Caleb Malhotra may not have stuffed the box score early in his freshman year at Boston University, but his coach clearly likes what he’s seeing.
Jay Pandolfo called the Vancouver Canucks prospect “outstanding tonight” after BU’s 6-3 win over UConn on Saturday, labeling it Malhotra’s best game of the season and saying the 18-year-old showed “all the positives you want in a centreman.”
“He had the puck a lot. He was coming through the neutral zone with the puck a lot.
He was making a ton of plays,” said Pandolfo. “His stick was excellent all over the ice.
I could go on and on. He had a great game.
He had his best game. He was moving his feet, he was good defensively.
It’s all the positives you want in a centreman, and it was great to see.
“I think he’s going to build off this game from a confidence standpoint. Any first-year player, it’s an adjustment. I just really liked the way he played tonight.”
Malhotra entered the game with just one point on the season, an empty-net goal in a road win over Alaska Fairbanks on opening weekend. Against UConn, he doubled that total with a pair of assists, setting up Charlie Trethewey on a first-period goal and Jack Harvey for a third-period tally.
The point total still doesn’t tell the whole story. Malhotra had 10 shots on goal in BU’s exhibition win over Brown, and at least two or three of those looked like prime chances that didn’t turn into points. Even so, the signs have been there that he’s settling in.
Boston University, ranked No. 15 in last week’s NCAA national rankings, will host Maine on Friday and Saturday. The Terriers moved down four spots after splitting a weekend series with Vermont. Maine was unranked last week.
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Canucks Defensive Depth Plan Just Got More Interesting
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