BC rallies from two goals down in third, earns shootout win over rival BU; No. 1 Minnesota State cruises; No. 3 Michigan beats No. 17 OSU late in regulation

 

Boston College trailed early in the third, rallied for the lead but then needed a shootout goal from Trevor Kuntar to earn the extra Hockey East point in an intense battle between these two classic rivals on Friday (Photo: Kyle Prudhomme/BU Athletics)

Boston College’s Trevor Kuntar scored the only goal in the fifth round of a shootout as the Eagles celebrated the extra Hockey East point over long-time rival Boston University following a 3-3 tie and scoreless overtime.

The shootout victory set off a celebration worthy of a rivalry victory as the two clubs met for the 285th time on Friday, both programs celebrating their 100th season of hockey.

The Eagles trailed for most of the opening two periods on a first period goal by Domenick Fensore and a second period tally by Max Kaufman.

But BC was explosive to start the third. Captain Marc McLaughlin finally solved goaltender Drew Commesso at the 1:00 minute mark of the third, before Nikita Nesterenko and Patrick Giles turned the game on its head with goals at 7:19 and 8:11.

BU still had a response, though, as Kaufman, who entered Friday with two goals, scored his second of the night with 8:43 remaining to force overtime.

SCOREBOARD  |   USCHO.com POLL

No. 1 Minnesota State 5, Bemidji State 1

Minnesota State did not fall victim to the curse of the polls, easily skating to a 5-1 win over Bemidji State in the Mavericks first game since becoming the newly-minted top team in the USCHO.com poll.

Ryan Sandelin put Minnesota State on top late in the first for a 1-0 lead through 20. But from there, it was an offensive onslaught as Reggie Lutz, Julian Napravnik, Brendan Furry and Jake Livingstone all tallied in the second.

From there, Dryden McKay needed just 11 total saves to earn the victory.

No. 3 Michigan 5, No. 17 Ohio State 2

Michael Pastujov’s goal with 4:57 remaining in regulation broke a 2-2 tie and Brendon Brisson’s tally just 25 seconds later broke open a tight game as Michigan continued its strong road play with a 5-2 win at Ohio State.

Michigan improves to 6-0 on the road and 7-0 overall away from Yost Arena. The victory was head coach Mel Pearson’s 200th career victory.

Goaltender Erik Portillo was extremely strong, stopping 36 shots to earn the victory for the Wolverines.

A key moment in the game came in the second period when Jay Keranen was ejected and given a five-minute major for contact to the head. Ohio State trailed. 2-1, at that point and though the Buckeyes tied the game later, Michigan killed off the entire OSU power play.