(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, October 26, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, ND 1 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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NOTRE DAME (CCHA) 1 0 0 - 1 (0-4-1 overall, 0-1-1 CCHA)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 0 4 - 4 (2-3-1 overall, 0-2-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
ND 5- 4- 8 -- 17 5 - 10 1 - 5
BC 11-13-15 -- 39 6 - 12 0 - 4
ND - Morgan Cey 11-13-11 - 35 saves/3 goals (59:06)
BC - Tim Kelleher 4- 4- 8 - 16 saves/1 goal (60:00)
Referee - John Gravellese
Assistants - Tom Quinn, Kevin Shea
Attendance - 7884
1st Period
ND1 Aaron Gill 3 (Inman, Dunlop) PPG 4:42
Penalties
ND - Stastny (roughing) 1:29
BC - Peterson (roughing) 1:29
BC - Dziama (roughing) 4:21
ND - Globke (slashing) 7:29
ND - Gill (holding) 13:30
ND - Wanchulak (hooking) 18:52
2nd Period
None
Penalties
BC - Alberts (roughing) 4:39
ND - Galvin (holding) 9:35
BC - Dziama (interference) 13:40
BC - Cass (holding) 15:48
3rd Period
BC1 Dave Spina 3 (Giuliano, Shannon) 1:38
BC2 Ales Dolinar 2 (Hennes) 3:10 GWG
BC3 Jeff Giuliano 3 (Spina, Alberts) 10:34
BC4 Ben Eaves 3 (unassisted) ENG 19:51
Penalties
BC - Adams (holding) 12:26
3 Stars - 1. BC - Jeff Giuliano (1G, 1A)
2. BC - Dave Spina (1G, 1A)
3. ND - Morgan Cey (35 saves, 3 goals)
Notre Dame University:
F ROB GLOBKE, AARON GILL, DAVID INMAN
Alex Lalonde, Connor Dunlop, Brad Wanchulak
Corey McLean, Yan Stastny, John Wroblewski
Jake Wiegand, Michael Chin, Jon Maruk
D Brett Lebda, Neil Komadoski
Derek Smith, EVAN NIELSEN
T.J. Mathieson, TOM GALVIN
G Tony Zasowski, MORGAN CEY, Jeremiah Kimento
Boston College:
F Jeff Giuliano, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Ned Havern, Ben Eaves, Tony Voce
TY HENNES, ALES DOLINAR, RYAN MURPHY
Anthony D'Arpino, A.J. Walker, Justin Dziama
D John Adams, J.D. Forrest
ANDREW ALBERTS, BILL CASS
Taylor Leahy, Brett Peterson
G TIM KELLEHER, Matti Kaltiainen, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
--------
It required patience from Boston College, waiting until the 3rd period to
break through with 4 goals to defeat Notre Dame 4-1 Friday night at BC. The
Eagles had dominated most of the game throughout but had been unable to
score on freshman goaltender Morgan Cey until early in the final period.
Once the door was opened, though, BC scored twice more and added an empty-
netter to break a 4-game winless streak. The Eagles got a goal and an
assist
each from Jeff Giuliano and Dave Spina, while the Fighting Irish goal was
a power play strike by Aaron Gill.
Boston College got the sellout crowd roaring early with a pregame ceremony
to unveil the banner commemorating the 2001 national championship. Players
entered the ice in a spotlighted spectacle, then a brief video showing last
year's players and highlights was played. The banner was unfurled from the
rafters, a simple display that duplicated the look of the previous banner
for BC's previous championship in 1949.
Play early in the first period was a bit tentative and defensive, both teams
feeling each other out. BC was called for a penalty at 4:21 -- Justin
Dziama
got a roughing call. The Eagles may have been fortunate because they could
also have been called for too many men, as 6 skaters were on the ice for
an extended time but not noticed by the officials. In any case, Notre Dame
took only 21 seconds to get on the board when David Inman and Connor Dunlop
had bids from the slot turned away, and the rebound was corralled by Aaron
Gill and pushed into an open right side of the net. Though no one realized
it at the time, this was the high point of the evening for the Irish, as
BC dominated the game from that time onward. The Eagles started outskating
and outworking Notre Dame in the ND zone, keeping the puck in the zone for
extended stretches and putting pressure on the defense. The Irish were able
to block some shots, and frosh goalie Morgan Cey played well to keep the
puck out of the net during 3 power plays the remainder of the period. Notre
Dame got their few offensive chances on odd-man counterattacks when BC was
pushing forward, but either had passes blocked or shots go wide, ending with
only 5 shots on goal for the period.
The second period was similar in a lot of ways, with BC continuing to get
strong pressure in the Notre Dame zone and Cey somehow keeping the puck out
of the net. Sparked by the return to the lineup of Ben Eaves, the Eagles
were able to sustain possession and pepper the Notre Dame net. Aside from
occasional counterattacks, the Irish mostly were forced to try to dump the
puck out to relieve pressure. BC's Tony Voce, Dave Spina, Ryan Shannon,
and Brett Peterson all had good shots on power plays, and the Eagles
defensive corps were able to keep the puck in at the point. Tim Kelleher
was not called on to make many saves but was very good when called on to
keep the score 1-0. Cey showed the crowd why he is playing in net for
Notre Dame, with solid positioning and good vision. There was a sense,
though, that the Irish could not continue to play with fire in giving so
many chances to the Eagles.
Sure enough, Boston College tied the game early in the third when Ryan
Shannon got the puck in deep left and pushed it free for Jeff Giuliano.
He was able to spin around in the left circle unattended, wheel toward
the slot and shoot a backhander toward the far side. Dave Spina was in
position just to the right of the goalie and tipped it inside the right
post. BC kept the pressure on with forechecking, and ND defenseman Neil
Komadoski made a fatal mistake by trying to skate the puck into the slot
from the right circle, where he lost control. Ales Dolinar collected the
puck and pushed the shot past Cey to the left post and in for the Eagles
first lead at 3:10. Notre Dame now started working harder to get the
offense in gear and had their best chances of the game, only to find
Kelleher there to make 2 big glove saves on Brett Lebda slap shots.
After both teams had more opportunities as the game opened up, BC got a
big third goal after a scramble in the right corner left the puck free
for Giuliano to pick up and turn at the outer right circle. As a BC
player and ND defender crossed in front of the goal Giuliano sent a hard
wrister high just inside the near post and it was in the net before Cey
ever saw the puck. Notre Dame continued to work to get offensive pressure
and BC scrambled to block shots and clear the puck. The Eagles also got
some counterattack chances of their own, with Tony Voce breaking into the
slot but Cey making the save. Notre Dame continued to fight for chances,
pulling Cey with a minute left and calling a timeout to set up plays.
After several clears and icings by BC, Eaves blocked a last shot, then
stole the puck from the ND defense when they went back to collect in their
own zone. He spun and sent a soft shot sliding into the empty net for the
final score.
The difference for BC from last Friday's loss to UMass-Lowell was a much
better effort to control the puck on the boards and fight for possession,
along with fewer defensive mistakes. The return of Ben Eaves was also a
spark for the offense, with Eaves providing more puck control and adding
a sharpness that his teammates fed off. They played 5 defensemen (frosh
Taylor Leahy got only a few shifts) and their 3 experienced d-men played
much more solid than last week's efforts. Brett Peterson and J.D. Forrest
particularly were able to control the Notre Dame offensive rushes without
giving up many shots. Admittedly, the Irish did not present the same sort
of physical pressure that Lowell sent at BC, but the BC effort was markedly
better in this game and they finally scored the goals to get the win. The
most troubling aspect for the Eagles was the inability to put the puck in
the net despite dominating most of the game and getting lots of shots.
That could be both a mix of their youth and inexperience and the solid
effort of ND goalie Cey, who set his personal high in saves for a game in
his young career.
Notre Dame has definite talent, with several graduates of the US National
Development program on the team. Most of those players were very good in
the game, particularly Rob Globke and Brett Lebda (an offensive force from
the blue line, very smooth.) However, the rest of the lineup did not show
much intensity defensively and was unable to translate initial offensive
forays into shots. They were outskated by the Eagles, with most of the
loose and 50-50 pucks going to Boston College. If not for the effort of
Morgan Cey in net (solid!) and some unlucky bounces for BC, this game could
have been 5-1 in the second period and not close at all. As it turns out,
the 4-1 final margin was closer than the game really was. Notre Dame is
winless so far and faces 3 more road games before returning home. If they
don't find a way to start winning it could be a long, long season for them.
They face a Northeastern team tonight in Boston that is hoping to be a
player in the Hockey East race and will have to work harder to have a chance
in this one.
BC wins its first game at home for the 2001 season and showed a lot of
positive signs in this game, perhaps most importantly a good performance
from goalie Tim Kelleher. If their other goaltenders can pick up their
game as well, and the defense continues to improve, the offense is good
enough to keep them in the thick of things in Hockey East. They won't be
consistent enough to challenge for the top of the league, but will be
capable of winning on any night. The Eagles next play a pair at Wisconsin
next weekend, a tough road trip.
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