The game went exactly the way Yale wanted it to, but it still wasn't enough, as the nations's best offense topped the nation's best defense in the Northeast Regional's opening round.
After being stymied on 1:50 of power play time to start overtime, BU continued to control play in the extra session. Even Rodrigues helped get the puck up to the blue line next to the BU bench. From there, Jack Eichel let a drive go that Yale goalie Alex Lyon got his right pad on to make the initial save. The rebound went right to Danny O'Regan who was basically all alone on the far side low. He was staring at an empty net and the junior forward did not miss, as he netted his fourth game winning goal of the year and propelled the Terriers into the second round.
Well before the O'Regan goal, there was plenty of other drama.
Yale took a 1-0 lead at 13:19 of the second period on the power play. Nate Repensky got his point shot through and it beat Matt O'Connor high glove side. The shot may have been redirected on it's way towards goal, it was hard to tell.
Yale took that 1-0 lead into the third period and prior to this game, they had not lost a game when leading after two periods.
BU finally got on the board after a mad scramble in front of Lyon and the Yale net. A.J. Greer and Cason Hohmann were jamming away at a loose puck before it got to Ahti Oksanen, who went up stairs on Lyon to tie things up. The goal was reviewed for goalie interference, but the call on the ice stood after a lengthy review.
The Terriers took the lead less than three minutes later. Rodrigues carried the puck in over the Yale blue line and after gaining the zone he pulled up to create more space for himself. From the low circle on the near side, he let go a low shot that somehow got through some traffic in front and past Lyon between the legs.
Not long after, Yale tied it back up. Matt O'Connor made a sloppy clear to the near side boards where BU could not win a battle. The puck came loose and Frankie DiChiara jumped on it, took two strides and ripped home a wrister top shelf, high glove on O'Connor.
BU nearly won the game in the dying seconds of the game on the power play. Rodrigues threw a shot high on Lyon and hit him in the shoulder. The goalie shrugged it off and the puck clanged off the crossbar but not in and the game headed to overtime.
Looking at Duluth
With the win over Yale, BU will face Minnesota Duluth in the regional final at 5:30 tomorrow night. Duluth topped in-state rival Minnesota 4-1 in the late game this evening.
Duluth looked a lot faster than Minnesota and won a lot of battles against the Gophers. They finished plays and finished hits all over the ice. Two goals came on lethal tips in the slot on shots from the point.
The one thing I did notice (even though no goals were scored this way) was that UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo has a weak glove. He allowed several rebounds on shots to the glove and just didn't seem to have confidence to that side. Of course I could be totally wrong here, as thats the only game I have seen Duluth play all year. Just something I noticed tonight.
The Last Time They Met...
was November 8/9, 1991. BU swept the two game series at Walter Brown Arena by scores of 4-3 and 6-3.
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