I'm sending this from a new address, as I can't get normal access via
my Internet provider. If all goes well it will arrive intact and
readable. :-))
Friday, March 9, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 1, MC 0 HOCKEY EAST PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND, GAME 1
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MERRIMACK COLLEGE (HE) 0 0 0 - 0 (14-19-4 overall, 7-14-3 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 1 0 - 1 (27-8-2 overall, 17-5-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
MC 9- 7- 7 -- 23 6 - 12 0 - 1
BC 7-12-13 -- 32 3 - 6 0 - 4
MC - Tom Welby 7-11-13 - 31 saves/1 goals (59:00)
BC - Scott Clemmensen 9- 7- 7 - 23 saves/0 goals (60:00)
Saturday, March 10, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 5, MC 1 HOCKEY EAST PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND, GAME 2
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MERRIMACK COLLEGE (HE) 0 1 0 - 1 (14-20-4 overall, 7-14-3 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 0 4 - 5 (28-8-2 overall, 17-5-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
MC 9- 9- 8 -- 26 8 - 16 0 - 4
BC 16-16-16 -- 48 6 - 12 0 - 6
MC - Joe Exter 15-16-12 - 43 saves/5 goals (60:00)
BC - Scott Clemmensen 9- 8- 8 - 25 saves/1 goal (60:00)
COMMENTS
---------
Boston College swept their first round matchup with Merrimack in two close
games, with the Warriors hanging tough defensively behind strong goaltending
and hard work in their own zone. Alas, they couldn't overcome two factors:
fluke bounces to give BC 2 open shots for the gamewinning goals, and the
offensive ineptitude that has been their bane all season. The Eagles worked
hard, getting lots of shots but few scores until late in game 2, and seeing
their power play shut down by hard work by a inspired Merrimack penalty
kill.
Freshman Tony Voce ended up getting the 2 gamewinning goals, capitalizing on
wide-open shots in the slot after deflections gave him easy setups.
Game One
Most people expected this to be a difficult series, both because Merrimack
plays hard and the nature of playoff hockey. BC's depth and offensive
firepower were expected to be the difference. Game one certainly lived up
to the image, with BC having to scrap for every offensive opportunity.
There
were relatively few penalties and power plays as the referees "let them
play"
in the contest. The Eagles had most of the flow in the first period, but
Merrimack did a good job of disrupting shots in the zone or forcing the
shots
to go wide; in fact, MC had more shots on goal in the period than BC. Few
of the shots were terribly threatening and the goalies did a good job
covering
the net. BC had 2 power plays and had possession but was not able to turn
that into effective scoring opportunities. No score after one.
The second period started with quick chances for both teams, with Voce
missing
a shot and then unable to reach a pass thru the slot. The puck was
corralled
by BC and sent back to the left point, where Brooks Orpik sent a shot toward
the crease. The puck was deflected off a Merrimack player and slid directly
through the center of the zone to Voce standing unmarked at the edge of the
right circle. He capitalized on his good fortune by 1-timing an easy shot
into the open right side of the net for what turned out to be the only goal
of the game at 1:16. Things were a bit more wide open in the rest of the
period sparked by some power play opportunities, with both teams getting
good shots (but the best chances usually resulted in a slap shot whistling
wide of the net.) BC's Eaves and Hughes had close shots, and Merrimack's
Mongeau and Kiley fired wide. J.D. Forrest made a nice play to block a
shot from the slot (on Aquino?) The Warriors had their best chance of the
game when Mongeau picked up a loose puck off a faceoff, skated in and sent
a shot ringing off the left post. It ricocheted off Clemmensen and fell
beneath him, and he managed to trap it in his pads and stay out of the net
on the ensuing crash for the rebound. Play continued up-and-down but no
more dangerous shots occurred.
Period three was dominated by the Eagles, and turned into the Tom Welby
show, as he made some great saves to keep the score 1-0. Early on, Krys
Kolanos received the puck all alone in front of the crease and over-handled
the puck waiting for a clean opening, and ended up getting no shot at all.
(Kolanos did a lot of tentative stickhandling in the game; it wasn't clear
if he was not healthy or just having a bad night.) Kolanos did make a great
move a few minutes later to get a breakaway chance, and Welby quickly closed
the pads to prevent a 5-hole wrister from scoring. Merrimack had another
flurry following a BC turnover but could not poke it into the net on several
rebound chances. BC freed Ales Dolinar on a long break pass for another
rush alone on Welby, and a sprawling pad save was the result! BC had more
shots in a sequence, with Gionta, Kobasew, and Voce stoned, then Lephart
charged on another breakaway to be denied by a glove save. Gionta dived
for a tip in front on a BC rush but Welby held his ground, then got knocked
down by the flying bodies. A little scrum ensued but no calls were made;
Merrimack took a timeout to try to get something going with just over a
minute remaining. There was some pressure from the Warriors in the last
minute with the goalie pulled but nothing threatened greatly and Clemmensen
claimed his 13th career shutout.
This wasn't the greatest game to watch if offensive fireworks is your reason
to be at a hockey game, and both teams struggled with control at times. I
tend to think it was defensive intensity that led to some of that, and I
would characterize the game as "playoff hockey". BC probably should have
won by 2 or 3 goals, but Welby did a good job to only allow the one "cheap"
goal that beat him. That said, BC's defense was able to limit Merrimack to
few good offensive opportunities, and Clemmensen was solid also on the
occasional flurry. The better team won, but it was tight all the way.
Game Two
The final score of this game was misleading, as it was similar to game one
in its closeness right until the end, when BC got 3 late goals. There were
more shots, and Merrimack goalie Joe Exter also did a fine job keeping his
team in the game. The Warriors were again victimized by a bad bounce and
their own inability to score.
BC came out firing in the first period and was all over the ice in the
first few minutes. However, Clemmensen had to make the first big save when
he stoned Vince Clevenger right in front just a couple minutes into the
game.
Jeff Giuliano range one off the post for the Eagles, and they got the first
goal of the game on a beautiful shorthanded rush by Mike Lephart. He picked
up the puck in the neutral zone, accelerated past the defenseman as he
crossed the blue line, and cruised in on the net. A quick juke to the right
got Exter down, and he shifted quickly to the left and slid a backhander
into
the open goal just as he tripped over the stick of the keeper. (Others have
noted it as "like when Bobby Orr went flying on the Stanley Cup winner", but
that's a little extreme, in my view.) A nice play in any case. Clemmensen
defended the lead right after that on a stuff attempt at the corner, then
BC carried the play for much of the remainder of the period. Two Merrimack
penalties gave BC lots of possession, but the Warriors did a great job
killing the power plays, as they did all weekend. Steve Moon was immense in
clearing the dump-ins before BC could forecheck and gain control, and the
Eagles had few chances on any power play this night.
Boston College had an early "goal" waived in period 2, an obvious no-goal
as Gionta had dislodged the net first. Things were more even the first few
minutes, and it led to the tying goal. A BC clearance was intercepted at
the right point and passed to Nick Parillo all alone in the slot. He had
time to turn around, wait, and pick the right side just inside the post to
make it 1-1. Merrimack gained some energy from that and carried the play
for the next few minutes, with Sikatchev and Gray geing denied. Power plays
were traded after that, with the Warriors getting the best of it. The
crowd was buzzing mid-period when Aquino made a rush up the middle, split
the D, and looked like he had an open corner, only to somehow have
Clemmensen
keep it out of the net. Both teams had good chances after that, with a BC
shot tipped wide, and Clemmensen stopping Parillo on a rebound. Late in
the period a Merrimack screened shot hit the right post and bounced around
the crease before it was covered. More bad bounces for Merrimack there, and
it was indicative of their weekend, where nothing went their way. Exter
made some acrobatic saves of his own late in the going and the score was
tied
going to the third.
BC had most of the possession and flow in the third period, though it took
a while for it to produce results. The Merrimack D was working hard to
keep the BC forwards to the outside and along the boards, and cleared out
on the rebounds to allow Exter to do his job. Merrimack had a great chance
at the 5-minute mark when Parillo was free in the slot, but Clemmensen got
the glove on it to maintain the tie. A short minute later the bad luck hit
the Warriors again when Moon sent a clearing pass up the boards and had it
bounce off the referee into the right circle. Voce picked up the puck,
turned, and hammered an absolute rocket past Exter for the ultimate game-
winner. Exter had no chance on this. The Eagles now had more jump in
their skates and forced some penalties by Merrimack, though strong kills
prevented any scoring. Still, it was taking time off the clock and forcing
Merrimack to take more risks to try to generate some offense. BC took their
own penalty and was forced to work hard to defend the last push by the
Warriors, and had the legs left to do so. Finally, at 17:23, the clinching
third goal came when Gionta slid to the front of the crease and tipped a
Ben Eaves shot low into the net. Merrimack took a timeout to regroup but
it didn't help as Gionta stole the puck at his own blue line just a half-
minute later, came down the right side, and powered a big slap shot past
Exter from above the right circle (it gave him the current national lead
in goal scoring, at 31 for the season.) The tension was out of the arena
at this point, and it surprised everyone when fourth-liner A.J. Walker
drove deep down the left side, fought off Steve Moon (admittedly not trying
very hard), and lifted a backhander that deflected in for the final score
with just 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
The better team won on both of these nights, expected when the number one
seed plays on their home ice. But as I said, these were tough games and
the Eagles had to work hard for both wins, gaining a good bit of "puck luck"
along the way. Merrimack was snakebit at the same time, working hard but
somehow not managing to score goals. But that is a bit of a broken record -
-
they win when they score, and lose when they don't (no surprise there, eh?)
The Warriors have made a season out of that formula, and remain ever-so-
close
to being capable of winning regularly. But they still sit in eighth place
in the league this year, and tantalize their fans with "what-if"? I suppose
you shouldn't be surprised that a team playing 4 freshman defensemen doesn't
win more often, and you can't expect them to carry the offensive firepower
of the more established powers. Chris Serino has done a good job making
this team hard-working and hard-to-play. Now he needs to find a way to get
the players to get them over the hump and be truly competitive for playoff
position and better fortune. With some anticipated recruits next year and
more experience for his gifted players returning, they will be optimistic
for year 2001-2002. They will have to replace some centers and Steve Moon,
though, and it is unclear if they can compete at the get-go next year. A
special note of recognition to Steve Moon, who played 2 great games this
weekend, in my opinion. He will be a real loss for the Warriors, and if he
can remain injury-free and improve his skating somewhat, he may have a shot
at a pro career.
For Boston College, they survive to the Fleet Center. Not the most
impressive
performances, but successful ones. (Good teams find a way to win??) The
defense did well, though Merrimack doesn't bring the most firepower to the
plate. The biggest concerns for the Eagles are the offense, particularly
on the power play, which was not effective this weekend, and the lack of
production from Kolanos and Kobasew. Kolanos looked to be less than his
healthy self, and that is a worry. Kobasew works hard, and is mostly
affected by the dropoff in Kolanos' productivity. Most BC fans were happy
to see New Hampshire fail to advance, knowing how much trouble they had with
UNH this season, and are looking forward to UMass-Lowell, a team they have
absolutely dominated for 4 years. But I expect Friday's matchup with the
River Hawks to be another tough one, like some of the earlier games this
year. They play physical, which can give BC trouble at times, and they
bring more firepower than Merrimack offensively. If the Eagles can score
early and gain the upper hand, I think they will do all right. If they
are in a close one late in the game, it will be up for grabs.
BC is a lock for the NCAA tournament anyway, and is almost surely a lock for
a bye in the East Regional, though it could be #1 or #2. As such, they have
less at stake this weekend than the other teams do, and that may work
against them from a motivation point of view. Then again, the seniors on
this year's team want to sweep the set of goals they set for themselves,
and a Hockey East championship is one of those goals. The seniors did come
back out on the ice at the end of Saturday's game, their last on the BC
home ice, and saluted the remaining fans who were thanking them for their
spectacular four years at the Heights. A nice moment.
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