1994-1995 Boston University vs. 1994-1995 Maine

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TOP 100 TOURNAMENT - Game Recap

Round of 64 - East Regional

#26 - 1994-1995 Boston University Terriers

vs.

#39 - 1994-1995 Maine Black Bears

Herb Brooks Arena

Lake Placid, NY

March 7, 2014

#26 - 1994-1995 Boston University Terriers

#39 - 1994-1995 Maine Black Bears

Late Grier Goal takes Terriers to Next Round

LAKE PLACID (CHW) - In a rematch of the 1995 NCAA National Championship game, the Boston University Terriers, led by Coach Jack Parker, narrowly edged Hockey East Rival Maine, coached by Shawn Walsh, as Mike Grier scored in the waning minutes of regulation to advance the Terriers to the next round. Prior to introductions, the Herb Brooks Arena filled up, and fans were packed like sardines inside the small venue. It did not take long for the fans clad in red and blue to get worked up, and when each side was introduced, no one in the crowd could hear themselves think. Following a momentary pause in the uproar, the crowd once again went ballistic when the PA announcer introduced Montell Jordan to sing the National Anthem. And while it was not quite Friday night, that was certainly how we do it here in the States. As the crowd began to grasp the gravity of the moment prior to puck drop, they collectively sat on the edge of their seats, as the CCHA officiating crew got ready to drop the puck.

The First Period began with tremendous action, as both sides jumped out ready to play and get the first goal. Coach Walsh picked Blair Allison to get the nod in net, while Coach Parker picked Derek Herlofsky to man the pipes. Both goalies were tested early, but it would be the Black Bears that would break through first. Trevor Roenick dumped the puck into the Terrier zone before a line change, but the puck took a strange carom while going around the glass and kicked out into the slot. Unfortunately for the Terriers, Brad Purdie was the first to the puck, and he ripped a wrister through the five hole of Herlofsky, and Maine was up 1-0. The lead would not last long in this tipsy-turvy affair. Minutes after the Purdie goal, Maine's Jeff Tory took an interference penalty that put BU on the man advantage. Just as Tory got out of the box, Jay Pandolfo deflected Chris O'Sullivan's blast from the point. The change in direction fooled Allison, and the Terriers tied the game when the puck crossed the goal line on its way to the back of the net. A back and forth battle ensued, and both teams played racehorse style hockey, up and down the rink. It looked as though the goalies would stand firm and keep the game knotted up through the first, but with just under three minutes to go in the opening frame, Maine scored on a blast from the point by Chris Imes following an offensive zone faceoff win by Tim Lovell. The goal gave the Black Bears some momentum, but the Terriers were able to keep the game within a goal for the remainder of the period. After twenty minutes of action, Maine held a slim 2-1 advantage.

The second period began similar to the first, and the Black Bears nearly scored their third goal just over a minute into the middle frame when Jamie Thompson's wrister beat Herlofsky, but rang off the far post. The Terriers took advantage of the near miss, and approaching the midway point of the period, BU scored on a beautiful tip by Ken Rausch of Shane Johnson's shot from the point. The goal tied the game up once again, and both sides apparently realized that this would be a tight affair, and wound up playing the majority of the middle portion of the second period in the neutral zone. Finally, with just under two minutes to go, BU broke things open, this time after Chris O'Sullivan won a battle for the puck in his own zone. Just trying to clear the puck out of the zone, Maine blue liner Dave MacIsaac misplayed the puck at the blue line, and Jacque Joubert raced in all alone on Allison. Joubert wasted little time in wristing a shot that beat Allison high blocker, and the Terriers took their first lead of the game, and appeared that they might go into intermission with the lead. Not so fast. Just 19 seconds later, the Black Bears won an offensive zone draw back to Tory who passed the puck over to Imes who fired a shot on Herlofsky. While the BU goalie got a piece of the puck, the rebound came to Shawn Wansborough at the top of the crease, and he slotted it home to knot the score. After forty minutes of play, the game was tied at 3.

The opening minutes of the third period were tense, and the play was stuck in the neutral zone for large chunks of time. Finally, midway through the period, BU struck on a Chris Drury laser from the top of the near circle that beat Allison glove side. The goal gave BU a 4-3 lead that they tried to nurse to victory, but Maine would prove too resilient. With just under five minutes to play, the Black Bears capitalized on an offensive zone draw when Jeff Tory unleashed a Howitzer from the point. The puck appeared to deflect off a Terrier player in front of Herlofsky, and the puck flew into the back of the net to tie the game up. The Black Bears had the momentum, and went for the kill. Unfortunately for Maine, their own tenacity killed them. Pinching in with just over three minutes to play, Tory's stick broke, and landed right on Chris O'Sullivan's stick. O'Sullivan dished the puck up to Joubert who led essentially a 2 on 1 with Mike Grier. As they entered the Maine zone, Joubert flipped a perfect lob pass to Grier who drove to the net, and lifted a backhand over the outstretched glove of Allison. The goal gave BU a 5-4 lead. Coach Walsh took his timeout, and with just under 90 seconds left was able to pull Allison for the extra attacker. It would prove fruitless, as the Terriers consistently denied the Black Bears access to the offensive zone. When the final horn sounded, BU advanced to the Round of 32 with a 5-4 victory. The Terriers will take on the winner of the 1976-1977 Wisconsin vs. 1988-1989 Minnesota matchup.

First Star - Chris O'Sullivan (3 assists)

Second Star - Jacque Joubert (1 goal, 1 assist)

Third Star - Mike Grier (1 goal)

First Period

Second Period

Third Period

Box Score

Scoring

Shots on Goal

Penalty Minutes

Powerplay

Maine - 1

Brad Purdie (Trevor Roenick)

04:43

Boston University - 2

Ken Rausch (Shane Johnson)

07:33

Maine - 4

Jeff Tory (Chris Imes, Dan Shermerhorn)

15:16

Boston University - 4

Chris Drury (Bob Lachance)

10:24

1 - 2

2 - 4

0 - 1

0 - 0

Boston University - 1

Jay Pandolfo (Chris O'Sullivan, Mike Prendergast)