BOSTON - No. 8/9 University of Massachusetts skated to a 2-2 tie with Boston University and then took the extra point with freshman Lucas Mercuri converting his attempt as the lone goal scorer in the shootout. The Minutemen now sit at 6-2-1 on the year, 4-0-1 in Hockey East, while the Terriers are 3-7-1 and 2-4-1 in league action.
"I really liked our first and third periods," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I felt like tonight, when we played the way we wanted to, we played well. In the second period, we took too many penalties and didn't manage the puck and BU was the better team, but I thought we recovered and thought our third period was solid and found a way to get the extra point in the shootout. Another tough game. I thought BU played hard, played fast, but we found a way to get the extra point."
At the 14:44 mark of the first period, junior Reed Lebster converted on the power play for UMass, driving home his third of the season from the slot off a feed from senior Bobby Trivigno and freshman Ryan Ufko.
Case McCarthy leveled the score at 1-1 for the BU just 1:18 later, capitalizing on a turnover by the Minutemen in front with Dylan Peterson and Jamie Armstrong earning the assists.
Senior Garrett Wait put the Minutemen back on top at the 17:44 mark, driving to the net to redirect home a pass from Ufko and junior Matthew Kessel at the points.
The Terriers came up with the equalizer in the second with Dyan Peterson picking up the power-play goal from Jay O'Brien and Wilmer Skoog at the 12:13 mark, knotting things up at 2-2.
UMass appeared to have regained the lead with under 12 minutes to play in the third amidst a scrum in the BU crease, but upon review the goal was waived off for goaltender interference.
In the shootout, Mercuri was the only skater to convert, roofing his attempt over Drew Commesso.
BU finished with a 34-25 advantage in shots and went 1-for-4 on the power play, while UMass was 1-for-3. Graduate student Matt Murray finished with 32 saves and Commesso had 23 for the Terriers.
The teams will be back in action on Saturday, November 13, with game two of the weekend set scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
