(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Friday, October 20, 2006 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
ND 7, BC 1 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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NOTRE DAME (CCHA) 2 2 3 - 7 (2-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 CCHA)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 0 1 - 1 (1-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
ND 14- 9- 9 -- 32 18 - 44 2 - 11
BC 3-13-11 -- 27 16 - 43 1 - 10
ND - David Brown 3-13-10 - 26 saves/1 goal (60:00)
BC - Cory Schneider 12- 7- 5 - 24 saves/6 goals (53:53)
Joe Pearce x- x- 1 - 1 save /1 goal ( 6:07)
Referee - Tim Benedetto
Assistants - Tim Low, Kevin Shea
Attendance - 6208
1st Period
ND1 Mark Van Guilder 3 (Kyle Lawson) 1:03
ND2 Ryan Thang 2 (Evan Rankin) 14:08
Penalties
ND - Dan Kissel (obstr - interference) 1:28
BC - Nathan Gerbe (tripping) 3:03
ND - Mark Van Guilder (obstr - interference) 7:45
BC - Mike Brennan (hooking) 10:49
ND - Brett Blatchford (hooking) 10:57
BC - Brett Motherwell (obstr - interference) 19:21
2nd Period
ND3 Kevin Deeth 3 (Erik Condra, Wes O'Neill) 4x4 12:11
ND4 Mark Van Guilder 4 (unassisted) 4x4 13:13
Penalties
BC - Tim Filangieri (high-sticking/contact to head) 1:52
ND - Brett Blatchford (holding) 8:48
BC - Joe Adams (hooking) 11:27
ND - Dan Kissel (unsportsmanlike conduct - diving) 11:27
BC - Nathan Gerbe (hit after whistle) 13:54
BC - Nathan Gerbe (unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:54
BC - Nathan Gerbe (roughing) 13:54
BC - Nathan Gerbe (10-min misconduct) 13:54
ND - T.J. Jindra (hit after whistle) 13:54
ND - T.J. Jindra (unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:54
ND - T.J. Jindra (roughing) 13:54
ND - T.J. Jindra (10-min misconduct) 13:54
BC - Matt Greene (hit after whistle) 13:54
BC - Matt Greene (roughing) 13:54
ND - Brock Sheahan (hit after whistle) 13:54
ND - Brock Sheahan (roughing) 13:54
ND - Ryan Thang (obstr - interference) 16:44
ND - Erik Condra (tripping) 18:35
ND - Brock Sheahan (hooking) 19:24
3rd Period
BC1 Dan Bertram 1 (Brock Bradford) PPG 0:48
ND5 Mark Van Guilder 5 (Josh Sciba) PPG 4:42
ND6 Erik Condra 1 (Kevin Deeth, Wes O'Neill) 4x4 4:42
ND7 Brett Blatchford 1 (Kevin Deeth, Erik Condra) PPG 4:42
Penalties
BC - Benn Ferriero (5-min spearing) 2:59
BC - Tim Filangieri (slashing) 5:59
ND - Dan Kissel (tripping) 6:17
ND - Wes O'Neill (obstr - interference) 9:37
BC - Joe Adams (obstr - hooking) 11:50
ND - Noah Babin (unsportsmanlike conduct - diving) 12:12
BC - Brian Boyle (hooking) 12:31
BC - Tim Filangieri (tripping) 16:01
ND - Dan Kissel (tripping) 17:28
3 Stars - 1. None selected
2.
3.
Notre Dame University:
F GARRETT REGAN, JASON PAIGE, EVAN RANKIN
Josh Sciba, Mark Van Guilder, T.J. Jindra
Ryan Thang, Kevin Deeth, Erik Condra
Dan Kissel, Christian Hanson, Michael Bartlett
D WES O'NEILL, TOM SAWATSKE
Brock Sheahan, Noah Babin
Brett Blatchford, Kyle Lawson
G DAVID BROWN, Jordan Pearce
Boston College:
F DAN BERTRAM, BRIAN BOYLE, ANDREW ORPIK
Joe Rooney, Benn Ferriero, Brock Bradford
Matt Greene, Nathan Gerbe, Pat Gannon
Joe Adams, Ben Smith, Matt Lombardi
D TIM KUNES, MIKE BRENNAN
Tim Filangieri, Carl Sneep
Brian O'Hanley, Brett Motherwell
G CORY SCHNEIDER, Joe Pearce, Adam Reasoner
COMMENTS
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Notre Dame was dominant in an upset win over #1-ranked Boston College,
triumphing 7-1 in BC's home rink. The Irish carried all aspects of the
play,
from offense, defense, special teams, goalkeeping, speed, aggressiveness,
desire, passing, strength, skating -- you name it, they were better at it.
Junior Mark Van Guilder was the offensive star of the night with a hat
trick, while both Erik Condra and Kevin Deeth chipped in with a goal and
2 assists apiece. Dan Bertram scored the lone goal for the Eagles, a power
play tally early in the third period, but a subsequent stupid spearing
major by Benn Ferriero eliminated any chance of a BC comeback.
This was the third time in a row the Irish have beaten BC, though the prior
2 wins were 1-goal affairs decided late in the game (and BC carried play in
both of those games.) Perhaps that memory affected the Eagles, or the
stars
were aligned, or they just weren't ready to play, but Notre Dame opened the
game with more speed, skill, and willingness to get the puck. It paid
dividends only 1:03 into the contest when Van Guilder got a pass to the
right of the goal and fired a sharp-angled shot that cleared goalie Cory
Schneider up high. Schneider had to save another close-in chance just
after
that, and BC's Brock Bradford was wide on a short-handed bid on Notre
Dame's
first power play of the night. BC was unable to get much going on offense
at all, and the Irish carried the play throughout the period. Each team
took hooking penalties to thwart breakaway opportunities, and killed the
subsequent power plays. Late in the period Notre Dame was able to poke
the puck free in the neutral zone and it came to Ryan Thang on the right
side. He skated into the right circle all alone and fired a sharp shot to
the far side to make it 2-0, Notre Dame. BC frosh D-man Carl Sneep had a
nice rush around the defense but his centering pass could not make contact
with a trailer, and BC was scrambling to hold off the aggressive ND offense
the rest of the period.
I thought Boston College would come out for the second period all fired up,
determined to make up for a poor first period. They started on the PK,
though, and had to hang on at first. Notre Dame almost added to the lead
when a shot on a 2-on-1 rush handcuffed Schneider and the puck lay in the
crease behind him. However, BC was able to finally clear it away and hold
on. The Eagles slowly started to get going at this point and started to
skate better, sustaining their best pressure of the game. Both teams
missed shots, though Brown had to be sharp in the Irish net to keep BC off
the board, at one point falling back on a loose puck just before it crossed
the line. Midway through the period the teams played 4-on-4, and for some
reason the BC sense of positioning fell apart. The Eagles were lazy coming
back on a Notre Dame counter-attack, and ND had a 3-on-2 rush. Nice
passing
from the point to the slot, to the left side, and then back to the right
edge of the crease for an easy tap-in made the score 3-0. Just a minute
later an Irish 2-on-1 break allowed Van Guilder to make a nice swooping
move across the face of the goal and lift a backhander for the 4-0 lead.
BC took a timeout to regather themselves, and came back to the ice to
start a scrum at the ND net within a minute. Nathan Gerbe and T.J. Jindra
got triple minors and a 10-minute misconduct each, and other penalties
were handed out also. Neither team was able to dent the net again, with
both goaltenders playing well and Brown standing up to 2 BC 5-on-3
advantages.
BC continued the 5-on-3 into the third period, and just after ND got one
man back, the Eagles finally got on the scoreboard. Dan Bertram was foiled
on his first shot from the near left circle but collected his rebound and
was able to slide it past Brown to make it 4-1. BC was skating hard at
this point, carrying the momentum and getting the crowd into the game,
and raising the slight possibility that they had a big comeback in them.
There was a lengthy stoppage when Notre Dame's Kyle Lawson went down with
a hit to his midsection, and after a scramble at the ND net on the ensuing
play, BC's soph Benn Ferriero stuck his stick blade into a Notre Dame
player's gut after the whistle. He may not have hit him that hard, but
it was clearly done, right in front of the referee, after the whistle had
blown. Referee Benedetto wasted no time in calling the 5-minute major,
and all possible momentum BC had gained was lost. Notre Dame was patient
on the major, and finally Van Guilder got his hat trick when he hit a
bomb from up high through a heavy screen in front of Schneider. Many
more penalties/power plays followed throughout the period, with both
goalies making saves and the defenses usually able to keep the puck away
from the front of the nets. Notre Dame got their 6th goal (and the one
that flushed Schneider from the net) on a fluke deflection off a BC
defenders stick, as he redirected a crossing pass past his own goalie.
The BC defense went through the motions on a late power play, allowing
Brett Blatchford to get his first collegiate goal on a pretty tic-tac-toe
passing play. The puck was fed from the left point all the way to an
open receiver at the right side of the net, and he quickly pushed a
pass across the face of the goal for a quick 1-timer to end the scoring.
I report from a BC perspective, and obviously was disappointed with the
effort put in by the Eagles, but I don't want to shortchange the very,
very good game played by Notre Dame. They played extremely well, both on
offense and defense, and outskated Boston College, something most teams
have trouble doing. According to reports, this was BC's worst defeat at
home since Jerry York's first season behind the Eagles' bench, when they
were a rebuilding (and not very good) team. Much of that was due to the
effort put in by the entire ND lineup. Van Guilder's line was sharp, and
he continued his hot start to the 2006-07 season with the hat trick. The
freshmen Ryan Thang and Kevin Deeth, paired with returning scorer Erik
Condra, also had very strong games. Combine that with experienced leaders
on the defensive corps (3 seniors, 1 junior), and very solid goaltending
from an underrated David Brown, and Notre Dame fans have to be looking
forward to a good season. (They've had that hope in past years, too, only
to find that Notre Dame has a history of inconsistency. We'll see how
this season turns out.)
Boston College turned in the worst performance I have seen from a BC team
that has talent, experience, and is much more capable than they showed in
this game. There was no one in the BC lineup who had a good game, and
most players had awful games. Cory Schneider was hung out to dry by his
defense, but didn't have a great game either (and they really could have
used some magic from him to survive this effort.) Effort is the one word
most fans were echoing after the game, disgusted with the lack of effort
the BC team showed in this one. It's one thing to get beat by a good team
(and ND played well) but you want to at least go down fighting
(figuratively, not literally, see Gerbe, Nathan above ...) Press clippings
and polls do not a season make, no matter that you were in the 2006
championship game. Strangely enough, tonight's matchup with Bowling Green
has all of a sudden become a crucial game. If this BC team has the talent
and strength to be a champion, you would expect them to come out flying
tonight and show the world that they are better than they showed Friday
night. But it means more than hard hits (and maybe penalties?) They have
to be smart, skate well, hold position and hit passes, and eventually put
the puck in the net. The last 3 games for BC have shown them giving up 2,
then 4, then 7 goals. For a team that was supposed to be defensively
strong, with an All-American goaltender and championship experience, they
have been average at best. The power play continues to be anemic, sloppy,
static, and so slow you could pour molasses and see it move the puck better
at times. They have confused passing the puck between the points and the
umbrella locations with effective puck movement and shooting opportunities.
It doesn't matter that you fired 19 shots from outside if half of them are
blocked by the defense or you miss the net, and the goalie can see all the
others for easy saves. The shots must stretch the defense, keep them
off-balance, provide rebound opportunities, and have the goalie out of
position. BC has lived for a long time with speed, passing, and effort
overcoming their lack of size and occasional lack of shooting accuracy.
They are most effective as a defensive team, not an offensive one, despite
the number of shots they tend to get. This year's team has not yet found
an identity, and Friday's game leaves you scratching your head, trying to
understand how they could play this bad after returning so many good
players.
Notre Dame plays Saturday night at Providence, who dropped last night's
game to Bowling Green 4-2, and is another team in search of an identity,
having opened the season 1-2. Bowling Green comes up to Boston College
for a rematch of last year's offensive slugfest (last year's game was a
BC win, 9-6.) BG is undefeated, though their strength-of-schedule hasn't
seemed that tough. Last night's win should give them some confidence and
we will see if that is enough to hold off a BC team that should give a
better effort than they did in this game. BC wants to right the ship now,
before they travel to Wisconsin for a very tough 2-game trip next week.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
An enthusiastic BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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