(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, November 23, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 1, HU 0                  NON-CONFERENCE GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARVARD UNIVERSITY (ECAC)   0  0  0 - 0     (3-4-1 overall, 3-2-1 ECAC)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE)         1  0  0 - 1     (7-4-1 overall, 3-2-0 HE)

       Shots on Goal       Pen - Min    Power Play
HU      4-10- 9 -- 23        2 - 4        0 - 0
BC      5- 7-12 -- 24        1 - 2        0 - 1

HU - Will Crothers       4- 7-12 - 23 saves/1 goal  (58:45)
BC - Tim Kelleher        4-10- 9 - 23 saves/0 goals (60:00)

Referee - John Gravellese
Assistants - James Brown, Tom Carpenito
Attendance - 5868

1st Period
  BC1 Justin Dziama 1 (Ty Hennes, Anthony D'Arpino)       15:25 GWG

  Penalties
   None

2nd Period
  No Scoring

  Penalties
   HU - Smith (cross-checking)                             4:16

3rd Period
  No Scoring
      HU Timeout                                          18:39

  Penalties
   HU - Kolarik (slashing)                                 9:06
   BC - Forrest (hit after whistle)                        9:06

3 Stars - 1. BC - Tim Kelleher (23 saves, 0 goals)
          2. HU - Will Crothers (23 saves, 1 goal)
          3. BC - J.D. Forrest

Harvard University:
F TYLER KOLARIK, DOMINIC MOORE, TIM PETTIT
  Dennis Packard, Brett Nowak, Rob Flynn
  Rob Fried, Tom Cavanagh, Kenny Turano
  Liam McCarthy, Andrew Lederman, Brendan Bernakevitch
D NOAH WELCH, PETER CAPOUCH
  Ryan Lannon, Kenny Smith
  Dave McCulloch, Blair Barlow
G WILL CROTHERS, Dov Grumet-Morris, Ben Weiss

Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, RYAN SHANNON, A.J. WALKER
  Joe Schuman, Jeff Giuliano, 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
  Taylor Leahy, Brett Peterson
G TIM KELLEHER, Matti Kaltiainen, Robbie Miller


COMMENTS
--------
Boston College now has won 5 games in a row after a tight, defensive 1-0
win over visiting Harvard Friday night.  The game was dominated by tight
checking and strong performances by both goaltenders, Tim Kelleher and
Will Crothers.  The lone goal came in the first period, the first of the
season by BC 4th liner Justin Dziama.  The Eagles were without the services
of their offensive leader, Ben Eaves, out with rib problems, and Harvard
was able to play a tight checking game to limit BC's offensive attempts.
The game also was almost penalty-free, as ref John Gravellese put the
whistle away and let them play, resulting in only one unexciting power
play for BC and none for Harvard, keeping the Crimson's dangerous power
play unit off the ice.

The first period was dominated by the defenses, with few shots and few
good opportunities for either team.  BC had early attempts by Tony Voce
and A.J. Walker go wide, and Andrew Lederman was unable to capitalize on
a BC turnover, collecting his own rebound and shooting wide from down low.
The play that followed was all in the neutral zone or along the side boards,
with both teams tied up by the defenses or having offensive breakouts
stopped by the mid-ice checking.  In many ways it was dull hockey.  Harvard
played a defensive style, hoping to limit the BC speed and offense, and the
Eagles were struggling to adjust to changes in the lineup with Eaves out.
Finally Dave Spina and Joe Schuman broke out on a 2-on-1, but Spina's shot
went right into Crothers' gut for an easy save.  After that, Brett Nowak
worked hard behind the BC net to come away with the puck and he swung out
to the front for a backhander that sailed wide right.  When the goal finally
came, it was rather unexpected.  BC was able to break up Harvard pressure
in the middle of the BC end, and sent their 4th line away on a 3-on-1
rush.  With Crimson defenders rushing back to even the odds a bit, Justin
Dziama decided to fire a slap shot from above the right circle.  His high
shot hit Crothers' glove and bounced over and landed in the crease behind
the goalie.  It just sat there as everyone rushed toward the net, and
Crothers was unsure where the puck was.  He sat back into a butterfly
sprawl to try to cover as much of the net as possible but inadvertently
pushed the puck under him and back into the goal for the only score.
The assists were initially announced as going to the BC defensemen who
helped
get the puck out of the zone but changed to Dziama's linemates in the final
scoresheet.  Harvard got some late pressure from their top line, with
Tim Pettit and Pete Capouch having dangerous shots, but BC scrambled,
held, and clutched to clear the puck and got out of the period up 1-0.

The second period featured a lot of the same, with tight checking and
scrambling defenses, but the offenses started to get more chances and the
goaltenders started to come to the fore.  Harvard carried more of the play
in the middle frame, and forced Kelleher to work hard to keep the puck out
of the net.  Both teams had early shots go wide, then the Eagles got the
only power play of the game after a Kenny Smith cross-check on Voce.  But
aside from one early tip of a point shot, there were no threats on the man-
advantage and the game again settled into its routine.  Harvard got some
of its best pressure of the night around the 9 minute mark, with the top
line of Moore, Pettit, and Kolarik buzzing deep in the zone and keeping
the puck against weak BC defending.  Kelleher made a couple of saves and
dived out to clear a loose puck at one point, and a whistle finally stopped
play as a jam behind the net knocked the cage over on top of Kelleher as
he grabbed another puck in the crease.  BC had a couple of rushes with no
result, and Pettit slid down the BC slot for a backhand that Kelleher made
a nice low save on.  After more Crimson pressure, play was stopped to
replace a cracked glass panel, and everyone took a breather.  Kelleher then
came up big with 3 saves in succession, gloving a Moore slapper from the
left circle, then another slapper off the faceoff and a block of a
spinaround rebound in the slot.  The rest of the period was back to defense
and Harvard was frustrated as they left the ice, knowing they had missed
some chances to even the game.

Harvard hadn't been playing their 4th line at all and spent a lot of energy
in the second period, and BC was able to take advantage with fresher legs
in the third.  The Eagles also changed up their lines to try to get more
offense, and it seemed to help somewhat.  The Crimson got some early shots
but Kelleher made solid saves, and then BC got several 2-on-1 breaks to
gain some momentum.  Giuliano shot rather than passing to an open winger
on one and Crothers made the save, then Voce tried the opposite by holding
and passing to Walker in the slot, but Crothers covered that shot into his
body as well.  The BC 4th liners got another chance when Dziama tried a
low wraparound with a gap at the right post, only to hit the side of the
net.  Harvard came back with pressure, as Dom Moore worked the puck free
from behind the net for a wrap attempt, then pushed the rebound out for
several chances, with Kelleher making 2 big saves and covering up.  A mild
scrum led to matching penalties, the only other calls of the night, and
the 4-on-4 was more open but resulted only in outside shots.

Things opened up at this point, with Harvard pressing for a goal and BC
getting counterbreak opportunities.  Dolinar and Voce got good shots that
Crothers made the saves on, Kelleher made a glove save after Crimson work
along the boards, and BC had a 3-on-1 but missed the pass and got only a
weak tip wide.  Giuliano stole the puck but was unable to get a shot away.
Nowak came back for Harvard, forcing a kick save, and BC got a 3-on-2 rush
but shot the puck into the goalie's midsection.  Heavy Harvard forechecking
led to lots of pressure, and Kelleher was scrambling like mad to keep the
puck out, finally making a blind backward sprawl on a wrap attempt to
block the corner and keep the shutout.  BC got a steal after that and got
the puck to Dave Spina all alone in front, but Crothers challenged him and
flashed the glove for a big save.  Harvard took their timeout at that point
to rest the top group, who were clearly worn out from all the time they
had on the ice.  Harvard worked hard to get the puck in and work for shots
in the last minute, but BC defenders blocked passes and shots, with few
making it to the net, and BC got several clears to get to the end with
the victory.

This was not the game that people expected from these two fast-skating
local rivals.  Instead of up-and-down flying offense, we got close-checking
battles along the boards, few shots, good goaltending, and plenty of
defensive work.  Lots of clutching and grabbing and slowing skaters down,
with the ref letting them play, and it made for a slow pace.  Harvard had
obviously made the decision to play cautiously and slow down the BC
forecheck, and they did that successfully for much of the game.  BC was
also hampered in their breakouts by the absence of Eaves, who gives them
a dynamic offensive capability with his vision and control (it is really
obvious that he means a lot to the offense when you see the difference in
the style when he is missing.)  Harvard was successful with their top line,
had a few chances from the second line, and got very little from their
last two lines (hardly playing the 4th line at all.)  BC spread their
effort around more successfully, and it seemed to help in the third period
with fresher legs and more drive.  BC got a surprisingly good game from
their 4th line, with the goal and some sharp work by D'Arpino and Hennes
on the forecheck and defense.

It is hard to know what to take from this game.  The defenses did a good
job, though if the ref had called a few of the borderline holds and trips
and hooks there may have been power plays that would have opened up the
offenses.  One of the best things for BC is that Tim Kelleher had a strong
game, very focused and controlled, with less flopping and flailing in net,
and it bodes well for the rest of the year if he can keep that up.  Harvard
was frustrated by the inability to score, as expected, after having an
offensive explosion (both ways) in their game with BU just a few days
before.  It is obvious, though, that Harvard will go as far as the top
lines will take them, as they haven't shown a lot of depth so far.  Their
defense did play well, though, and Crothers played very well after coming
back from illness (with one lone mistake that ended up costing them the
win.)  We may see other teams try to slow down the Eagles as Harvard did
this game, though you have to be able to skate with BC to be able to do
that, at least over the whole 60 minutes.

BC is now 7-4-1, with a 5 game win streak (mostly at home), and has shown
good resilience and opportunism.  The defense and goaltending has certainly
improved, if still thin at D, and they now face one of their toughest
games, playing next Friday at UNH.  They follow that with a home game on
Saturday with UMass-Amherst, and a difficult road trip the week after that
up at Maine.  They would be happy with a 2-2 split in that set, and ecstatic
if they can get points at UNH.  Harvard gets to return to ECAC play next
week, hosting Clarkson and St. Lawrence in a traditionally-tough weekend.
If the Crimson can put these last 2 losses to Hockey East teams behind them,
they still can step to the lead in the ECAC with strong performances against
their North Country foes.

Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A content BC fan. GO EAGLES!