at 8:16.
• The early scoring spurt continued with the Terriers as freshmen Kamil Bednarik skated to the left side before waiting for the right moment to send the puck to McCarthy, who capped the short rush at 15:05 with the second goal of his career.
• Merrimack broke through on a power play in the second period when Antonio Venuto scored the only goal of the frame at 13:57.
• The Warriors stole the momentum right after the puck dropped on the third, when David Sacco buried a shot from the right circle just 21 seconds into the period to make it a 3-2 game.
• Hutson came up with what was perhaps the biggest goal of the game when he tipped a good point bid from Celebrini into the pads of Merrimack netminder Max Lundgren before cleaning up the rebound at the foot of the slot for a 4-2 lead at 8: 15. of the third.
• Merrimack challenged the goal for a potential high stick, but the call was upheld after a lengthy review.
• The Warriors pulled Lundgren for an extra skater with 3:25 to play but were unable to get another goal past Caron.
• Amonte secured his first two-goal game as a Terrier when he cleared the puck from the BU zone with a backhand that curled toward the empty net and came in with 1:14 left in regulation.
• The final touch came on a power play, as Lachance was in the right spot for a rebound in front with 29 seconds left.

GAME NOTES

• Lachance was named BU's Player of the Game by the tournament committee.
• Merrimack had a 33-29 edge in shots on goal.
• BU went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Warriors went 1-for-6.
• McCarthy's short count proved to be the game winner.
• Junior Ryan Greene and freshmen Cole Hutson each earned two assists as seniors Jack Hughes And Matt Copponi and freshmen Sascha Boumedienne added one each.
• In 2018, in its Friendship Four debut, BU posted a 3-2 win over UConn in the opening round before losing 2-1 to Union in the championship game.
• Amonte's brother, Ty, scored the game winner against UConn and added the Terriers' only tally against Union.
• All five goal scorers had a family member also play for the Terriers.
• Amonte, Celebrini, Hutson and McCarthy were each teammates with their brothers (Ty, Macklin, Lane/Cole and Case, respectively), while Lachance's father (Scott), uncle (Bob) and grandfather (Jack Parker) all played for BU.

NEXT

• BU now has its sights set on the Belpot Trophy and will face either Harvard or Notre Dame in the championship game on Saturday at 7pm GMT/2pm ET.