(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Saturday, December 4, 2004 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 1, PC 1 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (HE) 0 1 0 0 - 1 (5-8-2 overall, 2-6-2 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 0 1 0 - 1 (6-3-3 overall, 3-1-3 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
PC 10-10- 9- 0 -- 29 11 - 22 0 - 4
BC 14-20-23- 4 -- 61 9 - 18 1 - 6
PC - David Cacciola 14-20-22- 4 - 60 saves/1 goal (65:00)
BC - Cory Schneider 10- 9- 9- 0 - 28 saves/1 goal (65:00)
Referee - John Gravellese
Assistants - Tom Quinn, John Jones
Attendance - 5136
1st Period
No scoring
Penalties
BC - Brian Boyle (obstruction-holding) 2:51
PC - Eric Lundberg (obstruction-interference) 3:01
BC - Ryan Shannon (tripping) 6:44
PC - Bryan Horan (obstruction-holding) 9:19
PC - David Carpentier (slashing) 12:30
BC - Andrew Alberts (roughing) 17:42
2nd Period
PC1 Jamie Carroll 5 (Torry Gajda, Trevor Ludwig) 9:19
Penalties
BC - Stephen Gionta (holding the stick) 5:28
PC - Nate Meyers (hooking) 5:28
PC - Matt Mannina (hitting after whistle) 11:44
BC - Dan Bertram (hitting after whistle) 11:44
PC - Bill McCreary (slashing) 13:36
BC - Cory Schneider (slashing - served by Dave Spina) 13:36
PC - Eric Lundberg (obstruction-interference) 19:33
3rd Period
BC1 Patrick Eaves 7 (Ryan Shannon, Ned Havern) PPG 4:30
Penalties
PC - Trevor Ludwig (obstruction-interference) 4:10
PC - Nate Meyers (boarding) 7:42
BC - Greg Lauze (hitting from behind) 10:15
PC - Vince Goulet (hitting after whistle) 12:56
BC - Joe Rooney (hitting after whistle) 12:56
Overtime
No scoring
Penalties
BC - Joe Rooney (unsportsmanlike conduct) 4:39
PC - Bill McCreary (unsportsmanlike conduct) 4:39
3 Stars - 1. PC - David Cacciola (60 saves, 1 goal)
2. BC - Patrick Eaves (1G)
3. PC - Jamie Carroll (1G)
Providence College:
F TORRY GAJDA, CHRIS CHAPUT, JAMIE CARROLL
Bryan Horan, Tony Zancanaro, Jon Rheault
Bill McCreary, Vince Goulet, David Carpentier
Nate Meyers, Chase Watson, Matt Mannina
D TREVOR LUDWIG, JAMES PEMBERTON
Dinos Stamoulis, Eric Lundberg
Jeff Mason, Marc Bastarache
G DAVID CACCIOLA, Tyler Sims, Mike Wolfe
Boston College:
F Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Patrick Eaves, Stephen Gionta, Dan Bertram
JOE ROONEY, MATT GREENE, RYAN MURPHY
Ned Havern, Brian Boyle, Taylor Leahy
D ANDREW ALBERTS, MIKE BRENNAN
John Adams, Peter Harrold
Greg Lauze, Brian O'Hanley
G CORY SCHNEIDER, Matti Kaltiainen, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
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Boston College and Providence College skated to a 1-1 tie Saturday night at
BC in a game that featured strong goaltending play by both sides,
highlighted by Providence's David Cacciola's 60 saves to preserve the tie.
The game had a slow start with occasional flashes of offense that the
netminders were able to stymie, and PC got the first goal with a low-angle
deflection. After that, Providence seemed content to try to protect the
lead, and the Eagles put on substantial pressure in the second half of the
game, hitting 2 posts but only scoring the one equalizer off a Patrick
Eaves power play slap shot.
The first period was sluggish at best, with both teams having their best
chances on power plays. Cory Schneider turned in the first big save when
he flashed the leg to stop a point-blank redirect at the side of the net.
Cacciola didn't have to make highlight saves, but got plenty of work and
was solid with his position. BC made it easier on him by sending most of
their shots squarely into his body or within easy reach of his glove.
The Eagles showed signs of a let down after their big game Friday against
Boston University and didn't pick up the pace until later in the game.
Cacciola's best effort on one BC power play had him deep in the net but
he managed to somehow catch the puck and keep the glove outside the
goal to keep the Eagles off the board.
The second period started to show more action right off the bat when Matt
Greene had a hard shot that handcuffed Cacciola (but he recovered it) and
Schneider had to make a toe poke save after dropping the initial shot.
Schneider again made his own trouble when he swept a puck at the side of
the net to the front only to have a Friar player poke it on net. The save
was made, though, and play continued. Providence got on the board at 9:19
on a bit of a fluke goal when Jamie Carroll collected the puck in the left
corner and fired it to the crease from a low angle. It deflected off a
skate in front and bounced into the goal through the goalie's feet before
anyone made a move to block it. BC started to pick up the pace to try
for the tying goal, with Eaves throwing 2 of his game-high 12 shots on
goal to no avail. Ned Havern tried to line up a 1-timer at the point only
to have the puck flip past his stick and Chris Chaput collected it for
a Providence breakaway. He came straight down the slot to stay ahead of
the pursuing Eagles and tried a stuff shot, but Schneider made a big pad
save and the puck was cleared. Things were a bit testy from that point
onward, with lots of scrums after whistles and matching penalties
continuing. Cacciola stayed sharp in net, saving a quick Chris Collins
wrister off a faceoff and making a big save on a tip in front. Schneider
matched him with a kick save on Bryan Horan's shot on a 2-on-1 break.
BC had begun to carry most of the play late in the period and that set
the tone for the third.
BC opened the third period on the power play, and while they didn't score,
they started to gain momentum and backed PC up in their own end. After
the man-advantage Collins got a clean look but fired it high and Steve
Gionta hammered a hard shot that tipped off Cacciola's glove and drifted
just wide of the far post. A penalty on the resultant scramble for the
puck gave the Eagles the power play that evened the score. Ryan
Shannon had a close shot saved, and he collected his rebound and rounded
the
net to fire a pass through the crease. BC followed with another shot that
went wide but was kept in the zone and sent to the right point. After
faking a shot and getting the defense to collapse in on the slot, a pass
was sent to Pat Eaves high above the circles. He fired a big slap shot
through a heavy screen and it dented the net high above Cacciola's shoulder
for the matching score. After this the ice was titled completely toward
the BC end as they continued to keep the pressure on. Collins tried a
stuff shot but was stoned, then Eaves tried a similar move unsuccessfully.
Providence got a brief respite when Jon Rheault took it down the left and
fired a shot with a defenseman screen that Schneider had to make a quick
leg save on, but BC immediately brought the pressure back to the PC goal.
A power play produced one of the best saves of the night, as Eaves went
behind the net and fed Ned Havern in the slot for a point-blank 1-timer
that Cacciola made a great reaction save on. The Friars did little with
their own power play, then it was more saves by Cacciola (though his
defense did a good job limiting most of them to the outside.) As time
wound down, Havern had a hard shot saved and a rebound follow forced a
big save by Cacciola. Eaves also had a hard shot saved and lots of
pressure on loose pucks but they couldn't get the winning goal. PC got
one last scramble of their own but the loose puck was cleared and it was
headed to overtime.
The overtime period was exclusively a Boston College offensive effort, as
Providence seemed content to waste time and hold on for the tie. A
tussle for the puck along the boards led to a cross-ice pass to Havern, and
he steamed into the PC zone all alone on a breakaway. He slid from left
to right in front of the net, got the goalie down, and had an open 6-inch
gap to slide the winning goal into, but his backhand slid into the post
and back out off the goalie's skate to foil the Eagles. Pat Eaves fired
a big shot wide of the net, and Dave Spina's shot flipped off the goalie's
glove and sailed by the crossbar. Havern got another shot that Cacciola
saved for a whistle. Matching penalties on a scrum meant the game finished
with 4-on-4. Peter Harrold pinched in and made it to the slot for a close
shot in the final seconds, with Cacciola holding the post for the save.
On the final scramble Shannon got a clean shot from between the circles
but fired it wide, and that was the last chance for the Eagles.
Providence went away feeling good with the one point, and BC was dismayed
to only get a tie after all the rubber on net. This was an odd game in
many ways; sluggish at first, ineffective offensive attempts or outside
shots that were easy to save mixed with some spectacular saves by both
goaltenders under pressure. Fans of both teams were frustrated by their
teams' inabiltity to score, but I don't think people appreciated the jobs
that was done by the goaltenders. Both played very well positionally and
directed rebounds away or had rebounds cleared away. It seemed as though
the saves were easy, but lots of good work made it look that way. BC fans
particularly seem worried about Schneider's rebounds, where he uses his
pads to direct saves to the side, but I think that is his style, and he
does it well. Cacciola got into a groove early in this one, and until he
tired late in the game with all the work, he rarely fumbled a puck or
had a problem. The one goal he gave up was a screened slap shot that he
had no chance on, but he stopped everything else. (He also got a little
help from a post, something all keepers rely on from time to time ...)
This game brought out one of the odder statistics of the year: Boston
College has had 3 games this year with more than 50 shots on goal, and
they haven't won any of them. (1-0 loss to Notre Dame, 3-3 tie with
UMass, and this game.)
The Friars didn't show a lot of offense in this game, and if BC had been
a bit more accurate with the shots or gotten a bit more luck, Providence
would have gone away with the loss. PC is now only 5-8-2 on the year,
and only 2 wins in conference after 10 games. That isn't a good start,
and there are lots of tough games yet to come. It is hard to see where
the turnaround is going to come from, with no great stars on the team
and goaltending only average most nights (this game was an exception.)
Providence continues to be a team that is competitive but rarely
exceptional, and given their size, history, and coaching, it probably
will stay that way for a long time to come. Given the glory days when
Chris Terreri was in net, back at the beginning of Hockey East, it is
tough for the Friars' fans at the moment.
Boston College, despite a strong start to the year, is starting to show
signs of an offensive slump that is more than a few games long. It may
be reasonable to say that they don't have as much scoring talent as they
thought they did, particularly with ineffective special teams (compared
to their past successes.) If nothing else, this year's recent struggles
have highlighted how valuable Tony Voce was to the team in the past
few years, with his sniper's ability to put the puck in the net. Ryan
Shannon is more of a playmaker, and Dave Spina is just now starting to
show some scorer's abilities again. Pat Eaves is the one solid scorer
for the team, but he needs others to take some of the pressure off him and
to open up space for his shooting. The rest of the offense is small and
energetic, but not always the most accurate in shooting, and that means
they make the opposing goalies look like world-beaters most of the time.
Dan Bertram is a promising freshman, but he hasn't yet adjusted to the
speed and physical play of the collegiate level, and he needs to get
stronger and more aggressive on the ice to be effective.
Part of the offensive woes can also be attributed to recent tentative play
by the defensive corps. The number of turnovers, lost pucks, and bad
passes in the breakouts and from the points has made things more difficult
for the forwards. Teams have become more aggressive attacking the
puckcarriers for BC and the resultant decisions have not been the best.
All too often the puck is thrown into the corner or up the ice without
a plan or any idea of where it is going, relying on the forecheckers or the
speed of the forwards to track it down. While that is part of the style
BC plays, you rarely see the sharp cross-ice pass or the effective
thread-the-needle pass that can open up the quick shot that the goalie
isn't expecting. An inability to get the puck to the net through screens
and defensive blocks from the point is the final problem, meaning that
teams pack in front of the net and prevent a lot of shots from even
reaching the goal. Now, having said all that, I should note that BC did
get 61 shots on net in this game, and some of them were very good quality.
But not enough of them for the quantity, and not consistently over the
course of the season. The BC style is most effective against teams that
have not played them and are not familiar with them. But the Hockey East
games are against familiar opponents, and there is no element of surprise
here. BC simply must find a way to become quicker in its decisions, more
precise in its passing, and sharper in its shooting if it wants to be
a player in the national tournament in the spring.
The BC defense, for its offensive issues, is still very strong on the
defensive end. I think Andrew Alberts has regressed a bit, and needs to
skate faster and better, but he has room to improve and will probably be
much better by the end of the year. Adams and Harrold are very good,
and Mike Brennan is doing fine as a freshman (though he had a tough
weekend this week.) Greg Lauze and Brian O'Hanley are perfectly fine as
a third pairing, as long as they don't try to do too much and take too
many risks. The goalies are good, and may end up being very good to great.
Schneider is already showing signs of being an exceptional goaltender,
and Matti Kaltiainen is underrated by most fans. Either is capable of
winning a big game, and I think both are capable of winning a championship
if the team in front of them plays to that level. I think most teams will
recognize that they will not score many goals on BC, and have to hold the
BC offense down to win. All the more reason why BC needs to get the
offense in gear and do better in putting the puck in the net.
The Eagles return to play next Friday hosting Northeastern in their last
game before the holidays. Providence has a non-league game at RPI on
Wednesday before hitting the break.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer Reporter"
An optimistic BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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