(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, January 11, 2002 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
UML 3, BC 2 HOCKEY EAST GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UMASS-LOWELL (HE) 1 2 0 - 3 (15-3-1 overall, 7-2-1 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 0 1 - 2 (12-7-2 overall, 5-5-1 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UML 10- 9- 4 -- 23 2 - 4 1 - 3
BC 11- 7- 3 -- 21 3 - 6 0 - 2
UML- Cam McCormick 10- 7- 2 - 19 saves/2 goals (60:00)
BC - Tim Kelleher 9- 7- 4 - 20 saves/3 goals (58:58)
Referee - John Gravellese
Assistants - Tom Fyrer, Tom Carpenito
Attendance - 7132
1st Period
UML1 Steve Slonina 5 (Anders Strome, Kevin Kotyluk) 11:21
BC1 Dave Spina 6 (J.D. Forrest, Andrew Alberts) 19:41
Penalties
None
2nd Period
UML2 Darryl Green 3 (Yorick Treille, Josh Allison) 4:43
UML3 Dan Fontas 2 (Josh Reed, Darryl Green) 14:42 GWG
Penalties
UML - Slonina (interference) 8:50
BC - Voce (hitting from behind) 13:41
3rd Period
BC2 Brent Peterson 2 (Jeff Giuliano, A.J. Walker) 15:40
BC - Timeout 18:21
UML - Timeout 19:31
Penalties
BC - Walker (interference) 7:50
BC - Peterson (interference) 10:15
UML - Kotyluk (inteference) 11:21
3 Stars - 1. UML - Darryl Green (1G, 1A)
2. BC - J.D. Forrest (1A)
3. UML - Dan Fontas (1G)
University of Massachusetts - Lowell
F MARK CONCANNON, DAN FONTAS, YORICK TREILLE
Kevin Kotyluk, Anders Strome, Tom Rouleau
Peter Hay, Jerramie Domish, Niklas Storm
Geoff Schomogyi, Ken Farrell, Steve Slonina
D BAPTISTE AMAR, CHRIS GUSTAVSON
Josh Allison, Darryl Green
Peter Tormey, Josh Reed
G CAM MCCORMICK, Jimi St. John
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, ALES DOLINAR, RYAN MURPHY
Jeff Giuliano, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Ned Havern, Ty Hennes, Justin Dziama
Ben McManama, , A.J. Walker
D ANTHONY D'ARPINO, J.D. FORREST
Andrew Alberts, Bill Cass
Taylor Leahy, Brett Peterson
G TIM KELLEHER, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
--------
UMass-Lowell continued their strong play of this year with a hard-fought
3-2 win over Boston College at BC Friday night. It was a physical contest
but with few penalties. Each team had chances and hit posts in addition to
the goals, but keepers Cam McCormick and Tim Kelleher both played well.
Each team was missing key players due to injuries or other absence, though
it probably had more effect on BC with a short roster to start with; BC
dressed only 17 skaters and essentially played only 3 lines.
The first period started with some big hits and few shots, setting the tone
for the night. BC got the first real opportunity with a breakaway pass to
Dave Spina. He tried numerous head fakes and then stuffed it at the left
post, but McCormick didn't bite on the fakes and made the save. UML had
their early shots off screens that were either just wide or tipped off the
post, and BC had a flurry that resulted in an open net but a weak shot
sailed wide. Kelleher made a big stop in close on Kevin Kotyluk after a
BC turnover in their zone. (This was a problem for BC all night, with
Lowell's forwards blocking clearing attempts and intercepting weak defensive
zone passes.) Lowell finally opened the scoring when they kept the puck in
the zone at the left point, then passed to an open right wing where Anders
Strome had 2 quick chances. Kelleher made the saves but was out of position
at that point when the rebound bounced free into the slot, and Steve Slonina
swooped in to push it into the open net before the BC defenders could clear
it. McCormick held the lead when he blocked a Tony Voce breakaway stuff
attempt and thwarted the point-blank rebound as well. BC had some forecheck
pressure as they tried to mount a comeback late in the period; another Voce
drive deep behind the net and hard work to get free of the defense led to
a centering pass into the crease that deflected off a defenseman and almost
squirted between the goalie's legs. Lowell bottled up BC after that with
interceptions and their own forecheck and it looked like they would hold
the lead to the break, but a late dump into the UML zone led to the BC
score. Dave Spina followed the Lowell player into the zone and picked up
the defender's stick with his own, stealing the puck and going in on
McCormick all alone. He made a quick move from left-to-right and slid the
puck 5-hole to even the score as McCormick was sliding for the block.
The second period opened with BC pressing hard and carrying more of the
play. Giuliano had a tip of a point shot that missed and another screened
shot went just wide, then Ty Hennes fired a hard shot that McCormick had
to stop. After that, though, Lowell got the lead back following great work
down low by Yorick Treille. An attempted clearance by the BC defense was
barely stopped at the right point by Josh Allison, and he fired a long shot
at the net. It went wide right but bounced off the back boards to the left
side of the crease, and Darryl Green was free to collect it, pull it back,
and lift a shot past Kelleher for the score. BC fought back with a 3-on-2
rush shortly after, and Dolinar missed an open right side on a rebound
attempt (bothered by a defenseman, then he was drilled into the boards and
limped off. This happened to several BC players on the night, who got
banged up during play, losing some shifts.) Another chance came when Spina
held the puck at the blue line, then fed a nice soft pass to Giuliano at
the right circle -- his 1-timer smacked the crossbar and ricocheted out.
Lowell picked up their play at this point and had a 3-on-2 break but lost
the puck and didn't get a shot, then took the game's first penalty by
running into the goaltender. BC didn't get many chances on the power play,
and then Lowell continued to pressure after that. A hard angle shot almost
scored when it dipped under Kelleher's arm and deflected through the crease,
and BC took a penalty in front to prevent a shot in close. UML hasn't had
the strongest power play this year, but midway through this one a BC
defender lost his stick and it was essentially a 5-on-3 opportunity. Dan
Fontas was able to close into the right circle and fire a sharp wrist shot
through a screen and into the net at the right post. (It squirted right
back out but was clearly a score and immediately indicated.) With a 2-goal
lead and a tough defense and goaltender, Lowell went into a defensive mode
from this point forward. They almost scored again after a BC giveaway, but
Kelleher made the save and the BC defense cleared the rebound. McCormick
made one late save after a shot from the left boards almost fooled him, and
UML carried the lead into the third period.
The third frame was very much a defensive effort by Lowell, with BC trying
to break free and come back. Shots were either blocked by the D or going
wide early in the period, and Voce was wide on a backhand attempt after
a steal in the UML zone. BC then took 2 penalties to limit their ability
to come back, killing the first then taking the 2nd almost immediately
after that. (Brett Peterson, who did not have a strong game along with the
rest of the BC defensive corps.) BC had the best chance on a shorthanded
rush, then got a bit of a make-up call when Lowell was called for knocking
Voce down in his defensive zone. Play was rather tentative after that,
with Lowell content to tie things up through neutral ice and keep BC from
getting shots. It didn't look like anything would change, when Peterson
made a rush up through center ice and drove into the zone on the left side.
He was marked by a defender but managed to fire a hard wrist shot from the
left circle that found its way past McCormick and just inside the right
post to get BC within one. Given the way play had gone, and McCormick's
strong play, it was a surprising goal for the defenseman. But it opened
play up for BC, who now had energy to fight for the equalizer. BC forced
the tempo, with Voce driving to the net and Peterson whistling an outside
shot just wide through a screen. Kotyluk missed the net on a nice setup on
a Lowell counterattack, and Kelleher was forced to make an acrobatic save
sprawling back across the net on a later scramble. BC kept pressuring, and
Lowell kept blocking passes and dumping the puck out. Kelleher finally
went to the bench with over a minute left, and Lowell forced the puck deep
into the BC zone. Giuliano came up ice flying and maneuvered into the
UML zone with speed only to have his shot thwarted by a last-second sweep
check by Fontas. Lowell missed the empty net on a late steal in the BC
zone, and kept BC from getting a last-second shot to seal the win.
Lowell deserved this win, able to frustrate BC's attempts to clear the
puck and get their offense in gear, limiting the Eagles to 21 shots on goal,
only 4 in the third period. The River Hawks are a bigger, stronger team
than BC, and can skate well enough to slow down what is normally a fast BC
squad, especially on offense. Lowell's depth also came into play, with
Laurent Meunier out with injury and Ed McGrane missing the series due to
a death in the family. They were still able to skate 4 lines and had
plenty of experienced players who could overcome those losses. Jerramie
Domish was back from injury, and probably wasn't his normal speed, but
on the whole the River Hawks continued to show why they have been so
successful this season.
The Eagles finally were hit by the injury bug to a point where it affected
their ability to compete, and against an opponent that was hard to handle
in any case. Ben Eaves and John Adams are out for several weeks due to
broken bones, Matti Kaltiainen is out with a groin injury in net, several
players are playing hurt and less than 100% (Bill Cass and Dolinar have
been banged up), and Joe Schuman left the team several weeks ago. The net
result is that the offensive lines were scrambled (with the exception of
the 2nd line) and there really was no fourth line at all, as walk-on Ben
McManama gets very few shifts. With the defense weakened and not playing
their best this evening, it limited BC's chances. That said, Lowell took
BC out of their game with their physical play and defensive efforts. The
River Hawks have now won both games at BC this year, guaranteeing a series
win, and are getting some revenge for the last 4 years when BC had
dominated Lowell.
Coach MacDonald has Lowell playing well, and getting strong efforts from
his whole lineup, something that hasn't always been the case for them in
the past. They are big, fast, strong, and aggressive in their play; most
of all, they play with confidence, knowing they can compete. With good
goaltending behind them, they are in every game, and get scoring from the
whole lineup. There is enough skill to get points, and it has all come
together this year. They are definitely the most improved team in the
conference, and quite likely the surprise of the whole country. Given the
way they have played, it seems unlikely they will have any collapse, even
when their 3 French players leave for the Olympics. I expect Lowell to
finish high in the league this year, with a definite shot at post-season
success.
BC can take some positives from this game. They worked hard to come back,
and were able to be in a position to tie the game late. With some more
experienced forwards, or some puck luck, they could have won this one.
Given the young lineup, and the depleted state due to injuries, that is a
positive thing. That said, they need to get better play from their
defensemen, not so much as defenders, but in getting the puck out
of the zone and supporting the offense. Against a team like Lowell, who
works hard at bottling them up with forecheck and clogging passing lanes,
better puck movement is a necessity. That is one area where the loss of
Eaves hurts most, as he makes the BC offense much more dangerous on the
breakout with his vision and passing ability.
These 2 teams play again Saturday night at Lowell's Tsongas Arena. Given
the way the first two games have gone this season, and BC's injury woes,
it seems unlikely that BC will be able to get any points from Lowell. But
that's why they play the games. With Kaltiainen out, Kelleher should get
the start again for the Eagles. I would think that St. John might get a
game against BC in goal, giving McCormick a rest, but we will see. The
Hockey East race is heating up as we enter 2002, and it should be fun.
Right now UNH and Lowell look to be the top teams, with a lot of battles
behind them for the next 4 or 5 positions. BU, Maine, BC, Providence, and
Northeastern all will have their chances, and Merrimack and UMass may have
to be spoilers for the rest.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A content BC fan. GO EAGLES!
|
