“It’s pretty special,” said Boston University Terriers senior Bobo Carpenter after eclipsing the 100-point mark in his NCAA career. “It makes you look back (on) the players you’ve played with that have helped you get to that mark.”
Carpenter tallied both his 100th and 101st points on Friday night against the Arizona State University Sun Devils, but the center didn’t reach the plateau based on luck. “Everything he gets he deserves,” stated first-year head coach Albie O’Connell. “He really works hard and he’s always in the fray…It’s nice to see a guy hit the century mark.”
Add an assist to @carpy_14 on Farabee’s goal… and that gives him 100 career points! 83rd Terrier to reach the century mark. #ProudToBU pic.twitter.com/STQ3hpjfzW
— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) January 26, 2019
The Massachusetts native always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder, showcasing a physical game whenever he’s not unleashing his powerful wrist shot. Carpenter is also a very mobile, two-way player which has earned him the respect of his peers and coaches: “I love Bobo,” said O’Connell. “He works his ass off.”
Boston University vs. Arizona State
The No. 17 ranked Sun Devils entered Boston with a healthy 16-9-1 record. They were coming off two straight losses to Cornell University, however. The Terriers began the weekend with a 9-9-3 record but were on a roll, going 3-1-1 in the month of January. BU was looking to continue their quest of turning a sub-par season in the right direction when the two teams clashed on Friday night.
BU Wins 4-2
The Sun Devils kicked off the action with a goal just six minutes into the first frame. Sophomore winger Filips Buncis spun and let go a wrist shot that bounced its way to senior Anthony Croston. The alternate captain was able to put the puck into the half-empty net to give ASU the early lead. “It seems like we’ve given up the first goal quite a bit,” noted O’Connell. “Our response is usually pretty good.”
The response was more than “pretty good” on Friday: BU’s first goal of the game came from freshman Joel Farabee who was all alone in front of the ASU net. Fellow freshman Jack DeBoer, who has been getting time on the first line with Logan Cockerill out, found his open teammate to set up the goal. “For Jack to step in with Logan out, that’s really big for him,” said Farabee. “We just got a turnover there and he found me which was a really good play.”
With just 38 seconds left in the first period, junior Patrick Curry handed the Terriers a lead. His linemate and fellow junior, Patrick Harper, sent a pass across the crease that bounced off an ASU skate. Curry found the loose puck in the crease and knocked it home. “The last three games we’ve given up a goal in the last minute of the first period and those are killers for young teams,” said ASU head coach Greg Powers. “That one ended up being what I think cost us tonight.”
As the teams took the ice for the second period, an announcement was made: Carpenter was to be credited with an assist on the Farabee goal, which was the 100th point of his NCAA career. The crowd was electrified and applauded the senior. It was the energy BU needed to keep the pedal to the metal.
Seven minutes into the second, Farabee scored again. With a teammate crashing the net, the freshman proceeded to throw the puck into the slot. “I thought if it didn’t hit the net it’d go to him,” explained Farabee. “Just got a lucky bounce there.”
O’Connell has liked a lot of what he’s seen from Farabee in the new semester: “Joel’s been really coming on, not only on the scoresheet,” he stated. “He’s been physical, he’s been at the net…he’s a threat.” Farabee has been nothing short of a threat all season long.
Related: WJC: Farabee & Cockerill Bring More Than Scoring to USA
With his two-goal performance on Friday, the New York native now has eight goals and 12 assists in his first 23 college contests. “I’ve never seen a player see the ice so well,” said Carpenter, praising his linemate. “A couple games ago he was going in the zone and he curled up and passed it to me…I don’t even know how he saw that. It didn’t even look like he looked at me.”
BU went on to win the contest 4-2. It was a game of weird bounces, but defeating the No. 17 ranked team in the nation is quite the accomplishment. “We were sloppy, I think the game was sloppy both ways,” said O’Connell. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.”
ASU Responds With a Shutout
Saturday night’s matchup was a different tale entirely. After a fairly even and scoreless first period, the Sun Devils turned up the heat. Buncis potted his fourth goal of the season just three minutes into the frame. Sophomore Johnny Walker added to ASU’s lead, tallying his 20th goal of the season late in the period. “[Walker] is dangerous every time he’s on the ice,” stated O’Connell. “He was trying to get behind our [defense], he’s opportunistic.”
The Arizona native nabbed an insurance goal in the first half of the third period as ASU coasted their way to a 3-0 shutout. It was a response the team truly needed as continue moving up the rankings. The timely shutout moved ASU up one spot to No. 16 in the United States Hockey Online rankings. They celebrated the victory in style:
Been too long 😈🔱🎶 pic.twitter.com/SMTCEimcNI
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 27, 2019
The loss was an ugly one for the Terriers. They were outshot 39-28 and were simply outplayed at the dot, winning just 35 percent of their faceoffs. BU is set to take on the No. 2 ranked UMass Minutemen this Friday before entering the Beanpot Tournament next Monday. While the shutout is certainly disgruntling, the win on Friday built confidence – something the team can bring into their date with the Minutemen.
Bobo Carpenter
Carpenter has registered 10 goals and eight helpers in 21 games this season. This brings the 22-year-old’s career totals to 56 goals and 45 assists (101 points) in 138 college contests. Reaching the century mark is a huge accomplishment for a college player – they play a fraction of the games that other leagues feature. Carpenter is just the 83rd BU player to eclipse 100 points in the program’s storied history.
While he is certainly proud of his accomplishment, reality began to sink in for the senior: “You don’t really think about it when you first get on campus,” said Carpenter. “Just going through the four years; it’s kind of sad too that it’s [coming to] the end. It’s almost here.”
Carpenter and the Terriers still have plenty of games left to climb the standings with a slew of conference matchups coming at the end of the season. Those will certainly be heated contests, and you can bet that Carpenter will be soaking in every minute of his last games in a red and white uniform.
I cover the Boston Bruins and NCAA Hockey here at The Hockey Writers. Born and raised 10 miles north of Boston, I developed a love for the game of ice hockey at a very young age. There’s really nothing better than this sport, though steak is a close second.
