BU’s Second Period Surge Helps Terriers Edge PC Hockey

Providence College Press Release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jake Oettinger made 38 saves including 16 in the third period as the No. 5/6 Boston University Terriers outlasted the Providence College men’s hockey team, 2-1, on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at Schneider Arena.

The Friars fall to 5-6-2, (1-4-1 HEA) with the loss while the Terriers improve to 8-4-1 (3-1-1 HEA) with the win. Oettinger’s 38 saves were a career high for the freshman.  Sophomore Hayden Hawkey (5-6-2) made 16 saves for the Friars on Friday.

A physical opening 20 minutes saw the Friars outshoot the Terriers by a 13-3 margin.  With the teams skating 4-on-4, freshman Kasper Björkqvist took advantage of a Charlie McAvoy turnover in the slot and fired home a one-timer past Oettinger to give the Friars a 1-0 lead at 4:46.

Providence looked to extend their lead after BU’s Nick Roberto was ejected for contact to the head of Jake Walman, but the Terriers killed off the major penalty, including a 5-on-3 for over 90 seconds.  The Terriers looked to even things up in the closing seconds on the power play but Chad Krys’ shot beat Hawkey after the buzzer sounded.

After a slow opening period, the Terriers found their form and connected for two goals in a span of 1:37 as Jakub Forsbacka Karlsson knotted things up at 5:48 and Nikolas Olsson gave BU the lead with a shot from the right circle at 7:09.  Oettinger continued to stymy Providence in the second period, turning away all 10 shots on goal.

Providence out-attempted BU 32-9 in the final period, with Oettinger making one of his best saves of the night on a partial Brian Pinho break-in from the right wing.  The Friars continued to pressure the Terrier zone in the final minutes, including a scrum around Oettinger in the waning seconds, but the hosts couldn’t find the equalizer.

The Friars will head up to Agganis Arena tomorrow night for the second-leg of the home-and-home set with the Terriers at 7 p.m.

HOW THEY SCORED

1-0 (PC) Kasper Björkqvist (unassisted) – One-timer off a turnover from the slot.

1-1 (BU) Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (McAvoy, Hickey) – Drive to the net on the short side, snap shot blocker side on Hawkey.

2-1 (BU) Nikolas Olsson (Andren, Chabot) – Wrist shot from the circles after a turnover.

Notes: Power Plays – Boston University (0/3), Providence (0/7) … final shots on goal: 389-18 in favor of the Friars … shot attempts: Providence 77, Boston University 29 … Jacob Bryson’s six-game point streak came to an end (1-7-8) … the Terriers led in blocked shots, 21-7 … Jake Walman paced the Friars with six shots on goal … Björkqvist recorded his first career goal and registered three shots on goal … Providence’s 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-2) against ranked opponents at home came to an end on Friday.