by Jashvina Shah/Staff Writer (@icehockeystick)
(photo: Rich Gagnon)
ST. LOUIS This heartbreak has been the worst of them.
The worst in the past three years, when Boston University kept coming to the Frozen Four.
Losing in a national championship game just hurts differently.
“It’s hard to get here,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “And clearly we know it’s very hard to win this last game. But I’m really proud of [the team], and this is tough to swallow.”
There are no words of solace to tell the players who sit in a locker room stinging with silence, some too numb to move, others leaning on the shoulders of their teammates, tears too forceful to push away.
There are no words for continuous heartbreak like this; year, after year, after year. Coming so close but returning home dejected, disappointed.
“Sh**ty,” Tristan Amonte said of how he felt following the game.
Alternate captain Devin Kaplan, still in his jersey and gear, had a similar sentiment.
“It sucks,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan is one of the players who has been to three straight Frozen Fours. He’s one of the players who has gone home, empty handed, each year.
“It’s tough to put into words how this feels, especially for our players, especially our senior class that’s going to be moving on and other guys that may move on as well,” Pandolfo said. “But I’m really proud of this group.”
It’s not as though this was one of those BU clunkers we’ve seen this season. The Terriers played tough, they played well. Perhaps without as much of the depth that Western Michigan has, BU was nevertheless right in the game, and with a bounce or two, things would’ve been different.
That’s why games like this are, at once, nothing to be ashamed of, yet heartbreaking all the same.
The Terriers tried as hard as they could. They capitalized on two misplays from Hampton Slukynsky. First it was freshman Cole Eiserman, who pounced on a puck that Slukynsky was unable to hold onto. In the second period, Shane Lachance poked in an uncovered rebound. In that frame, the Terriers grabbed control and pushed as hard as they could, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
“That shows the heart, the resilience of our group, and no quit,” Kaplan said. “We showed that all season.”
In the third period,…
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