Tuesday, November 30, 1999 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, NU 2 HOCKEY EAST GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHEASTERN UNIV. (HE) 0 2 0 - 2 2-4-2 HE (4-6-2 overall)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 2 2 - 4 4-4-0 HE (6-5-0 overall)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
NU 7- 6- 7 -- 20 2 - 4 0 - 3
BC 10-16- 7 -- 33 3 - 6 0 - 2
NU - Mike Gilhooly 10-14- 5 - 29 saves/4 goals (59:25)
BC - Scott Clemmensen 7- 4- 7 - 18 saves/2 goals (60:00)
3 Stars: BC Blake Bellefeuille, BC Brian Gionta, NU Matt Keating
COMMENTS
---------
Boston College broke a 4 game losing streak Tuesday night, taking a tough
4-2 win over Hockey East rival Northeastern. Northeastern had started
BC's skid with a win back on November 12, but the Eagles were able to
get some offense from their top line in the third period to close this
one out. Blake Bellefeuille came back from a mild leg injury to get an
assist and the game-winning goal, earning the number one star ranking.
The game was tough and close checking but only 5 penalties were called,
none in the last 37 minutes.
The game started slowly, with BC carrying the early play. NU's Brian
Cummings shot wide on NU's first good opportunity, and BC's Mike Lephart
took too long to get a shot off on a shorthanded break chance, allowing the
defense time to get back and deflect the shot. BC was able to kill off
the penalty with no Northeastern shots; none of the power plays were
particularly effective on their few chances in the game. Play was up and
down through the middle of the period. BC's Gionta tipped a rebound just
wide of the net at 14:00, then the Huskies stepped up their forecheck
pressure and drew a BC penalty. Roger Holeczy was able to dance into
the slot for a sharp slapper that Clemmensen saved in his pads, then BC
again had a shorthanded bid. Jeff Farkas stole the puck, danced around
two defenders, and fed Lephart right in front of the goal. His attempt
to pick the corner of the net went wide left. Farkas had two more chances
on a later BC power play but NU goalie Mike Gilhooly was up to the
challenge. A penalty at the end of the period would allow the Eagles to
open the second period on another power play.
Farkas missed a golden opportunity in the first minute of the 2nd when he
was sent in clean on a long break pass, collecting it at the blue line.
His wrister sailed wide left, though, and the power play ended quietly.
BC got their first score shortly after that, after tough forechecking work
deep in the NU zone led to a pass to Lephart behind the net. He circled
quickly around the back and stuffed a wraparound through the 5-hole for
a 1-0 lead. Northeastern couldn't do anything on a power play, but got
the equalizer at 6:15. Billy Newson drove into the BC zone, slid to the
left through 2 defenders, and spun back to fire a forehand shot on net.
Clemmensen made the save, but the rebound popped right back out to trailing
Matt Keating, and he drove it low into the goal. Action was back-and-forth
after that -- Holeczy had 2 chances right in front but drove the second
shot wide, then a BC 2-on-1 counter found the puck just eluding the tip of
the second man. NU then saw Clemmensen rob them on two successive
point-blank shots when Graig Mischler and Willie Levesque were left all
alone in the slot. Each tried to score 5-hole but both were turned aside
to keep the score 1-1. BC took the lead late in the period, again
after very hard forechecking work by Kevin Caulfield and Krys Kolanos.
The puck was freed along the right boards and passed back to Marty Hughes
alone in the high slot. His sharp shot banged in off the underside of
the crossbar over the goalie's shoulder. Not to be outdone, the Huskies
kept working and scored at 19:32; Keating was sent in down the left wing,
and his power slap shot from the circle beat Clemmensen cleanly high
to the far side.
The third period featured a lot of checking and few offensive opportunities
at the start, as both teams were working very hard defensively. BC had
reunited Farkas with Bellefeuille and Gionta as their number one line in
this game, hoping to spark their recently-anemic offense. It finally paid
off at 8:34, when Farkas drove deep into the left circle and slid a pass
to the front of the crease. Bellefeuille fought off a defender and got his
stick to the ice just in time to sweep the puck inside the far post in a
bang-bang play. The middle part of the period saw more grinding, and NU
started to generate pressure with their forechecking. During a two-minute
stretch, NU saw 4 different players come off the boards with shooting
chances, only to see most of them fire wide or have the shot deflected.
BC called a timeout to reorganize, but Northeastern kept the pressure up
as the period neared its end. Finally, as NU was pressing hard to keep
the puck in the zone, BC pushed it loose to Gionta at center ice. He
tipped it into the NU zone, and Gilhooly raced out of his net to try to
cover it. He got to it just as Gionta reached him, and somehow the puck
squirted loose to the left circle. Gionta collected it and slammed it
into the vacated net from a sharp angle to give BC the insurance goal with
just 49 seconds left to play. Northeastern couldn't mount any significant
shots after that, and the Eagles gladly accepted a tough win.
Many of the BC fans expressed relief at the win, but worried that the
Eagles didn't play "well". Personally, I thought it was a good win against
an opponent that lately has played BC very tough. Boston College got a lot
of hard work from their 2nd and 3rd lines to go along with the top line,
something that hasn't always been true this season. And Clemmensen came
up big on some point-blank shots; while he occasionally gives up a bad goal,
overall he has played fairly well this year. The problem for BC hasn't
been the defense, it has been the less-than-expected offense. The freshmen
and role players haven't stepped up yet and it has made it easier for their
opponents to shut them down. I think BC misses the 5 fast/tough role
players that they graduated; maybe they weren't stars, but you don't
easily replace that type of experience.
Northeastern continues to play well in games against the 'alleged' elite
of Hockey East. It is in their other games that they seem to lose
intensity. They have gotten little production from some of their older
players (relative to preseason expectations) but the defense and goaltending
has ranged from okay to good. The days of easy games against the Huskies
are pretty much gone, and at least some of their fans are noticing. They
had a small but vocal student group at the game, and attendance at Matthews
Arena has slowly been growing. It is still a shame that they don't have
more fans -- the team is competitive, the prices are some of the lowest in
Hockey East, and the arena is a classic "older" arena with some very good
views. For those who are willing to leave their cars behind, it also has
very convenient public transportation, just one block from the arena.
The attendance was announced as 4347 -- perhaps valid, but the crowd
wasn't very animated or loud. The BC students, always late to come around,
seem to be waiting for another late-season run to the tournament. Having
the game on Tuesday didn't help, but the lack of noise and support is a bit
disappointing for a team coming off 2 appearances in the finals and with
high expectations. Of course, unexpected 4-game losing streaks have a way
of dampening the fans' enthusiasm.
BC has another tough game against a physical opponent next Tuesday, hosting
Merrimack. They then start a 4-game sequence against ECAC teams, hosting
Harvard Dec. 10, then playing Dartmouth, Vermont, and Brown over the
Christmas-New Year stretch. All of these games are ones that BC expected
to win at the beginning of the season. How they do in these games will
indicate how much they have gotten back on track.
NU jumps right back into the fire, hosting a 2-game set with number one
Maine this weekend at Matthews Arena, perhaps the marquee matchup for
Hockey East this week. Can they manage to recover from Tuesday's game in
time for Friday and Saturday? Time will tell. I would expect a possible
split with Maine, though Maine could take both. A Northeastern sweep is
highly unlikely.
-------------------- ----------------------
Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A pleased BC fan. GO EAGLES!
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.
|
