BOSTON – “It’s been a tale of two seasons for us.”
That’s how Boston University head coach David Quinn aptly summed up his team’s up and down 2017-18 after the Terriers won the Hockey East Tournament Championship on Saturday night at the TD Garden.
For much of the first half, the Terriers floundered to an 8-11-1 record, but a 13-2-3 record down the the stretch culminating in a superb post-season run allowed Quinn’s team to squeak into the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season.
“We just started getting better goaltending, our d-corps started playing better, our freshman started to emerge a little more, and it just started snowballing,” Quinn explained.
Sophomore Jake Oettinger earned Hockey East Tournament MVP honors after posting a .945 save percentage in the four playoff games. The 2017 first round draft pick of the Dallas Stars made 30 saves in his team’s 2-0 shutout of Providence in the championship game.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goalie as well liked as him and I am so excited he was MVP of this tournament,” said Quinn.
Oettinger appeared to be fighting pucks for much of the first half, but looked much better for the most part after returning from the World Juniors. He had a .922 save percentage following his stint with Team USA as opposed to .904 prior.
“I think Jake would be the first to tell you he didn’t have a great first half. And it’s not easy being a first round draft pick and wanting to play on the World Junior team. The pressure is real. I think sometimes people forget how young these kids are. He’s an unbelievable kid,” Quinn said.
While BU is still allowing a lot of shots on goal, the defense has shored up for the most part. There was an egregious error on BC’s first goal Friday, but the blue liners were sound for the most part over the weekend.
No player exemplifies solid, steady defense, as does sophomore Dante Fabbro. He was +3 over the championship weekend. He’s cool, calm and collected, and can skate, defend, and push pucks north.
The championship game was deadlocked heading into the third, but Drew Melanson struck from the slot 56 seconds into the final period. Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Greenway were able to force the puck free below the dot before the latter sent out a nice pass to Melanson.
The game-winning goal was a microcosm of how the final two periods went. Providence had played the late game the night before and BU was able to a force a tired Friar squad to defend a lot over the final 40 minutes.
[Fatigue was] a factor. It’s not an excuse. They took advantage of that. I thought they took advantage of that by getting pucks deep and by wearing us down, and getting their big guys wearing us down,” Providence coach Nate Leaman commented.
Urgency certainly could have played a role as well. The Friars were in the NCAA Tournament win or lose while a BU loss would have ended the season for the team from Commonwealth Ave.
“I think everyone in the room knew what kind of position we were in and it was do or die. I know not one guy in that room wanted our season to end tonight and we showed it and we were the more desperate team. I was really, really proud of all the guys,” Oettinger commented.
Two of BU’s four post-season games went to overtime, including Friday’s semifinal victory over archrival Boston College. Three of the four games were decided by one goal and the one that wasn’t had an empty netter.
The Terriers’ best players stepped up and took control during the post-season. Greenway, fresh off his appearance with the U.S. in the Olympics, had two goals and four assists in the playoffs. Tkachuk, his left wing, had a goal and two helpers. The two behemoths brought a huge physical presence and were able to cycle pucks and maintain possession for long stretches by dominating below the dots.
The team’s leading goal scorer, Bobo Carpenter, had two goals to bring his season total to 20. Linemate Shane Bowers added four assists. His speed was on display throughout the championship weekend, including on the game-winning shift in overtime against BC Friday night.
It wasn’t just the team’s leaders who stepped up. Melanson, an unheralded graduate transfer from RPI, had the game-tying goal Friday and the game-winning goal Saturday.
“I play with two great players, so that definitely helps out and puts me in a lot of spots where I can score. But obviously this game is a lot about confidence and I’m starting to build some at the right time right now,” said Melanson.
The bottom six, an underwhelming part of the team all season, contributed to Friday’s success. Ty Amonte scored early in the game and Patrick Curry slammed home the game-winner.
The Terriers, the No. 4 seed in the Northeast Regional, will face Cornell in the first semifinal from the DCU Center in Worcester. On a seven-game unbeaten streak, BU will look to avenge November’s 4-3 loss to the Big Red at Madison Square Garden.
