(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Saturday, March 8, 2003 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 2, MC 1                  HOCKEY EAST QUARTERFINALS GAME 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERRIMACK COLLEGE (HE)      1  0  0 - 1     (12-18-6 overall, 7-13-4 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE)         1  0  1 - 2     (23-9-4 overall, 16-6-2 HE)

       Shots on Goal       Pen - Min    Power Play
MC      7- 4- 7 -- 18        6 - 12       1 - 5
BC     10- 7-12 -- 29        6 - 12       0 - 5

MC - Casey Guenther      9- 7-11 - 27 saves/2 goals (60:00)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen    6- 4- 7 - 17 saves/1 goal  (60:00)

Referee - Tim Benedetto
Assistants - Kevin Redding, Joe Andrews
Attendance - 2513

1st Period
  MC1 Brent Gough 12 (Bryan Schmidt, Matt Johnson)    PPG  7:04
  BC1 Justin Dziama 5 (Anthony D'Arpino, Ty Hennes)        7:25

2nd Period
  No scoring

3rd Period
  BC2 J.D. Forrest 5 (Tony Voce)                          19:41 GWG

3 Stars - BC - J.D. Forrest (1G)
          BC - Matti Kaltiainen (17 saves, 1 goal)
          MC - Casey Guenther (27 saves, 2 goals)

Merrimack College:
F BRENT GOUGH, STEVE CRUSCO, MATT JOHNSON
  Nick Pomponio, Alex Sikatchev, Tim Reidy
  Blake Stewart, Brendon Clark, Ryan Cordeiro
  Shaun Stairs, Dennis Sullivan, David Breen
D ERIC PEDERSEN, BRYAN SCHMIDT
  Nick Cammarata, Tony Johnson
  Rob LaLonde, Brian Boulay
G CASEY GUENTHER, Frank McLaughlin

Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, RYAN MURPHY
  Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, David Spina
  Taylor Leahy, Ty Hennes, Justin Dziama
  Anthony D'Arpino, Ned Havern, A.J. Walker
D ANDREW ALBERTS, J.D. FORREST
  John Adams, Peter Harrold
  Brett Peterson, Ben Lovejoy
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Tim Kelleher, Robbie Miller

COMMENTS
--------
Under an emotional and uncertain atmosphere, Boston College and Merrimack
played their second game of their Hockey East Quarterfinal Saturday night,
with BC winning 2-1 on a last-minute deflected shot from the point by J.D.
Forrest.  With Merrimack captain Joe Exter still in critical condition in
the hospital following his collision with BC's Pat Eaves in Friday's game,
it was not clear how the teams would approach this game.  The league and
both coaches had emphasized the importance of playing hockey and abandoning
any thought of physical retribution (which had marred the end of the first
game after the injury.)  To their credit, both teams played clean hockey
and focused on the game, though it began very tentatively as the players
were unsure how it was going to go.  Casey Guenther, forced into starting
duty as Merrimack's goaltender, played a strong game to almost pull out the
upset, only to be foiled when Forrest's shot flicked off a defender and was
lifted into the top corner of the net to push BC through to the semifinals
at the Fleet Center.  Both teams played with several substitutions due to
misconducts and injuries from game one of the series.

The first period opened with both teams playing very gingerly, not sure how
it was going to be called or what would be the reaction when checks were
applied.  The first 2 minutes were almost like a no-check league in that
players used their sticks but not their bodies to try to win the puck.
Gradually that faded, though, and play started to return to normal. The
first significant offense came on the first power play, after Alex
Sikatchev accidentally got his stick up on a check for a high-sticking
call.  (There was some immediate reaction from the crowd but nothing
untoward on the ice and it was apparent everyone was focused on their best
behavior.)  BC pressed early with Forrest pinching into the slot for a slap
shot that Guenther saved, then another shot from the left side slid through
the crease.  Chris Collins was called for a trip to negate the power play
late.  Tony Voce fired a hard shot wide as the Merrimack power play began
and the Warriors took the puck the other way, with Steve Crusco making a
nice move at the blue line to cut inside the defense.  He took the puck
through the slot from left to right, and fired a backhand that went wide of
the net. But he chased down the rebound and got it to a teammate at the
right side, and the following shot and rebound forced a scramble in front.
Eventually Brent Gough pushed the puck past Kaltiainen and Merrimack had
their first lead of the series.  The Eagles came right back, though, right
off the faceoff, to even the score.  The puck was moved down the left side,
and Anthony D'Arpino fired a slap shot that Guenther could only push out in
front, where Justin Dziama collected it all by himself.  He had time to
settle it and flip it past Guenther for the score.

Things were up and down after that, with both teams starting to play harder
and check harder.  Steve Crusco took a BC turnover and fed a teammate in
the slot only to have Kaltiainen make the save.  (Crusco and linemate
Johnson had strong first periods, skating well and causing lots of
headaches for the BC defense.)  It wasn't obvious at the time, but
apparently Tim Reidy had suffered an injury early in the first period and
sat out the rest of the game for the Warriors.  It didn't seem to affect
them much as they played BC even for most of the first period.  Both teams
had their chances, with Merrimack's Blake Stewart firing one off the right
post and out and BC's Ryan Murphy in on a Ben Eaves feed but unable to get
it past Guenther.  Late power plays for both teams couldn't produce any
scoring but the Warriors were buzzing at the end of the period and they
went to the locker room feeling they were playing well.

The second period opened with BC killing off the remainder of a Merrimack
power play, and that was indicative of how the period would go.  Both teams
played tough defense, with good defensive coverage in front and few
opportunities each way.  Overall BC had more of the possession but fired
some shots wide of the net or had Guenther in position to stop the shots
that made it on goal.  I would mention the best offensive chances if there
were any but shots were few and ineffectual.  Merrimack only had 5 shots
total, 4 on goal for the period.

Immediately on the opening of the third period, it was obvious that the BC
strategy was to put the rubber on net and force Guenther to cough up
rebounds, as they peppered the crease at every opportunity.  Many of the
shots came from the point, with bodies screening in front or crashing the
net for second chances.  To his credit, Guenther held on to many of the
shots or his defense cleared away loose pucks, and it wasn't clear who
would get the go-ahead goal.  Dave Spina had the first good chance early
with a tip that bounced off the goalie and into the crease but was covered
before it went over the line.  Another Spina rush didn't produce a shot but
drew a penalty that cranked up the BC pressure, with Andrew Alberts
hammering 2 slap shots from the point that the goalie smothered.  After the
power play ended Merrimack finally got a little offense of their own, with
Crusco taking a long bank pass for a partial breakaway that Kaltiainen made
a good block on, then both teams had good chances that the goaltenders had
to turn aside.  Each team looked tired at this point, looking for the other
to make a mistake that they could capitalize on.  The Warriors kept the
puck in the zone on a subsequent power play of their own, and almost got
one, but somehow the shots wouldn't go in.  BC countered with more pressure
of their own late in the period, and the tension rose sharply as the clock
ran down.  Matching penalties produced more open ice on a 4-on-4 situation,
and BC pressed forward for the winning score.  After several shots and
saves/near misses, it was beginning to look like overtime was at hand.
Then,
with just 20 seconds left, Tony Voce swept the puck across the top of the
zone to Forrest at the left point.  He quickly fired a shot as a Merrimack
defender came rushing at him, and it deflected slightly off the MC player.
The change in direction and partial screen prevented Guenther from having a
chance to stop the puck as it sailed into the upper netting for the winning
goal.  BC celebrated while Merrimack collapsed in exhaustion and
disbelief.  After a timeout, the puck was dumped into the Merrimack zone
and BC was able to bottle it up to clinch the victory.

It was a classic playoff game under uncertain circumstances, with both
teams rising up and playing hard.  An extended standing ovation for both
teams, but particularly aimed at Merrimack for their gritty effort, was the
response of the fans at the game.  Guenther was widely lauded for the game
he played under tough conditions.  There was also a sense of relief on the
BC side, not wanting to have to go to a third and deciding game.

For Merrimack, it brought their season to an end.  Instead of celebrating a
better showing than expected in Hockey East and hope for the future, they
are waiting to see if Joe Exter will recover.  Until that news is known, I
don't think they can truly feel a conclusion to their year.  All of college
hockey waits with them, and hopes for the best.

For Boston College, they move on to the Fleet Center for a semifinal
matchup with Boston University.  Surprisingly, this is the first time in
Hockey East history that these two have met in a semifinal.  At the moment,
BC is not playing their best hockey (but still not bad) while BU has been
playing well since the Beanpot (as they often do.)  BU finally figured out
how to beat Providence to advance, and has a lot of confidence in a
single-game matchup at the Fleet, which is their familiar scenario from
Beanpot experiences.  It should be a classic matchup between these rivals,
and either could win it.  In the other semifinal, UNH will be the favorite
over UMass.  But the Minutemen are better than in the past, and the
question for them is whether their young lineup can handle the pressure of
the Fleet Center matchup.  I would guess that, as a first-time entrant to
the semis, UMass will have a hard time getting into their game and dealing
with UNH's defensive pressure.  It is nice, though, to see someone new make
it this far in the playoffs.

No matter what happens, let's all wish for clean and healthy hockey the
rest of the way.

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