Merrimack took Northeastern to a third game in the opening round of the Hockey East tournament. Boston University was not interested in doing the same.
The first-place Terriers (23-7-5) rolled to a 5-0 win over the 11th-place Warriors (16-18-4) at Agganis Arena on Saturday afternoon to sweep the quarterfinal series 2-0 and become the first team in the nation to punch a ticket to its conference semifinals.
BU scored six goals in its Game 1 win Friday night, but the goals didn’t come easy early on Saturday, as Merrimack goaltender Rasmus Tirronen stopped all 18 shots he faced in the first period.
The Terriers finally got on the board in the second period when forward Cason Hohmann scored a shorthanded goal 4:11 into the frame. Hohmann’s score opened the floodgates, as forwards Ahti Oksanen and Danny O’Regan each scored later in the period to put BU ahead 3-0.
The nationally-ranked (No. 3) Terriers added two shorthanded empty-net goals in the third period to seal the deal. Top NHL prospect Jack Eichel tallied three assists in the win.
BU now will sit back and wait as its semifinal opponent is determined Sunday. The semifinal games are scheduled for 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on March 20 at TD Garden.
Quarterfinal Results
Providence 2, New Hampshire 1 (series tied 1-1)
Vermont 3, Boston College 1 (series tied 1-1)
Notre Dame 4, UMass Lowell 2 (series tied 1-1)
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BostonGlobe
