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http://www.pressherald.com/sports/college/hockey/040329hockey2.shtml

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                        Monday, March 29, 2004

                                                    Eagles soar to Frozen Four


                            By  MATT KALMAN, Associated Press

                          Copyright  2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.





Associated Press    Michigan's Mike Brown  falls to the ice as he shoots on Boston College goalie Al Montoya during Sunday's Northeast Regional final. The Eagles won, 3-2 in overtime, and face Maine in the national semifinals.

 MANCHESTER, N.H.  --  By the time Boston College and Maine hit the ice at the FleetCenter, more than a month will have passed since the Black Bears swept a pair of games from the Eagles at Alfond Arena. Now that BC has disposed of Michigan in overtime, 3-2, in the Northeast Regional final at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday night, the Eagles get another shot at the Black Bears.

     Maine, 34-42-5 all-time against BC, will meet the Eagles in the national semifinals on April 8. Two Maine wins in early March (by scores of 3-0 and 4-3) were part of a four-game losing streak that started a BC slump of five losses in six games . . . before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

     "We certainly haven't had a lot of time to think about (Maine), but they've certainly been on a phenomenal run here," said BC Coach Jerry York, whose team beat Maine just once this season, 4-1, on Nov. 7. "We compete like heck against each other, but there's a lot of pride in Hockey East and to get two teams into the Frozen Four, that's a great sense of pride for us.

     "They're a good club and (the March series) was terrific and there was one one-goal game. They're a good club and we're going to have to play exceptionally well to advance."

     Ecstatic about the victory over the Wolverines, BC players weren't looking at playing Maine as a grudge match.

     "We're going to prepare like we prepare for all good teams," said junior defenseman John Adams. "Maine's definitely one of the top hockey powers in the country right now and we'll have a couple of weeks to get ready here."

     Said senior captain Ben Eaves, "(Alfond's) a tough place to play and they do some damage up there. But at the FleetCenter, we're excited to get there, we'll have a huge fan base and it's going to come down to goaltending and special teams and that's going to be a great game."

     One night after the Black Bears beat Wisconsin overtime to claim their regional title, the Eagles had to do the same in the Northeast final. BC had a 45-17 shot advantage, but actually had to play from behind in the third period.

     When Patrick Eaves cashed in on a rebound of a Tony Voce shot with 4:44 left in regulation, the Eagles evened the score at 2.

     Then Ben Eaves, who early in overtime left the ice with a cramp in his leg, made a memorable return to the ice. The senior center and captain rejoined his teammates after missing three shifts and provided the Eagles with the winning score.

     After brother Patrick Eaves fired a shot from the left circle, Ben Eaves deflected the rebound off the pads of Michigan netminder Al Montoya. The puck deflected it in the air and Eaves swatted it into the net at 10:08 of overtime.

     BC, a different team than the one Maine swept without Ben Eaves in the lineup because of injury, might have benefitted from facing a team like Michigan before its rematch with Maine.

     "These type of teams, they're all a little different in some things," said York. "But they've got strong goaltending with (Jim) Howard, they both skate very well and both are extremely well-coached. There's some nuances to their games that are different, but they're similar."

     MINNESOTA-DULUTH 3, MINNESOTA 1: Minnesota's bid for a third straight NCAA hockey championship ended with Minnesota-Duluth winning the Midwest Regional final 3-1 at Grand Rapids, Mich.

     Evan Schwabe, Luke Stauffacher and Jesse Unklesbay scored for the Bulldogs (28-12-4), who play Denver on April 8 in the semifinals at Boston.

     The Associated Press contributed to this report.