Friday, January 24, 1997 at Kelley Rink, Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
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UMASS-AMHERST Minutemen 1 0 1 - 2 (11-13-0 overall, 6-9-0 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE Eagles 1 0 2 - 3 (10-11-3 overall, 6-6-3 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UMA 5 - 11 - 10 -- 26 7 - 14 0 - 2
BC 11 - 15 - 11 -- 37 6 - 12 1 - 3
UMA - Brian Regan 10-15- 9 - 34 saves (59:24)
BC - Greg Taylor 4-11- 9 - 24 saves (60:00)
Full box posted to INFO-HOCKEY-L list.
COMMENTS
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Boston College dominated much of the flow of this game and outshot UMass
by a wide margin but had to settle for a close 3-2 victory over the
Minutemen, stretching the Eagles unbeaten streak to 5. If not for an
outstanding effort by UMA goalie Brian Regan in blocking many shots
right on his doorstep, this could have easily have been a 5-2 or 6-2
game. Marty Reasoner of BC (1 goal, 1 assist) was named the game's
number one star, with Regan number two, and BC's Chris Masters (1 goal)
star number three.
First - BC got a quick start in this one, scoring at 0:18 on their first
shot. Callahan and Caulfield got the puck to Reasoner breaking out of
the BC zone. He moved to the left side through center ice, flew deep
into the UMass end, and fired a quick wrist shot from a sharp angle
that appeared to sneak through Regan's pads. The Eagles continued to
carry the play (as they did for almost all of the period) and drew a
UMass penalty. The next score, though, was a shorthanded UMass goal by
Rob Bonneau, who intercepted a weak Reasoner pass at the UMass blue line
and skated in clean on Greg Taylor. Bonneau feinted, slid to the left
side, and pushed a low backhand under Taylor at 4:37. After some
up-and-down play through the next few minutes, BC started to dominate,
keeping the puck in the UMass zone and forcing Regan to stop a series
of point-blank shots. In fact, for much of the game BC's problem
seemed to be that they were walking in too close to the net, and couldn't
lift shots over Regan or around him into the corners. In many ways the
game was similar to the game these two teams played on January 6.
Second - This period was scoreless though both teams got some very good
shots that the goalies were pressed hard to stop. UMass had two fairly
ineffective power plays in the first 11 minutes, and BC had numerous
chances during later 4-on-4 action. Play was pretty physical, but ref
Jeff Bunyon let the two teams play without many calls. After a sequence
where both teams were robbed on good shots, BC's Blake Bellefeuille used
his speed to break past the UMass defense, and he was tripped to set up
a 4-on-3 power play entering the third period.
Third - Jeff Farkas walked in on Regan almost immediately but was not
able to lift the puck over the goalie. But the continued pressure
finally paid off for the Eagles. Reasoner took a torrid shot from the
left (very similar to his initial goal) and Regan left the rebound out
front where freshman Tony Hutchins pounced and popped it into the goal
through Regan's body. The goal was Hutchins' 8th of the season, and he
has now scored in five straight games (and in 6 of the last 7.) BC
continued to pepper UMass with shots for several more minutes and kept
the pressure on. A Minuteman clearing pass intended for center ice
was kept in by Chris Masters, and he moved in to the right circle and
blasted a low shot for BC's third (and game-winning) goal at 9:41.
UMass now picked up their effort (and possibly BC relaxed a bit and got
defensive?) Hard forechecking put pressure on BC, and the puck was
pushed back to Gaffney at the left point. A BC forward had tripped
and was out of the play, so Gaffney skated in and blasted a high shot
that deflected off an Eagle defenseman and into the net at 10:56.
This was initially announced as unassisted, then they later said an
assist should go to Norton, then the game summary sheet had it listed
as unassisted (again.) [Personally, I thought an assist was deserved.]
UMass continued to outwork BC at this point but was unable to get the
equalizer, with the best chance a long pass off the boards that Judd
Smith was able to reach before the BC defense, only to be blocked by
Taylor. BC finally started to get control of the puck and was able
to bottle up UMass without giving them any offensive opportunities, and
ran out the clock effectively.
The Eagles are now 3-0-2 in the last 5; all 3 wins were by one goal. It's
hard to generalize, though. They got good goaltending in these games and
could have rung up more goals with luck, especially tonight. Are they
ready to make another late-season run for playoff position, especially
as the young team matures? Tomorrow night's home matchup with UNH may
provide a clue. BC has not had much luck with UNH and would like to
pick up two more points, but they will have to improve their defense to
shut down the UNH forwards. Other BC players of note tonight were Jeff
Farkas, who continues to sparkle after returning from the World Junior
tournament, and Brad Carlson, a senior defenseman.
UMass-Amherst was not at their defensive best in this game, as they let
BC's forwards wheel and deal in the offensive zone with little problem.
Part of that is the offensive skill of some of the BC players, but it
was not a strong effort by UMass, despite the final score. If Regan
did not play very well, they could have given up 7 or 8 goals. With a
more difficult schedule coming up, it doesn't look good for a shot at
home playoff ice. UMass plays Saturday night at Northeastern, a team
they swept just last week. It should provide another close game.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A positive BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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