BOSTON — The Massachusetts hockey team and Boston University battled it out in Agganis on Saturday afternoon hoping to continue its playoff runs at TD Garden. Cole O’Hara created offensive opportunities for the Minutemen (20-13-5) to keep up with the Terriers (21-12-2), continuing his 2024-25 Hobey Baker campaign.
The junior paved the way for UMass’ first goal to tie the game in the second period. Coming off the bench, O’Hara immediately took control of the puck from defenseman Larry Keenan.
After failing to find the back of the net, he collected his own rebound and circled behind the net and around, almost hitting the blue line without a Terrier interrupting his path. He skated through the circle on goaltender Mikhail Yegorov’s left, trying to slip the puck past BU’s goaltender. Jack Musa completed the play and poked the puck through.
Falling behind again in Saturday’s game, O’Hara looked to find a game-tying goal to answer the Terriers’ second.
Racing down the ice with BU defenseman Tom Willander, the Hobey Baker candidate just out-battled Willander for the puck. Swinging his body around without knowing if one of his teammates was there to finish the play, O’Hara sent the puck in front of the net as he and Willander skated behind the net in the left corner. Joey Musa came sliding in and shot an inch too high, sending the puck bar down.
“We were on our heels too much. I don’t think we were on our toes,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “You can’t sit on your heels against a team like [UMass] … [its defense] press up ice, [its] forwards they’re going to put it behind you and go to work, they were getting to our net.”
During overtime, the Minutemen put their first line back out on the ice. O’Hara corralled the puck off the faceoff and sent it down to Jack Musa. The sophomore’s shot went off the post right in front of the net, keeping UMass from taking away a win.
The forward also had 11 shots of his own in the HEA Quarterfinals.
In the third period during Ryan Greene’s cross-checking and Aydar Suniev’s embellishment penalties, O’Hara kept BU from successfully taking the puck away from him in UMass’ own offensive zone and found a clear path from the boards all the way to Yegorov. His shot from the left circle slipped by Yegorov’s glove and trailed behind him. The Terriers were there to bat the puck out from behind to avoid the Minutemen scoring their second goal.
“The third period was outstanding,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “We got a lot of shots in the third.”
As the Minutemen applied pressure in the offensive zone with O’Hara, Lucas Mercuri and Jack Musa, O’Hara tracked down are bound off Musa’s shot and sent it immediately back at Yegorov. Yegorov made an elbow save, making the puck trail around the boards behind the net. O’Hara met the puck halfway and swerved back around, making defenseman Sascha Boumedienne fall over himself. With the other Terriers closing in on the junior, O’Hara slyly passed the puck to Francesco Dell’Elce whose shot went just wide.
“We tried to match [Shane Lachance, Kamil Bednarik and Devin Kaplan] against the Mercuri line who’s been one of [UMass’] better lines this year,” Pandfolo said.
Despite falling to BU, UMass’ playoff run is not over yet. The Minutemen will head back to Amherst to prepare for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is set for Sunday, March 23 with Regionals quickly following on Thursday, March 27.
“Huge heart from our kids today,” Carvel said. “Really, extremely proud of our group.”
Sydney Ciano can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @SydneyCiano.
