Friday, October 17, 1997 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 3, BOWLING GREEN 2 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIV. (CCHA) 0 0 2 - 2 (1-2-0 overall)
BOSTON COLLEGE (Hockey East) 1 1 1 - 3 (1-0-0 overall)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
BG 8 - 3 -11 -- 22 7 - 14 0 - 4
BC 8 -17 - 8 -- 33 7 - 14 1 - 4 (5x3)
BG - Mike Savard 7-16- 7 - 30 saves/3 goals (59:00)
BC - Andy McLaughlin 8- 3- 9 - 20 saves/2 goals (60:00)
COMMENTS
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The Boston College Eagles got a late goal from freshman Marty Hughes to
win their first official game of the 1997-98 season. Bowling Green had
fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the third period after
BC had carried the play in the first and dominated play in the second
period.
The young players of both teams showed their talent, with freshmen taking
all three stars of the game: Hughes for BC was the number one star with
his game-winning goal, Doug Schueller had a very impressive first game
for BGSU to take the number two star, and BC's Bobby Allen was the
number three star. BC goalie Andy McLaughlin, having played sparingly
until this year, finally got his first official win for the Eagles.
Though Bowling Green had played two official games and this was BC's first,
it was BC who carried the play through the first two periods. The
Falcons Mike Savard played well in net to keep his team in the game,
especially in the second period, when BC outshot BGSU, 17 to 3.
Brian Gionta had his first of several good chances early in the game
on a shorthanded bid, but Savard made a kick save. Then the Eagles' 4th
line, who hustled all night, manufactured the first goal at 5:17.
Nick Pierandri slid a nice cross-ice pass to Mark McLennan breaking
down the right side, and he found Andy Powers just outside the left edge
of the crease for an easy tap-in. The teams traded uneventful power
plays, then BC's Bobby Allen showed his defensive prowess by breaking
up a 2-on-1 break by intercepting a pass with his skate. The teams
traded a few chances the rest of the period, with BC using their speed
to forecheck and Bowling Green throwing outside shots toward the goal.
The second period was all BC, from the first minute right up to the end.
If not for some fortunate bounces and some nice saves from Savard, the
game could have been settled for good. After heavy BC pressure, BGSU
was able to kill an early penalty. But they immediately took another
penalty (cross-check called by one of the linesmen behind the play), and
a holding the stick penalty on Jones gave BC a 5-on-3 advantage for over
a minute. It was just 30 seconds later when Allen slapped a low shot
through a screen to give BC a 2 goal lead. Jeff Farkas slid a shot
through the crease and just wide left on the remaining man advantage, and
BGSU was fortunate to only be down two. They had their only opportunities
in the middle of the period when Kevin Armbruster walked around a BC
defenseman for a slot shot, but McLaughlin came up with the save. A
pretty piece of work by speedy senior Dave Faulkner with a steal and a
give-and-go with Andy Ilvonen almost got the Falcons on the board, but
McLaughlin again made a point-blank save. That seemed to spark the
Eagles, because they flat-out dominated the rest of the period, even
carrying the play while shorthanded. BC controlled the puck, won all
the faceoffs, quickly stopped any BGSU attempts at offense, etc. They
just didn't get any more pucks into the net, ending the period up 2-0
and with a 25 to 11 edge in shots on goal (43 to 15 shots attempted.)
The question for the third period would be which team would get the next
goal. If BC, the game was probably over. If Bowling Green, then it
would end up being a close one. Apparently BGSU was a little
embarrassed by their play in period 2, as they came out working much
harder in the third and getting more opportunities. Boston College had
some early chances, especially after Savard was caught out of his net
losing the puck while stickhandling, but nothing went in. Then some
effective forechecking by Bowling Green paid off as freshman Schueller
floated a soft shot from the right point, through a host of screening
bodies, and just under the crossbar to make the score 2-1 at 5:46 of
the third. The Falcons caught fire after that, with fairly continuous
pressure on BC. Perhaps the young defense of the Eagles was tiring, or
showing their youth, but it seemed inevitable that BGSU would score
again. Faulkner made a nice rush behind the BC net and fed a breaking
B.J. Adams for a quick shot that rang off the right post and out. Then
Stewart Nowosad fought down low and almost stuffed one inside the post.
Dan Price was set up by poor BC defensive positioning and a beautiful
pass from a teammate for a shot at an open net, only to whistle it wide
left. Craig Desjarlais also had a close-in backhand attempt that went
just wide at the right edge of the crease, and McLaughlin had to make a
great save after a BC defensive giveaway. Finally the Falcons' pressure
paid off when McLaughlin went down after several quick saves and the
puck was behind him in the crease. Faulkner continued his stellar play
by reaching in and poking home the tying goal at 14:55, with assists
from Dennis Williams and Schueller.
Having given up the lead, Boston College started to work harder on
offense again. Marty Reasoner led one rush but his pass missed Gionta.
A few seconds later, though, they kept the puck in the zone, and Jamie
O'Leary fed Hughes at the inside left circle. His quick low shot
found the net to give the Eagles their final lead at 16:13. The next
few minutes were tense, as Bowling Green pushed forward to try to come
back again. BGSU had some good chances that mostly were blocked outside
the goal crease, and they gave up a clean break counterattack to Gionta
after two defensemen collided in center ice. Savard made a good save
with his pads to keep it a one-goal game. BC took a timeout at 19:00
to try to reorganize its defense, and Savard was pulled from the nets
for the extra skater. The strategy almost paid off when a free BGSU
forward cut down the middle and fired a one-timer that was barely
stopped and covered. BC was able to keep the puck outside for the
last 30 seconds, however, and Reasoner won a final faceoff to end the
game and preserve the Eagles' win.
Bowling Green either was unprepared for the Eagles speed or unable to
deal with it early in this game, and their defense had a lot of
difficulty getting the puck out of their own end. The BGSU defense is
big but not super fast, and also has 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores, so
it took them awhile to adjust in this game. Conversely, the BC young
players on defense (also 3 freshmen) played pretty well, including
scoring the last two BC goals. After a poor second period, the
Falcons did a nice job of adjusting and skating harder in the third, and
it gave them a chance at the game. Standouts for BGSU were: very fast
and shifty Dave Faulkner; scrappy Brad Holzinger; and a very
impressive debut by frosh D Doug Schueller. They didn't look very
effective on their power plays, though, and needed some good work by
goalie Savard to keep them in the game through the first two periods.
Boston College looked like they would run away with the game during
much of the first and second periods, forechecking fiercely, outskating
their opponent, and generating a lot of shots. Like last year, though,
many of the shots were off-target or ineffective, and they could not
score as much as they should have. Still, the offensive talent is
there, and with some more experience for the younger players, goals
should come. I think the coaches will be reasonably happy with the
first-game effort. Defensively the Eagles already look more solid
than last year, despite (or because of?) their youth. Freshmen Marty
Hughes, Rob Scuderi, and Bobby Allen have all played well from the
moment they stepped on the ice for BC -- Allen has been almost
spectacular at times, playing much beyond his years. They got rattled
in the third period, though, perhaps as they got both tired and a
little complacent. The BC forwards also started running around and
getting knocked off the puck by the bigger BGSU players as the game
wore on, and they will have to build some endurance to play a full 60
minutes. A final bright spot for BC is the play of junior netminder
Andy McLaughlin, who has stepped in to the limelight with injuries to
Mike Correia and Scott Clemmensen. He has been very solid, making some
good saves when needed and just holding his position during scrambles
in front of the net. Tonight's win was his first as a starter for BC
in regular play, and he and the BC defense have passed their first
test of the season.
Bowling Green continues their Eastern trip with a game at Northeastern
University's Matthews Arena on Saturday night. Boston College next
plays on Friday, Oct. 24 at Notre Dame, continuing the recent series of
matching hockey-football weekends with the Fighting Irish.
BC Note: BC Hockey is holding a "Lets Talk Hockey with the Coach" night
on Wednesday, November 12, in the Shea Room at Conte Forum. Coach Jerry
York, captain Marty Reasoner, and assistant captains Brendan Buckley and
Jamie O'Leary will all appear. It starts at 7:00 pm. Admission is
free -- R.S.V.P. @ (617) 552-3028 to reserve a spot.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" An excited BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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