(Sorry for the late post; I couldn't get into my internet account
that I post from ...)
Sunday, January 7, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 5, BU 2 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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BOSTON UNIVERSITY (HE) 0 1 1 - 2 (7-10-1 overall, 5-5-1 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 2 2 1 - 5 (14-5-1 overall, 7-2-1 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
BU 6- 9-13 -- 28 10 - 28 2 - 7
BC 7-13-10 -- 30 10 - 31 1 - 6
BU - Jason Tapp 5-11- 8 - 24 saves/4 goals (58:10)
Andy Warren x- x- 1 - 1 save /0 goals ( 1:06)
BC - Scott Clemmensen 6- 8-12 - 26 saves/2 goals (60:00)
3 Stars: BC Brian Gionta, BC Tony Voce, BU John Sabo
COMMENTS
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After losing a hard-fought match to Boston University Saturday night, 3-2,
Boston College returned home Sunday and had a solid game to beat BU, 5-2.
Brian Gionta, moved to right wing with 2 freshmen linemates, had 2 goals
and an assist to get the number 1 star. This game was not as intense as
Saturday night's battle, both teams playing hard but not as out-of-control.
BC had more speed and aggressiveness and won most of the battles for the
puck, building a 4-0 lead in the second period. BU got within 2 during a
5-minute power play, but could not get closer as the Eagles held on for the
weekend split.
The game was a bit slow at the start, perhaps showing some fatigue from the
physical game the night before. Mike Lephart came close early for BC by
ringing one off the post after a faceoff in the BU zone, and BC killed an
early penalty without much danger. There was fire in the collisions between
these rivals, but not the all-out attempt to destroy each other that marked
the hits from Saturday. Perhaps the teams were trying to avoid the penalty
box, or just couldn't maintain that hard edge. BC got on the board first
at 11:11 when sniper Krys Kolanos got a drop pass at the outside edge of
the right circle, waited, and fired a laser into the top near corner over
Tapp's shoulder. A goal-scorer's goal to be sure; most players would not
have hit that small target. BU's John Sabo had a hard slap shot kicked out
on BU's best chance of the period, then the Terriers had to work hard to
kill a penalty. They almost survived that, but turned the puck over in
the neutral zone leading to a 2-on-1 break for BC. Ben Eaves glided
in to the left circle and hammered a hard shot that beat Tapp low between
the legs to make it 2-0 on the power play. Clemmensen made another save
on a Cavanaugh slapper after that, and Fred Meyer took his 2nd penalty of
the period trying to prevent a break-in by Ales Dolinar on a long clearing
pass. Jason Tapp came up big on this power play, making a couple of nice
saves in close, and aided by another shot off a post.
BU opened the second period on the power play but was not able to generate
a lot of offense. Gionta stole a Tapp pass out and made him backpedal to
the net to glove the shorthanded bid, and Carl Corazzini fired one wide
on the only real shot of the power play. Things were up-and-down for some
time after that. Brian Collins was blocked on a stuff attempt for BU, and
Eaves couldn't control a Tony Voce pass for a clean break for BC. The
Eagles cranked up the forecheck pressure a few minutes later, Tapp saving
a Kolanos bid on the doorstep. Another BU penalty forced Tapp to make
more saves to keep the game within reach, then the Terriers settled down
to kill the rest of the power play. After a quick chance by BU's Aufiero
after a turnover, BC had a sharp breakout play that sent Tony Voce down
the left side. He managed to fight through a bump and slid through the
left circle on his knees with the puck, then fired a hard pass to the front
of the net. Tapp was unable to deflect it, and as Gionta was being driven
past the far post by a defenseman, he was able to hold his stick back and
tip it into the open net. A very nice goal but a bad one for BU to
surrender.
The teams traded penalties after that, with BC having better opportunities.
Shortly after the brief BC power play ended, they got the puck to Bobby
Allen at the left point. He fired a shot/pass toward the far post, with
Gionta in the slot alone. He was able to tip the puck enough for it to
bounce though Tapp and into the net for a 4-0 BC lead. (From my vantage
point, Tapp was slightly screened but I think Allen saw Gionta and it was
intended as a pass to be tipped, not a shot itself.) It looked like it was
all over at that point but BU tried to start a comeback on their next power
play. Nick Gillis came in the zone at the right side and feathered a soft
pass to Mike Pandolfo as he broke down to the right circle. As the defense
came to Pandolfo, he slid a quick pass across the slot where Brian Collins
collected it and popped a quick shot for a BU score. One of the biggest
plays of the night came with a minute left in the period when Gillis was
freed for a clean break on Clemmensen. He held the puck and moved from
right to left, then tried to slide the backhand through the 5 hole, only
to see Clemmensen get his leg down and block the shot. That kept it 4-1
after 2 and kept BU from getting lots of momentum into the third.
The third period started with a lot of BC possession, helped by an early
power play, though none of the shots were particularly dangerous. Things
seemed pretty quiet until the 9:12 mark, when Sabo had the puck along the
boards in the BU zone. Ales Dolinar skated in to pin him to the boards but
did not slow down and ended up taking a major penalty and game misconduct
for hitting from behind, giving BU a chance to catch up. (The penalty was
announced in the arena as a game disqualification, but the box score shows
it as a misconduct, which would mean Dolinar would not have to sit out the
next game.) It was not the most vicious of hits, but hard enough to draw
the call and not a smart play. It hurt BC also, in that Dolinar is one of
the prime penalty killers. BC started the kill working very aggressively,
preventing any shots. However, BU finally got some quick movement to the
left side, and Cavanaugh slid a pass to Sabo breaking clean down the slot.
His low shot made no mistake and BU had over 2 1/2 minutes to score again.
They tried to set something up during a timeout but were not able to take
advantage of the extended power play, which made it difficult for them to
have a chance. Clemmensen had to make some good saves as BU kept pushing
for another goal, and BC had a couple of counterattack chances, too. BC
was able to take some time when Meyer took his 4th penalty of the game
(fatigue from the World Junior tournament taking its toll??) BU was able
to kill that and then got another power play of their own when Cavanaugh
went down trying to round Brooks Orpik. (Orpik's reputation may have come
into play here, as Cavanaugh's legs were going out from under him before
Orpik grabbed him, we thought.) As Orpik went to the box the referee
called a 10-minute misconduct on BU's Jack Baker, which I suppose was for
some sort of complaint or verbal assault, as we didn't see any physical
contact. In any case, BU finally pulled Tapp to gain a 2-man advantage and
was putting pressure on the BC net. Clemmensen had to make 2 nice blocks
on close-in stuff attempts, and it got fairly wild for a few seconds.
Finally the puck was popped loose at the right circle, and J.D. Forrest
swatted it to clear it out of the zone. It sailed up, then bounced down the
ice and slid directly into the open net for the final goal at 18:54. BU
put previously unused goalie Andy Warren in for the last minute and the game
ended uneventfully.
Jack Parker's comments after the game apparently expressed the thought that
his team came out slow and unmotivated, and that isn't far off the mark.
After the hard-hitting win the night before, perhaps some of the urgency
was missing for BU, and you can't do that against a team of BC's caliber.
Especially after they lost the night before and are returning to home ice.
I would characterize this BU team as less talented than many in the recent
past and one that needs to play hard every night to win games. They can't
have many off nights. Last year they rode a very hot goaltender who made
their defense better than perhaps it really was, and were able to be more
aggressive offensively due to their confidence in Dipietro. This year,
while Jason Tapp has played just fine, it isn't the same, and the team is
only recently adjusting to what they have to do to win consistently. From
past experience, Parker's teams play their best in February and March, and
it wouldn't be a surprise if this version lives up to that reputation.
They'll win their fair share before it is over.
BC played better in this game than the night before, to be sure. Whether
the line changes helped, or J.D. Forrest's return to the defense provided
a more consistent defensive effort, I'm not sure. BC hasn't lost 2 in a
row all year, and is a much more consistent team than most in recent
history, at least during the regular season. Part of the reason for that is
better depth, and some productiveness from the freshmen and 3rd and 4th
lines. They will continue to play strong and I expect they'll be fighting
for first place in the league this year. If they can keep the momentum up
into the playoffs, they might yet make another trip to the NCAA's, at least
to the regionals. But they have a tough road through Hockey East. Next
up are 2 road games at Lowell and Merrimack, then a home-and-home battle
with surprising Providence that may determine the leader of the pack.
Lowell is playing well lately, and Merrimack will be out to avenge 2 poor
performances against BC earlier this season.
BU faces a tough trip next week, with 2 games at Maine. The game on
Saturday night will be the Fox Sports Net New England game of the week.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A pleased BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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