| BU | 3 |
|---|---|
| Yale | 2 |
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Boston University had the Bulldogs right where the team wanted them Friday, or so it seemed.
No. 4 seed Yale was up, 1-0, heading into the third period on a power-play goal by freshman defenseman Nate Repensky at 13:19 of the second period in the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal at Verizon Wireless Arena.
Sure, through 40 minutes, the No. 1 Terriers were outshooting Yale, 22-19, and although they had nothing to show for it, they were completely unfazed.
That seemed to fly in the face of logic, given that they were 20 minutes of regulation time away from ending their season, but it is who they have been all season.
Your team is down a goal or two with the game on the line? From the freshmen-laden Terriers, that would just get you a shrug of the shoulders and a steely-eyed look of determination.
That was on full display during overtime when junior right wing Danny O’Regan, positioned just outside the left post, picked up the rebound of a Jack Eichel shot from the right point and rapped it into an open net past sophomore goaltender Alex Lyon (39 saves) at 7:27 of the extra period. BU skated away with a 3-2 victory and a spot in the regional final against Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday night for a spot in the Frozen Four on April 9 at TD Garden.
It was the sixth OT victory of the season for the Terriers, the most in program history and most since the 1976-77 squad had five.
BU coach David Quinn used to shake his head when talking about his team battling back from deficits, but not anymore. He is used to it.
“It was funny, once they went up, 1-0, I thought we just started playing better,” said Quinn, whose team improved to 26-7-5. “It was almost like the pressure was off. We are a lot more comfortable being down than ahead for some strange reason.”
BU tied the score at 8:21 on Ahti Oksanen’s goal and fed off that momentum for the rest of the third period, during which the Terriers outshot the Bulldogs, 14-2.
Senior left wing Evan Rodrigues gave BU the lead for the first time at 11:20 but sophomore left wing Frankie DiChiara set the stage for OT when he pulled Yale (18-10-5) even at 13:12, beating junior Matt O’Connor (21 saves).
For O’Regan’s part, he knew he wasn’t going to get a better opportunity and couldn’t afford to miss.
“The way the game was going, I thought I could’ve put it over the net maybe,” said O’Regan, who potted his 22d of the season. “I definitely had a bunch of chances early and the goalie kind of had my number. I think I caught a post. But that net was pretty gaping and I got a lucky bounce for once and it was a nice, open net for me.”
Early nerves have been an issue for the Terriers on a bigger stage, mostly because of their youth. Quinn said one and done is a different animal than events such as the Beanpot and Hockey East tournament.
“We are the youngest team in college hockey and I know we have been in some pressure situations throughout the last month,” said Quinn. “But never in a situation where if you lose, your season is over.
“We played in the Beanpot championship and that’s an exciting, pressure-filled game but you know you’re going to play another game. We played in the Hockey East semifinals and finals and those are pressure situations but you know you’re going to play in another game. This was a whole new ballgame. To turn it on like we did says an awful lot about our mental toughness.”
BU has outscored its opponents, 67-25, in the third period this season.
“It just shows our resilience,” said O’Regan. “When we do the right things and work hard and make simple plays, we happen to do it in the third more often and it ends up working out for us.”
Quinn said there is a certain belief system to which his team subscribes.
“We never think we’re out of it,” said Quinn, who credits his leadership throughout the locker room for that attitude. “It was eerie the way the feeling kind of changed on the bench when we got down, 1-0. Everybody seemed to be a little bit looser and we started doing the things we need to do if we were going to generate offense and have some of the success we’ve had throughout the season.”
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at nancy.marrapese-burrell@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Elle1027.