(Box from BC's Hockey East Box Score/notes)
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, ME 1                  HOCKEY EAST GAME
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UNIVERSITY OF MAINE (HE)    0  1  0 - 1     (7-1-0 overall, 2-1-0 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE)         2  1  1 - 4     (5-2-1 overall, 2-0-0 HE)

       Shots on Goal       Pen - Min    Power Play
ME      3-16- 5 -- 24       19 - 54       0 - 6
BC     10-10-15 -- 35       19 - 54       1 - 6

ME - Jimmy Howard       8- 9-14 - 31 saves/4 goals (60:00)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen    3-15- 5 - 23 saves/1 goal  (60:00)

Referee - John Gravellese
Assistants - Joe Ross, Kevin Shea
Attendance - 7884 (sellout)

1st Period
  BC1 J. D. Forrest 2 (Ben Eaves 6, Pat Eaves 5)      SHG  9:16
  BC2 Ben Eaves 3 (Tony Voce 3, Pat Eaves 6)          PPG 18:04 GWG

  Penalties
   ME - Mike Lundin (hitting from behind)                  6:30
   BC - Ryan Shannon (hooking)                             7:32
   ME - Ben Murphy (interference)                         17:41
   ME - Prestin Ryan (slashing)                           18:25

2nd Period
  BC3 Ryan Shannon 2 (unassisted)                          7:16
  ME1 Luciano Aquino 1 (unassisted)                        9:13

  Penalties
   BC - Andrew Alberts (interference)                      0:21
   BC - Steve Gionta (roughing)                            1:06
   BC - Steve Gionta (10 min. misconduct)                  1:06
   ME - Prestin Ryan (roughing)                            1:06
   ME - Prestin Ryan (10 min. misconduct)                  1:06
   BC - Brett Peterson (contact to head - roughing)        2:55
   ME - Brent Shepheard (contact to head - roughing)       2:55
   BC - Chris Collins (contact to head - roughing)        10:02
   ME - Colin Shields (contact to head - roughing)        10:02
   ME - Mathew Deschamps (slashing)                       13:42
   BC - Brian Boyle (hooking)                             14:40
   BC - Andrew Alberts (contact to head - roughing)       14:58
   BC - Pat Eaves (hooking)                               17:44

3rd Period
  BC4 Ryan Murphy 2 (Justin Dziama 1, Ned Havern 1)       16:47

  Penalties
   BC - Tony Voce (hooking)                                7:10
   ME - Derek Damon (high sticking)                        7:31
   ME - Brent Shepheard (contact to head - charging)      12:28
   ME - Prestin Ryan (leg check)                          19:30
   ME - Prestin Ryan (roughing)                           19:30
   ME - Prestin Ryan (5 min. punching, game DQ)           19:30
   BC - Pat Eaves (high sticking)                         19:30
   BC - Pat Eaves (roughing)                              19:30
   BC - Pat Eaves (10 min misconduct)                     19:30
   BC - Ryan Murphy (hit after whistle)                   19:30
   BC - Ryan Murphy (roughing)                            19:30
   BC - Ned Havern (hit after whistle)                    19:30
   BC - Ned Havern (roughing)                             19:30
   BC - Andrew Alberts (hit after whistle)                19:30
   BC - Andrew Alberts (roughing)                         19:30
   ME - Ben Murphy (hit after whistle)                    19:30
   ME - Ben Murphy (roughing)                             19:30
   ME - Keith Johnson (hit after whistle)                 19:30
   ME - Keith Johnson (roughing)                          19:30
   ME - Brent Shepheard (hit after whistle)               19:30
   ME - Brent Shepheard (roughing)                        19:30

3 Stars - 1. BC, Ben Eaves (1G, 1A)
          2. BC, Matti Kaltiainen (23 saves, 1 goal)
          3. BC, Andrew Alberts


COMMENTS
--------
Boston College hosted #1 Maine Friday night and played a strong 60 minutes
to come away with a good 4-1 win.  BC was able to use speed and skill to
put goals on the board while relying on a tough defense and a very good
game by goalie Matti Kaltiainen to preserve the lead.  Maine was unable to
get untracked offensively, despite good chances on power plays, and got
only a single score from frosh Luciano Aquino after a BC turnover.  The
game was marred in the last minute by an ugly penalty by Maine's assistant
captain Prestin Ryan and the accompanying rink-wide scrum as players paired
off for tussles and wrestling (and a few punches thrown in for good
measure.)

Maine had played well to open the season, including a first game stunner
over Minnesota, vaulting them to the number one spot in the nation.  But
this was their first test on the road against a tough Hockey East opponent
(BC was a preseason #1 in some polls.)  The first period was filled with
fast skating and lots of physical defensive play that kept most of the
action along the boards and in the corners.  Both teams had few shots early
in the game, with passes being deflected or players tied up so they couldn't
reach centering attempts.  Special teams proved the difference in the game,
as it turned out, and Maine took a penalty to give BC the first power play.
A minute later, though, BC's Shannon gave it back and teams were 4-on-4.
BC had 2 good chances during this stretch after forechecking stole the puck
from Maine right in front of the goal.  As Maine went on their power play,
they tried to hold the puck in at the point and were caught out of position
when Ben Eaves took a breakout pass and took off on a 3-on-2 BC counter.
He sailed into the zone and dropped a pass to trailer J.D. Forrest.  As the
Eaves brothers each sped toward the net, the defense went with them and
Forrest cut to the slot, where everyone expected him to shoot.  A
defenseman went down, but Forrest didn't shoot and cut to the left, holding
the puck until Howard also went down anticipating the shot.  As Forrest
glided even further to the left, he was finally clear and fired a high
wrister into the wide-open net to make it 1-0, BC.

Maine had a chance to even the score when a bouncing puck came into the
slot with 2 Black Bear skaters there to take it.  The first fanned on an
attempt to corral the loose puck, and the second one fired it wide of the
goal.  Maine had some good play at this stretch, keeping the puck deep and
forcing BC to ice the puck to relieve pressure.  But it wasn't resulting in
shots on goal, with the play all to the boards and outside.  (The shot
chart was revealing, showing no Maine shots inside the circles at all
during the first period.)  Kaltiainen saved a hard shot from Shields on the
wing, and Howard deflected a high tip over the net at the other end.  Ben
Murphy took a bad penalty for the Black Bears by tackling Pat Eaves from
behind during heavy pressure from BC's number one line of Eaves, Eaves, and
Voce, and it led to the second goal.  That BC line dominated power plays
all night, as Maine could not get the puck away from them or clear the
zone; Maine was woefully slow in trying to clear the puck and BC forwards
would steal it back to the point again and again.  A weak clearing attempt
was held in at the left boards by Pat Eaves, he fired a cross ice pass to
Tony Voce, sitting all alone at the right circle.  He gloved the puck down
to his stick, and as everyone converged toward him, expecting a shot, he
waited and slid a quick pass to the slot instead.  Ben Eaves was skating
forward and hammered a first-time shot high past Howard for the score.
In a foreshadowing of bad decisions to come, Prestin Ryan took a slashing
penalty just 20 seconds after the goal, letting the BC power play unit have
another try.  Howard was forced to work extra hard to hold the gap at 2
goals as BC spent the entire last minute and a half in the Maine zone,
firing shot after shot.  Between goalie saves, shots wide, and defensive
deflections, Maine managed to escape down just 2-0 as the buzzer sounded.

The second period was much more to Maine's liking as they had plenty of
chances, especially with some late power plays.  It started with back-
and-forth play on Maine's first man-advantage, then BC's Shannon fired one
wide on a counter.  Behind the play, Prestin Ryan and Steve Gionta were
tangled at the BC bench, as Gionta fell after checking Ryan.  Ryan's skate
was stuck between Gionta's legs, they both started pushing and shoving, and
then got into a clinch.  Each was sent off to cool down with a roughing and
a 10-minute misconduct.  (What are the odds of that, Ryan and Gionta both
needing to cool down?  :-))  Neither is known as a Lady Byng candidate ...)
Maine had a glorious chance to get on the board after this when they forced
Kaltiainen to make a tough save, then the puck came free to an unmarked
Black Bear at the left side of the cage.  He gloved the puck down into the
crease, with the net gaping wide open, and swiped at it, only to miss it
the first time as it bounced.  He then hit it with a second pass, and
somehow the puck found its way into Kaltiainen's body as he dove back into
the net, and he was able to freeze it before sliding over the line -- no
goal!  After that, a missed pinch by Greg Lauze let Maine have a 2x1 break
the other way, and Kaltiainen made a huge save on the close-in wrister.  BC
finally started to settle down, and it was a beautiful play by Ryan Shannon
that made the score 3-0.  He skated fast through center ice, fought off a
stick check and controlled the puck with speed into the Maine zone on the
left. He was able to fly around the defenseman and cut back toward the net
for a stuff attempt.  Howard went down to protect the post, but as Shannon
was going by the net, he was able to reach back, corral the puck, and pop
it inside the post as Howard started to fall off toward the center of the
crease.  Maine finally got one back a couple minutes later as an
ill-advised Alberts clearing attempt was blocked down and deflected to the
right circle. Luciano Aquino pounced on the puck before BC could get there
and immediately sailed a sharp wrist shot high inside the right post for
his first collegiate score.

Play was hard and physical from that point, with few shots and lots of
defensive intensity.  Maine started to skate better and carried some play,
forcing BC to react.  The Eagles actually got a power play, but immediately
gave it back with some lazy stick work, and the subsequent Maine power play
led to another BC penalty for a 5-on-3 Maine advantage.  They put on a lot
of pressure, passing the puck around and firing shots, but they all came
from outside and rebounds were either cleared or covered or sent to the
corners.  Kaltiainen came up huge with saves, somehow seeing puck through
screens, and the rebounds were just not finding the net when they did come.
Maine took a timeout at 16:15 to try to set up a play, but Shields' shot
was saved and then several clears stopped the threat.  Another lazy stick
work penalty came shortly after and Maine had another power play.  Again
Matti K. was strong in the goal, and he made about 4 big saves to the end of
the period to hold the score at 3-1.

The third period started with Maine working hard and BC playing a bit
tentatively.  That lasted for about 5 minutes, then something seemed to
happen that tilted the ice toward the Maine goal.  I'm not sure if BC
stepped it up, or Maine ran out of gas, or what, but from that point on
BC skated rings around the Black Bears.  Maine actually had a chance to
come back when Tony Voce took a silly hooking penalty on a forecheck, but
Derek Damon gave it right back with a high-stick of his own.  Ironically,
it was on the subsequent shorthanded situation that Maine had their last
real scoring chance, with a 2-on-1 break.  Kaltiainen came across and
stacked his pads to try to stop the shot and it was fired wide of the net.
After that, it was almost a clinic on how to dominate a game.  Each BC
line forechecked like crazy and Maine could not find a way to get the puck
out of its zone.  Shepheard took another Black Bear penalty by charging
halfway across the ice to deliver a shot to the head of a player holding
the blue line, and BC began some target practice.  Howard stood strong
during the penalty kill, but even after they returned to full strength
play was in the Maine end for long stretches.  The Voce/Eaves/Eaves line
had a shift that was entirely in the corners and deep in the Maine zone,
and then the BC 4th line had an absolutely beautiful shift, using their
size and strength to work the puck free behind the net.  Havern to Dziama
and then to Ryan Murphy at the left edge of the crease, and he lifted a
backhander that bounced off Howard's back and into the goal for the final
tally.

With just 3 minutes left in the game, and chants of "Overrated!" coming
from the BC students, Maine lost their cool for some reason.  For at least
a minute or more, more than one Maine player attempted to start some
fireworks with a BC player.  There was a face rub, then a deliberate
cross-check, then another half-swipe at a head.  I'm not sure what they
wanted, or whether this was a deliberate strategy or just a group of
players not keeping their heads.  In any case, Prestin Ryan decided to take
on the "Ogie Oglethorpe" role (Slapshot fans - "the worst cementhead in the
league".)  As Pat Eaves was skating out of the BC zone into neutral ice,
Ryan reached out and deliberately tripped him with his stick (not going for
the puck, mind you -- he pulled the foot directly.)  Then, as he started
to fall, he jammed his leg out and into Pat's leg, flipping him entirely.
Eaves got up immediately and shoved Ryan, and they got into it big time,
throwing punches and grabbing at everything.  Several other players on the
ice paired off and had mini-scrums going for a while, as the linesmen went
from group to group to try to calm things.  One linesman skated Ryan to
the exit to the locker room and shoved him down the corridor.  Ryan was not
pleased, shouting at the officials and then throwing things in the
corridor. (I can vouch for this, I sit right above the corridor.)  The
other players on the ice for Maine were sent to the locker room, though I
don't know if it was by choice, by the refs, or by the coach.  The BC
players milled about while they sorted out all the penalties.  Eventually,
only Ryan was assessed a major for punching, and they announced a game DQ
to go with it (I believe this is automatic for a major punching penalty?)
Though Eaves was mixed up with Ryan in the main scrum, I think referee
Gravellese made the right call here, where Ryan was assessed the most
severe penalty of the group.  He clearly started the action, using a
violently dangerous play, not part of the in-game flow, and was
deliberately trying to cause problems.  He deserved to be tossed.  As
Prestin has a history with this type of thing, coach Whitehead may consider
further disciplinary action.  This is not the type of game you expect from
an assistant captain, no matter how much of an "edge" he likes to play
with.

From a BC point of view, this was a supremely enjoyable evening.  Every one
of the BC lines played well, outplaying their Maine counterpart.  The
forecheck was tremendous, the defense played well, and Matti Kaltiainen was
very, very good in net when he had to be.  And Maine did put some pressure
on, especially in the second period and on their power plays.  Ben Eaves
is such a joy to watch, smooth, fast, cool, with great hands and a great
head for hockey.  He is one of the best in the country, no doubt.  He makes
his linemates, brother Pat and Tony Voce, that much more dangerous.  The
power play unit, featuring those 3 as well as Ryan Shannon and a rotating
5th player, dominated Maine when they were on the ice.  Shannon continues
to have a great start to the season, despite missing his usual linemate
Dave Spina, still out injured.  Ty Hennes is also still out, and defenseman
Peter Harrold suffered some sort of injury in this game.  Brett Peterson
moved back to full-time defense to cover this, though, and had a great game
as well.  There were not many areas of the game to complain about from the
BC team perspective.  I briefly saw coach York in the corridor after the
game and he was visibly glowing, telling people how well his team had
played.

For Maine fans, that may be the message to take from this game.  As the
Black Bears have shown so far this season, they have good speed, some
skill and size, and play strong as a team.  Combine that with probably the
best goaltending duo in the country, and they will win a lot of games.
But tonight they were beaten by a good team playing very well on their home
ice.  Some of Maine's difficulties, with penalties and passing and general
lack of offensive coordination, can be attributed to the skill of the
opponent.  That said, there were some defensive lapses in coverage, and
a general inability to control the penalty kill that has to be troubling.
Offensively, they don't seem to have that special set of players that can
step up to another level when the pressure is on, though some of the
forwards probably have that capability.  Finally, I think they have to
do some hard thinking about how they handle adversity.  If tonight was
the way they expect to handle tough road games, they may have more
problems than I think.  This is where you expect your coaches and your
captains/leaders to step up.  Mr. Ryan did not show himself to be in that
category tonight, unfortunately.

For BC, it doesn't get any easier, having to go up to New Hampshire to take
on UNH at Manchester's Verizon Arena (I think?) in mid-week.  UNH has an
opportunity to be #1 if they can take care of Maine Saturday night at home.
For Maine, this is the road trip from hell, having to play back-to-back at
2 of the top 5 teams in the country.  They didn't perform well enough at
BC, the question is how will they respond at UNH?  They will be without
Ryan, I guess, and possibly another defenseman who was hurt in the BC
game.  It certainly will be a very tough test, and I won't be surprised if
UNH spanks them, too.

Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer Reporter"
A very satisfied BC fan. GO EAGLES!