(Box from BC game summary sheet, amended)
Friday, December 5, 2003 at Kelley Rink, Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 5, BU 2 HOCKEY EAST GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSTON UNIVERSITY (HE) 0 2 0 - 2 (4-5-4 overall, 2-4-2 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 2 1 2 - 5 (10-2-3 overall, 6-0-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
BU 3- 7- 6 -- 16 7 - 14 0 - 6
BC 17-18-16 -- 51 8 - 16 2 - 5
BU - Sean Fields 15-17-14 - 46 saves/4 goals (59:00)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 3- 5- 6 - 14 saves/2 goals (60:00)
Referee - Scott Hansen
Assistants - Joe Andrews, Bob Bernard
Attendance - 7884 (sellout)
1st Period
BC1 Tony Voce 10 (Pat Eaves, Greg Lauze) 5:46
BC2 Pat Eaves 3 (Andrew Alberts, J.D. Forrest) 13:52
Penalties
BC - Joe Rooney (hooking) 2:31
BC - Ryan Shannon (slashing) 9:51
BU - Kevin Schaeffer (obstruction-interference) 14:15
BC - Brian Boyle (contact to head - roughing) 16:19
BU - Dan Spang (slashing) 17:04
2nd Period
BC3 Pat Eaves 4 (Ben Eaves, Tony Voce) PPG 1:06 GWG
BU1 Sean Sullivan 1 (John Laliberte) 4x4 4:28
BU2 David Klema 2 (Kenny Roche) 16:07
Penalties
BU - Ryan Whitney (contact to head - high-sticking) 0:40
BC - Ryan Shannon (contact to head - roughing) 4:21
BU - David Van der Gulik (holding) 4:21
BU - David Klema (obstruction-interference) 5:05
BC - Justin Dziama (contact to head - roughing) 8:19
BC - Ryan Murphy (contact to head - high-sticking) 10:29
3rd Period
BC4 Tony Voce 11 (Ben Eaves, Ryan Shannon) PPG 11:56
BC5 Tony Voce 12 (Ben Eaves) ENG 18:58
Penalties
BU - Kevin Schaeffer (cross-checking) 10:07
BC - Dave Spina (slashing) 13:00
BU - Ryan Whitney (elbowing) 13:00
BC - John Adams (holding) 16:37
3 Stars - 1. BC - Tony Voce (3G)
2. BC - Pat Eaves (2G, 1A)
3. BU - Sean Fields (46 saves, 4 goals)
Boston University:
F KENNY MAGOWAN, BRAD ZANCANARO, FRANTISEK SKLADANY
Brian McConnell, Mark Mullen, David Van der Gulik
Kenny Roche, David Klema, John Laliberte
Matt Radoslovich, Gregg Johnson, Eric Thomassian
D SEAN SULLIVAN, RYAN WHITNEY
Dan Spang, Kevin Schaeffer
Tom Morrow, Bryan Miller
G SEAN FIELDS, Stephen Siwiec, John Curry
Boston College
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, PAT EAVES
Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Joe Rooney, Brian Boyle, Stephen Gionta
Ty Hennes, Ryan Murphy, Justin Dziama
D ANDREW ALBERTS, J.D. FORREST
John Adams, Peter Harrold
Greg Lauze, Brett Peterson
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
--------
Boston College continued their roll of a series of offensively-dominant
games by outshooting Boston University 51-16 and winning 5-2 on a snowy
Friday in Boston. BC got a hat trick from Tony Voce and 2 goals from
returning Pat Eaves, putting the game away in the third period after BU
had rallied within one goal in the second. Sean Sullivan scored his first
collegiate goal on a weak point shot and David Klema finished off a nice
2-on-1 break for the BU scores. BU had some possession and carried the
play at times but couldn't turn that into shots on goal against the
aggressive BC defensive posture. BU's forwards particularly continue
to struggle, as 11 of BU's 16 shots came from the defensive corps. When
the forwards did have close-in opportunities, Matti Kaltiainen was there
to make the stops.
The game started at 8:00 due to its selection as the CSTV game of the
week, and a full house was revved up and loud from the get-go in this one.
BU had the first opportunity when a player got free in front and tried to
shift for a shot only to see the puck squirt free and slide wide of the
open net (a microcosm of their season?) Then they had a power play
opportunity and it was a dominant kill by the Eagles, as BU didn't come
close to getting a shot. This set the tone for some BC pressure, and it
turned into a goal at 5:46. Tony Voce began his big night by firing a
hard shot that was saved by Sean Fields, but the puck was loose outside
the right edge of the crease and a massive scramble to cover the puck
ensued. Eventually it was pushed past the net and behind the goal, where
Greg Lauze collected it and found Voce on the doorstep on the left side,
free to fire it into the vacated net. BC had some outside chances after
that, then Kaltiainen made a big save on a point-blank tip by John
Laliberte. BC did another good job on a penalty kill, getting shorthanded
shots of their own while BU mustered only one shot on a Ryan Whitney solo
rush to the right side of the cage.
During a TV timeout, some enterprising BC student appeared in front of the
student section and resurrected the "E-A-G-L-E-S" cheer, which had been
missing this year. Maybe it worked some magic, for BC scored not long
after. Andrew Alberts jumped up and carried the puck into the BU zone,
then left a drop pass above the left circle for Pat Eaves. He moved toward
the middle and fired a hard wrister through a screen of bodies in front,
and it pinged off the right post and down into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Steve Gionta drew a BU penalty (he forced BU into 3 penalties on the night,
and his forechecking and penalty killing efforts have been outstanding of
late.) Fields was up to the task, though, playing strong through the
rest of the period. BC had another dominant kill of their own, with Gionta
having a shorthanded bid, but Fields held the fort until the buzzer.
Early pressure by the Eagles in the second period led to a Whitney penalty,
and Pat Eaves got his second of the game when his attempted pass to the far
post was deflected by a lunging BU player and past Fields. (I thought it
was Mark Mullen who deflected it, though I've seen other reports that said
it was Bryan Miller.) Things got tough and physical a bit at that point,
and BU got some chances of their own. Kenny Magowan had a rush down the
right and cut to the net, but Kaltiainen got his toe on the final poke for
the save. During a 4-on-4, Sean Sullivan sent what seemed to be an easy
flat shot along the ice from the right point, but it was partially
screened and before Kaltiainen could close up the 5-hole, it slipped through
to get BU on the board. (Not a good effort by the BC keeper on this one,
to be sure.) Gionta drew another penalty and BC got their chances on net,
but Fields kept them all out but one. Luckily for him, that one was pushed
into the net with a glove during a scrum in the crease, and it was waived
off. BU had 2 more futile power plays (special teams really favored BC
in this game), and then Gregg Johnson got a golden opportunity when 2 BC
defenders were tied up down low and he got free to walk in down the slot
1-on-1 with the goalie. Kaltiainen made the big save, but BU got some
energy from the attempt and worked hard at that point. Still, Fields had
to make a sliding block of a tip in front of the crease to keep BU close.
It paid off when BC got caught high in the neutral zone and BU got a
3-on-1 break the other way. With 2 potential targets to guard, Greg Lauze
tried to split the difference and wasn't deep enough to stop a nice cross
pass from Kenny Roche to the right side, and David Klema 1-timed it into
the open net to bring the Terriers within one. Fields did the job the
rest of the period, working hard and making a big save on Gionta after
he was sent in clean from a Joe Rooney pass down the slot. (A lot of BC
shots developed from plays like this on the evening, where forechecking
pressure forced BU to turn the puck over and allowed BC to make quick
counterattacks before the Terrier defense could recover.)
The third period opened tensely, with both teams having some chances but
being mostly defensive. Kaltiainen made the biggest save, blocking a shot
right in front after a BC turnover behind their net. Things continued
physical and the pace was a bit slow as both teams tried to get the crucial
next score. A bad BU penalty gave the Eagles a man-advantage, and they
got lots of possession and shots on Fields. Late in the power play, with
BU scrambling to cover, Voce got the puck back to Ryan Shannon, who fired
a shot that Fields saved but couldn't cover. Several pokes followed, and
then Ben Eaves swooped into the low slot to get the loose puck, and pushed
a pass to the right side where Voce sat all alone. He got his second easy
score of the night, with a wide-open net to shoot into. BU worked hard to
try to get back into it, and BC worked equally hard to hold the lead.
Fields made a couple of screened saves, then BC's John Adams was forced
to haul down a forward breaking to the net off a faceoff win. Again, the
best chances on the power play fell to the Eagles PK unit, with Voce and
Gionta both having shots. Fields was pulled from the net to give BU
a 2-man advantage, but the puck was kept to the outside or blocked by the
BC players, and Ryan Murphy barely missed a long shot at the open net.
Not long after the power play ended, but with BU still with the extra
skater, Ben Eaves worked along the boards to pop the puck free to Voce,
who was waiting at the BC blue line. Once he had the puck, he skated over
the red line and sailed a low shot directly into the center of the empty
net and this one was done.
The three stars of this game were fairly easy to predict, the 2 goalscorers
for BC and Sean Fields in the BU net. BU was unable to counter the BC
speed and quickness, and physical play didn't work much better when it was
attempted, as special teams were dominated by the Eagles. It is hard to
explain why some of the Terrier players seem to have regressed this year
from their efforts of a year ago. The freshman players looked okay for the
most part, but the upperclassmen are missing some key components. Spang,
Schaeffer, and Whitney worked hard for BU at defense, but they were also
the main sparks on offense for the team, and that isn't going to get it
done most nights. The Roche/Klema/Laliberte line had their moments on the
evening (they were on the plus side in plus/minus) but the other three lines
were not effective overall. They carry the puck, they dump it in and chase,
they battle along the boards, but it doesn't result in coordinated offense
that leads to good shots. Fields had a good game in net, setting some BU
career records in the process (100 games started in goal, a new high for
BU, and he now owns the school's career saves record.) He has always
played well against BC, and basically matched his .921 save percentage
against the Eagles. But when you see 50 shots on goal, that still leads
to too many scores.
BC has been on a roll since they opened the season with extended road
trips and fell in the home opener to a strong Notre Dame effort. The
Eagles are undefeated in their last 9, though to be sure 7 of those have
been at home. They have been dominating teams on the shot chart, and
wearing teams down by the third period. All 4 lines have been producing
and skating hard, and with the return of 3 normal starters (Hennes, Pat
Eaves, and Dave Spina) they may become more effective offensively. Andrew
Alberts is on pace for a Hockey East all-star season, and the rest of
the defense is solid. The defense extends to the play of the forwards,
too, utilizing their speed to block shots and passes, harassing the other
team constantly, and enabling the team to play in the other team's zone
more often than not. The special teams are improving each game, as they
are finding ways to get the puck on net, both with the man-advantage and
on the penalty kill. The weak spot, comparatively, is the goaltending
situation, with only Kaltiainen as a proven stopper. He is a workhorse,
logging almost all the minutes, and showing strong play at times with
occasional lapses (such as the first BU goal in this game.) Most folks
recognize it is hard to keep a goalie focused when he doesn't see a lot
of rubber, and the BC defensive effort and offensive domination means the
puck doesn't come at Matti that often. Largely he has been effective and
successful. If they can get him to elevate his play just a little bit,
this could be a strong contender for the national title.
There were a few weak spots for the Eagles this game, with Dave Spina still
rusty from his extended layoff, and the third and fourth lines a bit off the
mark offensively due to line changes, but the score was closer than the
game deserved, in many ways. The win keeps the Eagles at the top of
Hockey East, with Maine right behind them. BU continues its struggles,
right now looking like a second-division HE team unless they can crank up
the offense. (To be fair to BU, their losses have come against Maine, UNH,
BC, Lowell, and Harvard. That isn't a bad set of teams. But they haven't
shown that they can step up to the next level of play, and the jury is
still out on whether they deserve to be considered a contender.)
BC is scheduled to play at Providence Saturday night, though the weather
may force a change, as the roads are slippery and snow continues to fall.
Whoops, just as I say that, I see that USCHO notes that the game has been
postponed to a later date to be determined. BU is scheduled to play a home
game against UMass on Sunday (televised on Fox Sports Net New England.)
That may or may not happen due to the ongoing weather, though with a TV
slot in the offing they may try extra hard to play this one. And maybe the
snow will lighten by Sunday.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A satisfied BC fan. GO EAGLES!
|
