Eagles Pull Off Overtime Thriller against UMass Lowell, 3-2

Eagles Pull Off Overtime Thriller against UMass Lowell, 3-2

By: Alec Plante

With only a few weeks left in the regular season for college hockey, the Eagles looked to solidify their place at #1 in the Hockey East in Friday night’s home matchup against the UMass Lowell River Hawks (16-13, 10-9 Hockey East).

Undeniably, freshman forward Logan Hutsko was the star of the game. With two clutch goals, including the one in overtime to win it for BC, Hutsko emerged as a true offensive threat that the River Hawks simply could not account for.

While Hutsko made some noise and was able to finish his key plays thanks to dimes from David Cotton, the game was truly one of goalie vs. goalie.

Sophomore goalie Joseph Woll had numerous one-handed grabs that against many other college goalies would have met net. It was a career game for both him and Lowell’s Chris Hernberg, who had 31 and 35 saves, respectively.

Power plays also dictated the outcome of the game. Following a boarding call against Lowell forward Nick Master that resulted in both a five minute major and an ejection in the second period, the Eagles capitalized and got on the board first thanks to freshman forward Aapeli Rasanen’s redirection shot.

Another underrated play in the first period was a huge hit from freshman forward Casey Carreau on a River Hawks forward to slow down a threatening fast break play. Carreau, along with the whole fourth line, played admirably the whole night through despite limited playing time recently.

After that, the River Hawks found some momentum and buried a couple shots late in the second period against a sluggish BC defense.

The third period saw Hutsko’s first goal, and after a lot of back-and-forth, the third period ended 2-2. Shots were in the single digits in this period as both teams began to feel the fatigue of a physical, chippy game.

Overtime got underway without much action, as both goalies continued to fight hard in games that would boost their resumes for the rest of their hockey careers. However, with a mere 6.8 seconds left in overtime in a game most in Conte Forum were writing off as a tie, Hutsko buries it from up close to send Kelley Rink into elation.

The Eagles are now 14-12-3 (14-5 Hockey East). Tune in February 12 at 4:30 to support the Eagles as they prepare to take on Harvard in what should be an exciting conclusion to this year’s Beanpot Tournament.