SATURDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Late Boston University rally spoils Matthews Arena goodbye for Northeastern

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Boston University scored twice in the closing minutes Saturday to turn the Matthews Arena finale for Northeastern on its head, winning 4-3 (Photo: Karson Mui)

 

BOSTON — In the final game ever played at historic Matthews Arena, Boston University spoiled Northeastern’s farewell with a dramatic 4–3 comeback win, rallying from 2–0 down early and scoring twice in 18 seconds late in the third. Brandon Svoboda scored twice, including the game-winner, as BU closed the book on the building that opened in 1910 with a rivalry thriller.

Northeastern grabbed control in the first when Jacob Mathieu buried a power-play goal at 11:27, followed by Tyler Fukakusa at 14:37 off a feed from Giacomo Martino to make it 2–0. Svoboda got BU on the board at 17:40 from Nick Roukounakis and Jonathan Morello, and the Terriers pulled even in the second when Sacha Boisvert finished a setup from Malte Vass and Owen McLaughlin at 13:39. The Huskies seized momentum back just before the horn, though, as Joe Connor scored with one second left in the period to restore a 3–2 Northeastern lead.

In the third, Northeastern had an opportunity to extend the lead when Connor was awarded a penalty shot with 9:39 remaining and the Huskies clinging to its one-goal lead. Connor was stopped by BU netminder Mikhail Yegorov.

BU pushed in the third and finally broke through in the closing minutes. Kamil Bednarik tied it 3–3 at 18:03, finishing a cross-slot feed from Cole Eiserman. Just 18 seconds later, Svoboda crashed through two defenders and slammed home the go-ahead goal at 18:21 off a Roukounakis setup, stunning the home crowd. BU outshot Northeastern 35–21 and went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill while coming up empty on four power plays. Yegorov made 18 saves for the Terriers, while Lawton Zacher stopped 31 shots in a losing effort on a memorable, if somewhat heartbreaking, final night at Matthews.

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Arizona State 6, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 3

Arizona State stunned No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 6–3, riding a hat trick from Bennett Schimek and a three-point night from Cullen Potter to a statement home win. Goaltender Samuel Urban made 37 saves as the Sun Devils scored twice in each period and answered every Bulldogs push.

UMD opened the scoring at 3:13 on a goal from Braden Fischer, but ASU flipped the game before the first intermission. Schimek tied it at 11:10 off feeds from Potter and Samuel Alfano, then Potter buried a power-play marker at 19:30 from Sean McGurn and Schimek for a 2–1 lead. Schimek extended the cushion late in the second from Cruz Lucius, and Lucius then added what proved to be the game-winner at 2:32 of the third on an unassisted effort.

Minnesota Duluth twice pulled back within striking distance in the third on goals from Max Plante and Daniel Shlaine, but ASU answered each time — first through Justin Kipkie at 7:23, then Schimek’s empty-netter at 19:57 to complete his hat trick. The Bulldogs finished with a 40–30 edge in shots but went 0-for-1 on the power play, while the Sun Devils converted once in two chances and leaned on Urban’s 37 saves to finish off the upset.

St. Cloud State 4, No. 6 Denver 3

St. Cloud State stormed back from a two-goal deficit to hand No. 6 Denver a 4–3 loss at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Tyson Gross scored twice, including a power-play marker, and Patriks Berzins made 24 saves as the Huskies erased a 3–1 Pioneers lead over the final 20 minutes.

Denver answered an early goal from Max Smolinski with three of the next four. Kent Anderson tied it at 10:14 of the first, and Kyle Chyzowski gave the Pioneers their first lead on a power-play strike at 12:50. Reid Varkonyi extended the margin to 3–1 at 15:13 of the second, but Gross cut the deficit to 3–2 with 14 seconds left in the period, swinging momentum back to St. Cloud.

A string of Denver penalties in the third opened the door. On an extended man advantage, Gross buried the tying goal at 11:48, and three minutes later Barrett Hall finished off a feed from Austin Burnevik for the 4–3 winner. St. Cloud outshot Denver 32–27 and went 1-for-6 on the power play while holding the Pioneers to 1-for-2. Quentin Miller finished with 28 saves in the loss for Denver, which also held a 37–30 edge in the faceoff circle but couldn’t protect its two-goal cushion.

No. 4 North Dakota 3, Omaha 1

No. 4 North Dakota got a late second-period surge and a lockdown third to beat Omaha 3–1 at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Gibson Homer made 29 saves and Ellis Rickwood scored the decisive goal in the final seconds of the middle frame as the Fighting Hawks took the opener from the Mavericks.

Omaha struck first at 1:29 of the second when Cameron Briere buried a power-play rebound off feeds from Jeremy Loranger and Luke Woodworth. North Dakota answered quickly. Just 52 seconds later, Anthony Menghini tied it 1–1, finishing a setup from defenseman Jake Livanavage. The game stayed level until the dying seconds of the period, when Rickwood picked off a puck and scored unassisted at 19:58 to give UND its first lead.

The Hawks nursed that 2–1 edge through a tight third and sealed it late. With the Mavericks’ net empty, Cody Croal dove on a loose puck and fired home an unassisted empty-netter at 19:18 to cap the 3–1 final. North Dakota finished with a slight 31–30 edge in shots and controlled the dot, winning 55 percent of the faceoffs, while Homer turned aside 29 of 30, including 10 stops in the third. Omaha went 1-for-5 on the power play; UND was 0-for-2 but came up with key kills in the third to close out the win.

Augustana 4, No. 14 Minnesota State 4 (F/OT, Augustana wins shootout, 1-0)

Augustana jumped out early, weathered a push from No. 14 Minnesota State, and ultimately claimed the extra point with a shootout win after a 4–4 tie. Freshman defenseman Nace Langus scored the deciding goal in the shootout, while goaltender Josh Kotai made 38 saves to backstop the Vikings at Midco Arena.

The teams combined for six goals in a wild first period. Minnesota State struck first at 4:18 on Ean Somoza’s finish, but Augustana answered with four of the next five. Leonid Bulgakov tied it on a power play at 6:17, Jacob Jastrzebski scored on a penalty shot at 7:20, and after Jack Smith briefly pulled the Mavericks even at 8:18, the Vikings pulled away again on goals from Landon Fandel at 15:15 and Langus on another power play at 19:36. In the second, Minnesota State clawed back with a power-play tally from Reid Morich at 10:58 and Bergmanis’s equalizer at 12:25 to make it 4–4, where it stayed through regulation and overtime.

Kotai stopped 38 of 42 shots for Augustana, while Alex Tracy turned aside 27 of 31 for the Mavericks. Augustana went 2-for-2 on the power play and won the special-teams battle, holding Minnesota State to 1-for-5 with the man advantage. In the shootout, Langus was the lone scorer, beating Tracy to secure the extra point and cap a big night for both the freshman blueliner and the Vikings.

No. 15 Maine 5, Lindenwood 0

No. 15 Maine opened its two-game set with Lindenwood in emphatic fashion, rolling to a 5–0 shutout at Alfond Arena. Albin Boija stopped all 28 shots he faced, and the Black Bears’ power play struck three times as they outshot the Lions 51–28.

Maine set the tone early when Charlie Russell buried the eventual game-winner at 4:16 of the first off feeds from Luke Coughlin and Sully Scholle. Scholle doubled the lead on the power play at 6:40 from Justin Poirier and Josh Nadeau. Poirier took over from there, extending the lead to 3–0 with a man-advantage tally at 18:55 of the second, set up by Brandon Holt and Nadeau, then adding another power-play strike at 5:04 of the third from Miguel Marques. Just 31 seconds later, Lukas Peterson capped the scoring at 5–0 off a feed from William Gerrior and Oskar Komarov.

The Black Bears finished 3-for-6 on the power play and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, piling up 28 blocked shots in front of Boija. Lindenwood’s Liam Beerman turned aside 46 shots in a busy night, and the Lions held a 40–28 edge in the faceoff circle, but Maine’s special teams and shot volume were too much as the hosts cruised to the shutout to start the series.