Tuesday, October 19, 1999 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 7, MC 2 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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MERRIMACK COLLEGE (HE) 1 1 0 - 2 0-1-0 HE (1-1-0 overall)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 3 3 - 7 1-0-0 HE (2-0-0 overall)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
MC 5- 4- 9 -- 18 9 - 18 1 - 5
BC 14-26-16 -- 56 8 - 16 1 - 6
MC - Tom Welby 13-23- 7 - 43 saves/6 goals (53:13)
- Cris Classen x- x- 6 - 6 saves/1 goal (6:47)
BC - Tim Kelleher 4- 3- 9 - 16 saves/2 goal (60:00)
3 Stars: BC Jeff Farkas, BC Jeff Giuliano, BC Blake Bellefeuille
COMMENTS
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Boston College opened their Hockey East schedule with a very solid win over
Merrimack Tuesday night. BC dominated possession of the puck, firing 56
shots on goal, more than a 3-to-1 margin over the Warriors. Freshman Tim
Kelleher got a win in his first official college game in goal, and Jeff
Farkas and Jeff Giuliano were the top 2 stars of the game with 2 goals
each. Farkas also had 3 assists for a 5-point night.
Fans coming in to the game late missed the first 2 goals. BC scored at
just 0:35 of the period, when Mike Mottau picked up a rebound in the right
circle, skated deep behind the net, and fed a quick pass to Giuliano in
the slot. His quick swipe put the puck behind Tom Welby, who had no chance.
Merrimack came right back, scoring 24 seconds later. The puck was fired
in behind the BC net, and goalie Kelleher came out to play the puck. He
didn't clear it well and was caught out of the net when a quick feed to
John Pyliotis in front produced an easy goal into the open net. The
Eagles dominated much of the rest of the period, but could not get another
score. Marty Hughes waited too long with a wide open net that allowed the
Merrimack D to deflect the shot, and Welby made a sprawling leg save while
on his back to keep the puck out of the net. A late Warriors flurry drew
a penalty that would produce the only lead of the night for Merrimack.
MC opened the second period on that power play and Anthony Aquino scored
at 0:29 when he deflected a Mike Rodrigues shot from the right point.
Kelleher was sliding to his left to block the original shot and could only
watch helplessly as the puck changed direction and floated into the far
left side of the net. Merrimack almost got a third goal shorthanded as
Kelleher had to make a big save on a Torretti/Parillo 2-on-1 break. That
might have been a momentum-shifter if it had gone in, but the rest of the
period turned into a BC shooting gallery. The Eagles evened the score
at 6:01 when Farkas used nifty stickhandling to come out from the corner
and fire a shot; Giuliano collected the rebound and lifted into an open
right side for the goal. Blake Bellefeuille got the eventual game winner
Bby wheeling through center ice, bouncing past the defense, and firing a
rocket into the far netting from the right faceoff circle. While the open
ice of the 4-on-4 provided him with extra room to maneuver, the Merrimack
D was not that sharp during this period. Merrimack was not able to muster
much offense, even with a subsequent power play. Mike Lephart got the 4th
Eagle goal by tapping in a weak rebound that Welby couldn't control.
Things were more physical early in the third period, and Merrimack missed
a golden chance when Kelleher again wandered from the net and made a weak
clearance to the right boards. He was able to slide back into the crease
just in time to glove the quick shot that followed. Numerous power plays
came during the rest of the period, but only BC was able to score. They
got a power play goal at 5:50 when Bellefeuille was able to slip past the
defense off the left boards and feed Farkas in the slot. His 1-timer rang
off the left post to make it 5-1. Farkas got another goal on the nicest
setup of the night. BC was shorthanded and a defenseman intercepted a
pass, then fed it up ice to Brian Gionta to lead the 2-on-1 counterattack.
Gionta wound up like a slap shot but he actually fired a hard, low pass
that Farkas just tipped into the open net from the left side. Bang, bang!
Merrimack switched goalies with over 6 minutes left, as the game was over
at that point. Kelleher made one sprawling save on Sandy Cohen to keep
Merrimack off the board, and BC finished the scoring with a power shot
from Kevin Caulfield at the left side of the net that bounced off
Classen's pads and into the goal.
I was struck at how similar this game was compared to the last game
between these two at the end of last season. Merrimack continues to have
defensive problems, as they did last year. The BC attack and ability to
keep the puck in the offensive zone makes it tough on any team, but MC
seems less able to clear the puck. The Eagles players have shown the
ability to out-physical the other teams, especially on the boards and
in front of the net, and appear stronger than last year. Many people
have jumped on the BC bandwagon early this season, and for now it seems
justified. It remains to be seen how they will handle tougher opposition,
away games, and possible injuries.
Merrimack continues the road show, travelling to St. Lawrence for a tough
2-game set this weekend. They will have to improve the defensive effort
if they want to gain points in this ECAC-HE battle. Boston College has
its first road game Saturday night at UMass-Amherst, a team they have
generally handled well.
Media Note: BC's radio coverage is limited this year, with only 2 stations
carrying games commercially (unfortunately I can't remember the specific
stations.) As far as I know, no games will be available via the Internet,
as WEEI-AM will not be carrying the games this year. The student station,
WZBC-FM, will also carry many games, but their signal is limited.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A pleased BC fan. GO EAGLES!
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to
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