(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Saturday, December 1, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, UMA 0 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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UMASS-AMHERST (HE) 0 0 0 - 0 (6-8-0 overall, 2-5-0 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 3 0 1 - 4 (8-5-1 overall, 4-3-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UMA 9- 6- 5 -- 20 4 - 8 0 - 6
BC 10-11-11 -- 32 6 - 12 1 - 4
UMA- Mike Johnson 7-11-10 - 28 saves/4 goals (60:00)
BC - Tim Kelleher 9- 6- 5 - 20 saves/0 goals (60:00)
Referee - Tim Benedetto
Assistants - Tom Quinn, Steve Arnold
Attendance - 6376
1st Period
BC1 Tony Voce 10 (Dave Spina, Ben Eaves) PPG 11:40 GWG
BC2 Dave Spina 4 (Ryan Shannon) 16:42
BC3 Tony Voce 11 (Ben Eaves, A.J. Walker) 17:12
Penalties
BC - Peterson (holding) 4:57
UMA - Kuiper (high-sticking) 11:12
2nd Period
No Scoring
Penalties
UMA - Kuiper (holding) 7:48
BC - Dziama (obstruction-interference) 10:17
UMA - Soderholm (slashing) 11:22
BC - Alberts (tripping) 15:51
BC - Cass (obstruction-interference) 18:32
UMA - Miljko (hooking) 20:00
3rd Period
BC4 A.J. Walker 4 (Ben Eaves, Tony Voce) 13:06
Penalties
BC - Walker (tripping) 4:25
BC - Peterson (obstruction-hooking) 9:40
3 Stars - 1. BC - Tony Voce (2G, 1A)
2. BC - Ben Eaves (3A)
3. BC - Tim Kelleher (20 saves, 0 goals)
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
F JIMMY CALLAHAN, DARCY KING, MARTIN MILJKO
Craig MacDonald, Greg Mauldin, Tim Turner
Mike Warner, Tim Vitek, Brad Nizwantowski
Peter Trovato, Scott Horvath, Matt Walsh
D SAMULI JALKANEN, KELLY SICKAVISH
Toni Soderholm, Nick Kuiper
Sean Regan, Jeff Lang
G MIKE JOHNSON, Tim Warner
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 TIM KELLEHER, Matti Kaltiainen, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
--------
Boston College got back on the winning track Saturday night with a solid
4-0 win at home versus UMass-Amherst. Tim Kelleher got his second shutout
in 2 weeks and the BC top line of Voce, Eaves, and Walker caused trouble for
the Minutemen all night, scoring 3 of the 4 Eagle goals. The BC defense did
the job by limiting the number of shots that reached the net, clearing any
rebounds, and forcing the puck to the outside. UMass was unable to turn any
of their possession into top opportunities and dropped their 4th straight
Hockey East contest. They scored only 1 goal on the weekend, dropping a
6-1 game at home Friday to Maine. BC was able to rebound from a tough 5-4
loss Friday at New Hampshire, holding off UMass pressure in the first period
until they could dent the net 3 times, and the Eagles controlled the rest
of the game.
Both teams had a hard time getting started in the first period, though
UMA got the best of the early opportunities with an energetic forecheck.
An early power play resulted from their pressure but they got few shots and
Kelleher kept them at bay. BC got some pressure of their own after killing
the penalty when Voce, Eaves, and Walker all worked to keep the puck deep in
the Minuteman zone, but few shots resulted. Kelleher then made one of his
few difficult saves of the night with a big leg save on a shot from the
slot,
and another one on a Nizwantowski effort. Just past the midway point Voce
made a hard rush through the slot but was ridden off the play, and then BC
got a power play of their own on a high-sticking call behind the net. The
Eagles moved the puck back and forth on the left side in the zone, finally
leading to a hard pass/shot across the crease from Dave Spina from low on
the left side. The puck squirted through Johnson's effort to block it, and
slid softly to the right post, where Voce was camped and swatted into the
open net.
BC continued to crank up the effort, taking the play away from UMass. Ryan
Murphy was blocked on a stuff attempt, and action was up and down in the
neutral zone or to the outside. UMass had their chances (outattempting BC
for the period), but they were often blocked the BC defense or sailed wide
of the net, a problem they had all night. A long break pass from deep in
the UMA zone missed its target for an icing, and on the ensuing faceoff
Ryan Shannon was able to occupy 2 UMass players while fighting for the drop.
Dave Spina picked up the loose puck at the faceoff dot and quickly moved to
the slot unmarked, while the BC forwards drove to the net. With a partial
screen in front, he lifted a backhand shot high to the left side for the
second goal. BC made it 3-0 just 30 seconds later, after a UMass turnover.
Eaves got the puck free at the boards outside the right circle, and Voce
drove alone down the slot yelling for the puck. The pass was made right to
the front of the net as Voce stretched forward, and he poked the puck under
Johnson for his second goal of the night. BC was able to disrupt passing
lanes and keep remaining shots to the outside, and went to the locker room
with the 3 goal lead.
The second frame featured plenty of power plays, resulting in a lot of
action and scrambling defenses, but both teams were able to do enough to
keep the puck out of the net. BC had some scoring chances on their man
advantages, especially from Voce and Eaves, but Johnson made the saves.
UMass maintained good pressure on a subsequent power play, with their best
chances of the night, but BC's defense deflected lots of passes and shots
to keep the puck away from the net. Tim Turner missed a tip with an open
net at one point, and J.D. Forrest slid down to block a centering pass on
a 2-on-1. A shot from the outside was deflected by a stick and sailed past
Kelleher's shoulder only to strike the left post and bounce back out. The
Eagles did a good job clearing the puck on a late penalty kill and drew a
call of their own on a lob pass to a breaking Ryan Murphy, who was hauled
down as the period came to an end.
That set up a BC power play early in the third period, with shots from
Dolinar, Giuliano, Shannon, and Forrest all saved. The play fell into the
pattern of BC sitting back with the lead, forcing UMass to come to them and
then disrupting the offensive flow (mostly in the neutral zone.) BC did
take 2 penalties, but in both cases UMass was unable to get much working,
with BC repeatedly clearing the puck and keeping the puck away from
Kelleher's net. (It was telling that Kelleher got the shutout but was only
given the 3rd star of the game award, as he didn't have to make many hard
saves in the game.) BC got the final score with 7 minutes to go on another
setup by Eaves. His rush through the defense to the low slot forced UMass
out of position, and Voce fired a hard shot from the near left circle. The
save was made, but the puck came free in the slot as Johnson was down and
out of the play, and Walker popped it into the vacated net. The Eagles
were content to sit back and play "prevent" defense from then on, and
the Minutemen were unable to get any significant shots despite working hard.
There were some questions how BC would respond after a tough overtime game
at UNH the night before (and similar questions about UMass, who got slammed
by Maine the same night.) The Eagles did fine, though they may have been
more vulnerable to a more accomplished offensive team. UMass skated hard
and worked with a strong forecheck effort, especially in the first period,
but their inability to get the puck to the net proved fatal. They ended
up having more attempts than BC in two of the three periods, but were
frustrated by the number of shots that were wide or blocked by the BC
defense. BC, on the other hand, was more controlled with their offense,
and got their goals all from close range. UMass may also have gotten
fatigued in the third period, where they were dominated by BC, even when
BC was killing penalties. UMass only played 4 defensemen for most of the
game, and I think they were worn down by the end. Sami Jalkanen made more
mistakes than I remember seeing him do in past efforts, and none of them
were able to stay with Voce and Eaves. UMass needs a couple of offensive
snipers who can get the puck in the net, and a couple that can operate in
close quarters. They were able to move the puck in open ice pretty good
but were unable to handle it under pressure and in tight spaces. And
most of all they need more depth, especially on defense. With 2 games
next week against a tough Boston University team, they need to find some
answers to keep from falling too far behind in the Hockey East race.
Boston College once again worked hard for the 60 minutes at home, with a
strong 3rd period. Their top line was able to get pressure down low and
score goals, and the defense was scrappy and played well positionally to
limit the number of shots. Kelleher didn't have to do a lot in net, but
he was solid and controlled, and gave up few rebounds. After a rough start
to the year, Tim now has 2 shutouts in his last 2 starts, and has his
confidence back. There are still weaknesses in the defense, and they would
like more offensive production from the other lines and the defensemen,
but for now they have probably overachieved compared to what was expected
for the first 2 months of the season. BC faces a tough road trip next
week with 2 games at Maine. Last year's team was able to win 4 times
against the Black Bears, but that type of success is highly unlikely this
year.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A content BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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