(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Saturday, November 17, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 3, BU 1 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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BOSTON UNIVERSITY (HE) 0 0 1 - 1 (6-1-1 overall, 3-1-1 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 0 2 - 3 (6-4-1 overall, 3-2-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
BU 9- 5-10 -- 24 7 - 14 0 - 3
BC 10-14- 7 -- 31 4 - 8 1 - 6
BU - Sean Fields 9-14- 5 - 28 saves/3 goals (58:59)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 9- 5- 9 - 23 saves/1 goal (60:00)
Referee - Scott Hansen
Assistants - John Jones, Kevin Shea
Attendance - 7884
1st Period
BC1 Ben Eaves 6 (Tony Voce, Dave Spina) PPG 9:30
Penalties
BU - Baker (high-sticking) 8:28
BC - Alberts (roughing) 10:34
BC - Cass (roughing) 19:36
2nd Period
No Scoring
Penalties
BU - Collins (high-sticking) 1:57
BC - Havern (tripping) 9:02
BU - Whitney (holding) 10:51
BU - Meyer (obstruction-interference) 18:53
3rd Period
BC2 Ben Eaves 7 (Jeff Giuliano, J.D. Forrest) 0:56 GWG
BU1 Jack Baker 2 (Brian Collins, Frantisek Skladany) 1:44
BC3 A.J. Walker 3 (Ben Eaves, Tony Voce) 7:07
BU Timeout 19:09
Penalties
BU - Meyer (boarding) 7:07
BC - Spina (roughing) 10:56
BU - Sabo (roughing) 10:56
BU - Baker (charging) 16:52
3 Stars - 1. BC - Ben Eaves (2G, 1A)
2. BC - Matti Kaltiainen (23 saves, 1 goal)
3. BU - Jack Baker (1G)
Boston University:
F MIKE PANDOLFO, BRIAN MCCONNELL, MARK MULLEN
Jack Baker, Brian Collins, John Sabo
Kenny Magowan, Gregg Johnson, Frantisek Skladany
Steve Greeley, David Klema, Justin Maiser
D RYAN WHITNEY, CHRIS DYMENT
Freddy Meyer, Bryan Miller
Pat Aufiero, John Cronin
G SEAN FIELDS, Jason Tapp, Andy Warren
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
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In an entertaining game Saturday night, Boston College extended their win
streak to 4 and dealt rival Boston University their first loss, 3-1. Ben
Eaves was the top star, scoring 2 goals and assisting on the 3rd marker,
while Matti Kaltiainen won his 2nd in a row in the nets for the Eagles.
Jack Baker scored BU's lone goal, and Sean Fields played well to keep the
Terriers within striking distance until late in the game. The game was
fairly fast and physical, though missing most of the silly penalties and
late scuffles that often accompanies games between these 2 teams.
The game opened in front of the biggest crowd of the year, and featured a
lively first period with lots of skating. Dave Spina's tip slid
tantalizingly across the face of the goal in the first minute, and
Kaltiainen made a good save after a BU steal on a weak clearance. Both
teams had chances on up-and-down play, then BC had extended pressure in
front with Fields scrambling to somehow keep the puck out of the net.
The play got more physical at that point, with ref Hansen letting them play
(in large part), but eventually Jack Baker got his stick up high along the
boards and accidentally smacked Eaves in the face for the game's first
penalty. BC took advantage, fighting hard to keep the puck down low and
scrambling for rebounds. Tony Voce was able to collect a rebound at the
left
side and circled back toward the circle, then dropped a pass to Eaves. His
hard slap shot sailed high into the net just inside the far post. BU got
their own power play shortly after that and got one clear shot after a nifty
pass from Bryan Miller got the winger open on the left side, but it sailed
wide. BC did a nice job shutting down the rest of the power play, with
Voce getting a shorthanded bid.
BC had several good opportunities in the second half of the period, with
Fields saving two tips in front and then flashing the glove to handle a
hard rising slap shot from Jeff Giuliano. A later Giuliano shot went just
wide on a 2-on-1 break. Kaltiainen had his own moments, getting his leg
out to block a slot 1-timer, then covering the rebound. He repeated that
work on a late BU power play, and the BC forecheckers tied up the puck in
the BU zone to get to the end of the period with BC up 1-0.
BU was unable to get anything going on the remaining power play at the start
of the second, and BC likewise was unable to take advantage of their own
power play, with an Eaves pass just out of the reach of Voce with an open
net awaiting. BC's speed then started to show, with possession and good
chances going mostly to the Eagles, and BU unable to get consistent
possession. Voce, Bill Cass, and Tony D'Arpino all had good shots for the
Eagles, and BU was lucky when the puck squirted behind Fields but managed
to stay out of the net. The Terriers had some success with a power play,
though BC's defense blocked many of the shots. Brian O'Connell broke in
down the right side and cut to the net, where his close backhand attempt
was blocked by Kaltiainen with stacked pads, and the rebound was covered.
Dave Spina got to a loose puck on a shorthanded break and was taken down
by Whitney (dumb penalty) to even the sides, then give BC a subsequent
man-advantage. Fields made a good save on a Voce tip (fed by a sweet Eaves
move), and he smothered shots from Forrest and then a weak fan by Peterson.
Kaltiainen did his best work of the game shortly after with a great leg
save on a 2-on-1, and covered the net well, forcing BU to try to pick
corners and mostly shooting wide. Fields saved a BC tip in close then
grabbed a near-range rebound with a flashing glove. Fred Meyer took the
first of 2 bad penalties late in the period, knocking down a trailing BC
forward crossing the blue line with a high elbow. BC had some pressure
late but couldn't score before the horn, though the third period would
see some results.
Things were up and down to start the third, with BC pressing on the
continuing power play. BC took a shot from the point just as the penalty
was expiring; the shot was saved but the rebound bounced out to the left
side, where Eaves swooped in and potted the goal into the open net just
3 seconds after the power play ended. BU worked hard right after that,
getting the puck down low and fighting clear behind the BC net. A forward
circled to the front and sent a shot in that was saved, but the rebound
bounced out to the side, and Baker was there to score on a carbon-copy of
the BC goal. For the next few minutes action was fast and furious, with
both teams flying around scrambling for shots. Walker picked off a BU
fumble deep in their zone and fed Voce down the slot, where his first shot
was saved and the puck bounced into the net off his skate; no goal, it was
ruled that it was kicked in. Mike Pandolfo fired an outside shot that
knuckled just wide of the far post, and Kaltiainen fumbled a couple of pucks
that were knocked free before any BU forward could take advantage.
A scramble behind the BC net resulted in an injury to BU's Kenny Magowan,
who was down for several minutes. He was helped off the ice and went to
the locker room in some pain. It appeared to be a leg injury at first,
though he did put weight on the leg. Post-game reports revealed he injured
his tailbone on the collision with the boards, and he may miss several
games.
That pause took some of the wind out of BU's sails, and BC took advantage.
BC worked hard to keep the puck in the BU zone despite several chances for
BU to clear, and the puck was high along the right boards in the zone. Ben
Eaves managed to work the puck free, and both BU players stayed tight on
him long enough for his soft pass forward to find A.J. Walker all alone in
the right circle. He immediately sped to the net, shifted right-to-left,
and flipped a quick low shot through Fields as he started to move -- a goal-
scorer's move, and a nice one to make it 3-1 for the Eagles. As Walker was
scoring, Voce was driving down the right to look for potential rebounds,
and Meyer bounced him into the boards behind and to the right of the goal,
where he was slightly injured. Meyer got the boarding penalty (and a cheap
shot it was, coming after the goal), and Voce did recover to play the rest
of the game.
That gave BC a power play, allowing the Eagles to take time off the game
clock and preventing BU from mounting any comeback pressure. From that
point on, BC did not push forward as hard, content to dump the puck, tie
up possession, and look for counterstrike opportunities. BU was unable to
get many good shots or lengthy offensive setups, and Kaltiainen was there
for the saves when needed. Fields did his part, making good saves on
Eaves, Giuliano, and Forrest following some 4-on-4 play. The BC defense
did a good job blocking shots and passes, and clearing the puck over and
over as time got short. BU's Baker took a weak penalty on a charging
along the boards in the BC zone with just 3 minutes left, effectively
removing a comeback attempt. Fields was pulled and BU used their timeout
to try to set up a play, but the Eagles were able to clear the puck and
the outcome was sealed.
This was a good, solid win for Boston College, giving BU their first loss
after they had risen to #5 in the polls. It hadn't been clear in the
earlier BC wins if they were playing that well or if the opposition had
been playing poorly, but after 4 wins in a row, and handling a good BU
team, it seems clear that BC is looking good. If the opposition is not
playing well, perhaps it is because BC is doing their jobs and taking the
other teams out of their games. The Eagles are starting to use their speed
and skating ability to keep the puck out of their zone as much as possible,
and now that Kaltiainen has stepped up to provide good goaltending, the
defensive weaknesses are being minimized. This was the first game all
year that the same goalie played back-to-back, with the coaches going with
freshman Kaltiainen, who is starting to show his potential. He is a big
kid who takes up a lot of the net, and likes to come out to play the puck
to help out his defense. The freshmen have developed even quicker
than most had hoped, and are playing with a lot of confidence.
The coaches have settled on a lineup, with BC rolling out the same pairings
for the third straight game. Of course, the last three wins have all come
at home, so they will have to learn to keep up that effort when they face
hostile arenas. But, they get one more home chance, hosting Harvard in
a Boston-area matchup next Friday.
Boston University was frustrated by this game, not able to perform at the
level they had become accustomed to this season. They didn't skate at the
same level as BC, at least as the game wore on, and were unable to take
the Eagles out of their style with physical play. Whether that was just
a bad game or the abilities of the opposition, they certainly did not play
as well as they expected. There is a lot of talent there, but some of it
did not play to form this game. Some of the freshmen showed up, but others
did not. Bryan Miller had an impressive game, and Whitney is an imposing
force. Maiser and McConnell didn't have as successful an effort, and some
of the experienced players were up-and-down. But the game was close, and
if Kaltiainen had been shaky as he was early in the season, or Eaves was
not there to provide the creative spark on offense, it might have been a
different outcome. I think BU will be in the mix in Hockey East all season,
and I wouldn't count them out based on one effort. Like BC, they meet
Harvard in their next game, playing the Crimson at Harvard next Tuesday
night. They follow that by hosting a pair against former ECAC rival Cornell
on the weekend following Thanksgiving.
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Rick McAdoo A content BC fan.
"Volunteer reporter" Go Eagles!
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