Friday, 12/01/95 At Kelley Rink, Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
UMASS-LOWELL. 1 3 1 - 5 4-2-0 HE 7-3-2 overall
BOSTON COLLEGE 2 1 3 - 6 2-4-1 HE (1-0 SO) 5-7-1 overall
(Full box posted to list INFO-HOCKEY-L.)
Boston College used strong penalty killing and another stellar
game by goalie Greg Taylor to mount a come-from-behind 6-5
Hockey East win over visiting UMass-Lowell Friday night.
The game was rather sloppy at times, with four 4-on-4 goals,
two power play goals, and a shorthanded goal. One of the
UMass-Lowell goals was accidentally scored by the BC defense
into an empty net after goalie Taylor had gone to the bench
for another skater on a delayed penalty call. The River Hawks
had numerous good chances against Taylor but could not get
many past him, and the BC defense was able to clear most
rebound opportunities. BC freshman Marty Reasoner was named
the game's number one star for a 1 goal, 3 assist effort (there
is some inconsistency in the game scoring as summarized and
announced; viewers on the NESN/Prime broadcast may have better
information); Taylor and UML's Christian Sbrocca were number
two and three. (Personally, I would have put Taylor as the
number one star -- if he had not been in the nets, I think
Lowell would have won this game by 2 or 3 goals.)
This was BC's third victory in a row after a slow 2-7-1 start to the
season, and only UML's second Hockey East loss. BC again went with 7
defensemen, a strategy that has paid off in the 3 wins, and got solid play
from most of the team despite some defensive lapses. UML had good efforts
by the first two lines, but showed some lack of punch in the 3rd and 4th
lines.
The first period featured back-and-forth play, with BC carrying
a slight edge. Both teams killed penalties before BC's Hymovitz
opened the scoring by slapping home his own rebound while
falling down in front of the net (4-on-4 goal). Sbrocca came
right back on the same 4-on-4, hammering a high slapper past
Taylor from the top left circle. Dartsch missed a backhand
effort 15 seconds later, and Taylor made two great stops on
a Jeff Daw shot and the rebound. Greg Callahan made it 2-1 BC
by finishing off a 3-on-2 break with a high slap shot that
appeared to glance off Fillion's glove.
BC continued to play the deep forechecking game that has been
productive the last few games, and quickly opened the second
period when Reasoner sent a hard low shot in from the top left
circle that Hymovitz deflected at the goal mouth for a 3-1 lead.
Penalties at the 5:49 mark led to another 4-on-4 situation (the
UML penalty was called first, and BC took a penalty during the
delayed call.)
The play that turned the momentum in the game came next, when
UML's Mahoney was called for a delayed penalty. BC's Taylor
left the net, heading for the bench for another skater, when
a BC defenseman lost control of the puck at the BC blue line.
UML players watched joyfully as the puck slid through the zone
and off the left post into the empty net for the 2nd UML goal
(Sbrocca received credit.) Though BC had the subsequent power
play, it was Lowell that seemed to come to life. Taylor had
to stop a break by Donovan after a BC defenseman had fallen,
then Concannon evened the score at 3 with a shorthanded goal
at 8:23. Ed Campbell carried the puck up the left side on a
2-on-1 break, passing to a streaking Concannon at the right
side. Unfortunately for BC's Reasoner, his backchecking effort
with his stick deflected the puck into the open right side of
the net.
UMass-Lowell dominated most of the remainder of the period,
helped by several BC penalties. (2 of them on Don Chase for
interference with the goaltender, as he went crashing through
the crease in search of goals. As noted on HOCKEY-L a couple
of weeks ago, the HE refs are pretty strict about running into
the goalie, even if it is helped by a timely push by the
defense.) Taylor made numerous stops, including a couple of
sparkling glove saves in a 5-on-3 situation. Late in the
period Jon Mahoney put UML up 4-3 when he pulled the puck loose
behind the BC net, skated behind from right to left and wrapped
one in the far side.
BC had early power play chances in the third period after UML's
Donovan took a 5-minute major for cross-checking from behind,
and Fillion made some good pad saves. A goalmouth scrum at
4:48 led to several penalties, and BC started its comeback when
Brian Callahan was sent in from the left corner on a pass from
Reasoner; the 4-on-4 goal made it 4-4. BC's Chase took another
penalty right after that, and eventually Lowell regained the
lead on a 5-on-3 power play goal. Neil Donovan tried to push
the puck across the goal to a wide-open teammate; as goalie
Taylor slid to block the teammate, a BC player deflected the
pass right to the net where Donovan batted it in.
The small but more-vocal-than-usual crowd was doing its best to
spark another BC comeback, and a UML penalty provided the
opportunity. Defenseman Ken Hemenway came clear in front on a
feed by O'Leary and wristed one past Fillion for a 5-5 tie.
Taylor continued to make big saves after that goal, and BC got
the game winner from Marty Reasoner at the 16:20 mark. Lowell
got several more chances but Taylor's work and some strong
forechecking preserved the BC win.
BC has shown much stronger skating and forechecking in the past
two weeks, and goalie Taylor is playing as well as he has in the
past two years. The result is obvious. While tonight's game
was not as sharply played as Tuesday night against Harvard, with
some defensive breakdowns and bad penalties, overall the team
has been much more effective. The top two lines have found a
productive scoring touch, the third (checking) line of Brian
Callahan, Clifton McHale, and Toby Harris has played extremely
well, and the extra defenseman has provided fresh legs at
opportune moments. The penalty-killing unit has killed 36 of
42 opportunities in the last 6 games (85.7%).
UMass-Lowell fans have enjoyed a strong start from the River
Hawks, but probably are a little disappointed in tonight's game.
I thought their defense gave up the puck a bit too easily along
the boards and allowed too many good openings in front for BC
skaters. Sbrocca again had a strong game against BC, as he
often seems to do. To their credit, Lowell did not take many
penalties (their former nemesis), and the top two lines got many,
many good scoring chances. Taylor is playing well, however, and
they couldn't get much past him. (Only one 5-on-5 goal, two
UML goals were actually put in by BC players, and a third was
deflected to an open UML forward by the defense.)
BC's Marty Reasoner padded his top HE freshman stats with a goal
and 3 assists tonight (7-9-16), and David Hymovitz leads BC with
11 goals (11-7-18). UML's Donovan scored his 10th of the season
(10-6-16). Same two teams meet tomorrow night at Lowell's Tully
Forum in Billerica, MA.
I sympathize with Kurt; we didn't win the 50-50 drawing either. This was
the first time I remember seeing a 50-50 at a BC game, and it was being
held as a fundraiser by the sailing team! The other nice aspect to
tonight's win is that the student section started to make some noise;
they have been markedly absent in the last three years. The crowd wasn't
large (about average 2900), but the game was exciting and BC has been
showing some solid play of late. The fans seem reasonably pleased and
hopeful for the future. We will see how they perform tomorrow night;
recent BC history usually shows a letdown on the Saturday games.
--------------- ----------------------
Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
Read the FAQ!!! A patient BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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