(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Tuesday, November 25, 2003 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, DC 1 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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DARTMOUTH COLLEGE (ECAC) 1 0 0 - 1 (4-1-3 overall, 3-0-3 ECAC)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 3 0 1 - 4 (8-2-3 overall, 4-0-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
DC 3- 6- 5-- 14 7 - 14 0 - 3
BC 12-12-16-- 40 5 - 10 1 - 5
DC - Dan Yacey 9-12-15 - 36 saves/3 goals (59:54) (Loss)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 2- 6- 5 - 13 saves/1 goal (60:00) (Win)
Referee - Jeff Bunyon
Assistants - Chris Aughe, Tom Fyrer
Attendance - 5470
1st Period
BC1 Chris Collins 5 (Steve Gionta, Brett Peterson) 5:14
DC1 Eric Przepiorka 3 (Hugh Jessiman) 12:06
BC2 Ryan Shannon 4 (Ben Eaves, Tony Voce) PPG 12:56 GWG
BC3 Ned Havern 1 (unassisted) 15:32
Penalties
DC Hugh Jessiman (contact to head - roughing) 7:04
DC Hugh Jessiman (interference) 12:20
BC Chris Collins (slashing) 13:29
DC Sean Offers (slashing) 13:29
2nd Period
No scoring
DC Timeout 17:46
Penalties
BC Andrew Alberts (hit after whistle) 3:27
DC Mike Wheelihan (hit after whistle) 3:27
DC Sean Offers (holding) 12:19
DC Sean Offers (cross-checking) 12:19
BC Taylor Leahy (obstruction-interference) 16:17
BC Chris Collins (boarding) 17:46
3rd Period
BC4 Ryan Murphy 3 (Ben Eaves, Tony Voce) ENG 19:01
Penalties
DC Sean Offers (holding) 7:48
BC Ned Havern (tripping) 19:30
3 Stars - None selected
Here are my 3 choices (honoring some not often heralded):
BC - Ryan Shannon (1G)
BC - John Adams
BC - Ned Havern (1G)
Dartmouth College:
F JARRETT SAMPSON, ERIC PRZEPIORKA, HUGH JESSIMAN
Nathan Szymanski, Mike Ouellette, Lee Stempniak
Joe Gaul, Max Guimond, Dan Shribman
Mike Wheelihan, Mike Turner, Jason Costa
D BRIAN VAN ABEL, GRANT LEWIS
Sean Offers, Garret Overlock
Mike Hartwick, Dave Thompson
G DAN YACEY, Darren Gastrock
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, RYAN MURPHY
Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Stephen Gionta
Joe Rooney, Brian Boyle, Adam Pineault
Taylor Leahy, Ned Havern, Justin Dziama
D ANDREW ALBERTS, J.D. FORREST
John Adams, Peter Harrold
Greg Lauze, Brett Peterson
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Joe Pearce, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
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Boston College continued its run of offensive domination over opponents with
a strong 4-1 win Tuesday night over Dartmouth College. The Eagles jumped
out to a 3-1 lead in the first, held off a Dartmouth powerplay in the
second,
and crushed the Big Green with a suffocating forecheck in the third,
preventing any chance of a comeback. Eric Przepiorka got the lone goal for
Dartmouth on a goalmouth scramble, and 3 different Eagles got on the board
for BC. BC outattempted Dartmouth for the game 70-20 (40-14 shots on goal),
and hit 3 pipes in addition to the 4 goals.
Dartmouth had triumphed last year over Boston College with a comeback win
in Hanover, so the Eagles were looking for a little revenge at home. The
first period had a quiet start as the teams were feeling each other out.
Dartmouth's Lee Stempniak sent a pass to the crease but it was tipped wide
by Nathan Szymanski, then BC struck on their next shift. Brett Peterson
blocked an attempted clear at the right point and shoveled a pass down the
boards to Steve Gionta. He fought off a Dartmouth defender and wheeled
toward the center of the circle, firing a hard wrist shot. Goalie Dan
Yacey made the save but left a rebound right in front and Chris Collins
popped a quick shot past him for the first score. Rooney and Alberts were
wide with slapshots after that, then Matti Kaltiainen made a big stop on
a break-in by Przepiorka down the left slot. Dartmouth was able to do a
good job on a penalty kill, but BC cranked up the forecheck and pressure
after that, with Eaves getting a shot on a nice spin to the side of the
net. Dartmouth evened the score on a disputed play when a puck thrown
toward the net was gloved down by a player and the subsequent scramble
in front of the goal popped it clear to the left, where Przepiorka pushed
it into the vacated side of the net. The officiating crew discussed this
one for 2 full minutes, with some cries of "hand pass!" coming from the
crowd. Eventually the goal stood and the game was tied at 1.
The Eagles got it right back on the power play after a weak call against
big Hugh Jessiman, who almost accidentally ran over a BC player in neutral
ice and was called for interference. The puck was passed back and forth
between players on the left side of the zone before Eaves pinched into
the left circle and pushed a quick pass to the high slot as the defense
converged on him. Ryan Shannon teed up a quick slapshot that was deflected
up off a stick and over Yacey's shoulder for the 2-1 lead. A 4-on-4
situation provided some open ice that both teams had chances on, and Adams
made a strong play to dispossess Jessiman behind the BC goal, leading to
a BC break. Ben Eaves used the defenseman as a screen and fired a low
wrist shot for the far post that Yacey made a great leg save on. BC put
on forechecking pressure at that point, and Steve Gionta had 3 big plays
in a row to hold the puck in deep, then crossed the zone and delivered a
hard check that forced a weak clearing attempt. Ned Havern intercepted it
before it left the zone, skated into the high left circle, and fired a
half-slapper that deflected off Yacey's pads and into the net.
Though no one knew it at the time, the first period was the highlight for
Dartmouth's evening, as the next 2 periods were an exercise in frustration
for the Big Green. They had a few chances in the second, primarily on
a 5-on-3 advantage, but didn't do any damage, and were completely shut down
in the third. During much of the second period, play was up-and-down a bit,
but the difference was that BC got shots (a lot of them) and Dartmouth did
not. Yacey did a good job blocking the shots that made it through to him,
and had a strong game overall, but Kaltiainen didn't see much rubber. To
Matti's credit, he stayed focused and was strong during the Dartmouth 2-man
advantage when he needed to be. BC had a big chance to put the game away
when Sean Offers was assessed a double minor for holding and cross-checking.
He was called for the first offense, then was laying the lumber around
during the delayed call trying to entice a retaliation. The referee didn't
appreciate the effort and called both infractions. BC pounded the net with
shots, hit 2 posts along the way, and somehow Eaves managed to shoot the
puck into a sprawled Yacey at one point with a wide-open net gaping at him.
Dartmouth managed to survive that stretch, then got their own chance when
BC took 2 penalties in succession. However, the BC penalty kill was very
strong, and the goalie made the 2 saves he had to make.
The third period was a joy to watch if you were a BC fan. Dartmouth was
down 2 goals and remembered the comeback they had last year, but the Eagles
apparently remembered it as well, as they totally shut down the Big Green.
Dartmouth managed only 7 shots in the period, not one of them below the
top of the circles (and 2 from neutral ice when it didn't matter.) BC
sent wave after wave of forecheckers into the Dartmouth zone, and no matter
which line was out there, the puck didn't often get out of the one end of
the ice. They almost scored at the 2:25 mark when Havern fired a wrister
from the right circle that clanged off the far post and zipped back across
the face of the net and out. Then a rebound off a Gionta wraparound
attempt slid just wide of the post, and Voce was wide on an open slot
slapshot. Dartmouth had a couple weak outside shots, but Offers took his
4th minor penalty of the night and BC peppered the net again. Yacey was
up to the challenge, catching all that came his way or seeing shots
deflect wide. The BC forecheck carried the play the rest of the period,
providing no shots for Dartmouth and the occasional dart toward the DC
net. This continued until 18:55, when Yacey finally came off the ice
for the extra skater, only to see the puck popped free by the BC forwards
in neutral ice. Ryan Murphy collected it at the right boards, in front
of the Dartmouth bench, and fired a low shot right into the center of the
open goal for the final margin.
To give an idea of the third period domination by the Eagles, I should
note that many people in the audience started leaving the game in the
middle of the third period, knowing that there was no way Dartmouth was
going to come back from a 3-1 deficit. That hasn't often been the case
for the Eagles, having had some 3rd period lapses early this season. But
this was impressive, to say the least. And Dartmouth is a decent team,
having been undefeated up to this point and ranked number 11 in the
country. But they didn't seem ready for the Eagles' speed and
aggressiveness, or were unable to counter it. BC has been on an impressive
stretch lately, putting lots of pressure on other teams and getting a
big shot differential. When the defense is solid, as it was in this game,
and the power play works, they are a hard team to beat. BC is 5-0-2 in
their last 7 games, outshooting the opponents 262 - 123 in that time.
Considering that they are missing 3 starting forwards, including 2 counted
on to be significant goal scorers, that is fairly impressive. The defense
has been pretty good, too, with Alberts and Adams big and strong, Forrest
moving the puck on offense, Peterson and Lauze consistent, and Harrold the
"quiet but effective" one. When Kaltiainen plays well in net, the package
works.
Dartmouth is a big, strong team, still relatively young, with only 4
starting seniors. With the offensive threat of Jessiman and Przepiorka
(who sneaks in with all the attention paid to big Hugh), they can put
goals on the board. Yacey has had a strong start this year in net, and
they will no doubt be a strong contender in the Ivy and ECAC races. Grant
Lewis is a big, tough freshman defenseman with an offensive mentality,
and he looks like he will be good. Coach Gaudet has done a fine job
rebuilding the Big Green, and they might contend for an NCAA slot by the
end of the year. A lot will depend on how they do in the coming stretch
of games against non-conference opponents, with more games against the
iron of Hockey East and Minnesota State-Mankato of the WCHA. They play
next at BU on Friday, then have a 2 week break before traveling to Maine
to face the Black Bears.
Boston College hopes to keep the positive vibes going when they host
league opponent Northeastern (desperate for their first win) on Saturday
night. If it goes to form, BC should win this game; perhaps they will
give backup goaltender Joe Pearce another opportunity to start in the
game. I'm thinking that the coaches may be wanting to keep the good
thing going, though, and will tinker little with the lineup. BC then
waits a week to host rival Boston University.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A happy BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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