Saturday, March 18, 1995 at Boston Garden, Boston, MA
HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#6 Providence Friars (14-17-6) 1 1 0 - 2
#2 Boston University Terriers (28-6-3) 1 2 0 - 3
FIRST PERIOD BU-PC
PC, Bob Bell (interference served by Jon LaVarre), 5:12.
1. PC1, Chad Quenneville 25 (George Breen, Erik Sundquist), 11:52. 0-1
PC, Dennis Burke (high-sticking), 12:34.
2. BU1, Ken Rausch 12 (Mike Grier, Steve Thornton), 15:04. 1-1
SECOND PERIOD
3. BU2, Grier 29 (Chris O'Sullivan), 4:52. 2-1
PC, Brady Kramer (hitting from behind), 6:46.
4. PC2, Kramer 23 (Breen, Justin Gould), 9:40. 2-2
5. BU3, Matt Wright 6 (Chris Drury), 12:52. GWG 3-2
BU, Wright (interference), 15:44.
PC, David Green (interference), 19:01.
THIRD PERIOD
No scoring.
BU, Shane Johnson (hooking), 5:25.
PC, Kramer (holding), 11:33.
BU, Grier (slashing), 12:28.
PC, bench minor (too many men - served by Breen), 16:39.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Providence 4-11-11 = 26
Boston University 19-13-11 = 43
GOALIES: PC, Bob Bell (L, 7-6-3, 58:52, 43 sh-40 sv).
BU, Derek Herlofsky (W, 15-4-3, 60:00, 26 sh-24 sv).
POWER PLAYS: PC 0/3. BU 0/6.
PENALTIES: PC 6/12. BU 3/6.
REFEREES: Frank Cole, John Gravellese. LINESMAN: Bill Jones.
ATTENDANCE: 7,575 (capacity 14,448).
THREE STARS: 1. G Bob Bell, Providence (43 sh-40 sv).
2. RW Mike Grier, BU (1-1--2).
3. RW Matt Wright, BU (1-0--1, GWG).
1995 HOCKEY EAST ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
G Bob Bell, Providence
D Jon Coleman, BU
D Chris Imes, Maine
F Brady Kramer, Providence
F Chad Quenneville, Providence
F Shawn Bates, BU
MVP: G Bob Bell, Providence
Matt Wright's goal at 12:52 of the second period snapped a 2-2 tie
and sent BU on to a 3-2 win over Providence in the 1995 Hockey East
Championship Game. With the win, BU earns an automatic bid into
the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Tournament. Providence, which
finishes at 14-17-6, needed a win to make the tournament.
The upstart Friars were in this game from start to finish, a true
reflection upon the outstanding job head coach Paul Pooley has
done this season. Providence finished 5-2-3 in their last 10
games.
After surrendering goals to Quenneville and Kramer, the BU defense
shut down the explosive keys to the PC offense for the rest of the
game.
BU dominated the first period, outshooting PC 19-4 (and two of those
4 Friar shots came from their own end of the ice). But it was PC
that gained the early lead when Quenneville converted a 2x1 pass from
George Breen at 11:52. BU tied it 3 minutes later when Ken Rausch
scored off the rebound of Mike Grier's shot. Grier made the play as
he rushed up the right side and forced Bell to stay with him and
make the save, but the rebound opportunity gave Rausch a nearly open
net to shoot at, one of the few great chances BU had in the first.
PC did a great job of clearing rebounds and enabling Bell to see
first shots.
In the second period, Grier knocked home the rebound of Chris
O'Sullivan's shot as Grier was being knocked to the ice - a very
nice goal. But Kramer got that one back at 9:40 to tie the game
at 2-2 when his shot from the circle through a screen eluded
BU goalie Derek Herlofsky. Breen had fed Kramer with a cross-ice
pass.
Halfway through the game, BU was outshooting PC 26-7. But PC was
gradually gaining momentum and would outshoot BU 19-17 the rest of
the way.
Wright scored his game-winner just three minutes after Kramer's
goal, as Wright took a feed high in the slot from Chris Drury off
the boards and beat Bell glove side. That would be the last goal
scored, with 7:08 left in the second period. In fact, Wright holds
the distinction of being the last goal-scorer in the last Garden
Beanpot and also in the last Garden college hockey game.
The remainder of the game surely produced quite a few breathless
moments on both sides. PC did a nice job killing a couple of BU
power plays in the third and Bell kept his team within striking
distance. A big play was made by BU D Kaj Linna with about five
minutes left, as Quenneville was headed in on a rush and Linna
used his stick to tie up the flashy Friar forward without even
taking a penalty.
Bell was pulled with just over a minute left, setting up an
exciting finish, but BU weathered the attack and escaped with its
second consecutive Hockey East Championship.
Credit both teams with a superb game played all around, as they
gave the fans an exciting final college hockey game in the Boston
Garden. It was something to see, and PC came close to taking
down all three of the top seeds enroute to what would have been
an amazing upset championship win. But the Friars can hold their
heads high, as they gave it their best shot against a team that was
much more talented top to bottom and had to work hard for the win.
The MVP and All-Tourney Team are listed above; no surprises IMO.
Bell was a solid MVP choice from a losing team, stopping 87 of 93
shots on the weekend.
BU faced three tough teams in winning the championship: Merrimack,
UMass-Lowell, and Providence. The close scores may have surprised
some, but these teams made BU work harder than it has had to all
year in order to claim the title. That work ethic is something that
could carry over and help BU the next week or two in its quest for a
national title.
Finally, special credit to the game officials for calling a superb
game and also to the HE brass, especially Tim Burton, for running such
a smooth tourney. This was also the first HE tourney for Tim, and
IMO, he did a great job. 94-95 was a learning year for Tim, but
things went very well, and I am sure that next year will be even
better.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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