A frustrating contest resulted in the first loss of the season for the sixth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team, as the Wolverines fell in a tightly-contested game to the ninth-ranked Boston University Terriers by a score of 3-2 on Sunday evening (Oct. 16) at Yost Ice Arena.
Junior netminder Erik Portillo was phenomenal from the jump for the second-consecutive game, holding BU off the scoresheet early despite numerous chances throughout the opening period. The Swede ended the first frame with 10 saves, coming up with big stop after big stop. In total, Portillo turned aside 28 of 31 shots that he faced in a strong, though losing, effort.
Following a flurry of early chances for the Terriers, Luke Hughes broke the puck out of the Michigan end before sending a short pass up the ice to Rutger McGroarty on the wall near the center-ice line. McGroarty popped the puck back out to Hughes, who was still picking up speed through the neutral zone. After entering the BU zone, Hughes made a crisp pass to the tape of T.J. Hughes who was skating down the ice on Luke's left wing. The freshman Hughes sent a low, hard shot past the pad of the Boston netminder to open the scoring 5:42 into the contest.
A Steven Holtz penalty for hooking at 9:03 granted the game's first power-play opportunity to the Terriers. Just as the two-minute advantage expired, Boston picked up a minor penalty of its own and passed the torch directly to the Michigan power play.
With 39 seconds remaining in the initial penalty, the Terriers took an additional penalty that created a short 5x3 situation. The Wolverines threatened but failed to convert before the teams returned to 5x5 play.
After 20 minutes of action, the Wolverines carried a 1-0 lead up the stairs to the dressing room despite being outshot in the opening period, 10-8. In a twist from Friday night's game, U-M also led in the faceoff dot, 13-8.
The Terriers tied the game at 6:56 in the second period when a powerful puck-protection play en route to the blue paint resulted in a transition goal that slipped through a sliding Portillo.
U-M's power play unit was reactivated at 8:03. With the extra skater, Michigan's netfront duo of T.J. Hughes and Dylan Duke went to work at taking away the eyesight of BU's goaltender. When Adam Fantilli ripped a shot on net from the bottom of the right circle, the initial rebound skittered out to T.J., who put another shot on net that the goalie still could not contain. The third time was the charm as Duke made no mistake and buried the puck into a yawning cage while the netminder was still regaining his footing.
Shortly thereafter, Boston tied the game at two by converting on a power play of its own 10:50 into the second period.
Captain Nolan Moyle was penalized for tripping with 4:39 left before the second intermission. For the second-straight time, the Terrier power play converted with the extra skater to pull ahead, 3-2.
After a hectic close to the middle period that included penalties on both sides, BU carried a 3-2 lead and a 23-21 advantage in shots on goal into the locker room. Faceoffs were even after 40 minutes, with each side winning 23.
Michigan's power play returned to the equation 4:32 into the third period when BU was penalized for interference, but the Wolverines couldn't cash in before returning to even strength.
Despite its best effort, Michigan failed to get the all-important game-tying goal before the end of regulation. When all was said and done, it was special teams that made the difference, as the Terriers finished the night 2-for-5 on the power play while Michigan ended at 1-for-5.
Next week, the Wolverines will head north to face off against Lake Superior State. The two-game non-conference series between ex-CCHA foes is scheduled for Friday (Oct. 21) and Saturday (Oct. 22), with Friday night's contest scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and puck drop on Saturday set for 6 p.m. The games will be streamed live on FloHockeyTV.
