(Box from BC's Hockey East Box Score/notes)
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, UML 1 HOCKEY EAST GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UMASS-LOWELL (HE) 1 0 0 - 1 (3-3-2 overall, 2-2-0 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 2 1 1 - 4 (4-2-1 overall, 1-0-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UML 6- 7- 3 -- 13 8 - 16 0 - 2
BC 10-15-16 -- 41 4 - 8 0 - 5
UML - Chris Davidson 8-14-15 - 37 saves/4 goals (60:00)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 5- 7- 3 - 15 saves/1 goal (60:00)
Referee - Jeff Bunyon
Assistants - Chris Aughe, Scott Whittemore
Attendance - 5859
1st Period
UML1 Jason Tejchma 1 (Mark Pandolfo 2, Justin Coutu 1) 4:39
BC1 Brian Boyle 2 (Andrew Alberts 1, Adam Pineault 2) 8:27
BC2 Chris Collins 1 (Ryan Shannon 3, Greg Lauze 2) 19:57 GWG
2nd Period
BC3 Chris Collins 2 (Ryan Shannon 4, Stephen Gionta 2) 19:13
3rd Period
BC4 Tony Voce 5 (Ben Eaves 5, Patrick Eaves 4) 17:00
3 Stars - 1. BC, Chris Collins (2G)
2. BC, Ryan Shannon (2A)
3. UML, Chris Davidson (37 saves, 4 goals)
COMMENTS
--------
Boston College got back on the winning track, picking up their first Hockey
East win of the year Wednesday night with a 4-1 home win over UMass-Lowell.
BC dominated offensive play, outshooting the River Hawks 41-16. Chris
Davidson played well with 37 saves, but his strong effort could not change
the expected outcome. Chris Collins got the game's number one star with
2 goals and 10 individual shots on goal, as the Shannon-Collins-Gionta line
provided the best offense for the Eagles.
The game started on time, unlike last Friday's contest at Northeastern when
Lowell was late arriving at the game. But the rain and other circumstances
prevented me from arriving until the 8:44 mark, during a long repair delay
to fix broken glass behind the BC goal. At that point, the score was 1-1,
though BC had started to assert its offensive pressure. Things were a bit
slow after action restarted, even on a 4-on-4 stretch. UML had a clear
chance to take the lead after that when a Ben Eaves drop pass was left alone
and a Lowell forward skated in untouched. Matti Kaltiainen was up to
the task, though, blocking the low shot. BC got their own breakaway just
after that, when Ryan Shannon floated down the slot unimpeded. But he lost
the puck as he tried to shift to his backhand and Davidson handled the
weak follow attempt. Both teams had hard slap shot attempts that each
goalie
saved well during the remainder of the period, and it looked like it might
reach the period end with a tie score. In the final few seconds, BC's
Shannon got the puck above the blue line and with deceptive speed worked his
way past a defenseman and into the left circle. He slid a pass back to the
slot where Collins 1-timed it high into the netting with less than 3 seconds
remaining.
The second period began somewhat even but soon the ice seemed to tilt in
BC's favor. They couldn't get many chances on their own power play but had
2 good shots in close while killing their own penalty. After that the
momentum went to the Eagles and they had sustained pressure in the Lowell
zone. Davidson was able to hold the fort, though, and the River Hawks had
a brief revival at the 15 minute mark. BC scrambled but finally cleared
the puck. Things were up-and-down for both teams during a late 4-on-4
situation, then BC struck again late in a period. UML was caught pinching
forward in the neutral zone and the puck squirted toward the Lowell blue
line
for a possible BC 2-on-1 break. As the lone defenseman and a BC player
went for the puck, it hopped over their sticks and fell to Chris Collins
for his streak to the net. His shot weakly floated off his stick and then
was kicked toward the net, where it bounced off someone/something
(Davidson?)
and drifted into the net for a 3-1 Eagles lead. BC almost extended it with
3 seconds left when Brian Boyle worked his way free off the extended goal
line and roofed one just over the crossbar. Lowell's offense at this point
was doing virtually nothing and the sustained pressure was wearing the
River Hawks down, I think.
In the third, BC had early opportunities on a power play, then UML rallied
with their final offensive thrust of the game. It almost paid off when
Kaltiainen was down and out on a rebound, but somehow the shot was poked
into
someone or something and deflected out rather than into the open net. BC
carried almost all of the play from that point forward, helped by a power
play midway in the period. Voce rang one off the post and crossbar on a
1-timed setup on the right side, then Pineault, Dziama, Boyle, and Ben Eaves
all had shots that forced saves from the goalie. Steve Gionta drew another
Lowell penalty and BC carried possession but didn't get many shots on that
power play. Time was passing, though, and at the 17:00 minute mark it
was a nice passing play from the Eaves brothers that set up Voce for a
driving move down the left side. He had speed to carry him past the defense
and in on net. His initial shot attempt sort of slid off his stick, and
I think Davidson reacted to that, because he was off-balance when Voce
recovered and slid the puck inside the near post for the final margin.
Several late penalties allowed BC to carry the play and run out most of
the clock for the victory.
After the disappointing 1-0 loss to Notre Dame in their home opener, it
was a solid performance from Boston College in this win. UML isn't the
toughest opposition, and the Eagles have plenty to work on, but they had
a strong defensive game and carried most of the play when it mattered.
That said, Lowell could have been right in this game if their concentration
hadn't wavered late in the periods when 3 of the 4 BC goals were scored.
The result was deserved, though; BC had a healthy shot advantage and was
the only dangerous team on offense this evening.
Lowell is a very young team and that showed tonight. They work hard and
have some talent, but they make too many mistakes and have not yet figured
out what it takes to score effectively. (Last weekend's 5-2, 5-2 sweep
of Northeastern perhaps indicates more how badly NU has been playing than
how well Lowell plays.) Davidson has been decent in goal so far and he
will have to continue to play well for them to have a good shot in most
games.
BC is still missing Dave Spina, out with injury, and lost Ty Hennes early
in this game when he went down with a leg injury. Both may be questionable
for Friday's big game against Maine. With them in the lineup, this is a
very formidable offensive team. Without them, the offense is a bit more
uncertain, due to line changes and a different style of play. And BC's
defensive intensity tends to waver at times in a game. If Matti K. can
play well in net, they can be a very good team. At this point, though,
they probably aren't as good as they can be. Having Ben Eaves back in the
lineup makes the top line and power play more effective, which is a good
thing. Given Maine's strong start to the season, this Friday's game could
be an early indicator of how the Hockey East race will shape up.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A newly-married BC fan (that's why no report on the Notre Dame game ...)
GO EAGLES! GO LINDA!
|
