Tuesday, January 14, 1997 at Kelley Rink, Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
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RENSSELAER (aka RPI) Engineers 1 0 1 - 2 (11-7-2 overall, 6-3-1 ECAC)
BOSTON COLLEGE Eagles 0 2 1 - 3 (9-11-1 overall, 5-6-1 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
RPI 6 - 5 - 12 -- 23 5 - 10 1 - 3
BC 5 - 8 - 7 -- 20 6 - 28 1 - 4
RPI - Joel Laing 5- 6- 6 - 17 saves (approx. 59:40)
BC - Greg Taylor 5- 5-11 - 21 saves (60:00)
Full box posted to INFO-HOCKEY-L.
COMMENTS
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Boston College rode some great goaltending from Greg Taylor to hang on
to a 3-2 win over RPI in a slow, sloppy game Tuesday night. Neither team
was able to sustain a full 60-minute effort, with play going first to
one team and then the other, but Taylor's stellar work gave his team the
edge and made him the game's number one star.
First - BC hadn't played for 8 days and showed their rust early, and
RPI took advantage. Defenseman Joe Harney lost the puck trying to pass
out of the BC end, Doug Shepherd collected and walked in for a high
backhand over Taylor at just 2:44 of the first period. Healey then was
set up all alone in front by Gosselin but Taylor blocked his shot to set
the tone for the game. BC finally got the puck moving a bit and Reasoner
and Mottau chances were stopped by Laing. Overall the Eagles got more
shots than RPI but were off-target on many of them, and RPI definitely
had the better scoring chances. (A side note -- assistant ref. Bill
Doiron was nailed twice by pucks during attempted clears and left the ice
late in the period to recover. He did work the rest of the game.)
Second - BC elevated their play during this period and RPI let down a bit,
and the Eagles scored twice to take the lead. Freshman Jeff Farkas
continued his strong play after the World Junior tournament to set up
both BC scores. The first was a steal in center ice and Farkas walked in
and fired a backhand that Laing stopped but did not cover. Fellow frosh
Tony Hutchins followed the play and poked the puck home underneath the
goalie's pads to tie it at 1-1 (3:35). Marty Reasoner won a faceoff in
the RPI zone to allow Pierandri to carry the puck straight to the net --
RPI's Aldous was forced to cross-check him to prevent a shot, and BC
scored again on the power play. Quick puck control and movement got the
puck to Farkas at the right side boards. He waited briefly, spotted
Caulfield at the far left post and rifled a pass that just escaped the
Engineers' defense and was one-timed into the goal (9:42). BC eased up
after that, though, and RPI carried the rest of the period. Murphy
was sent in alone on a long break pass but Taylor stopped a short side
attempt. Good RPI forechecking gave them more good shots but Taylor
made the saves, then 2 quick shots from the slot both whistled wide of
the net. A last minute point-blank shot from in front was saved to
prevent RPI from tying the game. (BC may have been a bit fatigued or
disorganized at this point. Freshman Blake Bellefeuille had left the
ice with an injury and did not play the rest of the game.)
Third - The Engineers got an early power play on a too-many-men penalty by
BC (miscommunication, I think). Taylor made a sparkling stop on a
one-timer from the slot, then BC got a 2-on-none shorthanded break after
Powers tripped the RPI puck carrier (no penalty called). Farkas's shot
and rebound attempt were both blocked by Laing. Gosselin had a good
chance before the penalty was up but was off-balance and knocked the puck
wide of the BC net. A couple minutes later, after an RPI rush, BC got a
3-on-2 chance. Mulhern was able to drop the puck to an unmarked Jamie
O'Leary, and he closed to the left circle and fired a low shot into the
near side to give BC a 3-1 lead at 5:02.
It became the Greg Taylor show after that. RPI picked up the pressure
and forced the play in the BC end. Taylor made some saves or poke-checked
the puck away from the net to keep RPI off the board. Even when Battaglia
picked up a penalty for RPI, the best chance was an RPI shorthanded bid
by St. Hilaire (set up by great work by Murphy.) Taylor made the stop,
however. Rensselaer finally got one back at 13:24 on their own power play.
A nice set of passes down the right boards in the BC end gave the puck
to St. Hilaire, and he found an unmarked Matt Garver in front. Garver's
quick shot finally beat Taylor to bring RPI within one. The Engineers
pushed hard after that, with Murray stealing the puck to set up Riva (only
to have the BC defense prevent his shot in front), and Gosselin banged
one off the right edge of the goal from in close. A late BC power play
gave the Eagles some breathing room, though, and strong forechecking kept
the puck in the RPI end for much of the last 2 minutes to cement the win
for Boston College.
Taylor was the difference in this game, making up for his sluggish
teammates. BC got their second win of the new year, but will have to
pick up the pace to forge wins in Hockey East, especially this coming
weekend against rival Boston University. RPI showed some speed and good
offensive capabilities, though they were a bit sluggish themselves on
defense. You can see how they have won the games they have, and probably
would have won this game against most goalies.
BC plays BU Friday at BU and Saturday at BC. The Eagles need to win
one of those to stay in position for another late season run in Hockey
East -- after the BU games, 7 of the remaining 10 league games are
against teams below BC in the standings. RPI is finished with their
non-league play and hosts Union Saturday to start their final ECAC stretch.
Apologies for the late report. They keep screwing up my machine at work,
and it's been hard to find time to send my reports. (And Santa didn't
bring me a high-powered machine for home at Christmas ... Rats.)
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A positive BC fan. GO EAGLES!
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to
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