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Late Vermont Comeback Falls Short ... BU Men Hold on for 4-3 Win

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Created on Saturday, 19 November 2011 05:37

Written by George Commo

Late PP Goal by Stalberg Not Enough

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BOSTON, MA. – A valiant third period comeback from the Vermont men's hockey team came up just short on Friday night as the Catamounts fell 4-3 to 16th-ranked Boston University at Agganis Arena in Hockey East action. The loss drops Vermont's record to 1-6-1 (0-5-1 HEA) while BU picked up its first back-to-back wins of the season to move above .500 at 5-4-1 (4-3-1 HEA).

UVM opened the scoring less than six minutes into the first period off a rush from Colin Markison down the left wing. The freshman sent a cross-ice pass to Brett Leonard, who unleashed a wrist shot on BU goalie Grant Rollheiser. The senior netminder made the save but the rebound trickled toward the goal line and Blake Doerring pounced to touch home the first goal of his Catamount career. 

BU answered at 9:02 courtesy of Corey Trivino as he took a centering feed from linemate Sahir Gill and slid a quick one-timer through the five-hole of Rob Madore. The Terriers went on the power play seconds later and whipped the puck around the right wing boards. It took an odd bounce in the corner and deflected to Charlie Coyle wide open above the crease. The sophomore buried a quick wrist shot in the upper right corner to give BU a 2-1 advantage just 1:19 after Trivino's tally.

Vermont knotted things up again early in the second period as a second Catamount rookie netted his first career tally. Kyle Reynolds collected a loose puck near his own blue line and skated down the left wing on a 2-on-2 with Mike Montagna. Reynolds gained the BU zone and used Montagna as a screen as he cut through the slot onto his backhand. The freshman fluttered a backhander past Rollheiser's blocker to score unassisted and make it a 2-2 game.

Much like the first period, the Terriers had an answer with back-to-back goals. Sean Escobedo threw a shot toward Madore from the left point, but it hit a body in front of Madore and kicked out to a wide open Wade Megan at the right post. Megan stuffed the loose puck home at 6:47 to make it 3-2. Garrett Noonan doubled the lead on the power play roughly 10 minutes later, beating Madore to the short side on a wrist shot from the left circle.

The 4-2 scoreline continued into the final frame, but the Catamounts earned their third power play of the night and cashed in with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. Drew MacKenzie held the puck at the top of the left circle, faked a shot, and then tossed a wrister toward goal. Rollheiser made the initial save but Stalberg stuffed home the rebound for his fourth goal of the season to cut BU's lead in half.

Vermont then pulled Rob Madore for an extra skater with 1:42 left in the third period. The Catamounts created a one-time opportunity for Anders Franzon in the slot but his shot whistled wide to the right. Stalberg followed with consecutive one-timers but Rollheiser closed his five-hole on both occasions to deny UVM the equalizing goal.

With the final seconds ticking away, the Terriers sent the puck down the rink to the right of Vermont's empty net. The Catamounts thought an icing call was coming with roughly five seconds left when Stalberg touched the puck, but the linesman's whistle didn't blow and the final buzzer sounded seconds later. The Cats outshot the Terriers 14-7 in the final frame and finished the night with a 34-30 shot advantage.

Vermont returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 19) as it stays in Boston to face Northeastern at 8 p.m. at Matthews Arena.  Live video is available for free in high definition on the GoNUxstream through the Northeastern athletics website.

NOTES: UVM went 1-3 on the power play, while BU was 2-5 with the man advantage … Vermont suffered just its second loss at Agganis Arena since 2007 … The Catamounts tallied a season-high 34 shots on Friday night and are now averaging 32 shots over their last four games … UVM has posted at least 14 shots in a single period in each of its last four contests … Rob Madore is just seven saves away from tying Tom Draper '87 for third on the all-time saves list Vermont … Blake Doerring and Kyle Reynolds both notched their first career goals in a losing effort.