(Box from BC official game summary)
Thursday, February 22, 2007 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 3, UML 0 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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UMASS-LOWELL (HE) 0 0 0 - 0 (7-20-6 overall, 6-15-3 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 1 1 - 3 (19-11-1 overall, 15-8-1 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UML 4- 4- 8-- 16 6 - 12 0 - 7
BC 10- 6- 5-- 21 10 - 20 1 - 3
UML- Nevin Hamilton 9- 5- 4 - 18 saves/3 goals (60:00)
BC - Cory Schneider 4- 4- 8 - 16 saves/0 goals (60:00)
Referee - Tom Fyrer
Assistants - Jack Millea, Tim Low
Attendance - 4218
1st Period
BC1 Benn Ferriero 14 (Dan Bertram, Joe Rooney) 1:52 GWG
Penalties
BC Benn Ferriero (interference) 5:12
UML J.R. Bria (hit after whistle) 10:26
BC Nathan Gerbe (hit after whistle) 10:26
BC Dan Bertram (hooking) 16:32
2nd Period
BC2 Nathan Gerbe 18 (Brett Motherwell, Brock Bradford) PPG 14:41
Penalties
UML Nick Schaus (roughing - contact to head) 10:19
UML J.R. Bria (obstruction - interference) 13:23
BC Joe Rooney (tripping) 15:02
UML Barry Goers (holding) 18:19
3rd Period
BC3 Benn Ferriero 15 (Joe Rooney, Mike Brennan) 1:12
Penalties
BC Dan Bertram (tripping) 4:10
UML Ben Holmstrom (roughing) 4:10
BC Tim Kunes (tripping) 8:48
BC Matt Greene (hit after whistle) 9:47
UML Jason Tejchma (hit after whistle) 9:47
BC Brett Motherwell (roughing - contact to head) 11:25
BC Mike Brennan (high-sticking - contact to head) 15:04
BC Dan Bertram (holding) 15:04
(The 3 stars are listed in the order announced at the game. On the
scoresheet, Ferriero is #1, Rooney is #2, and Schneider is #3.)
3 Stars - 1. BC - Benn Ferriero (2G)
2. BC - Cory Schneider (16 saves, 0 goals)
3. BC - Joe Rooney (2A)
University of Massachusetts-Lowell:
F Kory Falite, Ben Holmstrom, Mark Roebothan
Frank Stegnar, Chris Auger, Jason Bergeron
Ian Schaser, Nick Monroe, Todd Fletcher
JEREMY HALL, JASON TEJCHMA, MIKE POTACCO
D JEREMY DEHNER, NICK SCHAUS
Cleve Kinley, J.R. Bria
Barry Goers, Steve Capraro
G NEVIN HAMILTON, Carter Hutton, Vinny Monaco
Boston College:
F Nathan Gerbe, Brian Boyle, Brock Bradford
Joe Rooney, Dan Bertram, Benn Ferriero
MATT PRICE, MATT GREENE, PAT GANNON
Matt Lombardi, Ben Smith, Andrew Orpik
D TIM FILANGIERI, CARL SNEEP
Tim Kunes, Mike Brennan
Brian O'Hanley, Brett Motherwell
G CORY SCHNEIDER, Joe Pearce, Adam Reasoner
COMMENTS
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Boston College won a surprisingly easy game Thursday night over
UMass-Lowell, 3-0. Goaltender Cory Schneider recorded his 13th career
shutout, tying him with Scott Clemmensen for the BC career record. The
effort needed for the whitewash wasn't that large, as the Lowell offense
could only generate 16 shots for the game, despite having 7 power plays.
BC scored early in the first from Benn Ferriero, got a power-play rebound
goal in the second from Nate Gerbe, and Ferriero closed the scoring
and effectively ended the game) with a quick score in the third.
Lowell, after a very slow start to the season, was playing better
hockey and hoped to give the Eagles trouble on their home ice. That plan
came to a quick end just 1:52 into the first period, as Dan Bertram sped
down the left boards past the defenseman and fired a centering pass across
the face of the goal. Ferriero beat his trailer to the puck and popped a
low shot that slid under Hamilton for the first score. The River Hawks
had only slight early chances, and BC had a couple of good shots midway
through the first but Hamilton made those saves. The period was not
very eventful, and neither team looked like they wanted to score.
UML came out with better purpose in the second period and was the
faster, more energetic team for the first half of the period, but it
rarely produced any dangerous shots. The Eagles didn't have their first
flurry until midway in the period, with a series of stuff shots at the edge
of the crease. BC was ineffective on their first power play of the night,
but their second chance produced the next goal. Brock Bradford fed the
puck back to the left point for defenseman Brett Motherwell. His 1-timer
was saved, but the rebound bounced right to Nate Gerbe parked at the right
edge of the crease, and he fired into the open side to make it 2-0. BC
had another good chance on a 2-on-1 shorthanded break a minute later,
but Hamilton made a big glove save on the Bradford shot. BC couldn't
do anything with a later power play.
The third period saw a quick, sneaky goal that was the result of BC
hustle and Lowell lack of hustle. The puck was sent to the boards behind
the Lowell net, and Joe Rooney got to the puck before the defense. He
flipped a soft pass straight back to the edge of the crease, just in time
for Ferriero to come cruising by and tip the puck gently toward the
net. Before Hamilton could react, it slid by him and into the open far
side for the 3-0 nail in the Lowell coffin. BC essentially decided to sit
back at that point and play defense, and they were able to kill off 4 UML
power plays over the rest of the period. Lowell helped the BC cause by
playing without much skill, most of their passes were inaccurate and that
kept them from getting any good shots. The only close shot was a big
Barry Goers slap shot on the last power play that rang off the post but did
not go in.
Given their recent history, and the tough loss that Lowell had suffered in
an earlier game with BC, we expected a tight, tough game. BC was
coming off an emotional weekend against Maine and had to play on Thursday
in front of a sparse crowd. But UML did not show up for this game, except
in brief spurts. They really did not show much skill in any way, and they
never were able to get organized on offense. The defense wasn't bad
overall (BC only had 21 shots on goal) but the 2 quick goals early
in periods put them back on their heels. If they had stayed close or gotten
a lead, I think it would have been a good game all the way through.
But falling behind early took some wind out of their sails. Perhaps
their youth is still making it a bit hard to overcome early misfortune.
BC always seemed in control of this game even though it was still only 1-0
past the halfway point. Schneider played well when he had to, and
the defense (along with UML's incompetence) meant he didn't have to
very often. The first and third goals were the result of BC being quicker
to the puck and the net than the Lowell defense, and the power play rebound
no one could have stopped. But against a tougher defense, the Eagles
would probably only have scored the one goal, and that won't be good
enough down the stretch and in the league playoffs. Still, BC has been
playing better of late, and is starting to move up again in the
rankings/Pairwise ratings/league standings. If they can continue to
elevate their game, they will have a shot at the league playoffs. I'm not
too sure this group has the offense or the skill to do much on the
national stage, but it would be nice to at least make the NCAA's and see if
the lightning can strike like it did last year.
Lowell is still fighting for the playoffs, and needs points. That should
give them a boost toward a better effort Saturday night when they host the
Eagles. I'm hopeful, though, that BC can play strong and pull out
another 2 points. I find myself hoping that Lowell loses partly because I
am tired of watching Blaise MacDonald try to be Jack Parker, Jr., with his
petty cases of time-wasting, etc. In the third period, with Lowell getting
a power play, coach MacDonald didn't put his team on the ice despite
several calls from the referee to do so. (There was no controversy or
problem over the penalty call or any altercation.) Eventually the ref
came over to Blaise, who yakked at him for several more seconds over
nothing. Then, BM finally and reluctantly sent his players out for
the faceoff. The skaters go all the way down to the other end, get set,
get ready, and then Blaise calls his timeout. Finally. We all knew this
is what he wanted to do from the start, and apparently he learned
this silliness from Jack Parker, who has been known to do the same type
of thing. I don't know if the rules allow it, but if I had been the ref,
and he pulled that kind of time-wasting, I wouldn't have let him call
his timeout at that point. "Hey, you had your chance to call the
timeout. Now, let's play hockey." I don't understand it - your team
is down 3-0, playing lousy, and you think buying your power play
unit another 40 seconds of rest is going to make the difference? If you
want a timeout, call it. If you just want to waste time, the ref should
just ignore him. Or give him a bench minor for delay of game. After all
the emphasis a year or two ago about dropping the puck expediently, and
the rush to get players to the faceoff circle, we have now gone back to
this type of petty manipulation of the game.
At least it hasn't gotten as bad as basketball, where the coaches
think they are the main reason people come to watch the games.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
An enthusiastic BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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