By mh82
Ring out the old,
ring in the new
Ring out the false,
ring in the true
George Harrison
Under the steady guidance of coaches Jack Kelley and Jack
Parker (a player on three of Kelley's 1960s teams), the Boston University
hockey team produced winning records in 14 of 15 seasons between 1964-65 and
1978-79. The Terriers would've had 15 straight winning seasons over that time
frame, but were forced to forfeit 11 victories during the 1972-73 campaign for the
use of an ineligible player. That flipped a 22-6-1 record (which included a 7-3
upset loss to the University of Pennsylvania in the first round of the ECAC
playoffs, with the Quakers being coached by former BU assistant Bob Crocker)
into an 11-17-1 mark in Leon Abbott's only full season behind the bench, after
being selected as Kelley's successor.
During the aforementioned 15-season stretch, BU and Cornell
were the unquestioned kingpins of Eastern college hockey, with the Terriers
winning five ECAC and three NCAA championships and the Big Red capturing five
ECAC crowns and a pair of NCAA titles.
With talent, tradition and coaching, there was no reason to
think that BU couldn't sustain its momentum and success as one of the premier
programs in college hockey.
Then came the 1980s.
It actually started with the bridge season of 1979-80, when
the Terriers, just two seasons removed from winning the school's third NCAA
championship, finished with an 11-17 record and out of the ECAC playoff picture
for the first time since 1964. BU followed that rare disappointing season up
with a 14-15 record in 1980-81, dropping consecutive overtime games to
Princeton and UNH at season's end to remain out of the ECAC postseason picture
and securing a second straight losing record for the first time since the early
1960s. Things improved somewhat in 1981-82, when the Terriers—captained by Paul
Fenton, the current assistant general manager of the Nashville Predators and a
former NHL player who had 100 goals and 83 assists in 411 games—finished with a
final mark of 14-11-3, but their 9-10-3 ECAC record kept them outside of the
league playoffs for an incredible third straight year.
Over the next two seasons the results finally improved, with
an 18-11-1 record (but a first round exit in the playoffs against UNH) in
1982-83, and a lofty 28-11-1 mark—including tying for first place in the ECAC
East division with Boston College at 15-6—in 1983-84, in the Terriers' 23rd and
final season as a member of the ECAC. That BU squad, which featured all-time
leading scorer John Cullen, All-American Second Team defenseman T.J. Connolly
and All-American First Team goalie Cleon Daskalakis, played in the school's
final ECAC championship game at Boston Garden on March 10, 1984 but fell to a
talented and top-seeded RPI club, 5-2. The following weekend, in the
quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, the Terriers were beaten by Jerry
York's Bowling Green Falcons at Walter Brown Arena 8-7 in a two-game
total-goals series that went to overtime before being decided. BU had taken a
three-goal lead in the series after the first game, but it surrendered the lead
the next night and then gave up the agonizing season-ending goal in OT. The
Falcons went on to capture the NCAA title in Lake Placid the following weekend
with a marathon four-overtime victory over Minnesota-Duluth.
The 1984-85 campaign was the dawn of a new era for BU hockey
with the birth of Hockey East and an inter-locking schedule with WCHA teams for
five seasons. The Terriers put in a respectable effort in their first season in
the new league, finishing 24-14-4 overall, but a 5-2 loss to Providence in the
Hockey East semifinals—the Friars, behind the play of goaltender Chris Terreri,
went on to defeat BC to lay claim to the league's first title—ended their
season.
In what turned out to be the high point of the decade for
the Terriers, they went 25-14-4 in 1985-86, on a balanced team that produced
eight players who had 11 or more goals, led by Clark Donatelli's team-high 28
and John Cullen's 74 points. BU finished in second place behind BC in Hockey
East for the second consecutive season, but the Terriers turned the tables in
the postseason, knocking off the Eagles 9-4 in the Hockey East championship
game at the Providence Civic Center. The NCAA quarterfinals returned to Walter
Brown Arena the next weekend, but the loss of team captain and inspirational
sparkplug Peter Marshall to a broken leg in the opening minutes of the first
game put a damper on the series for the Terriers, as they were out-gunned by
Minnesota 11-7 in the two-game total-goals series.
A slow, steady decline followed the program over the next
three seasons, which included finishing no higher than third in the Hockey East
standings, no Hockey East playoff wins, no NCAA Tournament berths, and back-to
back losing seasons in 1987-88 (14-17-3) and 1988-89 (14-21-1), with the latter
representing the most losses ever for a BU team in a season. The wheels of the
program were clearly spinning, and making matters worse was the fact that the school
across the river, Harvard, was coming off its first-ever NCAA hockey title
after knocking off Minnesota in the championship game in overtime.
*****
So as the 1989-90 team prepared for the rigors of another
college hockey season, it did so having enjoyed very little success on the ice
over the previous three seasons (only a Beanpot title in 1987), and with
reduced confidence and swagger in the locker room. Boston College and Maine hadtaken
over the "favorite" roles in Hockey East.
To be sure, there was plenty of talent returning to the BU
roster to try and get things turned around, but a total of 12 players from the
previous season had moved on, with the biggest loss being leading scorer Mike
Kelfer (23 goals, 29 assists).
"I'm really excited about Mike's leadership
qualities," Parker noted in the preseason. "With our renewed
commitment to improving our program, it's imperative we have a captain who
feels equally devoted to our goals. And Sully certainly is."
What the senior class lacked in numbers the junior class
made up for with nine players. There were forwards Dave Tomlinson (16 goals,
team-high 30 assists in 1988-89), Joe Sacco (21 goals, 19 assists), Ed Ronan
(11 assists), Darin MacDonald (12 points) and Chris McCann; defensemen Tom Dion
(15 assists), Phil von Stefenelli (six assists) and Mark Krys (seven assists);
and goaltender John Bradley (5-4-1).
A trio of sophomores was led by speedy forward Shawn
McEachern (20 goals, 28 assists), along with forward David Sacco (14 goals, 29
assists), the younger brother of Joe, and defenseman Mark Brownschidle, whose
two older brothers had played hockey at Notre Dame.
To make up for the dozen departures from the previous season
Parker and his staff brought in a large freshman class that numbered 10, with
five forwards (Tony Amonte, twins Mark Bavis and Mike Bavis, Dave Dahlberg and
Petteri Koskimaki), four defensemen (Peter Ahola, Stephen Foster, Alexandre
Legault and Kevin O'Sullivan) and a goaltender (Scott Cashman). Every player in
that first-year group would see plenty of ice time during the course of the season.
With Finnish forward Ville Kentala having returned home after spending three
seasons with the Terriers, BU's Scandinavian connection remained in place, with
both Koskimaki and Ahola arriving from Finland; the former a native of Helsinki
and the latter hailing from Espoo.
Looking at all of those pieces from each class as a whole,
Parker felt this Terrier squad would be able to get back to the business
of winning games, something noticeably
lacking on Babcock Street in recent years.
"For the first time in three years we will have a
junior- and senior-oriented team," he said. "We are stronger and more
mature than we have been, and this will certainly help us. I also feel that we
brought in an excellent freshman class. With this combination we will be much
improved."
Parker and his intense demeanor were back behind the BU
bench for the 16th consecutive season, something that wasn't a given just eight
months before. Looking to move on to the next phase of his professional life,
Parker had let the BU administration know in February that he would be stepping
down from his coaching position at the end of the 1988-89 season to take over
the full-time job as the school's athletic director.
It took him less than two weeks to realize that giving up
coaching was just going to be too difficult.
"I came here 25 years ago and have been with college
hockey ever since," Parker, 324-182-24 in his first 15 seasons, told The
Boston Globe. "I can't get it out of my blood. I belong on the ice and
not in an office.
"When I was faced with the reality of leaving coaching,
I found I couldn't do it. I want to be a coach and a teacher, not an
administrator. Being named athletic director at Boston University was one of
the greatest honors of my life. But this university deserves an athletic
director whose heart is in the job."
BU's depth would be tested on early in the season when three
players would miss considerable playing time, including two for the majority of
the season. The defense would be the hardest hit with Dion playing just three
games before being sidelined for the year following knee surgery and Krys would
miss the first 14 games while recovering from
hernia surgery. David Sacco never really got the chance to follow up on
his strong freshman campaign, being limited to just three games before being
shut down to recover from off-season shoulder surgery.
*****
Parker and the Terriers traveled to upstate New York to open
the season at Colgate's Starr Rink, with the Red Raiders, an old ECAC foe,
having won the previous two matchups. Looking to post a third straight win over
BU for the first time ever, Colgate opened up a two-goal lead in the second
period of the hotly contested game (which included 21 penalties), before
Tomlinson's goal tied the score at 4-4. Amonte then scored the first of what
would be his many big goals in a BU uniform late in the third period, lifting
the Terriers to a 5-4 victory. Bradley got the win after finishing with 31
saves.
BU stayed on the road for the next two games, blowing out
Merrimack 8-0 behind two-goal outputs from McEachern, Mark Bavis and Tomlinson,
three assists from Sullivan and a 15-save shutout for Cashman. Northeastern
then posted a 3-2 win over the Terriers at Matthews Arena, with the Huskies
improving to 6-0-1 against BU in the previous seven meetings.
The home opener at Walter Brown Arena finally arrived on
November 10, with the Terriers set to host Shawn Walsh's 4-0 Maine squad, with
the Black Bears coming off a 31-win season that included a Hockey East
championship and a Final Four berth. BU twice opened one-goal leads off the
sticks of Regan and Amonte, but Maine drew even on a pair of goals by Scott
Pellerin. Maine goalie Matt DelGuidice kept his team in the game by coming up
with 29 stops, and the Black Bears remained unbeaten after Jean-Yves Roy poked
a rebound past Cashman (18 saves) at the 1:11 mark of overtime.
In the Saturday night rematch, Maine started out fast,
taking a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes on goals by Steve Tepper and Jim Montgomery.
BU came back to tie the game on Sullivan's first goal of the season in the
second period and Regan's fourth of the campaign in the third. Once again the
teams played into overtime, but this time the Terriers prevailed when Mike
Bavis sent a pass out in front to Amonte who shot it past Scott King for the
game winner, as BU snapped a six-game losing skid against the Black Bears. The
goaltenders were kept busy, with Cashman turning aside 31 shots and King 34.
Three more games remained on the homestand, and in the
first, BU played its third straight overtime game, this one against New
Hampshire, and it ended in a 4-4 draw. Tomlinson's goal with 38 seconds left
sent the game into OT, and UNH goalie Pat Morrison made five of his 40 saves in
the extra session to earn the Wildcats a tie.
Next up was a huge test against 9-2 Michigan State, which
was coming off a 5-3 win over Boston College the night before and was ranked
second in the nation. The Spartans played up to their reputation and took a
commanding 4-1 lead after two periods in front of a subdued Walter Brown Arena
crowd of 3,345. Over the final 20 minutes, however, the Terriers would stage a
rally to turn the game in their favor and send the crowd into an ear-splitting
frenzy. McEachern got it started with his second goal of the game just 20
seconds into the third period, and less than a minute later, Joe Sacco lit the
lamp to pull BU within one goal. Amonte then tied it up at 5:43 with a slick
move around an MSU defenseman, and just 17 seconds later, Ronan hit the back of
the net, giving BU its first lead and chasing MSU goalie Jason Muzzatti, with
the volume inside WBA nearly lifting the roof off the old barn. The onslaught
ended 56 seconds after Ronan's tally when Sullivan dove in front of the
Spartans' cage and pushed the puck past Mike Gilmore. Despite going 0-for-7 on
the power play, one of the greatest (and loudest) 20 minutes of hockey ever at
WBA was enough to topple one of the nation's elite teams. Cashman also kept the
Spartans off the board in the final period, finishing with 18 stops.
"I thought we played pretty well, but I think we were a
bit jumpy," Parker said in the Globe. "The BC-BU rivalry is
really something, and we had nine kids playing against BC for the first time. I
think it threw some of them off a bit.
"When they scored the fans came to life, but three
times we scored right after them, and I think we took the crowd away from
them."
In the eyes of BC coach Len Ceglarski, it came down to BU
taking advantage of its opportunities.
"We have to play with more emotion and make fewer mistakes,"
he told the Globe. "It seemed every time we made a physical or
mental error, or drew a stupid penalty, BU would take advantage of
it."
*****
On the itinerary for the first weekend in December was a
road trip to Ann Arbor, with the eighth-ranked Terriers taking on Michigan of
the CCHA in a two-game series at historic Yost Arena. On Friday night BU was
sluggish on offense, managing just nine shots on goal through two periods. But
the Wolverines only held a 3-2 edge with goals by Joe Sacco and Koskimaki, his
first as a Terrier, keeping things close. BU produced 15 shots on Michigan
goalie Warren Sharples over the final 20 minutes, with Amonte tying the score
at 16:50, but the Wolverines added a goal midway through the period and hung on
for a 4-3 victory. On Saturday night BU's offensive push was much better, and
consecutive scores by Regan and Mike Bavis gave the visitors a 2-1 lead early
in the second period. From that point forward the momentum completely shifted
over to Michigan, as it blitzed BU with five straight goals, finishing the game
outshooting the Terriers 42-23, with Cashman having to make 36 saves.
Cashman, the team's clear-cut number one in goal, then had a
strong outing against Providence at Schneider Arena, making 39 saves on 41
shots, but as they had against Michigan, the Terriers struggled in the third
period and dropped their third straight game, 3-1, with the Friars icing the
game with an empty-netter with just over a minute left.
The final two games of the semester resulted in a 4-3
overtime win at WBA over Vermont, with BU overcoming an early two-goal deficit
and McEachern notching the game-winner, and a 5-4 loss at UNH, with the
Wildcats defeating BU for just the third time in the last 23 meetings. The
Wildcats scored two breakaway goals in the third period and got 43 saves from
Morrison, which helped offset Ahola's first two college goals. The biggest
development to come out of the two-game stretch was Parker forming a new first
line of McEachern at center between Joe Sacco on the left side and Amonte on
the right, and the trio earned the moniker The Commonwealth Line.
At the end of December BU headed back on the road for a
two-game series against another western foe, Denver of the WCHA. Looking to
right the ship after having lost four of their previous five games, things only
got worse for the Terriers before 1989 drew to a close. They were swept by the
Pioneers by scores of 5-2 and 4-2, dropping the team's record to 7-8-1. BU was
without two first-liners in McEachern (stomach virus) and Amonte (playing in
the World Junior Championships in Finland) and it showed as the Terriers went
1-for-11 on the power play against DU over the two games. In the first game the
Terriers only put 18 shots on net, but they did manage to outshoot the Pioneers
the second night 39-31, as they closed out a horrid December with six losses in
seven games.
Back home in Boston for the New Year, the Terriers hosted BC
on Jan. 3. BU opened the scoring when Sullivan skated down the left side and
fired a shot past BC goaltender Scott LaGrand for the only score of the first
period. The Terriers increased the lead to 2-0 when Regan, having a career
season as a senior, hit the net from the top of the circle. The mood on the
home bench soon changed after BC exploded for three consecutive goals, the last
the game-winner by future Hobey Baker winner David Emma at 19:02 of the second
period, after he took a pass in the slot from Marty McInnis and lifted the puck
over Cashman. Both LaGrand and Cashman finished with 34 stops and the Terriers
continued to have issues on the power play, finishing 0-for-7, although they
did keep the Eagles off the board during six penalty kills.
"We're in a bad spell. We've lost a little bit of
confidence," Parker told the Globe. "We were playing as hard
as we could and had a bunch of chances, but it was not an emotional game for a
BU-BC game."
The Terriers' season was now at a crossroads. A 6-2-1 record
and national ranking through nine games had dissolved into a downward slide
that left them with a 7-9-1 mark through 17. Sixteen games remained on the
regular-season schedule, but which way the season would turn was impossible to
decipher. Was the BU program headed for its third straight losing season for
the first time since 1963-64? Or was a typically strong second-half drive in
the cards for the Terriers?
"After a nice start we hit some adversity and probably
started to question what direction we were going. Our large junior class really
felt responsible for how our team played each night, and we had to figure out
what was going wrong and play better collectively," recalled Tomlinson,
who followed his playing career with a broadcasting job and now serves as the
color analyst on Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts. "I think the closeness
of our junior class helped us play our best when we were counted out, as we
were a few times that season. We really did play for one another."
Much was left to be decided for the destination of this BU
squad, and it would all start with a home game against Northeastern, a team
coming off a win and a tie over Maine and one that had dominated the Terriers
with a 9-1 record in 10 previous games dating back to the 1986-87 season.
The Huskies, leading the pack in Hockey East, got on the
board first just 1:17 into the game on a goal by Harry Mews. BU responded with
a pair of goals from its defensemen, Brownschidle's first career goal on a
blast from the point and von Stefenelli's first career power-play score.
Sullivan then stepped up and scored two straight to open up the game, and by
the time McDonald scored from the top of the circle with just over a minute
left in the game, the Terriers had made a statement with a convincing 7-3
victory.
Of course, this being a BU-NU game, the penalties also piled
up, with the Terriers taking seven and the Huskies 13. An NU player also took a
run at Cashman in the crease, something that left some ill feelings after the
game and led to Parker exchanging words with NU coach Don McKenney and
assistant Jim Madigan.
"They refer to it as going to the net," Parker
stated in the Globe. "A lot of people refer to it as running the
goalie."
McKenney had his own thoughts on the 13 calls that went
against the Huskies, including a hitting from behind call on Peter Schure with
just six seconds left.
"We have bad games as teams. Coaches have bad games.
Players have bad games," McKenney told the Globe. "Tonight I
think the referees had a bad game."
The BU captain was pleased with the end result against an
opponent that had given the Terriers all sorts of trouble and plenty of losses
in recent games.
"We needed it [win] for our confidence," Sullivan
noted in the Globe. "We won just one game the whole month of
December. We realized we're a good team, I think it was just a matter of time.
The guys played with a lot of poise. We wanted to have fun out there, and when
you have fun, good things happen."
Good things continued to happen for BU as it closed out
January with a 4-1-1 mark. Among the highlights was a 3-2 road win at Clarkson,
in BU's first trip to Potsdam since 1984, as the Terriers outshot the Golden
Knights 51-17; a 3-2 overtime win at Lowell after trailing 2-0 after the first
period, with Joe Sacco picking up his 100th career point on an assist and
Amonte scoring another OT winner; and a 4-2 win at WBA over UNH in front of a
season-high crowd of 3,405, with Cashman making 35 saves to pick up his 11th
win of the season and Sullivan and Tomlinson each chipping with a goal and an
assist. The one tie (1-1 with Providence) during that stretch nearly resulted
in a BU victory, but Sacco's game-winner in OT was negated by a penalty to
Amonte, who had set up the goal while playing without a helmet.
February arrived and with it thoughts of the Beanpot
Tournament, but before the Terriers hit the Boston Garden ice for a first round
matchup with Boston College, a trip to Matthews Arena—where BU had lost four
straight—and a game with NU loomed on the first night of the month.
In a game that most likely neither coaching staff enjoyed
from a defensive standpoint but one
which no doubt entertained the 2,319 fans in attendance at Matthews Arena for
three periods, BU outgunned the Huskies 10-6 (and 50-33 in shots on goal) for
its sixth win in eight games since falling two games under the .500 mark.
McEachern and NU's Brian Sullivan each registered hat tricks; McEachern's was
the third of his career in a scarlet and white jersey. Tomlinson (two goals,
three assists), Joe Sacco (two goals) and Ahola (three assists) also
contributed to the onslaught.
"That's called playing in Boston Arena," Parker
noted in the Globe. "I thought they played extremely well, and so
did we. It was a great college hockey game. It got so emotional at times it got
out of hand score-wise."
McEachern was encouraged by the BU offense starting to put
everything together.
"Tonight they were just starting to go in for us,
finally," he told the Globe. "We had that burst in the second
period. Every time you looked up the red light was going on. I think we just
have to start shooting more. We started going to the net more. Some of them
weren't pretty, but they were goals."
*****
BU and BC meeting in the first round of the Beanpot equaled
a sold-out Boston Garden and plenty of emotion on the ice and in the stands on
Causeway Street. In addition to BU's own hot streak, the Eagles entered the
game having won nine of their previous 11 games after a slow start to the
season, including beating the Terriers in their last meeting.
"One thing about BU hockey is that regardless of how
the regular season is going, the upcoming Beanpot Tournament was something to
look ahead to," Tomlinson said. "We figured we could rescue our
season by playing well at the Beanpot, and maybe that would be a springboard to
a good run towards the end of the schedule."
The Terriers appeared to be in excellent shape halfway
through the second period, taking a 3-0 lead on a long slapper from von
Stefenelli, a goal off a rebound by McEachern and a drive from the point by
Legault. But before the horn sounded to end the period, a BC flurry had tied
the game, ending with a shorthander by Emma.
"It sure felt good getting ahead 3-0. Then in that
second period, BC just seemed to come alive, they were flying," Parker
told the Globe. "I wasn't sure if we were slowing down and losing
our poise or if they were getting faster and stronger. You have to give BC
credit for that comeback. That's hard to do."
The only goal of third period was scored by Ronan with under
eight minutes left, and it one where the puck barely crossed the line, but it
was enough to give the Terriers their fifth consecutive Beanpot victory over
BC.
Tomlinson started the play by skating in on BC netminder
Sandy Galuppo, who came way out of his crease to cut down on the angle.
Tomlinson (who reached 100 career points with an assist during the game) then
whistled a shot wide of the goal that bounced off the end boards. Ronan, to the
right of the net, took a quick swipe at the puck for a rebound, with Galuppo
scrambling to get back into position. The puck slowly moved toward the net,
just barely touching BC defenseman Greg Brown's stick, and then snuck over the
line for a goal.
"It sure felt good," Ronan noted in the Globe.
"I didn't get too much stick on the puck but it was enough. Dave Tomlinson
took a high, hard shot that banged off the boards. I just managed to get a
piece of the puck and I really didn't have too much room to move around.
"I just gave it a tap and it bounced off the stick of a
BC player and had just enough legs to get over the goal line."
Cashman, playing in his first Beanpot game ever, had to
overcome some early nerves, but he finished with 27 saves and blanked the
Eagles over the final 20 minutes.
"I have to admit, I was nervous as hell in the
beginning," Cashman said in the Globe. "I got on the ice and
when I saw the stands filling up, I could see what the guys have been talking
about for months. I never played in front of so many people. Never played in
such a hot rink. I wish I had brought extra pads, I'm soaking.
"It was nice to get ahead 3-0, but we knew BC had all
that firepower. I have to thank my goalie coach Bill Berglund. He kept telling
me before the game and between periods to be intense. That's what I tried to
be. I feel great to be a part of this team."
The traditional Friday tune-up to the Beanpot championship
got off to a horrendous start for the Terriers, as visiting Merrimack silenced
the WBA crowd with four goals in the first 10:41 of the game to chase Cashman
to the bench. Bradley, who had last seen action against St. Lawrence in
mid-January, came in and shut down the Warriors the rest of the way while
making 14 saves. It took until late in the third period, but BU finally rallied
to victory, with McEachern tying the game at 18:20 and Amonte winning it at
19:19.
BU and Harvard would meet in the Beanpot championship game
for the second straight season. In the see-saw '89 final, Harvard jumped out to
a 3-0 lead, BU stormed back to go ahead 4-3, but then the Crimson fired three
pucks past goalie Peter Fish and never looked back en route to a 9-6 triumph,
their first over BU in the title game since 1977.
"The Beanpot win was huge for us, and for myself
personally," Tomlinson recalled. "I remember Coach Parker calling me
into his office to have a talk a few weeks before the tournament. It was pretty
much a one-way conversation, though, as my season wasn't exactly going great to
that point. He challenged me to be a better player and a better teammate. I
remember the words he used like it was yesterday.
"My best memory was scoring the 5-on-3 shorthanded
goal. The moment after that goal went in, I remember skating towards the boards
in the old Boston Garden right near our bench, then stopping and raising my
arms outward with palms up taking it all in. It's a feeling I'll never forget.
The Beanpot victory that year gave us renewed confidence."
Tomlinson was named the tournament MVP after his four-point
night (two goals and two assists). Sacco and McEachern also recorded
three-point games for the victors, and Cashman had 28 saves.
"Sure, I'm glad I got the MVP trophy, but I think it
could've gone to a number of guys," Tomlinson told the Globe.
"Look at how Cash [Cashman] played. He was great and made some early saves
that were really big at the time.
"Look at Joe Sacco with two goals, and Shawn McEachern
with two goals, and my right wing, Ed Ronan, with three assists, and our
captain, Mike Sullivan, who showed us leadership.
"I'll accept the award, but I have to accept it not
just for me, but for all the members of the team. Because that's what we are.
We're a team. And we haven't peaked yet, either. I see us getting better and
better."
*****
The weekend following the Beanpot the Terriers ran their
record to 11-1-1 over 13 games (and 18-10-2 overall) with a sweep of Lowell,
turning back the Chiefs 5-2 on the road (with Ronan scoring twice and Cashman
turning away 28 shots) and 6-2 at home (outshooting Lowell 54-21, as six
different players lit the lamp and Cashman had 19 stops to improve to 10-0-1 in
his last 12 starts). The second win of the sweep was BU's eighth straight
victory, its longest winning streak since the 1978-79 season, when the
Terriers, led by the likes of future Olympians Jack O'Callahan, Dave Silk and
Jim Craig, put together 10 consecutive wins.
BU finally tasted defeat for the first time since
mid-January, falling 4-3 to Providence at Schneider Arena. The Friars raced out
to a 3-0 lead after the first period and hung on for the victory, despite the
Terriers generating some late pressure on goalie Matt Merten. Back-to-back
second-period strikes from Ronan and Joe Sacco cut the PC lead to 3-2, but
speedy Mario Aube scored his second goal of the game on a shorthanded breakaway
to increase the Friars' lead back to two goals. Ronan's second goal of the
game, a rebound of Krys shot, was the only score in the final period.
"Providence played well and we didn't," Parker
said in the Globe. "We were not ready for this game mentally and
that was the big difference. We just seemed to be looking at them and not
playing them [in the first period]."
Next up was a trip north to Orono, to take on Maine in front
of over 4,500 screaming fans at Alfond
Arena, where BU had dropped five straight games. Another slow start for the
Terriers would put them in a hole and extend that losing skein to six, as the
Black Bears registered a 5-2 victory to finish the regular season with an
18-2-1 record on home ice.
Legault gave BU a 1-0 lead with a goal on the power play,
but consecutive goals from Kent Salfi, Jean-Yves Roy and Scott Pellerin made it
3-1 Black Bears at the intermission. Another goal from Legault, his fifth in
seven games, cut the deficit to 4-2, but Randy Olson closed out the scoring for
Maine, which outshot BU 40-26.
"I thought we played a real strong checking and
physical game," Maine coach Shawn Walsh told the Globe. "If
you hold a team like BU to nine shots in the last 30 minutes, you have to be
doing something right."
Playing against the Black Bears was not a fond memory for
Tomlinson.
"I still dislike Maine to this day, only because they
were always so good," he said. "They were always our toughest
opponent. We obviously had a bigger rivalry with BC, with those games being
more intense, but games against Maine were always very fast and physical and we
usually ended up getting beaten. They had our number that year, that's for
sure."
Exciting play up and down the ice was the story in the
second period, but the goalies kept all pucks out of their respective nets,
with the BU penalty kill especially effective, denying BC on four power plays,
eventually leaving the Eagles 0-for-8 with the man advantage for the game. One
sour note in the period was when Sullivan absorbed a hard check and was helped
off the ice with a badly sprained left ankle, leaving his postseason playing
status in question.
Just 59 seconds into the third period BC's Bill Nolan
finished off a 2-on-1 break to make it a 3-2 game, but Cashman shut the door
the rest of the way and Joe Sacco picked up the only other goal of the period
when he jammed in a rebound at 9:40.
"Our penalty killing did a fabulous job. Actually, our
entire defense did an outstanding job," Parker noted in the Globe.
"We had been a little sloppy the last couple of games, but tonight we
played excellent defense. That's a great hockey team we beat tonight. This was
important game for us, both with momentum and confidence."
BC coach Len Ceglarski was left disappointed with the
result.
"BU won that game in the first 10 minutes of play.
Their special teams were better than ours and they played like it meant more to
them," he said in the Globe. "I thought we'd be ready since
this is such a big rivalry, but I guess we weren't ready to play. We have to
forget this game and look ahead to the playoffs."
Boston College still managed to finish atop the Hockey East
standings for the fourth time in five seasons with a 15-6 record, good for 30
points. Maine was just a point back, at 14-6-1 and BU placed third with 26
points, at 12-7-2.
*****
Having earned home ice as the third seed in the Hockey East
playoffs, BU was matched up with crosstown rival Northeastern, which earned the
No. 6 seed with a 9-10-2 league mark. Although the Terriers had poured in 17
goals in their last two games against the Huskies, the postseason presented an
entirely different scenario with a clean slate for both squads. BU had also
been stuck in an extended drought while playing in Hockey East playoff games,
having lost four straight—three to Providence and one to NU, with the Huskies
eliminating the Terriers with a 3-2 victory in the 1987 single-elimination
quarterfinal round.
As Game 1 of the best-of-3 series at Walter Brown Arena
would prove, the Terriers were not yet done with their postseason struggles,
made worse by the fact that Sullivan would sit out the game with his sprained
ankle and Ahola would be scratched with the flu.
BU started the game scoring the first two goals, Ronan at
just over seven minutes in, and Amonte a little over four minutes later on the
power play. NU answered back to tie the game with scores by Jay Schiavo and
Keith Cyr, the latter at 15:01. Just 14 seconds after Cyr's goal, Rob Cowie put
a 15-footer past Cashman and the Huskies were up 3-2.
The teams traded goals in the second period, with NU's Dino
Grossi scoring on a rebound and Amonte picking up another tally on the power
play, this time from the left circle.
In the third period the Terriers dominated play, outshooting
the Huskies 14-4, but NU goalie Tom Cole stopped every shot, ending the game
with 39 and helping NU steal the series opener 4-3.
"I felt good out there," Cole told the Globe.
"As soon as I made my first save I felt I was in the game. I wasn't aware
of the 39 saves, but many of them were from the outer perimeter and I wasn't
screened and my defensemen did a fine job clearing for me. It was a team
win."
One more loss and BU would be out of the Hockey East playoff
picture, not to mention having their NCAA Tournament standing take a dip.
It was a 2-2 game early in the third period after NU's Andy
May put home a backhander, but Sacco then took matters into his own hands by
scoring on a rebound, on the power play and into an empty net with 18 seconds
left, much to the delight of the WBA crowd. The only downside of the victory,
which included a much busier night for Cashman, called on to make 31 saves
(Cole had 39 for the second straight game), was a right knee injury (ligament)
suffered by Amonte, which took him out of the game after two periods. Not to be
overlooked by Sacco's heroics were McEachern's three assists.
"Getting those five goals was nice," Sacco
commented in the Globe, "but I think it proves mostly that I play
with a great bunch of unselfish players. Tonight we played as a team. Me
getting five goals is just something that happened. The big thing is that we
won and tied the series.
"We played good defense—that was the key to the win.
When you play solid defense, the breaks come to you on offense. And that's just
what happened."
Although Sullivan remained out of the lineup for Game 3, the
Terriers were still flying high from the offensive propulsion that Sacco
provided the night before and they scored
three first-period goals, the last two on power-play strikes by
defensemen Legault and von Stefenelli, to take a 3-2 lead.
The only goal of the second period (one in which Cashman made 15
saves) was scored by Sacco on a long screened shot, but this one was by NU's
Paul Sacco, Joe and David's cousin.
"Even if Tony couldn't play, I was going to dress
him," Parker mentioned in the Globe. "He's so good, I wanted
NU to think he was ready, even if he wasn't. But was he ever ready. When I
thought he'd had it in the third period, he goes out and makes a great drop
pass to set up the winning goal."
Although disappointed in the loss, NU coach Don McKenney
still felt it was a hard-fought, enjoyable series for the fans.
"Someone had to lose and we have nothing to be ashamed
of," he said in the Globe. "They scored twice while they had
five-on-three advantages, but we did deserve those penalties. Then we had a
goal called back and we hit the pipe a few times. I thought it was a great
three-game series and the fans had to be happy. All three games were great
games."
For the second consecutive year the Hockey East semifinals
and championship game would be held at campus sites, and BU headed north to
take on Maine (which had blown out Lowell by a combined score of 23-3 in the
quarterfinals) at Alfond Arena, saddled with a six-game losing streak in that
building, one of the league's loudest and most intimidating for visitors. The
Black Bears were also on a 17-game winning streak on home ice.
After being outshot by the Black Bears 40-26 in the road
loss at Alfond just two weeks earlier, the Terriers fared better in generating
offense, putting 33 shots on net to Maine's 22. But the Black Bears'
penalty-killing unit came up big, snuffing out all six BU power plays and DelGuidice
was solid, allowing just one score. As a result of that strong defense, Maine
never played from behind and posted a 3-1 victory, advancing to the
championship game against Boston College, where they were defeated by the
Eagles 4-3 in Chestnut Hill.
Maine's Brian Bellefeuille scored the only goal of the first
period, knocking in a rebound from in front, and the Black Bears also picked up
the only tally of the second period, with Martin Robitaille taking a crisp pass
from Keith Carney and beating Cashman from point-blank range.
BU finally put one on the board at 11:18 of the third period
when Amonte tipped in a long shot by Brownschidle, giving the Terriers some
life. A little over four minutes later, however, Alfond went bonkers when
Robitaille stole the puck from Cashman, who had come far out of his net to try
and make a play. Robitaille gained control, skated away from Cashman and put
the puck into the open net, more or less sealing BU's fate and extending its
road losing streak in Orono to seven games.
"That third goal was the back breaker," Parker
said in the Globe. "Maine played very well in their own end, as
usual. We had been clicking at about 36 percent [in 12 previous games] on the
power play and they did a great job defending against it.
"Also, we didn't move the puck fast enough and Maine
had control of center ice, which was a factor."
Shawn Walsh, named Hockey East Coach of the Year the day
before, was proud of his team's play in its own end.
"I thought all the defensemen played well and didn't
allow any second shots," he told the Globe. "DelGuidice was
sensational in goal and we got good play right down the line.
"That was a great game from the first drop of the puck
until the final buzzer. And I have to say that if BU doesn't get a bid to play
in the NCAAs, then something is wrong with the system."
*****
With BU having compiled 21 wins playing the fourth-toughest
schedule in the country, the NCAA selection committee concurred, making BU the
No. 4 East seed, behind top-seeded BC, second-seeded Colgate (the ECAC
champions) and third-seeded Maine. In the best-of-3 first round the Terriers
would play host to the No. 5 West seed, North Dakota (26-11-4), which had lost
a one-goal decision to Minnesota in the semifinal round of the WCHA tournament.
As usual, coach Gino Gasparini's Fighting Sioux had some
potent scorers, led by senior center Lee Davidson (26 goals, 49 assists),
future NHL player Dixon Ward (35 goals, 34 assists), All-American defenseman
Russ Parent (team-high 50 assists) and winger Russ Romaniuk (team-high 36
goals). Current UND coach Dave Hakstol was also a member of the UND defense
corps. The goaltending was split between Tony Couture (16-6-1, 3.47 goals
against) and Chris Dickson (12-7-2, 4.11 GAA).
The Sioux, under Gasparini, had captured NCAA titles in
1980, '82 and '87, but they were making a return to the NCAAs after a two-year
absence.
Before Game 1 even got started there were some fireworks in
the pre-game skate, with some territorial bumping between BU and UND players
eventually turning into an active brawl. In a scene that surely would have put
a smile on Reg Dunlop's face, several players on each team began throwing
punches before the referees had a chance to rush out on the ice to break things
up.
When order was finally restored BU's Mike Bavis and Krys
were sent to the box with 10-minute misconducts and Justin Duberman and Neil
Eisenhut earned the same penalties for North Dakota. The total carnage for the
game rounded out to 100 total minutes in penalties, 15 for 54 for the Terriers
and 15 for 46 for the Sioux.
It was obvious which team drew more energy from the pre-game
fisticuffs as the Sioux scored four times in the opening period, including
three by Davidson (who would finish the game with four goals), with the red
light behind Cashman going on just 16 seconds after the opening faceoff. Amonte
got one back for BU, but the Terriers were still in a three-goal hole heading
into the second period.
The second period provided quite a contrast as the Terriers
quickly climbed out of that hole within the first eight minutes, with goals by
Koskimaki and a pair from Joe Sacco. But just a minute after Sacco had evened
the score, eliciting a roar from the 3,000-plus in attendance at WBA, Ward
scored the first of three straight goals for UND (leading to Cashman being
pulled by Parker and Bradley heading out to the BU crease), which pulled ahead
7-4 at the end of two periods.
Tomlinson scored on an unassisted effort with less than five
minutes left to make it a two-goal game, but the Sioux responded with a Garry
Valk score for an 8-5 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series.
"We did not play well in any phase of the game,"
Parker said. "We had opportunities to show what we could do, and we didn't
do it. We did hang in there for a while and came back to tie the game, but we
just didn't play well overall.
"You have to give North Dakota credit because they
played well when they had to. They showed a lot of poise and confidence. As far
as we're concerned, we have to come back and play better tomorrow night."
Gasparini, not surprised by his club's effort, knew that the
Sioux (who improved their all-time record to 9-1 against the Terriers) were
just one step away from the quarterfinal round.
"I was not surprised we came out and dominated, but we
did come back soft in the second period and let them get back into it," he
stated. "The goaltending the first half of the game was average at best
and that's why the game was so high scoring. But on the road you want to win
the first one, and we did. Now, the rest is there for the taking."
There were no incidents prior to Game 2, and BU's skating
and passing were crisper, but the Terriers still fell behind 1-0 after the
first period on a goal by UND's Eisenhut. The Terriers got their offense in
gear in the second period and put three straight goals up on the board.
McEachern tied the game with the teams skating down a man by firing a shot past
Dickson, and just 35 seconds later, he helped give BU its first lead of the
series when he dished off to Joe Sacco for a score.
The intensity on the ice ratcheted up later in the period
when Duberman, one of the Friday night brawlers, plowed into Cashman, sending
the Terrier goalie crashing back into the net and jarring it loose. Duberman
only drew a high sticking penalty on the play but BU made the Sioux pay when
Legault shot one past Dickson for a 3-1 advantage.
A solid third period by the home squad helped seal the 5-3
victory and even the series, as Amonte scored an unassisted shorthand goal and
the Bavis brothers combined for the final tally, with Mark scoring off a feed
from Mike. Cashman also rebounded from Friday night's shaky outing with a
strong effort in net, finishing with 26 saves and withstanding some physical
play by the Sioux. BU's improved offensive output helped it outshoot the Sioux
38-29.
"The difference between last night and tonight was
Scott Cashman," Parker noted in the Globe. "He was very solid,
made some key saves after their initial goal, and played with confidence. We
played much better overall as a team and were more alert in our own end.
"North Dakota handled us pretty easy in the first game.
Maybe they thought we were not a very good hockey team. Hopefully the momentum
will carry over to tomorrow night."
Gasparini took notice of the effort put forth by the
Terriers.
"BU was hungrier tonight. Their top level players
played well and ours didn't," he said in the Globe. "They won
the foot races to the puck and Friday night we had won those."
Sunday night's Game 3 arrived and BU would have to
accomplish something it had never been able to do before if it wanted to move
on to the quarterfinal round—win back-to-back games against North Dakota.
The Terriers were not to be denied as they did their best to
keep their cool while North Dakota was being whistled for 13 penalties
(including two 10-minute misconducts, giving them four for the series); killed
off all six UND power plays; outshot the Sioux 28-26; and were led by the
standout play of the freshmen duo of Cashman and Amonte. All of those elements,
plus BU's determination to finish off the series, added up to a convincing 5-0
victory. The post-game cheering inside Walter Brown Arena was so boisterous
that it forced the Terriers to come back out of the locker room and take a
victory lap for the fans, a scene that would be repeated a year later after an
emphatic NCAA playoff series sweep of Michigan.
Cashman, playing well in goal for the second straight game
after enduring the difficulties of the series opener, made 26 saves, including
a few stellar ones in the second period. He became the first goalie to shut out
North Dakota in an NCAA Tournament game since 1968, when Denver's Gerry Powers
did it in the NCAA championship game. He was also the first Terrier goalie to
blank an opponent in the NCAAs since Tim Regan pitched a shutout against
Cornell at Boston Garden in the 1972 NCAA title game, ironically on the very
same March 18 date.
"We had a lot of pressure tonight and if we had lost, the
season was over," Cashman told the media. "But I like playing in
these type of games. The key tonight was the great play of our defense. They
moved the North Dakota players out of the way so I could see the puck
well."
Amonte (photo), re-united on the first line with Joe Sacco and
McEachern, scored two goals (including yet another shorthander) and had an
assist. Sacco added a goal and McEachern picked up two assists, as BU jumped
out to a 3-0 lead after the first period and then added two more goals over the
final 20 minutes. Tomlinson also chipped in with a goal and two assists.
Parker felt that moving Amonte back with his Commonwealth
linemates gave the offense an extra spark.
"It helped McEachern and Sacco," he commented in
the Globe. "It pumped them up. He's our catalyst and he's so
threatening when he touches the puck."
There were bruises and welts aplenty to go around at the
conclusion of the series, with the Sioux having been whistled for 41 penalties
for a total of 106 minutes and the Terriers 36 penalties for 96 minutes.
"You have to give BU a lot of credit. They played
extremely well and put a blanket over us so we couldn't get anything going [BU
killed off 10 of UND's 11 power plays over the final two games and Davidson was
held without a point on Saturday and Sunday after his four-goal explosion in
the opener]," a disappointed Gasparini told reporters. "They were a
better hockey team than we were tonight and deserved to win. If they continue
to play like that they could beat anyone."
*****
Drawing North Dakota on home ice was no easy task for BU,
but the challenge in the NCAA quarterfinals would be even steeper, with the
Terriers traveling to East Lansing, Michigan to take on the nation's top-ranked
team, 34-5-3 Michigan State, the same powerful outfit they had rallied past for
a thrilling victory at WBA in November. The Spartans were given the No. 1 West
seed (and a first round bye) in the NCAAs and had gone 15-1-3 on their home ice
at Munn Arena where the best-of-3 series would be played.
Michigan State won the CCHA regular-season title with a
26-3-3 mark and then captured the league's tournament championship with a 4-3
win over rising power Lake Superior State. MSU had the CCHA Coach of the Year
in Ron Mason and two All-Americans, First Team center Kip Miller (46 goals, 47
assists) and Second Team goalie Jason Muzzatti (23-4-3, 3.01 goals against
average). MSU had 10 players reach double-figures in goals and five players
with 57 or more points, including forward Pat Murray, who had 56 assists. The
Spartans also had two players in the lineup who would go on to become
productive NHL players: defenseman Jason Woolley and center Bryan Smolinski.
Featuring a potent lineup like that, and playing in front of
their fans in their home arena, it's no wonder the Spartans were viewed as the
favorite to defeat the Terriers and advance to the Final Four at Joe Louis
Arena in Detroit, with aspirations of winning their second NCAA crown in five
years.
However, Parker's squad, which had been through the rigors
of the Hockey East regular season and had survived two tough playoff series
against NU and UND that went the limit in recent weeks, would give it their
best shot against a formidable foe.
"They're [MSU] a tough club, but they definitely had an
easier schedule than us," Ronan told the Globe. "You have to
give them the edge because they're the home team, but there's no doubt we can
beat this team. We'll be pretty pumped up."
BU was indeed pumped up, and McEachern got his team on the
board first in Game 1 when he took a point blank shot on Muzzatti, who made the
save, but then watched in frustration as his defenseman, Wes McCauley,
mistakenly knock the rebound into the net. Shawn Heaphy countered with a
power-play goal for the Spartans, but the Terriers again regained the lead when
Tomlinson picked up the rebound of a Koskimaki shot and deposited it into the
net. Before the period expired Murray pulled the Spartans even with another
power-play tally.
The second period proved to be costly for BU when the Spartans,
backed by the roaring approval of the Munn Arena crowd, struck for three
straight goals in a span of a little over four minutes. Miller's line did all
the damage with all three scores. Murray, Jim Cummins—who had replaced forward
Dwayne Norris on the top line, when Norris was forced to leave the game in the
first period after injuring his knee in a collision with the goalpost—and
Miller scoring in succession to open a 5-2 lead.
Miller scored again in the third for his fifth point of the
game and Amonte added the final BU goal in the 6-3 setback, the Terriers'
fourth straight road loss since late February. For the third time in three
weeks BU's season was again on the brink, and to make matters even more
daunting, the Terriers would go into Game 2 down two forwards, with MacDonald
having aggravated a shoulder injury in the first period and Tomlinson picking
up a spearing penalty and game disqualification late in the third period.
"Cashman wasn't as sharp in the nets as he has been and
Michigan State played extremely well when they had to," Parker said
afterwards. "They really developed momentum in the second period and the
puck just seemed to jump in the net for them. I thought the first period was
good for both teams, but they just took over in the second period.
"We will have to play more alertly in all three zones
tomorrow night if we hope to even the series. We'll be undermanned without
Tomlinson and MacDonald, and right now I don't know about the status of
Sullivan."
Sullivan, still hampered by the ankle injury suffered
against BC, had missed six postseason games and had last played against North
Dakota eights days earlier, being used sparingly by Parker. With BU's season on
the line, and the Terriers playing without two regular forwards, Sullivan laced
up the skates and gave it a go, a move any captain worth his salt would've
made.
Tomlinson, forced to be a spectator after his penalty in
Game 1, was an anxious bystander.
"People had us counted out for sure before the series
even started and we were definitely the enemy going in," he said.
"Game 1 was really intense and there was so much going on after most
whistles. I ended up getting a game misconduct after getting tangled up with
one of their bigger, tougher defensemen.
"I felt terrible that I couldn't play in Game 2, and I
didn't want to picture Game 1 being my final game of the year."
The crowd at Munn Arena had barely settled into their seats
when the Spartans gave them another reason to cheer as Smolinski slipped behind
the BU defense and lifted a shot into the right corner of the net just 62
seconds into the game. If the Terriers were in comeback mode to even the
series, this was no way to start the game.
Heaphy came close to giving MSU a two-goal lead, but his
shot rang off the right post and Cashman didn't allow any other the goals
before the intermission horn. Late in the period the Spartans suffered the same
fate that BU did on Friday night when Smolinski jabbed his stick into
McEachern's stomach and was called for a spearing major and game misconduct,
meaning he would miss a Sunday night game, if the series went that far.
With BU on the power play,von Stefenelli tied the game with
a bomb from the point through a McEachern screen just 23 seconds into the
second period, and at 11:46 the Terriers went on top with another power-play
tally. Ronan, moving down the left wing, went forehand-backhand on Muzzatti and
put a shot into the net on the short side.
Penalties continued to disrupt the flow of the game, and BU
paid the price when Joe Sacco was whistled for a hold and then earned a 10-minute
misconduct when he protested the call. Cashman made a pad save on a Steve
Beadle slapper from up top, but he couldn't stop Heaphy from the left circle
and the Spartans had pulled even. Ahola then went to the box on another hold,
but Cashman prevented Michigan State from moving ahead when he made a sliding
save on Ron Woodward at the right side of the crease.
As Ahola's penalty was about to expire Amonte made a
heads-up play in the BU zone that led to the tiebreaking goal. After Cashman
made a pad save in traffic, Amonte gathered the loose puck and bounced a
perfect pass off the boards to McEachern at center ice. McEachern gathered the
pass in stride and used his speed to create a breakaway down the right side.
When Muzzatti went down to take away the lower part of the net, McEachern
lifted a backhander over him to give the Terriers a 3-2 edge with only 30
seconds left in the period. Grabbing the lead after 40 minutes was a good sign
for the Terriers, considering they had won 16 of their previous 17 games when
holding the lead after two periods.
A little over two minutes into third period, McEachern again
turned on the jets to create a scoring opportunity. Flying down the right side
he drew an MSU defenseman over in coverage, leaving the trailing Sullivan open
in the slot. The hobbled captain took the pass, skated toward the left side of
the net, and when Muzzatti committed and went down, swung to the right and put
a backhander into the open net for his first goal in 10 games and opening up a
two-goal lead for the Terriers.
With a pair of Terriers sitting in the penalty box, Beadle
let one fly from the top of the right circle and the puck found its way into
the top left corner, giving the Spartans, now trailing 4-3, some life with just
over nine minutes left.
BU finally had numbers in its favor with under five minutes
to play when two Spartans were sent to the box. Muzzatti made a save on
Legault's shot from the left side, but the ever-hustling McEachern kept the
play alive when, as he was being cross-checked to the ice by MSU defenseman
Michael Stewart, extended his stick and made a pass back to Legault, who then
sent a cross-ice pass to Amonte in the right circle. The freshman from Hingham
whipped the puck over Muzzatti's left shoulder on a one-timer to give him his
fourth point of the game and the Terriers their third power-play strike of the
night, sealing the deal in BU's clutch 5-3 victory—with Cashman's 23 saves a
key component—and sending the series to a decisive Game 3 on Sunday.
"It's as gutsy a performance as I have seen from a
Boston University hockey team," Parker noted. "I thought the turning
point was Mike Sullivan's goal [in the third period] that gave us the two-goal
lead again. Michigan State will be missing two key players (Norris and
Smolinski) and will be coming off a tough loss. They will know how we felt
today and I expect them to come out and play an emotional game like we did
today."
Amonte said it was all about the top line making some key
plays to help get the team going.
"The team needed our line tonight and coach stressed to
us that we had to come out and play well," he told Michigan TV station
WELM. "We didn't want the season to end tonight and we've got another shot
to maybe go on after tomorrow night's game."
When asked about playing another Game 3 of a playoff series,
Amonte grinned and said, "We don't plan it this way, but we just want to
win and hopefully go on to the next level at the Final Four. We want to get
there. That's been our goal all season and we're one game away from
it."
McEachern felt that after MSU won the series opener, they
were counting on advancing to the Final Four a little too early, especially
with BU down two skaters.
"Michigan State had a very good team, but we also had a
very good team and we thought they were looking past us," he noted.
"We could really skate as a team, we had terrific speed, and I don't think
they expected that. We always felt we were in better condition than other
teams, and when we took them to three games, we felt like we were going to
win."
The Spartans entered Game 3 in the exact same scenario they
were in during the 1989 NCAA Tournament. As the top seed from the West they had
split the first two games at Munn Arena against the No. 4 East seed Boston
College. MSU survived the series with a 5-4 overtime victory in the third game,
but it was ousted from the NCAAs in the semifinal round with a 6-3 loss to
Harvard.
BU's lineup got a boost with the return of Tomlinson to his
spot as center on the second line, but it was the Terriers' penalty kill that
was under pressure early in the game, with the Spartans on a 5-on-3 advantage
as Brownschidle and Legault sat in the box. BU successfully killed off the
penalties and put some pressure of their own on Muzzatti, who made two good
saves on shots from McCann and Amonte.
At 11:14 the Terriers finnlly broke through when Mike Bavis
skated behind the MSU cage and made a pass out to Ahola at the blue line.
Ahola's slap shot from the left point was tipped past Muzzatti by Mark Bavis
and BU was up 1-0.
Late in the period Koskimaki took a slash to the ankle from
Stewart; he retaliated with a hard slash to the back of Stewart's leg and the
Spartan fell to the ice. Only the second infraction was spotted by the referee
and Koskimaki was given a five-minute major. The Spartans tied the game on the
power play with 43 seconds left in the period when Beadle's one-timer from the
point zoomed over Cashman's shoulder.
The volume inside Munn increased considerably in the second
period when Woolley scored from the slot on the power play and Murray, fighting
through a Krys check, surprised Cashman with a quick shot that went through the
goalie’s pads at 7:28 for a 3-1 Spartans advantage. Koskimaki redeemed himself
for the major slashing penalty when he took a perfect feed from Ronan,
stationed behind the MSU net, and lifted the puck past Muzzatti into the far
corner.
BU nearly tied the game on the power play late in the period
when Ahola's shot snuck past Muzzatti, but a Spartans defenseman swept the puck
out of the crease before it crossed the line. The Terriers, with some
exhaustion setting in, got careless late in the period and were once again
forced to kill off a 5-on-3 advantage when Sacco was called for cross-checking
and von Stefenelli for slashing. Cashman was up to the task, making a saves on
Cummins from the right circle and Beadle's slapper.
MSU still had 50 seconds of the two-man advantage to start
the third period, but Cashman came up big again, making two saves on Beadle,
the first with his stick and the other with his pad. Just before BU finished
killing off the penalties Woolley put a shot off the right post that bounced
away and was safely cleared.
At the 5:36 mark of the final period the Terriers finally
produced the anticipated tying goal. Sacco faked a slap shot at the blue line
and skated around an MSU defenseman, and
then spotted Ronan skating down the middle and sent a pass his way.
Ronan finished off the play by tipping the puck past Muzzatti.
Less than two minutes later Amonte took some life out of the
crowd when he broke down the right wing, cut sharply to the middle and fired a
bullet past Mazzotti's glove for BU's third straight goal and a 4-3 lead. Again
MSU applied some pressure in an effort to tie, but its best chance was denied
by Cashman when he gloved a shot from Heaphy in the slot.
Fittingly the captain, throbbing ankle notwithstanding,
helped set up the critical insurance goal with less than two minutes to play.
Controlling a puck that was cleared out of the BU zone, Sullivan skated down
ice while fighting off a backchecking MSU defenseman. Although tied up by the
defender he got off a shot that went off the right pad of Muzzatti. The puck
laid on the ice before Regan gobbled up the rebound and put it under the
Muzzatti's right arm for the score, leading to an eruption of noise from the BU
bench and the small pocket of Terrier fans who had made the trip out for the
series.
"Mine was a good goal," Amonte told the Globe,
"but I was more excited about the fifth one. As soon as he [Sullivan] went
over the blue line we all got up and went nuts on the bench. He was just
chugging and kept his body position."
Mason pulled the goalie with 1:30 left, but the Terriers'
determined play in their own end kept the Spartans bottled up and there were no
real close calls before the final horn sounded. When it was over, the BU bench
emptied and piled on top of Cashman, with the Terriers having pulled off what
was the most significant road victory at an opponents' rink—edging past BU's
1978 NCAA first round triumph over PC at Schneider Arena— in program history.
Cashman, who made 44 saves in the two BU victories after
giving up six goals in the first game, was elated.
"Our team has a lot of heart and a lot of spirit,"
he told WELM. "We wanted to go to Detroit next weekend and we're going.
Tonight our guys were tired and I'm sure Michigan State was too. We were just
playing on adrenaline and we had nothing else to give after the end of the
game."
Parker, more relieved than anything, was proud his club was
able to make a stand and advance, after tagging the Spartans with their first
back-to-back losses on home ice all season.
"What a way to make a living," he told the media.
"Last night the key word was guts. Tonight it was poise. We never lost it,
even when they went up 3-1. We kept coming back and scored three goals in the
third. The third period has been ours all year.
"This team is in the best shape of any team I have ever
coached. But coming in here [Munn Arena], where Michigan State has had such
incredible success, and beating them two straight is just unbelievable. In
fact, what this team has done the past month is remarkable."
For the first time since 1978, when the Terriers took home
the school's third NCAA hockey championship, BU would again be playing in the
Final Four. And in a sign that the season had come full circle after 43 games,
the opponent would be the same one as in the season opener back in October—the
Colgate Red Raiders.
"It was tough watching Game 2 (of the quarterfinals),
but the team got the win and that allowed me to play again and we completed the
comeback," Tomlinson said. "That gave us so much confidence and once
again we had battled back in a series. We really felt we were on a special
mission with how we were playing."
*****
Colgate, since dropping its season opener to BU, had gone
30-4-1 on its road to Detroit, including a first-place finish (18-3-1) in the
ECAC regular-season standings and its first-ever ECAC championship with a 5-4
win over RPI in the final. The Red Raiders, making their first appearance in
the NCAA Tournament since 1981, then swept visiting Lake Superior State out of
the quarterfinal round with 3-2 and 2-1 victories at Starr Rink, displaying the
team's strong defense and goaltending.
The Red Raiders were led by a pair of All-Americans: First
Team goaltender Dave Gagnon (27-4-1, 2.81), who entered the NCAA semifinal with
a 17-0-1 record in his past 18 starts and was one of the best puck-handling
netminders in the country, and Second Team center Joel Gardner (26 goals, 35
assists), the team's leading scorer. Also generating offense for 'Gate were
Marc Dupere (23 goals, 29 assists), Steve Spott (20 goals, 29 assists) and
Craig Woodcroft (20 goals, 26 assists).
Defensively, Colgate was strictly of the shutdown variety
with no big scorers, and a familiar face was on the bench in former BU goalie
Brian Durocher, who was in his fifth season serving as an assistant under coach
Terry Slater. One other connection between the teams was that Cashman and
Colgate forward Dale Band (12 goals) grew up together in Ontario as close
friends, and it was Band who convinced Cashman to try out for a junior team as
a goalie.
"We worked hard all year, went out and did some damage
[in the postseason] and now we're hoping to win the whole thing," Joe
Sacco said in the Globe. "If we only get five or six shots a period
[against Gagnon], not many are going to go in. We need to shoot from all over
the place. Maybe he'll stop the first one, but you've got to get to the net and
not wait for fancy plays."
One thing that would handicap both teams going into the game
(and Wisconsin and BC in the nightcap as well) was the poor condition of the
ice at Joe Louis Arena. Bumpy, rutty and slow were the descriptions from
players and coaches of both teams, with the problem being that a new ice
surface was put down just 24 hours prior to the game, when markings under the
surface were switched from the Red Wings to the NCAA. Speed and passing would
both suffer due to the ice conditions. Being the afternoon game, the arena was
half full, with much less energy and atmosphere in the crowd than the Terriers
had experienced in the playoff series with North Dakota and Michigan State.
Nonetheless, BU was able to carry the play for much of the
opening period, outshooting the Red Raiders 10-3 and taking a 2-1 lead into the
locker room. With Gagnon holding the Terriers off the board in the early going,
the Red Raiders opened the scoring at 7:10 on their first shot on goal when
defenseman Gregg Wolf, who had not collected a point all season, connected on a
shot from the point over Cashman's glove.
The Terriers evened the score when Tomlinson, on a nice
individual effort, skated past two Colgate defenders and muscled a shot past
the lunging Gagnon, who was attempting to knock the puck off Tomlinson's stick.
Instead, the puck deflected off the goalie's stick and into the net.
Tomlinson's line struck again a few minutes later with a quick-strike play when
Ronan gained control of the puck in the corner, made a pass over to Tomlinson,
who then moved it over to Koskimaki, standing open in front of the net.
Of the eight saves that Gagnon made in the period, several
were on quality scoring chances, and his sharp play in net kept the game from
getting away from the Red Raiders. Slater admitted as much, indicating that his
team wasn't skating hard enough or taking the body in the first 20 minutes,
perhaps because they were "awestruck" by playing in an NCAA semifinal
game in an NHL arena.
"He [Gagnon] made the stops in the first period or we
could have been ahead 4-1," Parker noted in the Globe. "That
might have been the game if we scored those other two goals."
BU's offensive pace slowed in the second period, and at one
juncture the Terriers didn't have a shot on goal for a span of nine minutes.
Meanwhile, the Red Raiders were getting more of an offensive push in the BU
zone (putting 11 shots on net during the period) and at 9:12 they got the
equalizer when Kelly Mills put a rebound past the diving Cashman into the open
right side of the net. Colgate struck again just 1:27 later, when Woodcroft,
took a goalmouth pass from Jason Gryerbiehl and slipped a shot through
Cashman's legs, even though he didn't get good wood on the shot. It was 3-2 Red
Raiders with 9:21 left in the second period.
"Troy Mohns drew the defenseman over and I was
screaming to him [Greyerbiehl] for the puck and he slid it across to me,"
Woodcroft told the Globe. "I thought I'd go upstairs at first, but
I saw him slide, and when a goalie moves, the first instinct is to put it
between his legs. I did, and it went in."
The Terriers had eight shots on Gagnon in the second period
and he saved them all, including denying Tomlinson, McEachern, Amonte and Ronan
on potential scoring bids.
A combination of deteriorating ice conditions and the
determined Colgate defense reduced BU's shots on goal over the final 20 minutes
to just seven and the Red Raiders to only four. Cashman did his part by keeping
it a one-goal game as the clock wound down. The best of the Terriers' seven
scoring opportunities came down to their final shot of the game, with the BU
net empty and a sixth skater on the ice.
Joe Sacco had possession of the puck behind the Colgate net
with under 15 seconds left and he spotted McEachern's scarlet jersey moving
down the slot into some open space. Sacco hit McEachern with a pass and with a
quick flick of his stick McEachern sent the puck toward the goal, with the
aggressive Gagnon coming out to challenge the low shot and getting a piece of
the puck with his pad.
"We'd done it so often this season, McEachern told the Globe,
"that I was sure we'd do it again and come from behind to win."
After hitting Gagnon's pad the puck went airborne and began
flipping in the air, moving end-over-end past the prone Gagnon's shoulder and
toward the open net.
"I had time to look behind me and see it. I could see
our whole season riding right there," Gagnon recounted in the Globe.
"I was tired and I don't think we could have done much in overtime. I was
seeing our whole season in front of my eyes."
The puck's flight ended when it smacked off the post.
"It hit the post," Gagnon, making his 23rd and
final save, told the Globe, "but it hit it flat. And then it
dropped straight down."
The puck laid there in the crease for a split second before
a Colgate defenseman swatted it away from danger, and a few seconds later the
horn sounded, with the Red Raiders having earned their first-ever spot in the
NCAA championship game against Wisconsin. The Badgers had defeated BC 2-1 in
the other semifinal, and then dominated the upstart Red Raiders in the
championship game by a 7-3 count.
Just like that, BU's scintillating trek through an 11-game
postseason had come to an abrupt end. There would be no Battle of Commonwealth
Avenue II in Motown to determine the NCAA hockey champion, as had been the case
12 years before at the Providence Civic Center.
When asked about his close call, McEachern indicated that
"sometimes you get the bounce and sometimes you don't." He would
revisit that thought a year later in the thrilling 1991 NCAA championship game
against Northern Michigan, after rebound his shot in overtime glanced off the
post, with the Terriers eventually dropping an 8-7 triple-overtime decision to
the Wildcats.
"Throughout your career you score some big goals and
you miss some," McEachern said 23 years later. "I can think of a few
[plays] I would like to have back, but that's hockey. I feel fortunate to have
been in those situations in a sport I loved to play."
For Parker, it all came down to the play between the pipes.
"The difference between this [Colgate] and the North
Dakota series or the Michigan State series was that we were down in the third
and we weren't facing Dave Gagnon," he told the Globe. "All
along I said that if we were going to win, we had to solve him, and we didn't
solve him. We didn't generate our offense. It was a very slow game. They played
very well defensively the whole night, but it was very difficult passing the
puck. There was not a lot of good passing by either team.
"Give Colgate credit. It's the season of that school's
hockey career. Terry Slater is going to be playing on the last day of the
college hockey season. He's a great guy, and that's great."
*****
After scoring a season-high of 158 goals during the previous
three seasons, BU's 25-17-2 squad connected for 180 in 1989-90, 36 more than
its opponents. The Terriers outscored the opposition in every period, including
an impressive 61-35 in the third. Of the team's 52 power-play goals in 230
opportunities, Joe Sacco led the way with 12 and Amonte contributed 11. On the
penalty kill BU allowed only 40 goals in 219 opportunities.
Amonte provided instant impact in his first season wearing a
BU jersey and his 25 goals and team-best 33 assists gave him a team-leading 58
points, making him the first freshman to lead the Terriers in scoring since
Mark Fidler (65 points) during BU's 1977-78 national championship season. He
also led the Terriers with nine game-winning goals and was named the New
England Rookie of the Year and to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. He left BU
after his 31-goal sophomore season in 1990-91 (being named to the All-Hockey
East Second Team) and went on to play in the NHL for five different teams,
primarily the Blackhawks, scoring 900 points (416 goals, 484 assists) in 1,174
games. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1998 and 2002
and scored the game-winning goal against Canada in the third and deciding game
of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. In 2009 Amonte was elected into the U.S.
Hockey Hall of Fame—joining a group of former Terriers in the Hall including
Keith Tkachuk, Jack Kelley and the Terrier quartet from the 1980 U.S. Olympic
hockey team, Mike Eruzione, O'Callahan, Craig and Silk—and he recently
completed his third season as varsity hockey coach at his alma mater, Thayer
Academy.
Amonte's education as a hockey player grew by leaps and
bounds on Babcock Street.
"You just knew going in there [BU] it would be an
exciting challenge, and even though I only ended up playing two years, they
were two great years," he told NHL.com. "I attended BU because I
wanted to play for Jack Parker. I really didn't even know much about the
school, but after one visit, I was sold on Jack because I liked his style and
the way he treated the guys."
Amonte's linemates, McEachern and Joe Sacco, were the team's
second- and third-leading scorers. McEachern finished with 25 goals and 31
assists for 56 points and Sacco (one of seven Terriers to play in all 44 games,
along with Ronan, von Stefenelli, Koskimaki, Regan, Mark Bavis and Mike Bavis)
compiled a team-high 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points. Sacco departed BU
after his junior season to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He dressed for a
total of five NHL clubs and had 213 points (94 goals, 119 assists) in 738 games
and was one of six former Terriers on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. Sacco is
currently serving his fourth season as coach of the Colorado Avalanche after
spending two years as coach of the team's AHL affiliate.
McEachern went on to become a First Team All-American and
First Team All-Hockey East performer as a junior after scoring 82 points on 34
goals and 48 assists (the second-highest point mark ever in a single season for
a BU skater). His overtime breakaway goal to beat Maine, 4-3, in the 1991 Hockey East Championship
game would give BU its second conference tournament championship. McEachern
left school a year early to play in the 1992 Olympics, but not before
accumulating186 career points, ranking sixth on BU's all-time scoring list. His
911-game NHL career produced 256 goals and 323 assists for 579 points and he
won a Stanley Cup ring as a member of the 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins.
McEachern's post playing career landed him in coaching, and after spending time
as an assistant at Northeastern and Lowell, he is currently at the Rivers
School, where he serves as the varsity hockey coach and assistant director of
athletics.
"We all knew each other before college from playing in
different tournaments together," McEachern recently said of the
junior-sophomore-freshman makeup of the Commonwealth Line. "I think it was
a good line because we all had very good speed. For me it was just great to
play with two exceptional players. We were all local guys and it was a close-knit
group. I still talk to Joe and Tony on a regular basis, and I actually now
coach Joe's son."
Ronan enjoyed the best season of his BU career, collecting
17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points. He went on to play in 182 NHL games,
including as a member of the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in
1992-93. Tomlinson, the Beanpot MVP, led the team with a plus-27 rating and was
named New England's Top Defensive Forward, finishing with 15 goals and 22
assists. He went on to score a career-high 30 goals as a senior in 1990-91,
finishing seventh on BU's all-time scoring list with 179 points. Tomlinson
played 42 games in the NHL before embarking on a successful nine-year career in
the German League.
"My memories for that season were that we would come
back better and stronger for our senior year [1990-91]. Our junior class was
growing closer and closer as a group and I really believe that the
disappointing first two years we had really helped us to appreciate the
winning," Tomlinson noted. "I went through a lot that year, as my
point totals were down from the previous season. The turning point for me was
the Beanpot Tournament.
"I credit Coach Parker for teaching me about playing
hard at both ends of the rink. His mid-season meeting with me sharpened my
focus as a hockey player. I went from the doghouse to the penthouse that year,
and I was really looking forward to a memorable final collegiate season."
Sullivan (11 goals, 20 assists), the captain, provided
inspiration and leadership in spades, especially in the postseason, gamely fighting
through an ankle injury to help contribute to the team's fortunes. Sullivan's
work ethic and ability to play at both ends of the ice allowed him to suit up
for four NHL teams, with his career totals reading 54 goals and 82 assists in
709 games. Like several other former Terriers, Sullivan has made a successful
transition into coaching. In his four coaching stops, with three in the NHL, he
has served as head coach of the Providence Bruins in the AHL for one season; head
coach of the Boston Bruins for two seasons; assistant coach of the Tampa Bay
Lightning for two seasons and is currently in his fourth season as an assistant
coach with the New York Rangers.
Regan and Koskimaki both contributed a dozen goals to the BU
attack. Regan's total doubled the amount of goals he had scored in his first
three seasons in the lineup. Koskimaki arrived from Finland and centered the
second or third line the entire season. The fourth line grinders who provided
plenty of energy included McCann and the first-year twins from Catholic
Memorial, Mark Bavis (six goals) and Mike Bavis (11 assists). Mike Bavis has become
an important cog in the BU program as an assistant coach and recruiter; in
2012-13 completed his 15th season as a member of Parker's staff. McDonald,
although slowed by shoulder trouble, still played in 38 games and had four
goals.
The defense corps provided a steady presence all year, and
BU's total of 142 goals allowed was the lowest total surrendered since the
1983-84 team gave up just 116. The freshman from Quebec, Legault, led all
Terrier defenseman with a plus-26 and in points with 30 (nine goals, 21
assists). Von Stefenelli was right behind with a plus-10 and 28 points (eight
goals, 20 assists). Ahola, the team's other freshman from Finland, made the Hockey
East All-Rookie team while contributing three goals and 20 assists, and he
embarked on a 123-game NHL career after playing two seasons at BU, earning a
spot on the Hockey East All-Decade Team, alongside the school's all-time
leading scorer, John Cullen. Other defensemen of note included Krys, who
returned from hernia surgery to play in 30 games, and who as a senior in
1990-91 would serve as team captain; Brownschidle (38 games) and Foster (eight
assists).
Forward David Sacco (shoulder) and defenseman Tom Dion
(knee), who each played in only three games due to injury, would return in
prominent roles as members of the 1990-91 squad that competed in the NCAA
championship game. Dion played in 40 games in 90-91 and contributed six goals
and 14 assists. He would then earn All-Hockey East First Team honors as a
senior captain in 1991-92. Sacco also played in 40 games in 90-91 and had 21
goals and 39 assists. He concluded his BU career in 1992-93 as a two-time First
Team All-American with 217 total points (74 goals and 143 assists, the latter
tying him with Cullen for first on the all-time BU list) and played in 35 NHL
games and for the 1994 U.S. Olympic team.
The last line of defense for the Terriers, Cashman, was one
of the key cogs in the team's success. He finished with a record of 23-14-1, a
3.22 goals-against average and 1,027 saves in 39 games, earning him recognition
as Hockey East Rookie of the Year and a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie
team. Bradley was 2-3-1 with a 3.18 GAA in seven games as the backup.
Prior to the Final Four, Parker was asked what Cashman, the
freshman from Ontario, had meant to BU's success, especially with the team's
goalies having struggled over previous three seasons.
"He's given us way more than we expected," he told
the Globe. "We recruited him to come in and play right away, but
he's gone beyond to be as effective as he has. What a competitor. He's been a
stalwart all year long."
And Cashman (60-31-4 in his four-year career as a Terrier,
with his 60 wins ranking third all-time in school history) felt very
comfortable fitting into his new hockey environment.
"This has been the best experience of my life, the best
year of my life," he noted in the Globe. "I'll always love
Kanata [Ontario], and that will be my home. But now it seems like this city has
kind of adopted me."
In an unfortunate and tragic twist of fate, two members of
the team would be lost within a span of seven years. Mark Bavis, while scouting
for the Los Angeles Kings, was a passenger on the United Airlines plane that
was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New
York on September 11, 2001. He was 31 years old. In an eerie coincidence, Mark
Krys, working as a trader in the South Tower, was on the 44th floor when United
175 crashed into the building. Fortunately, he was able to quickly escape by
elevator before the tower collapsed. Then, in 2008 the player Parker described
as "happy-go-lucky," Cashman, died suddenly from a heart ailment. He
was 39 years old.
*****
More than two decades since its conclusion in Detroit, BU's
1989-90 campaign still resonates with the team's captain.
"It was just a great experience. It's probably one of
the most exciting times that I had as a hockey player, both as a amateur player
and a pro," Sullivan told host Bernie Corbett on the show Inside BU Hockey. "It was a
tight-knit team off the ice when looking back at some of the players I played
with. Beating Michigan State in their own building to go to the Final Four
certainly was the thrill of a lifetime. I felt our team had a legitimate chance
to be national champions, but we just fell short, and that was
heartbreaking."
Although the goal of winning BU's fourth national
championship eluded them, the 1989-90 Terriers nonetheless undertook the
critical role of rebuilding the foundation of the program, helping restore it
back to national prominence. They were the trailblazers for a highly successful
11-year stretch of hockey, one that included an overall record of 293-112-34,
one NCAA title (1995), seven Final Four appearances, four Hockey East
championships and 10 Beanpot titles. It was a prosperous journey for the BU
program that commenced with a 5-4 road win at Colgate on October 28, 1989 and
ended with an epic 3-2 loss to St. Lawrence in the fourth overtime of the NCAA
quarterfinals on March 26, 2000 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany.
