Sunday, January 23, 2000 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 6, PC 0 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (HE) 0 0 0 - 0 4-8-0 HE (12-11-1 overall)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 1 5 - 6 7-6-1 HE (14-7-1 overall)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
PC 10-13- 6 -- 29 9 - 18 0 - 3
BC 18- 6-17 -- 41 8 - 16 0 - 4
PC - Nolan Schaefer 18- 5- 9 - 32 saves/6 goals (51:34)
Boyd Ballard x- x- 3 - 3 saves/0 goals ( 8:26)
BC - Tim Kelleher 10-13- 6 - 29 saves/0 goals (60:00)
3 Stars: BC Tim Kelleher, BC Krys Kolanos, BC Bill Cass
COMMENTS
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Boston College gained a split of their weekend series with Providence
College, using a 5-goal third period burst to pull away for a 6-0 win.
Providence had come from a 3-goal deficit Saturday night in Providence to
take the lead game 4-3, and fought hard for much of the game Sunday, but BC
finally found a way to put the puck in. All 4 BC lines scored a goal in
the final period, and freshman goalie Tim Kelleher was number one star as
he recorded his second career shutout.
The first period featured lots of shots but no scoring. Both keepers made
all the routine stops and the defenses cleared rebounds, with only a few
good scoring chances in the period. BC carried more of the play later in
the period, forcing Schaefer to make saves on a Jeff Farkas blast and a
Mike Mottau follow. A late Providence penalty produced few chances for
the Eagles due to tight checking.
The second period opened with PC killing the penalty, and they got the
best chance with a Drew Omicioli slapper on a 2-on-1 shorthanded bid.
Kelleher made the glove save, though. Providence had a great chance to
score on their own power play when a BC turnover gave the puck to a open
forward all alone in front. Two quick shots were stoned by Kelleher's
sprawling stacked-pads save, and the puck cleared away. The middle part
of the period was sloppy, with missed passes and lost pucks leading to
penalties and choppy action. The Eagles finally broke through by taking
advantage of a bad defense change by PC, when Bill Cass sent a long break
pass to a streaking Jeff Giuliano. He collected it and broke over the
blue line, drifted to the left, and lifted a backhander over Schaefer before
the defense could catch up. Both teams had decent shots the rest of the
period, mostly in screened situations, but the keepers were up to the task
and the period ended with BC up 1-0.
The third period started more energetically, and both teams had early
chances; Brian Gionta had an early shot, PC's Peter Fregoe made a nice
rush around a defenseman only to see his shot saved. Schaefer made a tough
kick save on a screened point slapper, and Fregoe again had a shot only to
whistle the slap shot wide of the net. BC's most productive line on the
night, the 3rd line, finally used heavy forecheck pressure to force a bad
pass in the slot. Ales Dolinar stole the pass, fed it back to Kolanos in
the slot, and he fired a high shot past Schaefer for a 2-0 lead. Providence
took a timeout to settle the team, but unlike Saturday's game, it did not
change the momentum, as BC went on to score 4 more times in a 4-minute span
starting just 1:42 later. Contined 3rd line forecheck pressure produced
a quick Mike Mottau slap shot from the point that deflected off the post,
and a rebound shot also hit the post! Matching penalties opened up the ice
a bit, and BC scored again on the 4-on-4. Mottau intercepted the puck and
led a breaking Mike Lephart up the right side. Lephart slid a pass back to
Mottau as he crossed the blue line, and he fired a sharp shot that Schaefer
blocked but dropped. Farkas swooped in and pushed the loose puck into the
net before the goalie could find it.
Schaefer may have been a bit rattled at this point, as BC's 4th goal seemed
to be a weak one. Caulfield tipped a long pass into the offensive zone,
where Kolanos collected it moving into the left circle. With a defender
bothering him, and the puck rolling, Kolanos fanned on one shot and then
swiped at the puck from a bad angle. It slid through Schaefer's legs before
he could close up; this one was 1:32 after the previous score. The 5th
goal followed 1:24 later, as good forechecking by the BC 4th line got the
puck to Paul Kelly at the left boards. His backhand pass to the slot was
met by Mark McLennan's 1-timer at the edge of the crease for a bang-bang
score. Schaefer was completed demoralized at this point and it showed as
he misplayed a Gionta wrist shot from the left circle at 11:34, letting
the puck deflect off his glove and into the net for the final 6-0 margin.
Boyd Ballard replaced Schaefer at that point but it was way too late for
Providence. Kelleher had to make a couple of good saves in the last 3
minutes to preserve his shutout, and was able to hold the fort.
BC changed up the lines a bit this weekend, trying to spread the scoring
a bit, and it seemed to work, as all 4 lines produced in this game. Marty
Hughes, normally a defenseman, moved up to the top line, and was effective
on the forecheck. Farkas dropped back to the 2nd line, adding his skills
to that group, and the 3rd line combo of Caulfield, Kolanos, and Dolinar
was effective all weekend. With the scoring burst in the third period,
Coach York was able to give significant time to the 4th line, which he has
not played that much this year. The ineffectiveness of the power play
is still a worry, though that may have been mostly caused by Providence's
defensive efforts. The Eagles continue tough at home, but should have had
4 league points this weekend. Saturday's disappointing loss, where they
let PC back in the game after controlling the first half of it, continues
to show that BC is a very good team, but not a great team, despite the
early season hype. With tough games with Maine and UNH upcoming, along
with the Beanpot, the Eagles will have to show that they can win back-to-
back games in the league if they want to stay in the top half and win home
playoff ice.
Providence is another team like BC, teasing with the amount of talent they
can show, but also inconsistent. They have some offensive firepower, but
the defense can get sloppy at the wrong time. Usually the goalies have
been able to save them, but they have to learn to be more consistent as
well. Statistically PC is reasonable, but their record in Hockey East
doesn't match that, now just 4-8. They do have a couple of games in hand
over most of the league, so they can still put together a late season run.
But they will have to play better than this weekend to move up in the
standings.
Boston College now starts a series of games that will decide their standing
at the end of the season. Three on the road, 2 this week at Maine and then
at UMass-Lowell, lead into the Beanpot first round against a tough
Northeastern squad. Then the sandwich game against Providence, and the
2nd round of the Beanpot. Then they have a home-and-home with UNH, not an
easy task. If BC can elevate their play and continue to get good
goaltending, they could move up to 3rd or 4th in Hockey East. If they play
only 4 periods out of 6 in a weekend, as they have done too often this year,
they will struggle to get a home-ice position for the HE playoffs.
Providence must start to make a move up in the HE standings as they take
on some of the lesser teams in the league (lesser up to now, anyway.) They
have games against UMass-Amherst, UMass-Lowell, and Merrimack in their
next few games (along with one with Northeastern.) If they only play
around .500 through that stretch, then they guarantee themselves a road
trip come playoff time, and that can be very difficult in Hockey East. As
it is, they will have to produce a few upsets down the stretch when they
play the likes of BC, UNH, BU, and Maine. Most likely they will end up in
the 6th-8th positions and have a tough road ahead.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A pleased BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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