Saturday, October 11, 1997 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
EXHIBITION GAME
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UNIV. OF OTTAWA Gee-Gees (OUAA)       0  0  0 - 0
BOSTON COLLEGE Eagles (Hockey East)   5  2  3 - 10
 
COMMENTS
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The Boston College Eagles completely outskated and dominated the Univ. of
Ottawa in a Saturday night exhibition game at Chestnut Hill, winning 10-0.
In a game very reminiscent of last year's exhibition between these same
teams (won by BC, 9-2), the Eagles jumped to a quick lead in the first
period and were never challenged in the game.  Junior goalie Andy
McLaughlin was rarely tested and was able to hold on for the shutout to
get the number one star rating.  Sophomore Tony Hutchins got number two
star for his first period hat trick and 4 points, and heralded freshman
Brian Gionta notched a goal and 4 assists in his first BC game to get
the number three star.  Marty Reasoner also had 2 goals and 2 assists,
so the number one BC line accounted for 6 goals and 7 assists.
 
I missed the first two goals (arrived late).  Hutchins got his first on
a power play, and Jeff Farkas put BC up two at 6:19.  Hutchins collected
his second goal by pouncing on a rebound of a Brendan Buckley shot.
Gionta scored his first varsity goal with a sharp one-timer from the
left circle after quick passes around the horn on the power play.
Hutchins finished his first-period hat trick when freshman Bobby Allen
found him all alone for an easy flip right in front of the goal.  BC
outshot Ottawa 17-4 in the period, and that margin reflected the play,
as the Eagles were able to keep the puck in the Ottawa zone for much of
the period.
 
The second period started with Ottawa on the power play, but it was BC
who capitalized.  Reasoner and Gionta were able to disrupt the Ottawa
players with deep forechecking.  Gionta grabbed the puck on the right,
maneuvered towards the net, then fed an unmarked Reasoner to the left of
the crease.  His first swipe missed but he was able to lift the second
chance for the shorthanded goal.  BC dominance continued and Reasoner got
his second of the period just a minute later.  Hughes got the puck to
Gionta behind the net, he passed to Reasoner sitting at the left side
again, and Marty quickly swatted it home.  Ottawa tried hard to recover
and forced a couple of BC penalties, but could not get any offense going
at all, even on the power play.  (The Gee-Gees ended the period with only
2 shots on goal.)
 
Things got a little physical after a collision with Ottawa goalie Mitch
Perreault and a BC forward.  Perreault was down for a couple of minutes
but was able to continue.  A series of matching penalties followed for
the next few minutes, and then a major scrum erupted at 17:31.  BC
players jammed into the goalie following a whistle for a frozen puck and
several Ottawa players objected to that action.  Defenseman Jean-Francois
Tremblay lost his helmet and his cool and he jumped BC freshman Mike
Lephart and the two were ejected for a fighting major.  However, the
period ended with no further incidents or goals.
 
The third period was just the like the others -- BC netted two quick
goals in the first 3 minutes.  Chris Masters made it 8-0 with a pretty
backhander from the right circle that flew high into the far side of the
net.  Mike Mottau took advantage of an Ottawa defensive breakdown just
a minute later when they let him slide into the zone and slowly work his
way to the center slot, where his quick wrist shot beat Perreault.  The
remainder of the period was not very intense, and Ottawa got their best
scoring chances as BC eased up.  McLaughlin made a few nice saves, though,
and preserved his shutout.  The final goal was the result of hard work
by sophomores Bellefeuille and Farkas to dig the puck free deep in the
Ottawa zone.  Farkas got the puck back to Marty Hughes at the left point,
he slid deeper into the center of the zone and fired a screened shot that
slid through the five-hole into the net.
 
It is difficult to assess the play of BC in this game as Ottawa did not
play well.  Perhaps they were tired from their previous efforts Friday
night in an exhibition against Northeastern University (a tie.)  Still,
the heralded freshmen of BC played very well in the offensive zone.  It
remains to be seen how they will perform defensively against regular
NCAA competition.  Andy McLaughlin's play in net has been a pleasant
surprise, and he may continue to see playing time while the other BC
goalies recover from injuries.  BC's Jamie O'Leary, Kevin Caulfield, and
Andy Powers did not play in the game, giving more playing time to the
7 freshmen who did play.
 
Boston College opens its official schedule next Friday, October 17, when
they host Bowling Green at 7:00.  A roster note regarding Boston College:
former RPI player Cory Bilodeau is sitting out this year after his
transfer to BC.  He played in the Maroon-Gold scrimmage on October 4 but
will not play until sometime in 1998 (I'm not sure whether in the spring
or next fall.)
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Rick McAdoo                        [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter"               A positive BC fan.  GO EAGLES!
 
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