BU Falls in Double Overtime

Tonight, Kieran Millan made 48 saves in 82 minutes of play. He was the only reason the Terriers even made it to overtime in the first place, as UNH carried the play for most of the third period and overtime.

BU took a 1-0 lead way back at 14:39 of the first period. Matt Nieto carried the puck into the attacking zone with a full head of steam. As he reached the dot on the left wing boards, he saw Alex Chiasson cutting to the middle of the slot. Nieto dished Chiasson, who made a nifty move to his backhand before shoveling a shot past UNH goalie Casey DeSmith. It was Chiasson's 13 goal of the year.

The lead would not last long, as Nick Sorkin roofed a rebound out in front of the Terrier net just minutes after the Chiasson goal. 46 seconds later, UNH took a 2-1 lead on Kevin Goumas' 9th goal of the year. As he skated over the blue line into the offensive zone, he pulled a tow drag move before letting a shot fly. His wrist shot got past Millan's blocker and inside the far post to light the lamp.

UNH continued to control the play, but a fortunate break lead to BU's game tying goal in the second. BU was being way out played and finally was able to change lines. That left fourth liner Kevin Gilroy alone at center ice. Freshman defenseman Alexx Privitera made a diving play to clear the puck out of the BU zone. In the proses, he sprang Gilroy in alone on a break a way. The senior forward made an excellent backhand, forehand move before ducking the puck behind DeSmith's pad and into the base of the net. It was Gilroy's second goal of the year. His first was ironically against UNH in the season opener back in October.

That was the last goal scored for a while to say the least. The third period saw both teams trade chances, UNH having more "grade A" scoring opportunities. Millan was up to the task though, stopping 18 shots in the third period.

The first overtime saw much of the same, and both teams actually had power play chances to win the game. Chiasson had the best bid to win it for the Terriers, but he missed high and wide on a shot in the mid slot. From where I was sitting, it looked like he had the entire top corner wide open.

It was not to be though, as just two minutes into the second overtime Grayson Downing scored a fluky goal to give UNH game one in the best of three series. Downing seemed to have swept in from behind the net and knocked in a puck just sitting in the crease. It was not a traditional wrap a round, but it worked (for UNH at least)

Game two is tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. The game will be televised not only on NESN, but nationally on The NHL Network. BU must win to have a chance at advancing to the Garden next weekend.