(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, December 10, 1999 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 3, HU 0 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY (ECAC) 0 0 0 - 0 5-3-0 ECAC (5-5-0 overall)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 1 1 - 3 5-4-0 HE (8-5-0 overall)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
HU 6- 6-12 -- 24 12 - 24 0 - 6
BC 4-13- 5 -- 22 13 - 26 0 - 5
HU - J.R. Prestifilippo 3-12- 4 - 19 saves/3 goals (60:00)
(note: I believe the 60:00 time is incorrect, I saw Prestifilippo
leave the net and go to the bench for about 20 seconds late in the
third period.)
BC - Scott Clemmensen 6- 6-12 - 24 saves/0 goals (60:00)
3 Stars: BC Scott Clemmensen, BC Ales Dolinar, BC Blake Bellefeuille
COMMENTS
---------
Boston College's defense led them to a second consecutive shutout Friday,
December 10, in a physical contest against backyard rival Harvard. A good
effort by goalie Scott Clemmensen, another powerful game from the 3rd line
of Ales Dolinar/Kevin Caulfield/Tony Hutchins, and great penalty killing
kept the Crimson off the boards.
The first period featured lots of banging and tight checking, with few
shots, and one comic relief moment. Both teams had stuff attempts slide
through the crease with no result in the first 5 minutes, and Clemmensen
made a very good leg save on shifty Dominic Moore on a 4-on-4 chance. The
comic relief came at the 9 minute mark, when Brian Gionta drove into the
Harvard zone on a 2-on-2 rush. A quick shift to the middle and his sharp
wrist shot was blocked straight up into the air. As he sped past the
crease, Gionta leaped into the air, grabbed the puck with his glove, and
slam-dunked it into the net. A nice move, but quite obviously not legal,
and the crowd had a good chuckle as it was disallowed. The BC score was
a shorthanded one at 12:49. Harvard left the puck in their own corner
with only one player back, and strong forechecking by the BC forwards
popped the puck loose in the middle for Ales Dolinar. His first shot was
blocked, the rebound was loose in the slot, and he swatted at it again.
The defenseman was able to pick up Dolinar's stick on the first swipe, but
he forced it clear for another stab and pushed the puck through the legs
of Prestifilippo. Both goalies made nice saves on later rushes and kept
the score at 1-0.
Harvard came out flying at the start of the second period and was a bit
unlucky to not even up the score. Steve Moore, who had a very strong game,
got a clean shot from the slot only to see Clemmensen block enough of it
and then fall back on the loose puck before it rolled into the net. Chris
Bala circled to the slot off of a Moore faceoff win and rang a hard shot
off the crossbar, then a Peter Capouch shot through a screen forced a tough
save. Against the play, the BC scrapping line got an Eagle goal. Hutchins
worked the puck free in center ice where Dolinar collected and sped to the
blue line. He passed to Caulfield breaking down the right side, and the
puck was sent back to the slot where Dolinar got clear and tipped it past
the goalie. A very nice give-and-go play! BC had more pressure on a
power play but was unable to find the net again; Moore and Scott Turco had
chances for the Crimson but were turned away. The period then got very
physical again, with lots of penalties, grabbing and wrestling, and few
good shots.
The third period was similar to the second, in that Harvard came out flying
again, helped by a BC penalty. The penalty kill for BC was very good again
(now 38 kills in a row, over almost 6 full games.) BC gradually started to
settle the game down with their defense, and Clemmensen made a great stop
on a Matt Macleod rocket slap shot at the 11-minute mark. Just a few
seconds later, BC forced a turnover, Gionta gained control on the left
boards, Blake Bellefeuille came down the slot clean and yelling for the
puck, Gionta laid it right on his stick, and a quick 1-timer bounced off
the goalie and in the net for the final goal. Play continued very
physical after that, with some frustration on Harvard's part and some
retaliation hitting by BC. Prestifilippo came to the bench at one point,
though it is unclear if he thought there was a delayed penalty or it was a
planned move. There was a scrum (not a delayed call, though) and he came
back for the final 1:42.
Harvard came into this game trying to play physically against BC, and it
worked in many ways, except that the Eagles were the only ones who could
dent the net. The Crimson have played BC tough in the last 2 years and
were hoping to continue that success. Steve Moore was a one-man wrecking
crew on faceoffs, but that didn't translate into shots on goal, and the
players HU needs to score have not been doing the job. A good deal of that
should be credited to the BC defense, which has gotten stronger and better
as the year has gone on. They have only given up 6 goals in the last 5
games, with 2 shutouts. As noted above, the penalty kill has been very
good (though it has to be, as they have taken a lot of penalties.) When
the offense has sputtered, they have lost (2 of those 5 games were losses,
2-0 and 2-1 in overtime.) But production has started to come from the
less-heralded forwards, and if the top group rediscovers their scoring
magic, BC could once against rise to the top of the league. (The number
one line continues to score, but it has been at a steady pace and not the
bunches of goals that they have had at other times in the past.) Another
good sign for BC is the growth of freshman Krys Kolanos. After a great
opening effort in the season-opening exhibition, it seemed that he had a
hard time adjusting to the physicalness of college hockey. The last three
games, though, he has shown signs that he is learning what he needs to do
to be successful in Division I.
Attendance was 6014 - the local rivalry brought out lots of fans, with a
few of the traditional youth groups. (I expect we'll see more of these
during the school break games.) If the BC student body gets the fire,
attendance should be sharply higher in January and February. The Eagles
continue their ECAC odyssey with 2 games in the Vermont Classic after
Christmas -- one with Dartmouth, one with Vermont. The last time BC went
to this tournament they ended up dropping the Dartmouth game and tying
Vermont in a consolation effort, so they have to guard against relaxing
too much. While these are not league games, they will have an impact on
NCAA tournament selection/seeding down the road, and the Eagles could use
two wins to continue climbing back into national prominence.
Harvard, having dropped 4 of their last 5 after a strong start, needs to
play well at Dartmouth this Friday, 12/17, then takes on a strong
Northeastern team Sunday 12/19 at Harvard. After the Christmas break,
the Crimson play in the Mariucci Classic against Minnesota and then
against either Northern Michigan or UMass-Amherst.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A pleased BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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