(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, November 21, 2003 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 7, PC 4 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (HE) 0 3 1 - 4 (6-4-2 overall, 2-4-2 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 2 1 4 - 7 (7-2-3 overall, 4-0-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
PC 3-10- 6 -- 19 10 - 20 1 - 5
BC 20-12-16 -- 48 8 - 16 5 - 7
PC - Bobby Goepfert 18-11-12 - 41 saves/7 goals (60:00)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 3- 7- 5 - 15 saves/4 goals (60:00)
Referee - John Gravellese
Assistants - Tom Quinn, Scott Whittemore
Attendance - 7884 (sellout)
1st Period
BC1 Tony Voce 6 (unassisted) PPG 4:40
BC2 Chris Collins 4 (Steve Gionta, Andrew Alberts) PPG 17:08
Penalties
BC - Andrew Alberts (interference) 0:26
PC - Jeff Mason (high-sticking) 3:14
BC - Justin Dziama (boarding) 8:12
PC - Jason Platt (hitting from behind) 10:20
BC - Brett Peterson (hit after whistle) 14:54
PC - Bill McCreary (hit after whistle) 14:54
PC - Jonathan Goodwin (charging) 15:44
2nd Period
PC1 David Carpentier 2 (Mike Robinson) 1:55
BC3 Tony Voce 7 (Ben Eaves, Ryan Shannon) PPG 13:22
PC2 Mike Robinson 1 (Peter Zingoni) 15:36
PC3 Chase Watson 5 (Peter Zingoni) PPG 17:52
Penalties
BC - Brian Boyle (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:37
PC - Nate Meyers (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:37
BC - Andrew Alberts (slashing) 3:53
PC - Peter Zingoni (interference) 5:29
BC - Adam Pineault (interference) 9:14
PC - Stephen Wood (delay of game) 12:17
BC - Tony Voce (contact to head - high-sticking) 16:53
3rd Period
BC4 Brian Boyle 4 (Ben Eaves, Ryan Shannon) PPG 4:44
PC4 Jonathan Goodwin 5 (Dinos Stamoulis, Chris Chaput) 6:48
BC5 Brian Boyle 5 (Adam Pineault, Andrew Alberts) 14:42 GWG
BC Timeout 16:38
BC6 Joe Rooney 2 (J.D. Forrest, Ryan Shannon) 18:35
BC7 Tony Voce 8 (Andrew Alberts) PPG 19:38
Penalties
PC - Eric Lundberg (hit from behind) 3:41
BC - John Adams (contact to head - roughing) 10:10
PC - Nate Meyers (contact to head - roughing) 10:10
PC - Dinos Stamoulis (contact to head - roughing) 19:17
3 Stars - 1. BC - Tony Voce (3G)
2. BC - Ryan Shannon (3A)
3. BC - Brian Boyle (2G)
Providence College:
F Peter Zingoni, Colin McDonald, Nate Meyers
Torry Gajda, Chris Chaput, Jonathan Goodwin
BILL MCCREARY, TONY ZANCANARO, JEFF MASON
Chase Watson, Mike Robinson, David Carpentier
D Luke Irwin, Eric Lundberg
JASON PLATT, JAMES PEMBERTON
Stephen Wood, Dinos Stamoulis
G BOBBY GOEPFERT, David Cacciola, Mike Wolfe
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, RYAN MURPHY
Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Stephen Gionta
Joe Rooney, Brian Boyle, Adam Pineault
Taylor Leahy, Ned Havern, Justin Dziama
D ANDREW ALBERTS, J.D. FORREST
John Adams, Peter Harrold
Greg Lauze, Brett Peterson
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Joe Pearce, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
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Boston College used an offensive onslaught and an ultra-effective power
play to prevail in a hard-fought 7-4 conquest of Providence College
Friday night. PC goalie Bobby Goepfert made 41 saves, including some
very good play, but was victimized by the sheer volume of attack and some
unfortunate deflections. BC got big games by senior Tony Voce (3 power-
play goals), Ryan Shannon (3 assists), and Andrew Alberts (3 assists.)
Freshman Brian Boyle proved the difference maker in the third period,
scoring 2 goals, including a nifty mid-air poach for the game winner.
The Friars got 3 goals in the middle period from their 4th line to keep
this one close after early BC domination, but they eventually ran out of
luck late in the third period to drop the contest.
Providence got the first opportunities to score when BC took a penalty just
26 seconds into the contest. They managed 2 not-very-dangerous shots on
goal, not knowing that that would be their entire shot complement for the
period until the last seconds of the frame. BC got their own power play
not long after, starting the fireworks on the delayed call, with Voce
getting 2 quick shots. 3 shots on the man-advantage had PC back on their
heels, unable to clear the zone during the entire penalty. That proved
their undoing as Ben Eaves got the puck to Voce at the right edge of the
crease, and his quick shot was saved but sitting in front of the open net.
Eric Lundberg tried to sweep the puck away but succeeded only in pushing
the puck into the cage for the 1-0 BC lead. The pressure continued,
with Dziama, Shannon, and Voce all getting close shots. In fact, the
Friars gave up 16 shots from prime position this period (from between the
face-off circles.) Goepfert played very well, moving quickly and keeping
square to shooters; unfortunately, he gave up a good number of prime
rebounds, something that plagued him all game. To be fair, he had a lot
to do to stop the initial shots, so it wasn't all his fault. But it made
it almost impossible for his defense to get a rest all night.
Providence got a brief respite with their own power play, but it was
ineffective. Just as it ended BC went on a 3-on-2 rush, highlighted by
a spinning, blind pass from one circle to the other by Steve Gionta. The
shot was saved, a rebound was blocked, and another rebound forced a save.
PC took a penalty during the flurry, allowing more BC pressure and
possession, though nothing came of that power play. The Eagles were
fortunate to avoid a penalty when the officials missed a blatant swipe
to the head by Voce, though they matched up calls during the resultant
scrum. Another call against the Friars during the 4-on-4 gave the Eagles
a power play late, and it featured another odd goal. After moving
the puck well with the open ice, a high shot from the left circle by
Chris Collins forced a big save by Goepfert. The puck deflected out and
hit the back of none other than Eric Lundberg (again) and bounced back
and over the goalie into the net.
Providence got right back into the game early in the second period when
a deflection at center ice resulted in a 2-on-1 break for the Friars.
Mike Robinson's first shot from the left was saved by Kaltiainen but he
left a fat rebound right in the slot for David Carpentier to sweep easily
into the open right side. A series of penalties for the next 10 minutes
gave both teams power plays, with PC getting their best offense of the
night. BC had chances, too, and both goalies did well to hold out. BC
eventually had a 3-on-2 break that produced heavy pressure and a loose
puck around the crease. During the frenzy, the net was dislodged and
Steve Wood judged to have deliberately knocked it off for another BC
power play. Strong puck possession by the top Eagles unit kept the
pressure on, and Eaves got clear behind the net. He flipped a soft pass
to the front of the net where it deflected off a PC defender and fell to
Voce moving left-to-right. He got it on his backhand and roofed a shot
over the goalie's shoulder for a 3-1 lead. Providence came back and
worked hard, with good forechecking producing a turnover in the left
corner. It was passed back to Robinson in the left circle, he spun and
fired a low shot that Kaltiainen got a piece of but it trickled through
and into the net. Voce then took a bad high-sticking penalty to the
head in retaliation for some perceived slight, and Providence tied the
score with a screened blast from the point. Despite the shot advantage
for BC and the territorial/possession dominance, the Friars went to the
locker room tied and feeling optimistic.
The optimism seem to suffer a bit as the third period opened with BC all
over the Friars again, Ryan Shannon particularly causing havoc that
eventually drew another penalty, with Lundberg completing his difficult
night by knocking Shannon down from behind. The puck was moved around
and several saves made when the puck was pushed out toward the blue line
and 2 PC players hoping to jump on a shorthanded break. Shannon dove
forward and poked the puck clear just in time, keeping it in for Ben
Eaves at the high left circle. With all the attention to the left side,
he fired a pass across to a wide-open Brian Boyle at the top of the
right circle, and he blasted a high 1-timer past Goepfert to give the
Eagles the lead again. Providence didn't quit, though, and a scramble in
the BC zone just 2 minutes later provided their equalizer. As Dinos
Stamoulis fought off a defender to push a soft shot toward goal from
the right edge of the slot, it was deflected by Goodwin and that change
of direction got it by Kaltiainen. Each team played tough for the next
several minutes, with some big hits and close checking keeping the
offenses at bay. It was BC's freshman line that produced the next score,
following a rush by defenseman Andrew Alberts. Alberts carried the puck
around the D into the right circle, where his angled shot went off the
outside of the net with Goepfert covering the post. The puck squirted
behind the net going to the other side, and Goepfert slid across to the
other post for coverage. However, Adam Pineault collected it deep and
flipped a high pass over the goal back to the right side, where Brian
Boyle had dropped in position, and he whacked the puck while it was
still in the air and zipped it into the open right side of the net
before the goalie could react.
With the game on the line Providence threw everything forward to try to
equalize, and they came close on several chances. BC was scrambling to
try to clear the puck and the Friars used their size and strength to
keep the puck in and get shots from the points. Kaltiainen made a big
leg pad save on a screened left point slapper and BC took a timeout to
catch their breath and reorganize. PC got a few more chances after that
but the Eagles finally skated it clear and forechecked hard in the PC
zone. Strong work by Justin Dziama got the puck clear for Shannon, and
he fed it back to the right point. J.D. Forrest sent a high shot toward
the net, and Joe Rooney knocked it down moving right-to-left, then worked
to corral it to the left side. Eventually he was able to settle it and
fire it past a sprawled Goepfert for an insurance goal with only a minute
and a half remaining. BC carried the puck after that and collected a
power play after a frustration penalty by the Friars, and it didn't take
long to collect their 5th power play score of the evening. Alberts fired
a big slap shot wide from the point, then got the puck back in the high
middle as his teammates moved the puck. He passed back to the right where
Voce was camped in the circle, and he 1-timed a beautiful high slapper
for the final score. This completed Voce's power-play hat trick, on a
somewhat rare outside shot for him (he normally collects his scores around
the net, near the crease.)
In some ways this was a strange game, with BC having an enormous shot and
possession advantage (particularly on the power plays), and yet it was
close and tense until the final minutes. Providence had some bad luck
with deflections off the defense resulting in 2 goals, but without some
yeoman work by their goaltender, it could have been much worse. In contrast
to Tuesday's game against Merrimack, where BC also dominated the shots,
Friday's shots were much more high-quality. Geopfert gave up numerous
big rebounds that forced 2nd saves or defensive scrambling to cover, unlike
Merrimack, and it was perhaps a matter of time before the roof fell in.
BC was happy to see their power-play become effective, unlike most of the
season. They have moved the puck very well on the man-advantage, but before
it didn't often result in goals. A 5-for-7 night can change the success
rate in a hurry.
Providence has enough talent to make them competitive in any game, with
good goaltending most of the time. They have some speed, good size, and
can score goals. Their defense, though, is a little slow and had trouble
handling the BC forecheck. This particularly hurt them during the penalty
kills, when they often just conceded possession to BC for long stretches,
a formula that usually results in disaster. In fairness, the BC attack
does present dilemmas -- if you attack aggressively, you can leave your
back line vulnerable, yet if you sit back, they can move the puck very
well and pepper your net with shots.
BC had to be very pleased that they hung tough and dominated the game,
with an extremely effective power play. Ryan Shannon continues to be
one of the best "unknown" players in Hockey East, and he has stepped up his
game this year to new heights. Boyle is showing signs of being a good
goalscorer, and all of the BC lines have been effective in pressuring
the opposition. There are no shifts where the other team can relax, though
the goals are primarily from the top 2 lines. Andrew Alberts is
starting to dominate games in defense, and his offense is picking up as
well. He had 3 assists in this game but did not make one of the game's
3 stars, and he was effective for the first time this year in booming his
slap shot on goal. The rest of the defense worked hard this game, but
there were some weak moments, especially in clearing the puck under
pressure. That hasn't always been the case this year, so it remains to
be seen if this was just a one-time occurrance.
BC remains undefeated in Hockey East but have played fewer league games
than other teams. That continues this week as their next game is Tuesday
night hosting Dartmouth, the only remaining unbeaten team in the country.
Dartmouth came back to defeat BC in last year's matchup, so this should
be a good game. PC had another tough opponent in Saturday's game, losing
a close 3-2 match to Maine. They contest the Mayor's Cup game with
city rival Brown University on Tuesday night.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer Reporter"
A satisfied BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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