Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504040038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PROVIDENCE, R.I. LENGTH: Medium
They beat Maine 6-2 on Saturday to win the NCAA Division I title and shake off the stigma of last year's championship game flop.
They had trailed Lake Superior State 1-0 after one period, then fell apart in a 9-1 loss that was the most lopsided in 33 years of championship games.
Saturday, the Terriers could have caved in after Trevor Roenick's power-play goal 31 seconds into the third period cut their lead to 3-2. Instead, they charged back with two goals in the next eight minutes.
And, when Bob Lachance's short-handed goal made the score 6-2 with 1:13 left, it was time to celebrate.
The Terriers on the bench hugged and slapped backs. Then, when time ran out, they poured over the boards, flinging their sticks and gloves into the air.
Boston U. had its fourth NCAA hockey title and first since 1978, when it beat Boston College, also at Providence, in the last all-New England championship game.
For Maine, it was a tough loss at the end of a surprisingly strong season.
The Black Bears won the 1993 title, losing only one game all season. Last season, they lost seven players to the Olympics and 14 games to forfeits for using ineligible players.
But they started this season with a 14-0-1 record and led the Hockey East until Boston U. tied them in its final regular-season game.
The Terriers' determination was evident when they beat Lake Superior State 6-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals. Then they beat Minnesota 7-3 in the semifinals after being tied 3-3 after two periods.
Maine, which had to battle for 100 minutes, 28 seconds, before beating Michigan 4-3 in a triple-overtime semifinal Thursday, lost its zip after the first 14 minutes Saturday.
It had outshot Boston U. 8-3 to that point. But over the next 19 minutes, the Terriers dominated 20-1.
The assault began with Steve Thoronton's power-play goal at 14:57 when he won the faceoff to the left of goalie Blair Allison, controlled the puck and flipped it in the far side of the net for his 17th goal of the season.
The Terriers' two second-period goals came after Maine failed to clear rebounds.
Chris O'Sullivan's goal gave Boston U. a 2-0 lead and a 7-0 edge in shots for the period. Jacques Joubert's 29th goal on a power play made it 3-0 and stretched the shooting margin for the period to 18-1.
Maine, which was 2-0-2 against Boston U. during the regular season, got its first shot of the period at 12:57 when Tony Frenette fired the puck harmlessly from the top of the left circle right into the chest of freshman goalie Tom Noble.
The Black Bears' first shot that meant something came at 14:51 of the second period when Frenette's pass across the slot on a 2-on-1 break set up Tim Lovell's 23rd goal.
But they attacked at the start of the third period with three shots in the first 31 seconds, capped by the goal by Roenick, brother of Jeremy Roenick of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Terriers hung in and got a key goal from Mike Sylvia on a five-footer at 5:23. And O'Sullivan got his second goal of the game and 23rd of the season on a power play at 8:30.
It was the first final between Hockey East teams in the league's 11 seasons and the first time teams from the same conference played for the title since North Dakota beat Wisconsin in a 1982 matchup of Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams. Maine was 2-0-2 against Boston U. during the regular season.
by CNB