Cole Eiserman's overtime heroics send BU men's hockey back to Hockey East semifinals

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Sascha Boumedienne's pass found the tape of classmate Cole Eiserman just under three minutes into overtime.

The Boston University men's hockey team had lost their 2-1 lead following a strong UMass push in the third period. 

Eiserman raced up the ice with two Minutemen trailing. He faked a couple passes to Jack Hughes before loading up. 

"I had a lot of time and space and just took it wide," the freshman said. " I had a shot, tried to go five hole, and was lucky enough for it to go in."

Eiserman's overtime winner at 2:59 of the extra frame marks his 21st goal of the season, and his 18th at Agganis Arena. 

"He must enjoy playing here," head coach Jay Pandolfo said postgame. "I wish maybe we were playing here next game if that’s the case."

Behind Eiserman's overtime winner, the Terriers (21-12-2) defeated the Minutemen (20-13-5) in the Hockey East quarterfinals to send BU back to TD Garden for the third year in a row. 

"A guy like Cole Eiserman, he doesn’t need many chances, and obviously he’s got a special gift score goals," Pandolfo added. "It gives our group confidence when you find a way to win an overtime playoff game."

The Terriers looked hungry throughout the first period. Where the team has looked indolent at certain points this season, this game showed BU's tenacity through loose puck battles and discipline.

This learned maturity paid off within minutes of puck drop against UMass. After assistant captain Ryan Lautenbach took a hooking penalty at 4:06 of the first, BU's top-five power play answered the call. 

Eiserman received a pass from Ryan Greene, firing a shot at goaltender Michael Hrabal. The netminder made the stop with the puck heading towards Shane Lachance. The captain missed his first shot on Hrabal before slotting the puck past his right shoulder while falling for a 1-0 BU lead at 5:14. 

The Terriers looked strong the rest of the period with a few more high-leverage looks, but nothing came of the effort. Early in the second, BU's passing was tape-to-tape-to-tape, but the puck never found mesh.

The Minutemen took advantage of BU's inability to capitalize and closed the gap early in the second period. Standout forward Cole O'Hara collected the puck from a scuffle and skated across the offensive end. The weak shot hit BU goaltender Mikhail Yegorov's pad and trickled across the crease for Jack Musa to clean up and equalize the game at 3:32 of the second.

BU continued to control the game, but one misstep — such as allowing UMass linemates Aydar Suniev and Dans Locmelis to leak away — could cost them. The forwards rushed up the ice with Boumedienne in between. The freshman, however, broke up the rush and hustled down the ice. Hughes saw him flanking the right side and rewarded Boumedienne with his third goal of the season at 11:26.

"He was excellent tonight. He continues to get better and better, game to game, week to week," Pandolfo said about Boumedienne. "He’s got a great shot, and he made a great defensive play on a two-on-one, and then on the attack found a seam."

The Terriers nearly extended their lead in the final minute of the second when Quinn Hutson was left alone at the right circle. The puck pinballed around the net behind Hrabal, but the goal was waved off for offsides. 

"Not being able to go up 3-1 with the offsides call, I don’t know if that deflated us a little bit," Pandolfo said. "They’re going to push, right? It’s a playoff game, elimination game in Hockey East, and they pushed hard in the third and I thought we were on our heels too much."

UMass began to break down the Terriers in the final frame. The defense turned sloppy, with Yegorov needing to bail out BU several times throughout the first 10 minutes of the period. 

In one barrage nine minutes in, the Minutemen peppered shots on a sprawled Yegorov who, somehow, kept the bouncing puck out of the net. After the whistle blew, a scuffle ended with Greene in the box for cross-checking and Suniev in the box for embellishment.

Yegorov ended his night with 36 saves — the second-most saves in his BU career.

"I just tried to focus on the next block, next shot, and even if I get scored on it doesn’t matter, because the next shot is ahead of me," Yegorov said. 

Eventually, Yegorov couldn't relent any further. After stopping another series of shots from UMass. The puck was lost in a crowd of white and maroon before it ended behind Yegorov to even the game at two apiece. The UMass faithful exploded at Suniev's goal at 11:17.

With less than five to go, Lachance put together a strong solo effort, hammering the puck at Hrabal. However, the sophomore held strong. 

The score held into overtime, where Eiserman sent the Terriers back to TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals on Thursday where they will face either Maine or UConn. 

"For me, a Mass. kid, anytime you play at TD Garden is pretty special," Eiserman said. "I’ve been to a lot of Hockey East Semifinals and Finals, so it’s gonna be my first playing on the ice. It’s going to be pretty good to come back and hopefully win it."