1989: BU 6-Michigan State 4. This interleague contest was the favorite Walter Brown Arena game for Terrier Hockey Fan Blog contributor defkit, who provided the following recap:
As the Michigan State Spartans emerged from the locker room at Walter Brown Arena to start the third period against BU, they had to like their chances of coming away with a victory. Afterall, the #2-ranked team in the country had won seven straight games (9-2) and held a 4-1 lead over the Terriers who hadn't been a national contender in the recent past.
What transpired over the next six-plus minutes will be etched forever in the mind of every Terrier fan in attendance. Sophomore Shawn McEachern, fresh off a 44-point freshman campaign, scored just 20 seconds into the period. One minute later, talented freshman winger Tony Amonte (photo) dazzled the crowd with an individual rush, before dishing to junior Joe Sacco who buried the puck--one of his team-leading 28 goals that year--to cut the lead to one.
Roughly four minutes later, Amonte gave the fans an instant replay, deking the Spartan defenseman and sweeping the puck past Jason Muzatti, to tie the game up. The home crowd was ecstatic, however, the Terriers were not done. Seventeen seconds after Amonte's strike, Ed Ronan went "top shelf" to give BU the lead, sending the noise level in Brown Arena to deafening levels. Less than a minute later, captain--and later Bruins head coach--Mike Sullivan gave BU a 2-goal cushion they would never relinquish, as the Terriers stunned the Spartans 6-4. All tolled, BU scored five goals in 6:36.
This game stands out as a favorite all-time WBA moment for several reasons.
1. For the team, the game was a statement to the college hockey world that the Terriers were again on the rise and they weren't afraid of any team's ranking.
2. The game marked Amonte's coming out party. While he arrived on Babcock Street with a strong resume, BU fans had no idea of the level of skill that this freshman possessed. After this game, the Terrier fans had little doubt that they were watching a very special player. Ironically, this game did not include one of his nine game-winning goals that year.
3. The foreshadowing: The truth is that if BU had lost to MSU four months later in the NCAA's, this game wouldn't be quite as endearing to Terrier fans. When BU shocked the then-#1-ranked Spartans in East Lansing, taking the last two of the best-of-three series after losing game one and its second line center to a game disqualification, Terrier fans held a strong sense of pride.
Powerhouse MSU lost just seven games all year, three of them to BU. They were led by Hobey Baker Award winner Kip Miller, a 101-point scorer, along with another forward with 89 points, and a defenseman with 21 goals. And yet, it was the upstart Terriers, with--at the time--little-known names who stole the show. All five third-period scorers eventually went on to NHL careers and two of them, McEachern and Ronan, have their names on The Stanley Cup.
As the Michigan State Spartans emerged from the locker room at Walter Brown Arena to start the third period against BU, they had to like their chances of coming away with a victory. Afterall, the #2-ranked team in the country had won seven straight games (9-2) and held a 4-1 lead over the Terriers who hadn't been a national contender in the recent past.
What transpired over the next six-plus minutes will be etched forever in the mind of every Terrier fan in attendance. Sophomore Shawn McEachern, fresh off a 44-point freshman campaign, scored just 20 seconds into the period. One minute later, talented freshman winger Tony Amonte (photo) dazzled the crowd with an individual rush, before dishing to junior Joe Sacco who buried the puck--one of his team-leading 28 goals that year--to cut the lead to one.
Roughly four minutes later, Amonte gave the fans an instant replay, deking the Spartan defenseman and sweeping the puck past Jason Muzatti, to tie the game up. The home crowd was ecstatic, however, the Terriers were not done. Seventeen seconds after Amonte's strike, Ed Ronan went "top shelf" to give BU the lead, sending the noise level in Brown Arena to deafening levels. Less than a minute later, captain--and later Bruins head coach--Mike Sullivan gave BU a 2-goal cushion they would never relinquish, as the Terriers stunned the Spartans 6-4. All tolled, BU scored five goals in 6:36.
This game stands out as a favorite all-time WBA moment for several reasons.
1. For the team, the game was a statement to the college hockey world that the Terriers were again on the rise and they weren't afraid of any team's ranking.
2. The game marked Amonte's coming out party. While he arrived on Babcock Street with a strong resume, BU fans had no idea of the level of skill that this freshman possessed. After this game, the Terrier fans had little doubt that they were watching a very special player. Ironically, this game did not include one of his nine game-winning goals that year.
3. The foreshadowing: The truth is that if BU had lost to MSU four months later in the NCAA's, this game wouldn't be quite as endearing to Terrier fans. When BU shocked the then-#1-ranked Spartans in East Lansing, taking the last two of the best-of-three series after losing game one and its second line center to a game disqualification, Terrier fans held a strong sense of pride.
Powerhouse MSU lost just seven games all year, three of them to BU. They were led by Hobey Baker Award winner Kip Miller, a 101-point scorer, along with another forward with 89 points, and a defenseman with 21 goals. And yet, it was the upstart Terriers, with--at the time--little-known names who stole the show. All five third-period scorers eventually went on to NHL careers and two of them, McEachern and Ronan, have their names on The Stanley Cup.
No comments:
Post a Comment