At times this season, Boston University has struggled to score. During a fair number of games early on, the team got subpar goaltending. And don't even ask coach Jack Parker why the Terriers have had a difficult time winning at home.
But last night, against Hockey East archrival Boston College, BU was the better team for most of the game, turning in one of its best performances of 2007-08. Even though the Terriers didn't win, earning a 2-2 tie in front of 7,884 at Conte Forum, it was a big step forward in what has been an inconsistent season.
"I was extremely pleased with our effort tonight," said Parker, whose team is 7-11-4 overall and 6-6-3 in the conference. "We defended well, we didn't give up many shots. I thought we played extremely well in every phase of the game."
The one telling statistic was that BU was 0 for 7 on the power play, while No. 11 BC was 2 for 6.
The Terriers came out flying, outshooting BC by a whopping 16-3 in the opening period. BU put continuous pressure on the Eagles and it resulted in a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. At 9:58, junior center John McCarthy potted his first goal of the season when he swatted the puck out of the air with his glove, dropped it to the ice, then shot it past BC netminder John Muse (38 saves).
BU continued its strong play in the middle frame. The Terriers had two early power plays but couldn't convert. However, at 5:37 they doubled their lead. Senior right wing Bryan Ewing muscled his way into the crease and jammed the puck past Muse for his 13th goal of the season. The visitors had a chance to make it 3-0 while shorthanded. With Brandon Yip off for interference, BU had a two-on-one break with senior left wing Pete MacArthur trying a poke a backhander inside the right post. He was denied by Muse's glove at 9:13.
The Eagles shifted the momentum 37 seconds later, scoring on the power play. Junior center Benn Ferriero teed up a slapper from the right circle that blew past BU sophomore goalie Brett Bennett (18 saves) for Ferriero's ninth tally of the season. Ferriero had a chance to tie it with 1:50 remaining in the period when he skated in alone on Bennett, but the netminder blocked the bid. At the end of two, the Terriers had a 29-10 shot advantage.
The Eagles pulled even midway through the third on a five-on-three power play. With Ewing and MacArthur in the box for hooking, freshman left wing Joe Whitney relayed the puck to sophomore defenseman Carl Sneep at the left point. Sneep beat Bennett on a one-timer at 8:11 to make it 2-2. It was the third goal of the season for Sneep.
Whitney had a chance for the go-ahead goal with 14 ticks left in regulation, but his attempt hit the right side of the net.
MacArthur said he can't wait for BU's next crack at the Eagles.
"You could tell with the guys there was fire in our eyes from the drop of the puck," he said. "You couldn't tell the first line from the fourth line tonight, it was nice to see. We haven't beaten these guys in a year, and that's annoying. I don't want to say I hate them but I don't like them and I don't want to lose to them again. But give them credit, their goalie played great."
BU's next chance against BC comes in the first round of the Beanpot Feb. 4.
"We're not thinking about that yet," said MacArthur.
BC coach Jerry York said for the first 50 minutes BU was the better team, but his squad picked it up in the latter stages.
"The atmosphere was terrific," said York, whose team is 11-5-6 overall and 7-3-5 in the league, including 2-0-1 against BU. "[Muse] was really terrific in goal for us."
The atmosphere in the BC dressing room was subdued afterward, but not because of the tie. Right wing Brock Bradford, who suffered a broken humerus in his left arm in the season opener against Michigan, broke the same arm late in the second period last night while killing a penalty.
"It's not the same break, but it's about 2 inches higher," said York. "He'll go through another rehab for three or four months. That's a hard, hard thing [to stomach]."
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.
