There are some great hockey rivalries: BU-BC, Minn-Wis,
MSU-Mich, Harvard-Yale, MTU-NMU among others. Than there is
BU-Lowell. BU-Lowell may not be the oldest, the longest, the
bitterest, the closest, nor the best, but it is unique. More
strange things seem to happen at BU-Lowell hockey games than
any other. It all started on 27 February 1985 when BU and
Lowell played a game in front of 0 (zero) fans at Walter Brown
Arena. Due to a measles epidemic at BU and state health rules,
no fans were allowed to attend the game that evening. There
were 28 media representatives from the Globe and Herald, as
well as camera crews from ABC and CBS (all the media people had
to be over 27).
In 1986-87 BU and Lowell played at Tully Forum on 22 November
1986. BU took a -0 lead halfway through the first period, but
could not hold on as Lowell scored the final three goals to win
3-2. BU and Lowell played at Walter Brown Arena for the final
regular season game for both teams on 6 March 1986. There was
nothing unusual for most of the game, but with the score tied
2-2 Mike Kelfer score with one second left to win it for BU
3-2.
Then there was BU's 5-0 season opening win of Lowell at Tully
Forum on 31 October 1987, a game Lowell was expected to win.
Lowell was picked for second in HE and a young freshman heavy
BU for fourth. Instead BU swept the season series and finished
third in the league 1 point ahead of Lowell, despite Lowell
having an overall record of 20-17-2 to BU's record of 14-17-3.
BU and Lowell played at Tully Forum on 17 January 1990 and
Lowell took a 2-0 in the first. They held BU scoreless until
19:02 of the second, when Shawn McEachern scored to make it
2-1. Mike Sullivan scored on a powerplay to tie the game with
3:43 left in the third and Tony Amonte scored the game winner
in overtime. BU and Lowell played their fourth overtime game
of the series (all at Tully Forum) on 29 January 1993. Lowell
lead after one period 2-1 and after two periods 4-3, and 5-4 in
the third. Mike Pomichter tired the game 5-5 with 3:08 left in
the third and BU won when David Sacco got the game winner on a
powerplay in overtime. What's more, BU was 5 for 9 on the
powerplay, while Lowell was 1 for 7.
Last year a great Lowell team shutout Maine at Alfond Arena on
12 December 1993, before semester break. After Christmas they
played in the RPI invitational, beating Army 6-2 and then being
demolished by RPI, losing 11-3 on 30 December. Five days later
on 4 January 1994, Lowell was blown out by BU, losing 9-1. All
of which *finally* brings me to Friday night's game at Walter
Brown Arena. Lowell's only two wins and two ties occurred at
Tully Forum, while they were 0-16-0 at Walter Brown Arena. It
looked as if Lowell would get their first ever victory at
Walter Brown Arena on Friday, as they lead 3-1 after one period
and 6-2 at the 2:37 mark of the second period. Instead, BU
scored the next 7 goals to take a 9-6 lead, and won 9-7.
Lowell got on the board first, as Neil Donovan scored on the
powerplay at the 6:00 mark of the first. BU tied it 1-1 when
Shawn Bates received a breakout pass from Rich Brennan, beat
Lowell's Aaron Kriss and scored a pretty goal at 10:56 of the
first. The game remained tied until Greg Bullock scored at
17:12 to give Lowell back the lead 2-1. Brennan was whistled
for hooking at 17:46 and just 37 seconds later Lowell made BU
pay, as Jeff Daw scored his first of the night increase the
lead to 3-1.
The second period started with Shawn Bates serving a penalty
and Lowell again took advantage, as Bullock scored his second
goal of the night at the 0:54 mark to make it 4-1. Twenty
seconds late Chris O'Sullivan was sent to the penalty box for
hooking and Lowell got their fourth straight powerplay goal as
Jeff Daw scored his second at 1:54 to make it 5-1. All four
Lowell powerplay goals were scored by the player at the weak
side of the BU net, as the BU defenseman left them alone to
receive the pass and score into the open net.
At the time Jack had seen enough and he replaced Derek with Tom
Noble in goal, hoping to wake up the other players. It seemed
to work, as BU scored 16 seconds later as Mike Grier and Chris
O'Sullivan made a rush into the Lowell zone. Grier took a shot
which Martin Fillion made a save on, but O'Sullivan got the
rebound and shot the puck over the sprawled Fillion.
Unfortunately for BU, Lowell controlled the puck on the center
ice face-off and dumped into the BU zone. BU was unable to
control the puck and get in out if the zone, as David Mayes
stopped it at the blue line on the left boards and shot a puck
that went over Noble's shoulder, hit the crossbar and deflected
into the net making it 6-2 at 2:37 of the second, just 17
seconds after BU had scored.
It looked as if it would be a long night for the Terriers, as
the game settled down for the next 6 minutes. Then, after two
powerless plays for BU (5 power shortages in all to this
point), Chris Drury took a penalty at 8:29, giving Lowell their
fifth powerplay of the evening and looked to make it 5 for 5
with the man advantage. Instead, Shawn Bates stole the puck
from the Lowell defenseman at the River Hawk blueline and
skated in on Fillion, scoring a short-handed goal at 9:03 of
the second to make it 6-3. Lowell and BU traded penalties, and
skated 4 on 4 for a bit, before Jon Coleman gathered the puck
in the BU zone and made a rush up the left boards beating the
Lowell defensemen and skated in alone on Fillion. Coleman cut
across the front of the net and shot the puck past Fillion into
the net at 12:15 to make it 6-4.
Twenty-nine seconds later Paul Botto received a penalty for
interference, and BU finally scored on the powerplay as
O'Sullivan knocked home the puck from in front of the net
making it a one goal game with just under six minutes left in
the second period. As time wound down in the period Mike
Prendergast received a pass from Coleman as he skated into the
Lowell zone on the right side. The Lowell defenseman got
turned around and fell, allowing Mike to skate in and cut
across the front and the net, beating Fillion to tie the score
with 1:41 remaining in the second.
Bruce Crowder replaced Martin Fillion with Craig Lindsay to
start the third and hoping to fire up the rest of the Lowell
team. Instead, BU came out in the third period all fired up
and took the play to Lowell. Bob Lachance carried the puck
into the Lowell zone and O'Sullivan deflected the shot into the
net to give BU the lead 7-6 at 1:59 of the third. BU increased
the lead with some nice passing on the powerplay, as BU set up
with Rich Brennan at the blueline and Prendergast and Joubert
at the top of the face-off circles. Mike made a quick pass to
Rich who passed it to Joubert who shot in into the open net at
8:06 to make it 8-6 for BU.
At 9:29 Shawn Bates received a penalty for elbowing and Lowell
pressed hard. They had a very good powerplay, but their luck
had turned and instead of going into the net, the puck went off
the crossbar and post on two excellent shots. Lowell and other
chances after the powerplay, but were unable to score. David
Dartsch was whistled for hooking with 4:30 left in the game and
BU again scored on the powerplay, this time Coleman was at the
top of the slot and shot a hard drive on net. Lindsay made the
save, but Grier was at the right side of the net for the
rebound at knocked the puck into the open net to make it 9-6 BU
with 3:54 left in regulation.
Lowell did not rollover and die, as Jeff Daw completed his
hat-trick with 1:58 left in the period to make it a two goal
game. Bob Lachance was whistled to the box for tripping with
1:08 left and Crowder pulled Lindsey for the extra man to give
Lowell a 6 on 4. Lowell pressed hard and Jeff Kelleher was
caught for high-sticking with 32 seconds left, giving Lowell a
6 on 3, but BU held Lowell off until the buzzer sounded.
Random observations: BU took too many poor penalties again and
it nearly cost them again. They must play more intelligent
hockey in the future if they want to win Hockey East this year.
They also need to work on their penalty killing, as it has been
horrible in their two Hockey East games. BU allowed UML to
score on their first 4 powerplay chance this game. The one
bright note was BU was successful in killing the final 7 UML
chances. The powerplay started to click this game, after going
0 for the first 6 chances, BU was 3 for the last 4 chances.
Again special teams played a *very* important role in the game.
UML looked good for much of the game. They still had many
excellent chances in the second and especially the third
periods, but the puck had stopped bouncing for them. They
continued to press the BU defense and usually had an open man
around the BU net. Both Greg Bullock and Jeff Daw continue to
dominate BU when they are on the ice. Daw got his second
career hat, his first also coming against BU. Bullock also
continues to score on BU, getting 2 goals (and 3 assists). BU
is plain unable to stop either player.
On the injury front, Jay Pandolfo is still out with an injury.
According to both the Boston Globe and NESN it is an abdominal
muscle pull. Another source states that BU's SID states it is
a groin injury. In any event NESN last night listed him out
for the next 7 to 10 days. That means he is questionable for
the games versus Northeastern.
The referees called 25 penalties, 13 on BU and 12 on Lowell.
There were two sets on coincidentials, giving Lowell 11
powerplays and BU 10. Scott Leavitt called 11 penalites, 6 on
BU and 5 on Lowell, while Drew Taylor called 12 penalties, 6 on
each team. Two penalties were called by both referees and each
referee called one set of coincidentials penalties.
BU Roster
1 Shawn Ferullo, G; 2 Kaj Linna, D; 3 Chris O'Sullivan, W; 4
Chris Kelleher, D; 5 Doug Wood, D; 7 Rich Brennan, D; 8 Bill
Pierce, W; 9 Shawn Bates, C; 11 Bob Lachance, W; 12 Mike Grier,
W; 15 Mike Sylvia, F; 16 Ken Rausch, W; 18 Chris Drury, F; 19
Steve Thornton, C; 20 Jeff Kealty, D; 21 Mike Prendergast, W;
22 Matt Wright, W; 24 Jacques Joubert, C; 26 Jon Coleman, D;
30 Tom Noble, G; 35 Derek Herlofsky, G
Jack continues to rotate his 7 defensemen, as he sits out Shane
Johnson and dresses both freshmen Jeff Kealty and Chris
Kelleher. With the way Rich Brennan has played so far, maybe
Jack should sit him out for tonights game.
UML Roster
4 Dave Barozzino, D; 5 David Mayes, D; 6 Aaron Kriss, D; 8
Brendan Concannon, F; 11, Jeff Daw, F; 12 Ryan Sandholm, F; 13
Craig Lindsay, G; 14 Chris Libett, D; 15, Mike Nicolishen, D;
16 Marc Salsman, F; 17 Ryan Golden, F; 18 Bill Riga, F; 21 Neil
Donovan, F; 22 Mike Henderson, D/F; 23 Eric Brown, F; 24 Greg
Bullock, F; 27 David Dartsch, F; 29 Christian Sbrocca, F; 31
Martin Fillion, G; 33 Paul Botto, D; 36 Scott Frankhouser, G
Box Score
Goals
UML 3 3 1 - 7
BU 1 5 3 - 9
Shots
UML 9 16 13 - 38
BU 13 19 10 - 42
Saves: UML - Fillion 12 14 x - 26 of 32 0.813% 40:00
Lindsay x x 7 - 7 of 10 0.700% 18:52
BU - Herlofsky 6 3 x - 9 of 14 0.643% 21:54
Noble x 10 12 - 22 of 24 0.917% 38:06
Power Plays: UML - 4 for 11 .363%
BU - 3 for 10 .300%
Penalties: UML - 12 for 24 minutes
BU - 13 for 26 minutes
Game Summary:
1st Period
6:00 UML - Neil Donovan (David Mayes, Greg Bullock) 4x3ppg;
10:56 BU - Shawn Bates (Rich Brennan); 17:12 UML - Bullock
(Ryan Sandholm, Mike Nicholishen); 18:23 UML - Jeff Daw
(Donovan, Bullock) 5x4ppg
Penalties
0:57 UML - Christian Sbrocca (2 min - tripping - SL); 4:46 UML
- Dave Barozzino (2 min -hooking - SL); 4:46 BU - Bill Pierce
(2 min - slashing - SL); 4:56 BU - Brennan (2 min -
interference - SL); 6:50 UML - Aaron Kriss (2 min -
cross-checking - DT); 13:53 UML - Marc Salsman (2 min - hitting
after the whistle - DT); 17:46 BU - Brennan (2 min - hooking -
SL); 18:57 BU - Bates (2 min - interference - DT)
2nd Period
0:54 UML - Bullock (Donovan, Nicolishen) 5x4ppg; 1:54 Daw
(Bullock, Paul Botto) 5x4ppg; 2:10 BU - Chris O'Sullivan (Mike
Grier); 2:37 UML - Mayes (unassisted); 9:03 BU - Bates
(unassisted) 4x5shg; 12:15 BU - Jon Coleman (unassisted); 14:09
BU - O'Sullivan (Steve Thornton, Grier) 5x4ppg; 18:19 BU - Mike
Prendergast (Coleman, Kaj Linna)
Penalties
1:14 BU - O'Sullivan (2 min - hooking - DT); 2:52 UML - Brendan
Concannon (2 min - hooking - SL/DT); 6:26 UML - Kriss (2 min -
tripping - SL); 8:29 BU - Chris Drury (2 min - interference -
SL); 9:15 UML - Mayes (2 min - hooking - DT); 10:07 BU -
Brennan (2 min - elbowing - DT); 12:44 UML - Botto (2 min -
interference - SL); 14:24 UML - Barozzino (2 min - tripping -
DT); 19:50 BU - Grier (2 min - cross-checking - SL)
3rd Period
1:59 BU - O'Sullivan (Bob Lachance); 7:03 BU - Jacques Joubert
(Prendergast, Brennan) 5x4ppg; 16:06 BU - Grier (Coleman,
Linna) 5x4ppg; 18:02 UML - Daw (Donovan, Concannon)
Penalties
2:45 BU - Doug Wood - (2 min - interference - SL); 6:34 UML -
Nicolishen (2 min - holding the stick - DT); 9:29 BU - Bates (2
min -elbowing - DT); 15:30 UML David Dartsch (2 min - hooking -
SL); 18:52 BU - Lachance (2 min - tripping - SL/DT); 19:28 BU -
Chris Kelleher (2 min -tripping - DT); 19:56 UML - Sbrocca (2
min - slashing - DT); 19:56 BU - Brennan (2 min - high sticking
- DT)
Referees - Scott Leavitt (SL), Drew Taylor (DT) Linesman -
Bill Jones
Attendance: 3517
Points
UML
Greg Bullock (2g, 3a), Neil Donovan (1g, 3a), Jeff Daw (3g),
David Mayes (1g, 1a), Mike Nicolishen (2a), Ryan Sandholm (1a),
Paul Botto (1a), Brendan Concannon (1a)
BU
Chris O'Sullivan (3g), Mike Grier (1g, 2a), Jon Coleman (1g,
2a), Shawn Bates (2g), Mike Prendergast (1g, 1a), Kaj Linna
(2a), Rich Brennan (2a), Steve Thornton (1a), Bob Lachance
(1a), Jacques Joubert (1g)
All information is unofficial and may be wrong. Sorry for the
delay in posting this game review/summary, but with BU football
and soccer this weekend I have been busy. I am also sorry for
going on like the Energizer Bunny. I hope to have my review of
Saturday's goalfest by Tuesday.
Sean Pickett - Go BU Terriers, 1994 Hockey East
Champions!
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