BOSTON, Mass. - Sophomore Quinn Hutson recorded his second hat trick of the season to help lead the No. 2 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Vermont on Saturday at Agganis Arena.
BU (24-8-2, 18-4-2 HE) honored its senior class prior to closing out the regular season with its fifth straight victory thanks to an impressive performance at all ends of the ice. Hutson was one of six players to record multiple points, with freshman Macklin Celebrini also notching three points by assisting on two of Hutson's strikes and scoring his 29th goal of the season in the third period. Senior Nick Zabaneh scored his third shorthanded goal of the season and also had an assist while sophomores Ryan Greene and Lane Hutson, as well as freshman Tom Willander, secured two assists apiece. Freshman Jack Harvey lit the lamp for the fifth time this season while classmate Gavin McCarthy joined brother Case and graduate student Sam Stevens in recording an assist.
Junior goaltender Mathieu Caron made 18 saves in 54:21 of work before senior Henry Graham made his official Terrier debut, playing 5:16 and stopping both shots on goal that he faced. Graduate student Nick Howard then took over for Graham and played the final six seconds in his Division I debut.
Graham, Howard, Zabaneh, Thomas Jarman, Case McCarthy, Dylan Peterson, Sam Stevens, Luke Tuch and Cade Webber were all recognized before the game for their contributions to the program.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Quinn opened the scoring just 9:04 into the proceedings. Lane forced a turnover in the neutral zone thanks to a terrific backcheck. He then gained the blue line and sauced the puck to his left for Celebrini, who then dished it to Quinn for the goal.
- That trio combined for another power-play goal with 1:41 to play in the first. Greene won an offensive-zone faceoff and Celebrini quickly slid the puck from the circle to Lane at the right point. He then found his brother at the top of the left circle, and Quinn made no mistake for his 15th goal of the year.
- Vermont took advantage of a major penalty to get a goal back at 5:52 of the second stanza, but Zabaneh responded with a shorthanded goal just 47 seconds later. Greene and Zabaneh played keep away in the offensive zone in an effort to kill time off the penalty. Eventually Greene dropped the puck for Zabaneh, who fired home a shot past Axel Mangbo (33 saves).
- BU put the game away in the third period with two goals in a span of 39 seconds. Celebrini got things started with a 4-on-3 goal at the 12:50 mark before a nifty backhander by Harvey made it 5-1.
- Quinn completed his hat trick with 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation during another Terrier power play with a wrist shot from the left circle.
GAME NOTES
- Quinn's first hat trick of his career came on Nov. 11 in a 6-1 victory over UMass Lowell at Agganis.
- He has set new career highs with 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points.
- Celebrini finished the weekend with six points thanks to three goals and three assists to extend his point streak to five games.
- The 17-year-old ended the regular season with an incredible 54 points on 29 goals and 23 assists.
- Lane has recorded two assists in three of the past four games, including both wins this weekend.
- He is now second among all active NCAA defensemen with 91 points, just two behind the leader despite playing 35 fewer games.
- Webber blocked four shots on Saturday and enters the postseason with an NCAA record 118 blocks so far this season.
- None of the seven combined goals on Saturday were scored at 5-on-5.
- BU went 4-for-5 on the power play while UVM was 1-for-2.
- Caron owns a .953 save percentage and a 1.22 goals-against average during the Terriers' five-game win streak.
UP NEXT
- BU will host a Hockey East quarterfinal contest on Saturday, March 16, at Agganis Arena.
- Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m., with the Terriers' opponent still to be determined.
