(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Saturday, November 29, 2003 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, NU 2 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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NORTHEASTERN UNIV. (HE) 2 0 0 - 2 (0-9-2 overall, 0-7-1 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 2 2 - 4 (9-2-3 overall, 5-0-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
NU 4- 6- 3 -- 13 4 - 8 0 - 4
BC 15-14-13 -- 42 4 - 8 0 - 4
NU - Keni Gibson 15-12-11 - 38 saves/4 goals (59:45)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 2- 6- 3 - 11 saves/2 goals (60:00)
Referee - Conrad Hache
Assistants - Bob Bernard, Kevin Redding
Attendance - 5576
1st Period
NU1 Yale Lewis 2 (Jason Guerriero, Joe Santilli) 1:29
NU2 Brian Deeth 1 (Jason Guerriero, Mike Morris) 6:57
Penalties
NU - Jonathan Koop (holding) 7:48
NU - Scott Selig (high-sticking) 16:44
BC - Andrew Alberts (interference) 18:55
2nd Period
BC1 Stephen Gionta 4 (unassisted) 3x5 SHG 15:13
BC2 Chris Collins 6 (Ryan Shannon) 18:51
Penalties
NU - Brian Deeth (delay of game) 6:21
BC - Greg Lauze (interference) 10:43
BC - Ryan Murphy (contact to head - elbowing) 13:13
BC - J.D. Forrest (hooking) 14:13
NU - Bryan Cirullo (tripping) 15:41
3rd Period
BC3 Ryan Shannon 5 (Andrew Alberts) 5:14 GWG
BC4 Tony Voce 9 (Ben Eaves, Ryan Murphy) 11:06
Penalties
None
3 Stars - 1. BC - Ryan Shannon (1G, 1A)
2. BC - J.D. Forrest
3. NU - Jason Guerriero (2A)
Northeastern University:
F JARON HERRIMAN, ERIC ORTLIP, MIKE MORRIS
Yale Lewis, Jason Guerriero, Joe Santilli
Brian Swiniarski, Ray Ortiz, Bryan Esner
Trevor Reschny, Scott Selig, Pat Noonan
D BRYAN CIRULLO, TIM JUDY
Steve Birnstil, Brian Deeth
Chuck Tomes, Jonathan Koop
G KENI GIBSON, Adam Geragosian, Tim Heneroty
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, RYAN MURPHY
Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Stephen Gionta
Joe Rooney, Brian Boyle, Adam Pineault
Ned Havern, Ty Hennes, 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 gave up 2 quick goals to Northeastern in Saturday night's
tilt at BC, but came back to take a 4-2 Hockey East win, sparked by a huge
5-on-3 shorthanded goal by Steve Gionta that changed the game's momentum.
BC's offense eventually wore down the NU defense, outshooting the Huskies
by a wide margin (a common factor in the 6-0-2 November streak for BC.)
Northeastern played a smart first period, moving the puck quickly to avoid
BC forechecking pressure, and a counterattack pass early in the game from
Jason Guerriero sent Yale Lewis away on a 1-on-1 break. He made a nice
move to shift the puck to the middle, through the BC defenseman, and got
around to the inside for a contested shot in close. The puck appeared to
be stopped initially but bounced off something and into the net for the
early NU lead. The Eagles carried the play from that point forward but
were only able to get weak or outside shots that Gibson was able to handle.
On the next decent opportunity for NU they scored again, against the run
of play. Ty Hennes got caught trying to carry the puck too long in the
NU zone and turned it over, leading to a 3-on-2 break the other way. The
first shot by Mike Morris was saved at the left post, but Jason Guerriero
continued behind the net with the loose puck. As he came clear of the
net on the right side, he slid a soft pass to the slot, where Brian Deeth
had dropped down from the point uncovered. He hit an easy first-time shot
into the open left side of the net for a 2-0 lead that quieted the crowd.
3 shots on goal, 2 goals for the Huskies, and everyone was wondering if
somehow this was the night that NU would get their first win of the year.
BC got a power play shortly after this and began the long climb back with
sustained offensive pressure. The Huskies killed the man-advantage fairly
easily, but Ben Eaves and Tony Voce had good shots after that, and Steve
Gionta was sent in clean on a break but shot wide left. A brief flurry
by Northeastern produced their only other shot of the period, then BC
had more chances on another power play. BC was trying to clog the middle
for screens and tips, and had several chances highlighted by a Forrest
shot that dinged off a post, but the period came to a close with NU holding
the 2-0 lead.
Play was back and forth to begin the second period, with both teams getting
some offensive flow though no dangerous shots resulted. Heavy BC pressure
and forechecking eventually drew a delay of game penalty when the net was
knocked off by a defenseman, and BC had chances but couldn't beat Gibson.
BC continued the pressure and had a wide open net at one point but Eaves'
pass to the slot hopped over the stick of the shooter. NU got their legs
back and countered midway in the period, forcing a BC penalty. Matti
Kaltiainen made some good stops on a rebound attempt and the kill was
successful. Northeastern got another power play shortly thereafter and
wasn't too dangerous only to see Forrest take a hook to set up a 5-on-3
advantage for the Huskies. Steve Birnstill had a clean shot that was saved,
then BC was able to clear the puck several times. On the final clearance,
Shannon intercepted the puck and made a soft dump off the far boards as
some NU players went for a change. The remaining defenders lost track of
coverage and Gionta skated hard after the loose puck in the middle of the
NU zone. He poked the puck just out of the reach of a Huskies defender
and came in on goal all alone, made a quick deak to the left to get Gibson
moving, and then swept back to the right and slid it in the net for a big
momentum-changing score. The Eagles started to force play after that, even
on the remaining penalty kill, and got a power play of their own. NU was
able to kill that off, but after icing brought the puck back to the NU zone,
BC struck again. Shannon won the faceoff directly to Chris Collins at
the top edge of the left circle. He quickly teed up a slap shot that was
fired directly inside the left post above Gibson's blocker to tie the game
late in the period. BC had 2 quick shots late in the frame and went to
the locker room with the momentum.
Northeastern played hard in the beginning of the third period, and both
teams traded shots early that did no damage. The Huskies were skating well
and trying to not sit back and rely on their defense, as they hadn't been
slowing BC down a lot late in the second and couldn't afford to absorb
that kind of pressure. They had a possible 3-on-2 rush developing but
Andrew Alberts blocked the puck at the BC blue line and the puck stayed at
center ice. Shannon collected the puck and took it the other way
unmolested, as NU defenders covered the other BC players. With no one
on him and no one to pass to, he sent a wrister toward the net from above
the left circle, and to almost everyone's surprise, it beat Gibson and
put BC up 3-2. As it turned out, that was all BC needed, as their defense
and forechecking bottled up the Huskies from that point forward. NU got
a weak left-side shot by Brian Swiniarski when Forrest was able to scramble
back and ride him off, and Bryan Cirullo got a late outside slap shot that
was no trouble, but that was it for the NU offense. BC, on the other hand,
had a bunch of further opportunities. Tony Voce stole the puck and did a
little spin-a-rama in the circle before firing a backhand wide, but later
that shift he did score on a nice passing play by the Eagles. Voce
touched the puck ahead to linemate Ryan Murphy just inside the blue line,
and he touched it forward under pressure for Eaves to collect. Eaves
skated to the back of the net, then flipped a pass through 2 defenders
to the slot where Voce 1-timed it high past Gibson. More BC shots the
rest of the period ensured that Northeastern was just holding on till the
end, with John Adams firing one off the crossbar but back out, then
Boyle, Harrold, Voce, Collins all had shots or rebound chances that were
saved as the game came to an end.
Even when Northeastern had jumped out to the 2 goal lead, this game still
seemed like BC was in control, carrying the play and getting tons of rubber
to the net (again.) We didn't think that NU could protect a 2-goal lead
and they couldn't, sure enough. Giving up the shorthanded goal (on a
5-on-3, especially) when they had a chance to take a commanding lead just
took the winds out of the NU sails. You can't give up that kind of back-
breaker when you are fighting uphill against a stronger opponent and are
desperate for a first win. BC had more shot attempts in each period than
NU had for the whole game (25, 23, 25 versus 20) and that is not a formula
for success if you are the underdog. Gibson played well but not
spectacularly in goal, and his defense made him work too hard to have a
good shot at the win. The NU forwards have got to do more to take the load
off their defense, or they will have a hard time winning. Part of the
weak NU offense was due to BC's defensive efforts, sure, but you have to
expect more from the Huskies then they have shown so far this season.
BC's forwards are not real large, for the most part, but unlike NU's
contingent, they can produce offensively. Ryan Shannon again had a monster
game for BC, getting number one star easily. His improved strength and
speed this year have made him an awfully hard player to stop; on most teams
he would be the number one center, but with Ben Eaves in that slot for BC
he has to "settle" for second line. Part of the success BC has had in
November is that all 4 lines have been productive, skating well and getting
heavy forechecking pressure on the opposition. The other teams have had to
work so hard to get it out of their zone that the BC defense can step up in
the neutral zone and intercept passes before the counterattacks can begin.
The defense isn't too bad in their own right, with success in breaking the
puck out to the forwards. Usually the Eagles only run into trouble when
they get bottled up in their own zone and can't get clean passing lanes.
Most teams can't provide the skill and speed to enforce that, with the
result that BC has been dominating the offensive flow and shot charts
almost every game.
BC continues to play minus some top-line forwards, but has won nonetheless.
Senior sparkplug Ty Hennes came back this game after a lengthy absence due
to injury, but must have reinjured himself or had other problems because
he missed the third period (Brett Peterson played at forward in his place.)
The Eagles are undefeated in Hockey East play and have 2 games next
weekend, at home Friday versus Boston University and then on the road
Saturday at Providence. Northeastern continues to look for that elusive
first win, and has only non-conference games to get it in December. They
host Vermont (also winless) next Saturday and Princeton the Saturday after
that, so NU could break through in the coming weeks.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer Reporter"
A satisfied BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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