(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, October 29, 2004 at Kelley Rink, Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 5, UND 3 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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UNIV. OF NORTH DAKOTA (WCHA) 0 1 2 - 3 (4-2-1 overall, 2-1-1 WCHA)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 3 1 1 - 5 (3-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UND 10- 3- 6 -- 19 8 - 16 0 - 6
BC 13- 7- 6 -- 26 6 - 12 2 - 8
UND- Jordan Parise 10- 6- 5 - 21 saves/4 goals (59:18)
BC - Cory Schneider 10- 2- 4 - 16 saves/3 goals (60:00)
Referee - Scott Hansen
Assistants - Jeremy Lovett, Joe Ross
Attendance - 6856
1st Period
BC1 Dan Bertram 3 (Ryan Shannon) 3:44
BC2 Stephen Gionta 1 (Ryan Murphy, Chris Collins) 5:34
BC3 Ned Havern 1 (Patrick Eaves, Brian O'Hanley) PPG 5x3 12:57
Penalties
BC - Pat Gannon (slashing) 5:54
BC - Ryan Murphy (holding the stick) 9:05
UND - (too many men) served by Lee Marvin 11:07
UND - Matt Greene (cross-checking) 11:47
UND - Matt Jones (hit from behind) 13:47
BC - Greg Lauze (holding) 17:40
BC - Chris Collins (hooking) 18:24
2nd Period
BC4 Ryan Shannon 1 (Brian O'Hanley, Patrick Eaves) PPG 5x3 8:03 GWG
UND1 Travis Zajac 4 (unassisted) 15:07
Penalties
UND - Matt Jones (boarding) 4:04
UND - Matt Greene (hit from behind) 6:48
UND - Andy Schneider (roughing - contact to head) 7:30
UND - Kyle Radke (interference) 11:33
UND - Matt Jones (hit from behind) 13:30
BC - Brian Boyle (obstruction-tripping) 14:05
3rd Period
UND2 Chris Porter 1 (Colby Genoway) 1:06
UND3 Chris Porter 2 (Drew Stafford) 12:38
BC5 Dan Bertram 4 (Patrick Eaves) ENG 19:19
Penalties
BC - Patrick Eaves (slashing) 2:16
3 Stars - None selected, CSTV broadcast selected UND Chris Porter and
BC Patrick Eaves as their players of the game for each team.
University of North Dakota:
F BRADY MURRAY, TRAVIS ZAJAC, RYLAN KAIP
Chris Porter, Colby Genoway, Drew Stafford
Rastislav Spirko, Quinn Fylling, James Massen
Lee Marvin, Scott Foyt, Brian Canady
D MATT JONES, MATT GREENE
Andy Schneider, Kyle Radke
Nick Fuher, Matt Smaby
G JORDAN PARISE, Phillippe Lamoureux
Boston College:
F PAT EAVES, RYAN SHANNON, DAN BERTRAM
Chris Collins, Stephen Gionta, Ryan Murphy
Ned Havern, Brian Boyle, David Spina
Joe Rooney, Matt Greene, Pat Gannon
D JOHN ADAMS, PETER HARROLD
Greg Lauze, Mike Brennan
Taylor Leahy, Brian O'Hanley
G CORY SCHNEIDER, Matti Kaltiainen, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
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Boston College jumped to a 4-0 lead over visiting North Dakota Friday at
Chestnut Hill but had to hang on for a 5-3 triumph in a battle of two top
five teams. BC's win wasn't assured until frosh Dan Bertram intercepted a
pass and fired one into the empty net in the final minute, his second goal
of the game. The Sioux showed some grit in fighting back after digging the
deep hole and almost evened the score, but could not get the final goal
needed against a scrambling BC defense. BC saw the return of Peter Harrold
in defense, coming back early from a shoulder injury to help shore up the
blue-liners. UND's Chris Porter had a big third period in scoring two and
hitting the post on another breakaway attempt.
The game was nationally televised by CSTV, and North Dakota had the puck in
the first few minutes, using their size to keep the puck in the BC zone.
But the Eagles soon started using their speed and aggressive forechecking
to carry the play and generate opportunities. Pat Eaves and Ryan Shannon
got the puck off the boards in the North Dakota zone and Shannon's pass
somehow got threw the defenseman's feet to Dan Bertram all alone in front.
With lots of time, he faked a shot, got Jordan Parise to commit and go
down, and slid to the right and roofed it into the vacated net. Less than
two minutes later Steve Gionta led Ryan Murphy into the UND zone with a
pass
to the right wing, and Murphy slid it back to the slot where Gionta quickly
smacked a 1-timer through Parise's 5-hole to make it 2-0, Eagles. BC was
able to kill off 2 penalties and actually had the better chances on the
shorthand situation as North Dakota was back on their heels a bit. The
pressure forced UND to take a too many men penalty, then the Sioux lost a
bit of composure, starting to take silly penalties along the boards. A
Matt Greene cross-check gave the Eagles a 5-on-3 chance, and Ned Havern
was able to spin to the slot from the low right side and snipe a shot
through the defenseman and inside the far post. BC almost scored twice
more
on another power play and dominated the rest of the period.
North Dakota continued to take bad penalties to open play in the second
period and that prevented them from mounting any comeback. The hits were
all along the boards either without the puck or hitting the players from
behind; just not smart play. They would hold the fort for a while but
finally Ryan Shannon took advantage of another 2-man advantage, almost
duplicating Havern's goal by coming to the net from the low side and
sliding
a shot to the far side past Parise. (Parise seemed off-balance on this
one,
trying to hold the post but then sort of falling to the middle and not
covering down low.) The Sioux were a bit frustrated and tried to play
physical but this strategy didn't work with the calls being made by the
referee. Late into the second period it didn't seem that they would get
anything going in the game at all, but with the ice getting a bit choppy,
a fortunate break came to UND. BC defenseman Harrold tripped in his own
zone carrying the puck and it squirted loose for a Travis Zajac breakaway
on net. He held the puck, moved right-to-left, and lifted a backhand shot
past Cory Schneider for the first North Dakota score. That gave them some
energy and excitement, and in the final minute of the period UND had 2
great chances that were put wide of the goal. They had to feel better
about themselves and were hoping they could duplicate the third-period
comeback they had back in 2003 against BC.
It didn't take long for the Sioux to continue their good fortune in the
final period. A soft clearance attempt by BC was intercepted by Colby
Genoway and he flipped a blind pass to the slot where Porter was camped
all by himself. He popped a high shot near side to make the score 4-2
and give all the momentum to North Dakota. A big hit against Patrick
Eaves followed, and Eaves was shaken a bit (he did not play well and seemed
tired/hurt the rest of the period.) Perhaps in retaliation, Eaves took
a slashing penalty and that just continued the UND onslaught. They didn't
score on the power play but were outskating and outhustling BC for the
first time all night. A steal and quick lead pass up the middle sent
Porter in on a clean break, and his shot went past the goalie but hit the
left post and careened through the crease behind the netminder and out
the other side. Lots of folks in the arena thought it was in but play
continued without any stoppage. BC was trying to create some chances of
their own but their speed advantage was not working at this point and
they were back on their heels, tentative and not as confident as earlier
in the game. The Eagles did get a glorious opportunity to stop the slide
when Dave Spina collected a loose puck in a tangle at the blue line and
sailed in on Parise on a break. He tried to make a little slip move and
take it to the backhand (and the TV replay showed he did a good job of it)
but Parise sprawled to the side and made a huge save. Just after that
North Dakota got a 2-on-2 break chance and BC's defensemen backed up and
let them move to the slot. Stafford slid a low pass/shot to the left side
and Porter was their to tip it inside the left post to bring UND within
one.
Play was pretty physical at this point, with lots of tension in the game
and North Dakota throwing their weight around finishing checks. The ref
was no longer calling things (but UND was also not taking stupid penalties
from behind, either.) Both teams had some chances after that, with
Bertram making a steal and getting a weak shot from the slot, and North
Dakota throwing the puck at Schneider through screens in front, but neither
team could get one in. Parise was pulled with over a minute remaining but
the BC defense worked hard to clear the puck a couple of times. With
the Sioux running out of time they tried to send a cross-ice pass to the
neutral zone and Bertram picked it off and skated past the defense into
the UND zone. He had an easy shot into the empty net to finish off the
game and send the home crowd away happy (and relieved.)
It ended up being a tough, tense game with lots of excitement in the third
period, though it didn't start that way. Against a lesser team the BC
early success might have deflated the opponent, but North Dakota is a
strong
team and (helped by some good bounces) got themselves back in the game.
With UND playing 2 games this weekend it seemed they came out a bit
defensive and tentative, and BC pushed them back with their aggressive
style. As the game wore on, things evened out, and the ice seemed to get
rough with the warm temperature in the arena. Pucks were bouncing and
passes were sloppy in the second period, and the first UND goal resulted
from one of those odd plays. Without that slip by Harrold, it might have
been 4-0 entering the third and not ended up close at all. But things
went the other way, and the crowd and TV audience got a pretty lively game
to watch at the end. BC was able to fight through it enough, and had built
a good lead to be able to make it to a win. North Dakota left it too late,
and didn't play smart until they had dug a big hole. (It was noticeable,
and commented on by the TV broadcasters, that the Sioux started having
better success when they stopped taking the bad penalties and played
5-on-5.)
Both teams were missing some key personnel, but both have plenty of talent
and it was fun to watch. Chris Porter had a good game, and a great third
period for North Dakota, deservedly gaining the CSTV vote for player of
the game for his team. He was unlucky not the get the hat trick when his
breakaway hit the post and slid all the way across the front of the net
without going in. BC had the game in control, mostly, when some bad breaks
and turnovers cost them. If they better protect the puck, maybe they
end up having a quiet third period and the fans wouldn't have to take so
many antacids. The top line of Shannon, Eaves, and Bertram did the job
they are supposed to do, with 3 of the 5 goals and showing lots of skill
and speed. The BC defense misses Andrew Alberts, the All-American, and
Peter Harrold is still not 100%, so the hard work by John Adams and Greg
Lauze throughout this game was very important for the win. Neither of the
two goalies could really be faulted for the goals they gave up. Overall
both Parise and Schneider played adequately. It won't be a surprise if
both these teams fight for their league crowns and show up in the NCAA
tourney in March.
Boston College continues their 1-game-a-week early pace with a visit to
Maine next weekend for a single league encounter, and North Dakota plays
Saturday night a few miles down the road at Northeastern.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
An optimistic BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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