How did UMass Expose a Weakness of Boston College Men's Hockey's Freshman Goalie?

The two goals that Boston College men’s hockey goaltender Louka Cloutier surrendered in Thursday’s 2-1 road loss at UMass were both shot in the direction of his blocker side.

This was apparently not a coincidence.

Junior Cam O’Neill fired in the initial goal for the Minutemen at the 16:00 minute mark of the second period.

A BC turnover in the neutral zone allowed Owen Mehlenbacher to turn around at the blue line for an offensive-zone entry, and he dished the puck off to O’Neill on the wing.

The only option O’Neill had was to shoot the puck, as his fellow linemates were catching up from behind him and, for the most part, being defended by the Eagles.

O’Neill picked his spot — the “six-hole,” which is the space between a goalie’s blocker or glove and leg pad — and gave it a whirl. The shot did not have much heat on it, but O’Neill tucked the puck right where he needed it to land, and there was a very specific reason for that.

Here's a beauty from @Oneillcameron19's to get us on the board here in the second - set up by @mehlenbacher_37 and @colesonhanrahan

Watch on @ESPNPlus - https://t.co/Ovw4cfbINW #NewMass X #Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/kBcFtIyCg9
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) March 6, 2026

“We got our pre-scout every game, and that was one of [Cloutier’s] weaknesses,” O’Neill said. “So the thought going in was try to hammer the blocker side.”

It is not often that senior captain defenseman Owen Murray decides to shoot to a specific quadrant of the net based on a previous goal in the game, he said after Thursday’s triumph.

But that was clearly not the case in Thursday’s contest, as Murray happened to glance at O’Neill’s shot during the shooting action on UMass’ first goal and saw that Cloutier was cheating his right side, where his blocker is.

Murray ended up scoring the game-winner with a beautiful top-shelf goal at the 4:56 mark of the third frame, cementing the Minutemen’s 2-1 advantage. Of course, it also beat Cloutier’s blocker side — only this time, up top rather than down below.

Co-captain @o_murray10 came through in the CLUTCH tonight 🙌#NewMass X #Flagship🚩 pic.twitter.com/PvYBiyRd1s
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) March 6, 2026

“I was on the bench for the first one and I could see the angle,” Murray said. “So when I kind of got in that spot [for the game-winner], not often am I gonna go off of a goal that happens before, but I kind of knew [Cloutier] was a little leaky to the left, and he cheated on that one. So kind of like picked that side.”

Cloutier only faced 17 shots in the loss, his 11th of the year, which could have been the reason that he was caught somewhat off guard when sudden chances came out of nowhere for UMass, according to BC head coach Greg Brown.

"He was good,” Brown said. “He didn't have a lot of work, especially early. The two chances that they scored on were too good of chances to give up, and they converted on both of 'em."

Brown continued: "But I think it's probably harder for a goalie when you're not seeing a ton of pucks and then you sit there without much work and then all of a sudden you have a Grade-A coming down at you."

The rookie from Sherbrooke, Quebec, has not earned a shutout since Jan. 24 against New Hampshire, and has relinquished 26 goals in the Eagles’ past 11 games — good for a goals against average of 2.36.

It is not the most surprising considering Cloutier’s lack of experience, and the pressure that tends to amount at the end of the season. But it is not all Cloutier’s fault, either, as lapses in the neutral zone have led to odd-man rushes for BC’s opponents far too often.