(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Wednesday, November 14, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, PC 1 HOCKEY EAST GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (HE) 1 0 0 - 1 (4-6-0 overall, 3-4-0 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 3 1 0 - 4 (5-4-1 overall, 2-2-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
PC 5-11- 4 -- 20 7 - 22 0 - 5
BC 8-11-16 -- 35 7 - 14 1 - 4
PC - Nolan Schaefer 5-10-16 - 31 saves/4 goals (60:00)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 4-11- 4 - 19 saves/1 goal (60:00)
Referee - Jeff Bunyon
Assistants - John Jones, Paul Scleparis
Attendance - 5367
1st Period
BC1 Ben Eaves 5 (Walker, Voce) 4:06
BC2 Ales Dolinar 3 (Alberts, Murphy) 5:23
PC1 Regan Kelly 1 (Omicioli, Fregoe) 6:02
BC3 Ryan Murphy 2 (Dolinar, Havern) 9:00
Penalties
PC - Mason (holding) 10:19
BC - Walker (obstruction-interference) 11:17
BC - Cass (tripping) 17:04
PC - Omicioli (misconduct - 10 min.) 20:00
2nd Period
BC4 J. D. Forrest 4 (Eaves, Spina) PPG 5:23
PC Timeout 5:23
Penalties
PC - Platt (tripping) 5:05
PC - Wood (holding) 12:30
BC - Peterson (roughing) 16:54
3rd Period
No Scoring
Penalties
BC - Alberts (holding the stick) 7:41
BC - Peterson (slashing) 8:10
PC - Wright (slashing) 8:10
BC - Forrest (high-sticking) 8:29
BC - Havern (roughing) 15:07
PC - Wood (roughing) 15:07
PC - Platt (holding) 15:57
3 Stars - 1. BC - Ryan Murphy (1G, 1A)
2. BC - Ales Dolinar (1G, 1A)
3. BC - Ben Eaves (1G, 1A)
Providence College:
F Marc Suderman, Peter Fregoe, Drew Omicioli
Devin Rask, Chris Chaput, Jonathan Goodwin
JOHN LUCZCZ, DOUG WRIGHT, JON DISALVATORE
Peter Zingoni, Mike Robinson, Mike Lucci
D REGAN KELLY, JEFF MASON
Jason Platt, Eric Lundberg
Shawn Weiman, Stephen Wood
G NOLAN SCHAEFER, David Cacciola
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, A.J. WALKER
Jeff Giuliano, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Ned Havern, Ales Dolinar, Ryan Murphy
Anthony D'Arpino, Ty Hennes, Justin Dziama
D John Adams, J.D. Forrest
ANDREW ALBERTS, BILL CASS
Joe Schuman, Brett Peterson
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Tim Kelleher, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
--------
Boston College evened their Hockey East record at 2-2 with a controlled win
Wednesday night over Providence, 4-1. The Eagles jumped to a quick 2-0 lead
and then 3-1 lead at the end of one, and were able to shut down the PC
attack the rest of the way for the win. Ryan Murphy and Ales Dolinar each
had a goal and assist from the BC 3rd line and were the top 2 stars of the
game. The Friars had a hard time gaining any offensive continuity for much
of the game, and BC dominated possession and shots, especially in the 3rd
period.
Providence has been plagued with slow starts in most of their games this
year, and this one proved no exception. Tony Voce and Ryan Shannon both
had clear shots from in front in the first minute, and the PC defense was
unable to get their legs going to clear space in front of Nolan Schaefer.
The Eagles got on the board early when a long pass found Voce at the blue
line, and he feathered a soft pass ahead to the left circle. A.J. Walker
beat the defense to the puck and drove toward the net, then flipped a soft
pass back to the slot for Ben Eaves to fire at Schaefer. The puck managed
to slip through the pads and trickle into the net. BC got a quick second
score due to work by Dolinar and Murphy. A Dolinar shot from the boards
was cleared to the right corner, where Dolinar and Murphy battled for the
puck. Murphy came away up the right side boards and touched a pass back to
the point, where Andrew Alberts fired a wrist shot thigh-high at the slot.
It deflected off Dolinar's leg as he crossed in front of the goal and past
Schaefer before he could react. The Friars had their one bright spot just
39 seconds later after hard work deep in the BC zone by Omicioli and Fregoe,
who managed to pass the puck softly out to the slot. A BC attempted clear
went right to the stick of a pinching Regan Kelly, and he was able to fire
a quick wrister into the open left side before Kaltiainen could get back to
cover the net.
The Eagles shook off the goal and continued to press foreward on strong
forechecking and harassment of passing lanes. Dolinar collected a loose
puck at his own blue line and skated it down the right side. He rounded
the PC defense and carried the puck behind the net, then pushed a pass to
the left circle, where Murphy quickly shot low at the goal. It seemed to
fool Schaefer (I don't think it was deflected, but it may have been?) and
bounced through his legs to restore the 2-goal lead. (The strange thing
about this goal for me was the assist awarded to Ned Havern. I don't think
he touched the puck from the time Dolinar got it inside his own zone and
skated it all the way down the rink. Did he get the assist for taking up
space and occupying a defenseman??) Some subsequent penalties gave both
teams power plays, where Providence got their best chances of the period,
but they got few shots and no goals. BC's Brett Peterson was down briefly
with a few minutes left when a BC shot accidentally hit him near the throat
or face as he fell in front of the goal, but he was able to recover and
play the rest of the game. (Just a little blood on the ice - hey, it's
hockey, right? A man's game ... :-)) Providence made a late move to
forecheck and collect the puck as BC relaxed at the end of the period, and
Drew Omicioli got a free rebound and scored into an open net, only to have
it disallowed because it came after the period ended. And it clearly was
no good, evident to everyone ... except Omicioli. He protested vehemently
and got a 10-minute misconduct for his trouble.
The second period found Providence working harder and getting some chances;
Chaput fired wide on a nice setup in the left circle, and BC's Forrest made
a save with an open net after Kaltiainen was out wandering to clear a puck.
BC got some counter pressure with Voce driving the net and shooting, and
Eaves just missing with the rebound. PC took a penalty when they tripped
Dave Spina during a rush up the slot, and the Eagles took advantage in just
18 seconds. Eaves and Spina worked low in the left corner to control the
puck, then Spina sent a pass across the high slot to Forrest, pinching down
from the right point. He cruised in to the low right circle area and
sent a hard high wrister through a crowd and in for the final score of the
night (though we didn't know it at the time.) PC took a timeout to settle
down -- Pooley couldn't have been happy with the lazy way his team played
the penalty kill, or their overall play. It helped a bit, as Kaltiainen had
to make a quick stacked pad save on a Wright 1-timer right in front. But
BC again asserted territorial dominance and had good shots of their own,
with Schaefer robbing Ryan Shannon with a flashing glove save of a slapper.
Each team had power plays later in the period, and Providence showed their
best offensive coordination of the night, forcing Kaltiainen to make several
saves. He was up to the task, holding the post late to stop a Fregoe stuff
attempt, and another Fregoe shot with an open right side was deflected away
by the Eagle defense.
Given the score and the way Providence was working late in the second
period,
it looked like BC would have to work hard to try to hold off the Friars in
the third. Instead, the Eagles dominated the third period totally from the
moment it started. Giuliano, Voce, Eaves, Shannon, Dolinar, Peterson all
had their moments putting forecheck pressure on the Friars, who were unable
to get the BC forwards off the puck along the boards in the PC zone.
Schaefer was finally playing well, but his team was not helping him much.
The Friars had one last chance when BC penalties gave them over a minute
of 5-on-3 power play time. However, poor play at the points (unable to keep
the puck in the zone) and tenacious and aggressive BC pursuit kept them from
getting even a single shot. In fact, BC stole the puck and had offensive
chances of their own. It was evident that Providence did not have the
energy or skill this night to make a comeback, and BC dominated the rest of
the period. Schaefer made some nice saves, the few PC shots were usually
wide or soft, and the game ended with no doubt about the outcome.
BC again played well, with few mistakes, decent goaltending and defense, and
some aggressive forechecking to dominate possession and shots. The Eagles
have now won three in a row, and are starting to look more comfortable in
their roles on the team. The freshmen are adjusting nicely, Kaltiainen has
now had 2 good games in a row, and they are learning to play together. It
helps that they have settled on some line pairings that seem to work, and
they don't have to scramble the lineup. Of course, the opposition hasn't
been the toughest, or hasn't played the best, but some of that may be that
BC has done a good job against them as well. The Eagles will face one of
their toughest games of the young season when rival Boston University comes
to BC Saturday night. BU is still undefeated and is playing well; whether
BC can continue to succeed when pressed by better opposition will indicate
how much they have improved.
Providence is an enigma. By all accounts they have underachieved this
season, with high preseason predictions for them. Schaefer has been a bit
slow to come around, though he shows signs of improvement. The defense has
been shaky, especially early in games when they get into deficits and have
to fight from behind. The Friars' forwards are supposed to be the strength
of the team, and can score in bunches based on past history. But they
have not been playing well as a group or with any consistency, and that
means a spotty and up-and-down season. Devin Rask, who had a breakthrough
year last season, was virtually invisible tonight, and he wasn't the only
one. Worse than anything was the lack of effort on defense, and the
inability to step up their game with emotion. The Friars just didn't show
up tonight, and apparently that has happened too often this season already.
With a tough league matchup with New Hampshire this Saturday, they need to
make sure they get motivated before then.
|
