(Box from online sources)
Saturday, January 15, 2005 at Agganis Arena, Boston, MA
BC 2, BU 0 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 1 1 - 2 (14-3-3 overall, 8-1-3 HE)
BOSTON UNIVERSITY (HE) 0 0 0 - 0 (13-9-0 overall, 9-3-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
BC 7-10-10-- 27 7 - 14 0 - 5
BU 2- 6- 6-- 14 5 - 10 0 - 6
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 2- 6- 6 - 14 saves/0 goals (60:00)
BU - John Curry 7- 9- 9 - 25 saves/1 goal (59:25)
Referee - Scott Hansen
Assistants - Tim Low, Bob Bernard
Attendance - 6224
1st Period
No scoring
Penalties
BU Kenny Roche (cross-checking) 0:07
BC Peter Harrold (obstruction-hooking) 7:05
BC Pat Gannon (charging) 9:34
BC Patrick Eaves (holding the stick) 11:31
BU Jekabs Redlihs (holding) 13:54
2nd Period
BC1 Ryan Shannon 8 (Dave Spina, Patrick Eaves) 10:01 GWG
Penalties
BC Taylor Leahy (hooking) 3:41
BC Stephen Gionta (holding) 5:45
BU David Van der Gulik (hooking) 13:06
BC Patrick Eaves (boarding) 17:05
3rd Period
BC2 Patrick Eaves 11 (Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina) ENG 18:45
Penalties
BU John Laliberte (obstruction-hooking) 4:54
BC Chris Collins (obstruction-hooking) 7:25
BU Kevin Schaeffer (high-sticking) 13:35
3 Stars - 1. BU - John Curry (25 saves, 1 goal)
2. BC - Ryan Murphy
3. BC - Patrick Eaves (1G, 1A)
Boston College:
F Patrick Eaves, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Ned Havern, Matt Greene, Dan Bertram
CHRIS COLLINS, STEPHEN GIONTA, RYAN MURPHY
Joe Rooney, Brian Boyle, Pat Gannon
D ANDREW ALBERTS, MIKE BRENNAN
Brian O'Hanley, Peter Harrold
Taylor Leahy, Greg Lauze
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Cory Schneider, Robbie Miller
Boston University:
F DAVID VAN DER GULIK, BRAD ZANCANARO, JOHN LALIBERTE
Kenny Roche, Brian McConnell, Ryan Weston
Matt Radoslovich, Peter MacArthur, Bryan Ewing
Brian McGuirk, Eric Thomassian, Ryan Monaghan
D JEKABS REDLIHS, BRYAN MILLER
Dan Spang, Kevin Schaeffer
Dan McGoff, Sean Sullivan
G JOHN CURRY, Karson Gillespie, Stephan Siwiec
COMMENTS
--------
Boston College completed the weekend sweep of Boston University with a
dominating defensive performance Saturday night, winning 2-0 at the new
Harry Agganis Arena. Unlike the Friday night game, with its special teams'
scoring, this was a defensive struggle where BC totally shut down the
Terriers' offense, limiting them to 14 shots overall, and only 4 through
the first 30 minutes of the game. Matti Kaltiainen got his eighth career
shutout but didn't even make the 3 stars list, having to make only a couple
of tough saves. Ryan Shannon continued his hot scoring streak, scoring
the game winner halfway through, and Patrick Eaves got an empty net goal
to complete the victory. BU got only 14 shots despite having almost 14
minutes in power play time, with BC blocking shots from the perimeter and
the slot, preventing lots of pucks from getting to the net. BU did a
better
job defensively than the previous evening, not surrendering any extra-
strength goals, but it was not enough.
BC had most of the opportunities in the first period, starting with a power
play only 7 seconds into the game, and continuing from there. BC again
beat BU players to the puck throughout the game, and controlled play along
the boards and in center ice. Joe Rooney managed to beat John Curry on
one shot and saw it tick off the crossbar, and Ryan Shannon almost repeated
his shorthanded breakaway of the night before, only to shoot it high. The
Terriers were constantly frustrated on their offensive chances, and
Kaltiainen was there for the 2 shots they did get through to the net.
As an example, BU had almost 4 continuous minutes of power play midway
through the period and got no shots on goal, while BC had 3 shorthanded
bids in the same stretch. For a team that had been in first place in
Hockey East and recently knocked off #1 Minnesota, it was an abysmal
display. (Helped by the fact that BC played very well for the second night
in a row.)
The second period was the same as the first, with BU getting almost
nothing in the first half of the period despite 2 power plays. BC wasn't
able to get anything past Curry either, but finally capitalized on a hustle
play at the midway point. Patrick Eaves carried the puck down the left
side with a BU defenseman on him, and Ryan Shannon stormed up the center
of the ice to beat his defender to the slot. An attempt by Eaves was
deflected by the defenseman's stick and slid right to the middle, where
Shannon was able to tap it with his stick and into the open side of the
net before Curry could react. It wasn't a brilliant pass or shot, but it
did the job, and it was the speed and hustle of the BC forwards that made
the play happen. In that sense it was a microcosm of the game and the
weekend -- BC just outhustling and outplaying BU by enough to make the
difference. BU started to work harder to try to mount a comeback, and
they had a few chances, but not enough to score.
The third period was a defensive one, with BU forcing play a bit and BC
using power plays to get their best chances. But as time wore on, it
didn't seem that BU was going to get the break they needed to score, and
as it turns out, they didn't. BU finally pulled Curry with a faceoff in
the BC end in the penultimate minute, but when Pat Eaves blocked a BU
attempt to keep the puck in at the point, he got free for an easy finish
from center ice to clinch it.
This was an unusual weekend for a BC-BU series, with the testiness and
energy that is usually there somewhat missing. Most of the reason is
probably the fact that BC outskated BU substantially both nights, and
the BU offense really didn't get untracked. BC's defense and
aggressiveness
on the penalty kill really dominated BU, and it was only good goaltending
by John Curry that kept the games close at all. Of course, it really
shouldn't have come as a surprise, as BC has had a very stingy defense
all year and they are playing well at the moment, even with senior John
Adams out. BC's offense is still not clicking on all cylinders, but the
top line of Eaves, Shannon, and Spina have started to produce on a
regular basis, and that is good news for the Eagles. If they can manage
to get the second and third lines to shoot more accurately and start
hitting
the corners that they've been missing through the first half of the season,
they could fight their way to another Hockey East title and make some
impact on the national tournament.
Boston University has hit a rough stretch, with Chris Bourque's absence
having a larger impact than anyone expected. It particularly shows on
their power play, but I think it goes beyond that in that he seemed to
bring an energy and creativity to the ice that rubbed off on the other
players. He has a way of making the other players better around him, and
that is a rare gift. BU is a young team, and often their best players
are their freshmen, so it bodes well for the future. But they need to
have their upperclassmen step forward and offer the leadership and
grit to help lift the team -- the only question is, are they capable of
it? Bourque will be back soon, and if Curry continues to play well in net
I think BU will win their share of games down the stretch. That may be
good enough to lead them to the Fleet Center in March, and anything can
happen after that. But right now it looks like this team is a bit too
young to be a national contender.
It doesn't get any easier for BU, who have to go to Maine this weekend to
play a pair. Boston College gets a rare two-game home stand, playing both
Northeastern and New Hampshire this coming weekend. Northeastern is a
dangerous team, capable of winning on any night, and New Hampshire is
arguably the top team in Hockey East at the moment (with a couple of games
in hand on the Eagles.) UNH has a tough upcoming schedule, though, so
the game this Saturday between these 2 teams could dictate who has the
upper hand heading down the stretch.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
An optimistic BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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