BOSTON -- Boston University continued its strong run of play, moving to 6-1-1 over an eight-game span dating back to Dec. 8, with Friday night’s 4-2 win over Arizona State in non-conference play. It was the Sun Devils’ first-ever visit to Agganis Arena.
“I think that's about as lucky as we've been all year as far as getting some bounces,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said. “We've had games where we had four or five pipes, but the nice thing was that we had people at the net. We were crashing the net for the entire night.”
Getting to the net leads to good things, and it pushed BU above .500 for the first time all season at 10-9-3. A win is a win, but it was a night to remember for the Terriers in more ways than one.
Though senior co-captain Bobo Carpenter didn’t crack the goal column like he had four times in three different games since the start of December, the North Reading, Mass., native became the 83rd member of BU’s career 100-point club with his first of two assists to freshman Joel Farabee on the night.
“You don't really think about it when you first get on campus, but it makes you look back at the players you played with that helped you get to that mark,” Carpenter said of reaching the milestone with his second multiple-assist game in the last four. He handed out three in the 4-3 win at Providence two weeks ago. “It's pretty special just going through the four years, but it's kind of sad, too, that those come at the end. It's almost near.”
Until Friday, no Terrier had reached the 100-point mark since Ahti Oksanen did so in 2015-16, which was Carpenter’s freshman season. Needham, Mass., native Danny O’Regan (Needham, Mass.) achieved the feat during the prior season before graduating alongside Oksanen.
Earlier this season, Carpenter joined Oksanen, O’Regan, Peter MacArthur, and David van der Gulik as the only Terriers to score 50 career goals within the last 15 years. He finished Friday night with a 56-45-101 line in 148 career games, including 10-8-18 in 21 games this season.
It can be hard to keep today’s top college players from jumping to the pros even after only a year or two these days, but Carpenter hasn’t followed that trend. He has been a hard-working mainstay in the lineup over his four-year career, playing in 138 of BU’s 140 games during his tenure.
No matter the circumstances, the former Austin Prep star has always been someone O’Connell and former head coach David Quinn could count on to get the job done.
“I love Bobo. He works his (butt) off,” O’Connell said of Carpenter, who leads BU with 10 goals after scoring 20 last season. “Everything he gets he deserves because he really works hard and he's always in the fray. He looked like he was a little dinged up tonight, but he was good and he was a factor in the game. It's nice to see a guy hit the century mark; it means he stayed probably more than one, two, or maybe three years, so it's a positive.”
Carpenter and Farabee have formed a formidable center-wing duo in recent weeks, heating up on offense just as the team has. With junior Logan Cockerill after being disqualified from Monday’s win over Merrimack, freshman Jack DeBoer stepped in nicely and logged an assist and two shots on goal.
“I think we're both hard workers and really good at hunting pucks, so that creates offense for ourselves,” Farabee said of his combination with the co-captain. “We both see the ice pretty well and that helps us out a bit.”
It’s been special to watch Farabee play hockey lately. The Flyers’ No. 14 overall pick in June has 20 points, one behind junior defenseman Dante Fabbro for the team lead, though four goals and nine of his points have come in six games since he returned home from the World Junior Championship with a silver medal.
O’Connell has noticed the Cicero, N.Y., native blossom at both ends of the ice, but it’s led to the recent flow of tangible production. Farabee scored his second game-winning goal of that span and his collegiate career against the Sun Devils.
“Joel has been really coming on, not only on the scoresheet but I think the last two games are about as thorough as he's played. He's been physical, he's been at the net,” the first-year BU coach said. “His game is coming and he's maturing. He's played a lot of hockey, but I think he got a pretty good bump from World Juniors and he's carried it over. He's a threat. He does get a lot of chances, so it's nice to see him get rewarded with a bounce there.”
