(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, February 11, 2005 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 8, MC 3 HOCKEY EAST GAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERRIMACK COLLEGE (HE) 1 0 2 - 3 (8-21-1 overall, 1-17-1 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 3 3 2 - 8 (18-4-5 overall, 12-1-4 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
MC 8- 6- 5 -- 19 9 - 26 1 - 6
BC 16-11- 7 -- 34 8 - 16 3 - 6
MC - Casey Guenther 13- 4- x - 17 saves/5 goals (30:18)
Frank McLaughlin x- 4- 5 - 9 saves/3 goals (29:42)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 7- 6- 0 - 13 saves/1 goal (43:23)
Robbie Miller x- x- 6 - 3 saves/2 goals (16:37)
Referee - Tim Benedetto
Assistants - James Brown, Brendan Kelleher
Attendance - 5020
1st Period
BC1 Patrick Eaves 15 (Ryan Murphy) 7:08
BC2 Ned Havern 5 (Peter Harrold, Brian O'Hanley) PPG 11:59
BC3 Ryan Shannon 10 (Andrew Alberts, Patrick Eaves) PPG 13:34
MC1 Bryan Schmidt 13 (Jordan Black) PPG 19:53
Penalties
BC - Dave Spina (cross-checking) 7:43
MC - Jordan Hart (roughing - contact to head) 10:49
MC - Hank Carisio (elbowing) 12:36
BC - Ryan Shannon (cross-checking) 16:37
BC - Greg Lauze (hooking) 19:48
2nd Period
BC4 Chris Collins 6 (Stephen Gionta) SHG 1:16 GWG
BC5 Patrick Eaves 16 (Joe Rooney, Ned Havern) 5x3 PPG 10:18
BC6 Brian O'Hanley (Matt Greene, Ned Havern) 12:29
Penalties
BC - John Adams (elbowing-contact to head) 0:42
BC - Dan Bertram (obstruction-interference) 7:35
MC - Bryan Schmidt (roughing-contact to head) 8:24
MC - Hank Carisio (slashing - served by Peter Hams) 9:22
MC - Hank Carisio (10 minute misconduct) 9:22
BC - Matt Greene (roughing) 12:29
BC - Brian O'Hanley (roughing) 12:29
MC - Jordan Black (roughing) 12:29
MC - Rob Lalonde (roughing) 12:29
MC - Rob Lalonde (hit after whistle-served by Jordan Fox) 12:29
3rd Period
BC7 Peter Harrold (unassisted) 0:31
BC8 Ned Havern 6 (Brian O'Hanley, Matt Greene) 2:24
MC2 Brent Gough 5 (Steve Crusco, Matt Johnson) 13:04
MC3 Ryan Sullivan 2 (Jordan Black, Justin Mills) 18:56
Penalties
MC - Jordan Hart (obstruction-interference) 3:23
BC - Peter Harrold (high-sticking) 13:45
3 Stars - 1. BC - Ned Havern (2G,2A)
2. BC - Patrick Eaves (2G, 1A)
3. BC - Brian O'Hanley (1G, 2A)
Merrimack College:
F BRENT GOUGH, JORDAN FOX, MATT JOHNSON
Steve Crusco, Matt Byrnes, Jordan Black
Justin Mills, Derek Fallardy, Mike Fournier
Hank Carisio, Brendon Clark, Peter Hams
D JEFF CARON, BRYAN SCHMIDT
Ryan Sullivan. Jordan Hart
Rob LaLonde, Brian Boulay
G CASEY GUENTHER, Jim Healey, Frank McLaughlin
Boston College:
F Patrick Eaves, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
CHRIS COLLINS, STEPHEN GIONTA, RYAN MURPHY
Joe Rooney, Brian Boyle, Dan Bertram
Matt Greene, Ned Havern, Brian O'Hanley
D ANDREW ALBERTS, PETER HARROLD
Taylor Leahy, Greg Lauze
John Adams, Mike Brennan
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Cory Schneider, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
--------
Boston College rebounded from Monday's Beanpot loss in a big way with an
easy 8-3 win over visiting Merrimack Friday night. BC scored 3 on the
power
play and a shorthanded tally to open an 8-1 lead and cruise to the victory.
Ned Havern took number one star honors with a career-high 4-point game,
and Pat Eaves and Brian O'Hanley had 3 points each. Matti Kaltiainen and
Robbie Miller shared the goaltending chores in the win. Merrimack got 3
goals from Bryan Schmidt, Brent Gough, and Ryan Sullivan, but were not
really in the game from the start. The only bad news for Boston College
was that senior defenseman Andrew Alberts suffered a left leg injury early
in the second period and left the game, and is expected to be out until at
least the playoffs.
The game started fairly evenly, with both teams getting early shots, and
BC's Joe Rooney missing a wide-open break chance (more on BC's shooting
later.) The Eagles slowly began to assert territorial and shot dominance,
and Patrick Eaves opened the scoring with a hard-to-handle sharp backhand
from the low left circle that slipped inside the post. BC killed off a
Warriors power play easily, then scored on their own power play. Ned
Havern got the puck to the point and broke to the net, and deflected the
return pass toward goal, where it appeared to bounce off a defender and
slid by the goaltender. BC continued to carry play, and were rewarded on
yet another power play after a furious flurry of shots culminated in an
Eaves blast off the post. It rebounded out to the top of the zone where
Ryan Shannon hammered a shot that tipped off a player and fluttered into
the goal. Rooney missed his third 2-on-1 break shortly after that, BC
missed a shorthanded shot while killing a penalty, then a nice move by
Jordan Fox around the left side forced BC to take a penalty late in the
period. The subsequent faceoff was won back to Bryan Schmidt, and he
powered a shot from the point that sailed past Kaltiainen to make it 3-1
at the end of one.
The second period opened ominously for the Eagles when Alberts passed the
puck out of his zone and was then hit by a Merrimack player, spinning him
around and down to the ice. He was in obvious pain and was helped off the
ice, not putting any weight on the left leg. BC took a retaliation penalty
shortly thereafter, but it was the Eagles who got all the offensive
pressure
on the opportunity. Merrimack turned the puck over to Chris Collins, whose
shot was initially saved. Steve Gionta picked up the puck in the corner
and
fed Collins again at the near right side, and he picked up a rebound of
his first shot and potted the shorthanded goal on the second try. BC
continued the momentum from there, and only a stellar save by Casey
Guenther prevented Havern from scoring on a fancy move on a breakaway. You
knew it wasn't Merrimack's night when they intercepted 2 bad BC clearing
passes right in front and still couldn't score. Kaltiainen made a big save
on Brent Gough by sitting back on a low stuff attempt on a Merrimack power
play, then the Warriors gave the power play back to BC, and the Eagles
capitalized. Pat Eaves 1-timed a setup pass during a 5-on-3 advantage
to make the score 5-1 and chase Guenther from the nets. Not long after
the power plays ended BC whacked away at a loose puck in a scramble in
front
of the Merrimack goal and Brian O'Hanley finally lifted it past new
goaltender Frank McLaughlin. A scrum ensued during the BC goal celebration
and numerous bodies went to the box for a cooldown. BC kept the momentum
from that point and the rest of the period wound down without more
scoring.
Merrimack pushed hard to open the third period, with Steve Crusco missing
an early close shot, but then the defense forgot to show up. BC defenseman
Peter Harrold skated the entire length of the ice up the middle, made a
nice move to push the puck around a defenseman, and held his balance long
enough to lift a pretty shot into the net just before crashing into the
goalmouth. Definitely the flashiest goal of the evening. Not long after
that, Havern got loose on the left side on a 2-on-1 and wristed a sharp
shot into the far side to make the score 8-1. BC brought in third-string
keeper Miller for the last 16 minutes, and almost increased their lead
when Eaves hit his second post of the night from the high slot. Play
opened up a bit after that, and Merrimack got some pressure on the BC net
(too little, too late.) Brent Gough got the second MC score when he tipped
a nice setup pass past Miller. They got a third goal late in the game
after forechecking work got it free behind the net, and Ryan Sullivan
lifted
a shot inside the right post.
After a season where goals have been harder to come by than usual for
Boston College, this was their biggest explosion of the year. BC has
gotten lots of shots this year, as usual, but sometimes have not had
much to show for it, often making opposing goalies look like the best in
the world. This game was a welcome change to that, scoring 8 times on
34 shots (.235 accuracy), compared to their season-long accuracy up to that
point of just .085. Of course, BC has been getting great defense and
goaltending, and near the top of the country in almost every defensive
category, which means they still are at the top of their league and near
the top in national rankings. Not too shabby. But my comment to others is
that this is probably the poorest shooting team I have seen at BC in my
years of watching (at least when measured against the good BC teams,
leaving
out some of the weak years.) Some players have the knack of getting the
puck on net, and finding the holes in the goalie's armor. Others seem to
have no such knack. The one player that is an enigma for BC is Joe Rooney.
He is an energetic player, small in stature, but skates well and should
be a productive scorer on occasion. He takes a decent number of shots (54
for the season so far) and has scored merely 1 goal for a shooting accuracy
of 1.85 %. Now, mind you, that is just the shots that have gone on net.
He also has a wealth of shots that are fired wide, not even producing a
rebound. In Friday's game he had 3 2-on-1 breaks, took the shot on all
3 chances, and either put it right into the goalie or fired wide. I don't
mean to pick on Rooney especially, but merely to use him as an indicator
of how many BC players seem to approach shooting the puck. It seems as
though they miss the net a very high percentage of the time, and then can't
get it past the keeper when they do hit the cage. It is one of the
elements
that make this team vulnerable when it comes to playoff time and the
crunch of extreme pressure. BC teams in the past were masters of good
power plays and picking up lots of rebound goals in the slot. This team
seems to lack in these areas, though things have been improving in the
second half of the season.
I don't know that you can change players that much, or revise your style
to improve your shooting, but at the least you would think you could advise
some players that they might be better off feeding their teammates instead
of shooting it right into the keeper's gut themselves? Time will tell if
this proves a problem for the Eagles in the postseason.
Merrimack's season of woe continues, with just 3 points in the league.
Unless they find some magic for their last few games, they will probably
finish with their fewest league points since joining Hockey East. Quite
the falloff for a team that a few years ago was competitive in most games
and occasionally battling for possible home ice. In an era when defense
has come to the fore and goals are hard to get, they have not been able
to find the net regularly. Combine that with a defense that has not
improved as much as the rest of the league, and there is no positive spin
you can provide. It can be almost guaranteed that the Warriors will miss
the playoffs this year.
BC now has a tough stretch to finish the year, starting with a meaningful
Beanpot consolation with Harvard. This game has national positioning
implications and gives BC a chance to gain a little revenge for an earlier
loss to the Crimson. Then the Eagles finish with 2-game sets with Lowell,
Maine, and UNH, tough opponents all. The only good thing about it is that
4 of the final 6 games are at home.
A final note on scoring, and how it has changed. This year, Hockey East
teams average a combined 5.65 goals per game, up from last year (5.36), but
down from the first league season of 1984-1985, when it was 7.81 goals per
game, a drop of over 2 goals per game. The lowest scoring team of that
first season was Maine, at 3.09 per game, and the best scoring defense that
year was BC, at a whopping 3.68 goals per game. This year, there is not
a single Hockey East team scoring more than 3.65 goals per game (that's the
BEST) and all but 2 teams are giving up less goals than the 3.68 that lead
the league in 1984-1985. Things have really changed in college hockey,
as they have in the pros. I'm not sure it is more entertaining, but it
is more pro-like than the early years of Hockey East.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
An optimistic BC fan. GO EAGLES!
|
