(Box from my notes/rink announcements and on-line sources)
Friday, January 25, 2002 at Schneider Arena, Providence, RI
PC 6, BC 4 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 1 3 - 4 (12-11-2 overall, 5-9-1 HE)
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (HE) 3 2 1 - 6 (11-12-3 overall, 6-7-1 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
BC 12-10-13 -- 35 7 - 22 1 - 5
PC 10- 6- 5 -- 21 6 - 12 2 - 5
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 7- 4- 4 - 15 saves/5 goals (59:26)
PC - Nolan Schaefer 12- 9-10 - 31 saves/4 goals (60:00)
Referee - Conrad Hache
Assistants - Hans Baker, Tom Quinn
Attendance - 3036 (sellout)
1st Period
PC1 Devin Rask 9 (Chris Chaput) 1:36
PC2 Peter Fregoe 11 (Devin Rask, Jon DiSalvatore) PPG 3:11
PC3 Peter Fregoe 12 (Jason Platt, Jon DiSalvatore) 4x4 16:30
Penalties
BC - D'Arpino (cross-checking) 2:33
BC - Leahy (holding) 6:16
PC - Chaput (hooking) 9:44
BC - Spina (hit after whistle) 16:09
PC - Omicioli (hit after whistle) 16:09
BC - Voce (holding) 18:13
2nd Period
BC1 Dave Spina 8 (Ryan Shannon, Jeff Giuliano) PPG 3:26
PC4 Peter Zingoni 4 (Eric Lundberg) 10:40
PC5 Drew Omicioli 11 (Regan Kelly, Peter Fregoe) 13:14 GWG
Penalties
PC - Lundberg (hooking) 2:13
PC - Platt (cross-checking) 7:29
BC - Peterson (tripping) 15:27
PC - Wood (holding) 19:22
3rd Period
BC2 A.J. Walker 6 (Jeff Giuliano, Ales Dolinar) 2:18
BC3 Jeff Giuliano 8 (Ales Dolinar, Brett Peterson) 7:22
BC4 Ned Havern 5 (Jeff Giuliano) 15:32
BC Timeout 19:07
PC6 Devin Rask 10 (Jon DiSalvatore, Shawn Weiman) PPG 19:41 ENG
Penalties
PC - Wood (hooking) 13:20
BC - Spina (slashing) 19:07
BC - Voce (misconduct - 10 min.) 19:41
3 Stars - 1. PC - Peter Fregoe (2G, 1A)
2. BC - Jeff Giuliano (1G, 3A)
3. PC - Jon DiSalvatore (3A)
Providence College:
F PETER ZINGONI, PETER FREGOE, JON DISALVATORE
Chris Chaput, Devin Rask, Drew Omicioli
Mike Lucci, Doug Wright, Jonathan Goodwin
Marc Suderman, Mike Robinson, Cody Loughlean
D REGAN KELLY, SHAWN WEIMAN
Jason Platt, Eric Lundberg
Jeff Mason, Stephen Wood
G NOLAN SCHAEFER, David Cacciola, Tom Wurz
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
JEFF GIULIANO, ALES DOLINAR, A.J. WALKER
Ned Havern, Ty Hennes, Justin Dziama
Ben McManama
D BRETT PETERSON, ANTHONY D'ARPINO
Andrew Alberts, Bill Cass
Taylor Leahy
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Tim Kelleher, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
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Providence College moved into sole possession of 6th place in Hockey East
with a 6-4 win Friday over Boston College. BC lost its 5th game in a row
with an even more depleted lineup due to the absence of top defenseman J.D.
Forrest due to the flu; the Eagles skated only 15 skaters for the game.
Initially it was expected that senior Ales Dolinar would also miss the game,
but he did skate and performed well. PC got off to a quick start, opening
a 2-0 lead in the first 3 minutes, and scored some opportunistic goals in
the 2nd period to open a 5-1 lead. BC made a strong comeback in the final
period and closed to 5-4, but a late empty net power play goal for the
Friars sealed the victory.
In their earlier matchup of the season, BC had jumped on Providence early
to set the tone for the game. In this one, the Friars returned the favor.
The first eight minutes of the game were dominated by PC, opening the
scoring
when Chris Chaput retrieved his own wide shot behind the net and circled
out front unmarked. With time, he faked Kaltiainen down and slid the puck
across the crease where Devin Rask stood free to sweep the puck into the
open net. BC took a penalty shortly after that and paid the price. Jon
DiSalvatore got the puck into the zone on the right side and Rask skated
into the right circle. He looked up and saw Peter Fregoe unmarked at the
far post and slid a pass across the front of the crease. The pass was
slightly tipped by a defenseman but got to Fregoe and he had time to lift
a low angle shot over the goalie for a 2-0 lead. Kaltiainen did not have
a strong game in net for BC, especially struggling early, and he barely
deflected a Shawn Weiman point shot by the net. BC missed in close on their
first good chance and had to kill another penalty after that. At that
point PC took a penalty and the power play for BC seemed to get their legs
going, because most of the rest of the period was carried by the Eagles.
Heavy cycling and forecheck pressure by BC led to a doorstop stuff shot
that Schaefer saved without seeing, then Schaefer made a brilliant glove
save on another setup right at the edge of the crease. A late skirmish led
to matching penalties, and Providence took advantage of the extra space.
A BC clearing attempt was kept in at the blue line and a soft shot sent
toward the net. Fregoe was in front creating a screen and reached up to
tip the shot down where it trickled through and into the goal to make it
3-0. PC got some more pressure on a late power play but the period ended
with the three-goal margin.
The second period opened with Boston College having better skating and more
chances, drawing an early penalty. On the power play, the Eagles blocked
a clearout by PC and were able to send Dave Spina in alone down the slot
for a clear break. His low shot scored to get BC back in the game. BC had
more chances on a subsequent power play and were carrying the play most
of the time through the middle of the period. Somewhat against the run of
play Eric Lundberg made a nice long break pass up to the BC blue line to
Peter Zingoni. The lone BC defenseman moved up to tip the pass away but
it bounced up in the air and Zingoni gloved it down into his path for a
breakaway. Kaltiainen went down on a fake and was unable to stop the shot
back to the left side. Providence regained some momentum and got their
5th goal just a couple minutes later. Regan Kelly was able to fire a long
shot from the left point toward a screen of bodies in front of the net,
only to have it deflected by a defender. It bounced directly into the mid-
slot area for Drew Omicioli, and he was able to slap a one-timer into the
open right side of the net, where Kaltiainen was screened and still looking
for the puck to the other side. BC was back on their heels at this point
and was forced to kill another penalty; this time, though, Kaltiainen came
through big and stopped 2 shots in close. The Eagles then went back to
work and got the puck deep into the PC zone, getting several shots on a late
power play, but the period ended with the 5-1 PC lead, and it looked like
a laugher, especially with BC skating such a short bench.
Period three, though, turned out to be dominated by Boston College, working
hard, carrying play, forcing Providence to try to clear the puck over and
over. The Friars were playing defensively with the big lead, though they
didn't really do a very good job of it. The comeback started 2 minutes in
when Giuliano sent Dolinar rushing up the center of the ice. He was able
to split the defense and get a good shot off right in front. Schaefer made
the save but left the rebound in the slot, and A.J. Walker swooped in to
pop the puck high into the right side. BC continued to work hard, with the
3rd liners getting several chances. A steal in neutral ice led to a break
down the left wing, and the puck was fed to the high slot where Giuliano
fired at the goal. Schaefer was moving to block the shot and it went back
to the left side, where it deflected in off his leg. Eagle pressure
continued after that; Bill Cass had a hard slap shot saved and Providence
got a quick counter for one of their few opportunities of the period.
Kaltiainen made the initial save and flashed a glove for a nice save off
a later faceoff. Wood took a penalty for Providence and BC had several
chances on the power play but could not get it by Schaefer. But they kept
possession down low after the man-advantage ended and Giuliano flipped a
quick pass to the left circle, where freshman Ned Havern powered a big
shot through the goalie to make it 5-4 with just 4:28 left in the game.
The final minutes were basically like a BC power play, with the Eagles
forcing shot after shot toward the net and Providence trying to clear and
counterattack. Dolinar had a wrist shot sail just wide of the net and
frosh D-man Andrew Alberts pinched in and hammered a big slap shot that
went just wide of the left post. PC finally iced the puck with 52 seconds
left and set up the final stage of the game. BC took a timeout and pulled
the goalie for the extra man. As the puck was about to be dropped, Dave
Spina slashed at PC's Cody Loughlean at the right edge. (This may have
been a followup to play earlier in the period, when Spina was slashed above
the glove off a faceoff but there was no call.) Loughlean retaliated with
a full two-handed windup slash back at Spina. The referee, however, called
only a slashing penalty on Spina, removing the BC extra skater (with the
goalie pulled.) The entire Eagles team, bench, and fan group were very
unhappy with the call, but BC had to try to come back with only a 5-on-5
situation (and the empty net.) After a brief flurry after the faceoff,
Providence was able to skate it clear and had a 2-on-1 break, where Devin
Rask finished off the empty-net goal for the final score. BC's Tony Voce,
still unhappy with the referee's decision, went by the ref and protested
quite angrily. He got a misconduct penalty for his trouble.
Providence reversed their tendency of the early season, where they often
got behind early and could not catch up. The strong first period start and
opportunistic skill play in the middle of the second period produced 5 goals
that were enough for the win. But they certainly did not skate for 60
minutes, and if the goaltending had been a little weaker or the Eagles not
so shorthanded, I'm not sure they could have gotten this win. My comment
at the time was that if the goalies had been in the opposite team's net,
the result of the game would have been reversed, as Schaefer was good
enough and Kaltiainen only played about half of a good game. Given the
fact that the Eagles only skated 3 lines and were in the midst of a losing
streak, and then PC was staked to a 5-1 lead, you would think a decent
Hockey East team would be able to protect that lead. But the Friars
struggled to hold on, as they have done more than once this year. They are
a most inconsistent and enigmatic team. Lots of talent, lots of ability, a
decent goaltender (when he shows up). But they are still not quite a .500
team, and they will have to improve their effort over the rest of the year
if they want to make waves in the post-season. There were certainly some
high points for the team; Fregoe had a very strong game, and Rask and
DiSalvatore were productive as well. The defense, on the other hand, had
their ups and downs.
BC has now lost 5 in a row, and with the shortened lineup it doesn't look
good for the near future either. But with a better game in net from Matti
K, and maybe a little more puck luck offensively, they would have won this
game. In a lot of ways they played harder than PC and skated better over
the whole game. But there were lapses, especially at the beginning, and
they cannot constantly fall behind and have to try to catch up when they
are skating so few players. The loss of Forrest to the flu for this game
was particularly hard to overcome, as the defense is the weakest part of
the team right now and he plays so many minutes. He also helps spark the
offense from the blue line, something almost none of the other defensemen
are very strong at. If Dolinar had not been able to play it would have
been even more difficult. For someone who had been rumored to not be
suiting up for the game, he played pretty well. Not perhaps at his best,
but working hard as usual. Spina played well, but his stupid slashing at
the end of the game showed a lack of understanding of what it takes to
win these types of games; you cannot be goaded into a situation where your
temper hurts your team. But you expect some occasional bonehead plays from
freshmen, I suppose. Voce, a player with a lot of emotion, lost his cool
at the end and was not doing himself any favors with the misconduct penalty.
The coaching staff can't be happy about that, but with the short bench I
think they will have to keep playing him. His frustration was
understandable,
but again he has to be aware of when and how to protest. I think Voce is
also frustrated by the fact that he has gone pointless in the losing
streak, hounded by opposition players and missing the playmaking abilities
of Ben Eaves, still out with injury. The best player on the ice for BC
was Jeff Giuliano, who has been on a hot streak of late. He now has 12
points in his last 6 games, doing his best to provide senior leadership and
stepping up when the team needs his efforts. The best thing one can say
about the current injury situation is that other players are getting more
ice time then they normally would, and they are learning to play in more
crucial situations. Penalty kills, power plays, faceoffs, etc.; they are
all pressed into service in these special circumstances by necessity, and
they are getting force-fed a Hockey East education. Given the number of
minutes many players are getting, you would think fatigue would make the
third period their worst one. Aside from the one Lowell game a couple of
weeks back, that hasn't been the case. All that said, however, they have
to find a way to win a game, and Sunday's rematch with Providence back in
Boston will be another tough game.
Providence announced the attendance for this game as a sellout, their first
of the year. It was pretty full, though a lot of seats were empty (the
students particularly like to wander the corridor rather than sit and
actually watch the game.) Good support for the home team, something they
don't always get, and there were lots of BC fans there as usual. There
were too many students, though, who were obviously drunk while at the game,
some of whom made a point of coming over to the BC sections and voicing
obscenities at loud volume for a long period. Security has never been a
strong point at PC games, but they are essentially non-existent now. We
looked for someone to come over and try to defuse what could have been
a more ugly situation in a more tense game (things were one-sided at that
point) but couldn't even find security personnel. There are other aspects
to a game at Schneider that make the experience less enjoyable, and to my
mind indicate a lack of attention and concern on the part of the arena
staff. My favorite: I think this was the 12th or 13th game in a row that
I have seen at Schneider where they run out of paper towels in the men's
room, so you can't wash your hands and dry them. Apparently no one ever
bothers to check? I know, it seems petty, but it is the kind of thing
that annoys fans, and just perhaps keeps them away. And Providence has
never been known for attracting packed houses, has it? Oh, well -- I don't
expect it will change, and certainly there are problems at all arenas,
including BC. I read others who have posted about the creative and
enjoyable chants and insults that many schools have had over the years
(though mostly in the guise of complaining that it isn't that way any more.)
I admit I would like to go through a game without being bombarded with
drunken shouts of obscene nature, from any source. To me, that isn't being
a fan, it is being a jerk. But it seems to be the state of the world
now ...
Back to hockey. This was the first time I have seen new HE ref Conrad
Hache,
and I suppose it is a mixed bag. He let some things go, which got fans on
both sides upset, and he called a few odd penalties for relatively light
contact, which got fans more upset. He wasn't heavy-handed with the calls,
but I couldn't say he was particularly one-sided toward one team, just
perhaps a bit inconsistent. Overall I would have given him a C -- until he
didn't call matching slashing penalties for the incident at the end of the
game. Spina may have started the slashing, but to watch Loughlean wind up
and swing like a baseball player going for a home run and whack back, and
then not get called for a matching penalty ... Well, let's say the grade
dropped to a D or D-minus right there. If he had made contact on the
unexposed arm he would have surely broken it, and it wasn't accidental
or incidental. It was as deliberate as can be. That is the kind of thing
that I think you have to call, even if you think the first player "started
it". Whether or not it would have made a difference to the ending of
the game, I don't know. But it was disappointing to see him "appear" to
play favorites with this non-call. To his credit, though, he only gave
Tony Voce a 10-minute misconduct at the end when he was protesting after the
final goal. I'm not sure if the rules permit a more serious penalty, or
even a game DQ for abuse of a referee, but Tony certainly walked the edge
of deserving one there. He may have even slapped the ref's leg with his
stick as he started his protest. In some ways, it would be nice to see
the coaching staff discipline Voce for his outburst with sitting him out
a game, but with the lack of healthy players I would be very surprised if
they even considered doing that.
These two teams meet again Sunday afternoon at 3 PM at BC, in a game that
will be televised on Fox Sports New England as the Hockey East game of the
week.
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