BOSTON -- Boston University had lost its first three non-conference games this season, so Friday night’s win against Dartmouth was a perfect way for the youthful Hockey East club to finish the first semester.
The Terriers extended a one-goal lead with two goals in the third period en route to the 4-1 decision at Agganis Arena, but it was the depth of contributors that made it an even sweeter night for first-year head coach Albie O’Connell’s team while dealing with a slew of injuries.
Though not because of injury or illness, Cam Crotty didn’t expect to be one of those contributors even days ago. The sophomore defenseman left the Terriers earlier in the week to join Canada’s World Junior Championship training camp, but he returned to the lineup after being cut from the preliminary roster on Thursday without missing one collegiate game.
“Cam Crotty came across the country,” O’Connell said of the Arizona Coyotes prospect. “He was in Victoria, British Columbia to start the day, came back, and he might have been our best player. He had a big night.”
Crotty wasted little time making an impact upon returning to BU, netting his second goal in three games just 4:52 into the first period. Junior Patrick Curry wheeled around the offensive zone and slid a backhanded pass to Crotty, who cut inside from the left circle and beat Dartmouth junior netminder Adrian Clark on his backhand.
It was the perfect tone-setter for a solid night’s work on Commonwealth Avenue, leading to BU’s sixth win. The Terriers enter the holiday break with a 6-8-2 overall mark, including 5-5-2 in league play.
“It was a really nice play by Curry,” O’Connell said, analyzing his team’s opening goal. “If we come off the wall, we want our strong-side D to slide and the other guy to close. Crotty closed at the right time, and Curry slid it right there and they finished it off. It was a really nice goal and a great way to get on the scoreboard, for sure.”
Crotty was looking to join classmate Shane Bowers and possibly provide Canada with two BU players for its World Juniors roster for the first time ever. However, helping his team earn a second consecutive win ― in “very gutsy” fashion, the coach said ― and going into the holidays on a high was a good alternative.
“It’s been a long day,” said Crotty. “I only got about three hours of sleep last night. It was a pretty quick turnaround, but I feel great right now so I can’t really complain.”
Even with Crotty’s late return, the Terriers did enter the night quite shorthanded.
The team’s top two centers were out of the lineup in Bowers and senior Bobo Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.), who was a last-minute injury scratch after scoring twice in last Saturday’s win at UMass Lowell. Sophomore defenseman Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn.) and freshman forward Jake Wise (Reading, Mass.) were also injured, both missing the last couple of games.
Given all the injuries and more, it was the Terriers’ second goal that was the most satisfying. It came just 1:04 after Dartmouth captain Kevan Kilistoff knotted the score at 1-1 just more than halfway through the second period and stood as the game-winner, but it got the scoring monkey off junior Patrick Harper’s (New Canaan, Conn.) back after a rollercoaster of a past year.
Harper, who was BU’s leading scorer last season before missing the final 20 games due to illness, moved up to the top line with sophomore Logan Cockerill and freshman Joel Farabee after Carpenter was scratched and notched his second multiple-point effort of the year.
On the goal, the Avon Old Farms product intercepted Dartmouth sophomore Quin Foreman’s (Needham, Mass.) intended breakout pass, moved to the low slot and slid a backhander inside the left post.
“I certainly never use (last season’s illness) as an excuse for my play so far,” said Harper, who scored his first goal since Dec. 9, 2017. “Taking a little bit of time off, it’s never easy to come back and I’ve never had to do that. It just felt good to get back into the swing of things with a ‘W’ and help contribute to the team.”
The goal helped Harper finished the night with confidence. He had gone five straight games without a point before a two-point effort against the Big Green, but O’Connell said last week that his offensive spell largely stems from the fact he had recorded only 17 shots on goal in 15 contests and not more than one in any of the last six.
A strong shift followed in the second before Clark stopped his point-blank try at a second goal in the third. But he finished the night with an exclamation point, setting up sophomore Ty Amonte’s (Norwell, Mass.) fourth goal of the season with 3:22 left in regulation.
After scooting up the right side on an odd-man rush, Harper fed the puck across to Amonte in the left circle where he buried a one-timer to extend BU’s advantage to 3-1. All four of the Thayer Academy product’s goals have come in the last seven games.
“Patrick Harper looked like Patrick Harper,” O’Connell said. “It was nice to see that, especially for him to get a goal and get hot could be good for us. … He was a difference maker tonight. We need guys to make a difference. He has throughout his career, so it’s nice to see him get back on track.”
BU now has the better part of a month off before returning to action Jan. 8 at Harvard.
“Hopefully we can get rolling for the second half of the season,” Harper said. “We don’t play for a while now, so the ‘W’ felt really nice.”
