(Box from BC's Hockey East Box Score)
Friday, February 20, 2004 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 4, UML 1 HOCKEY EAST GAME
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UMASS-LOWELL (HE) 0 0 1 - 1 (8-19-6 overall, 5-10-4 HE)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 1 1 2 - 4 (24-3-4 overall, 15-1-3 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
UML 10- 5- 7 -- 22 5 - 10 0 - 5
BC 7-10- 9 -- 26 7 - 14 1 - 2
UML - John Yaros 6- 9- 7 - 22 saves/4 goals (59:25)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 10- 5- 6 - 21 saves/1 goal (60:00)
Referee - Jeff Bunyon
Assistants - John Jones, Jack Millea
Attendance - 7884 (sellout, but many empty seats nonetheless)
1st Period
BC1 Dave Spina 5 (J.D. Forrest, Ryan Shannon) 11:23
Penalties
UML - Jerramie Domish (hooking) 19:23
2nd Period
BC2 Stephen Gionta 8 (Pat Eaves, Andrew Alberts) 13:59 GWG
Penalties
BC - Adam Pineault (roughing) 5:01
UML - Rene Gauthier (holding) 5:01
BC - Ryan Shannon (obstruction - interference) 5:53
BC - Brian Boyle (interference) 15:25
BC - Tony Voce (roughing) 18:04
UML - Elias Godoy (roughing) 18:04
3rd Period
BC3 Ryan Shannon 10 (Chris Collins, Brett Peterson) 8:13
UML1 Jason Tejchma 7 (Bobby Robins, Jerramie Domish) 10:00
BC4 Tony Voce 22 (John Adams, Ryan Shannon) PPG 15:04
UML Timeout 18:14
Penalties
BC - Chris Collins (high-sticking) 5:01
BC - Brian Boyle (slashing) 11:48
UML - Rene Gauthier (hooking) 13:25
BC - Stephen Gionta (hooking) 18:14
UML - Bobby Robins (hooking) 19:38
3 Stars - 1. BC - Ryan Shannon (1G, 2A)
2. BC - Matti Kaltiainen (21 saves, 1 goal)
3. BC - Stephen Gionta (1G)
University of Massachusetts - Lowell:
F MARK PANDOLFO, BEN WALTER, DANNY O'BRIEN
Brad King, Elias Godoy, Rene Gauthier
Andrew Martin, Jason Tejchma, Bobby Robins
Todd Fletcher, Chris Fontas, Peter Hanlon
D MATT COLLAR, CLEVE KINLEY
Peter Tormey, Adam Stanieich
Kim Brandvold, Jerramie Domish
G Chris Davidson, JOHN YAROS, Paul Mammola
Boston College:
F PAT EAVES, STEPHEN GIONTA, TONY VOCE
Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Ned Havern, Ty Hennes, Ryan Murphy
Adam Pineault, Brian Boyle, 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 beat UMass-Lowell 4-1 Friday night at BC, the same score
as their first victory over the River Hawks back in November, but it was
a much tighter, hard-fought win this time. Lowell bottled up the Eagles
at times and carried play for good stretches, but BC was able to put the
puck in the net and UML could not, and that was the difference in the
game. A great game from Ryan Shannon (3 points) led an offense that
featured 4 different goal scorers, and Matti Kaltiainen was strong in
net, saving 21 of 22 shots. BC's defense again played well, limiting
Lowell to outside shots for the most part and giving UML almost no
chances on their 5 power plays.
The first period was carried more by Lowell than BC, an unusual occurrence
this season. UML used an unusual defensive formation to disrupt BC rushes,
lining up all 5 players just outside their blue line and then attacking
BC once they reached the neutral zone. It worked for a while until the
Eagles adapted their tactics, but Lowell seemed to do a good job limiting
BC's offense to the outside and blocked a good number of point shots.
Lowell had more shots in the first half of the period, though most of
theirs were from outside as well and Kaltiainen was able to make the saves.
It was after some UML pressure mid-period that BC was finally able to
break out and rush up ice for the first goal. Shannon fed J.D. Forrest on
the left side, and he fired a slap shot as he crossed into the Lowell zone.
John Yaros made the leg save but left a big rebound in the slot, where
players were charging toward the net. Dave Spina was able to swat the
bouncing puck and it floated up and over Yaros' glove into the high right
corner of the net. For a few minutes the Eagles had more jump in their
skates and forced play, but after that the River Hawks started to regain
momentum. It was this stretch where Kaltiainen came to the fore, stacking
the pads for a huge save on a point-blank open shot on an odd-man rush,
and then flashing the glove to deflect a hard Andrew Martin slapper from
the middle. Despite having an edge in play, Lowell went to the locker
room down 1-0.
The second period opened with a BC power play that was ineffective, then
was tightly contested for several minutes. BC had a couple of chances
in front but lost the puck off their sticks and couldn't get clean shots
on goal. Penalties gave UML a 4x3 advantage but they couldn't capitalize,
then the crowd got into the game as Stephen Gionta checked Matt Collar
off his feet and completely into the BC bench. BC's Dave Spina was just
wide on a break chance after that, UML couldn't get to a big rebound on
their counter, and each team was forcing play, trying to get the next
score. Lowell started to forecheck well, bottling up the play in the
BC end, and Kaltiainen had to swat away a rebound after making a tough
save on a screened shot. Just as it seemed Lowell would dominate the play,
BC got a counter chance and Gionta got a clean look from the left circle.
His hard wrister somehow found its way over the goalie's outstretched glove
and dented the net far side for a 2-0 Eagles lead. (Yaros would love to
get a second shot at this one; it looked like he thought he had it
but it went over his glove. Misjudged the speed of the shot?) Lowell got
a power play after that but it was BC's penalty killers that had the
best shots, with Voce and Spina stealing pucks and firing wide. BC also
carried the play on a late 4-on-4 situation as Lowell finished the period
sitting back a bit.
Elias Godoy opened the third for Lowell with a steal, but the puck slid
off his stick as he slipped and he ended up with only a weak angled shot
rather than the clean breakaway it looked like he would get. Adam
Pineault had a slot backhander blocked for BC, and Lowell was unable to
score on a power play despite Ben Walter sliding the puck around the
goalie and into the open crease at one point. BC started to regain some
momentum at this point as Lowell seemed to tire somewhat, buzzing around
the net and putting some deep forechecking on the River Hawks. As
players were tangled up in front of the net, Shannon swooped behind the
goal, collected the puck, circled around to the slot (losing a
defenseman in the process as he tripped over other bodies), and fired a
hard shot from in front. The save was made, but Shannon collected his
own rebound as he slid to the right edge of the crease and he had an
open right side to score the third BC goal. BC kept skating hard and
it seemed like the game might be over, but Lowell's 3rd line (their most
effective on the night) fought back with strong effort. Bobby Robins
circled out to the front, fighting off a check, and spun for a shot
toward goal. Jason Tejchma tipped the puck past Kaltiainen, and when
Lowell got a subsequent power play, it was still a game. Good BC
penalty killing dominated the man-advantage, though, and Lowell took
their own penalty to even things up. Kaltiainen made the last of his
big saves with a good glove flash to snare a Martin wrist shot,
then BC took advantage on their power play. The Eagles had strong
pressure, then Shannon slid a pass from the left point to John Adams at
the right. He passed to Tony Voce in the right circle, and he absolutely
smashed a one-time beauty into the top near-side corner for the final
score. A lot of players can't make that shot, but Voce has the scorers'
knack, and showed why he is this team's top sniper. Lowell called a late
timeout on a power play to try to set up a late score, and pulled Yaros
when they could, but they couldn't get a goal at the end.
BC fans were not terribly happy about the win, despite the 4-1 final,
because it seemed that Lowell was able to skate with the Eagles and
threaten for much of the game. In the end, it was BC's ability to put
the puck past Yaros while Lowell couldn't do the same to Kaltiainen and
the BC defense. It was a good win for BC, because they didn't play their
best game and yet were able to do the things they needed to do to get the
win. That's been the formula for much of the year, keeping the pressure
on the other team, wearing them down, getting the goals, then letting the
defense frustrate the opponent. The Eagles' style, even though they have
lots of firepower and often dominate the ice, is more relentless than
flashy. There is plenty of skill there, and it showed tonight in getting
the goals, but the defensive efforts, the need for other teams to fight
hard just to get shots, let alone goals, tends to gradually tilt the ice
toward BC. The BC fans might as well get used to it, because as playoff
hockey comes, the games will probably all be close, with no blowouts and
no easy ones.
Ryan Shannon again had a big game for BC, skating cleanly, forcing plays,
and being difficult to handle. Dave Spina has been skating hard since his
return from injury and it is starting to pay off (though he was limping
at the very end of the game?) Matti Kaltiainen, often overlooked because
he doesn't face a ton of shots and isn't flashy, did a very good job in
this one. He made the big saves when he had to, and gave his team a
chance to move on for the win. If he keeps that up through the playoffs,
BC will be a tough team to defeat.
That said, Lowell showed some of the things a team has to do to beat BC,
skating with them, playing strong with the puck and fighting through
checks, and throwing the puck at the net. They weren't able to get to
the front of the crease enough, and almost never had a shot via a rebound,
and that meant they weren't going to score much. A team that is able to
crash the net more will probably give BC fits, though, and that is bound
to happen somewhere down the line. Possibly even in Saturday's rematch
up at Lowell. UML is a good team that is a little soft on defense, but
they skate well and work hard. Their offensive snipers haven't had much
success with BC, but I expect they will eventually get theirs. It should
be noted that Lowell skated 4 lines consisting completely of freshman and
sophomores in this game, and only 1 junior and 1 senior on defense. This
is a seriously young team, and they still play well. Blaise MacDonald
has had success everywhere he has been, and I wouldn't be surprised to
see Lowell as one of the better teams in Hockey East next year. If it
wasn't for the forfeits they took due to an ineligible player, they would
still be in the hunt for a home playoff spot this year. No one is going
to want to play this team in the playoffs, that's for sure.
BC goes to Lowell for the rematch Saturday night, and it will probably
be a tough test. If BC can score some goals, as they did in Friday's game,
they get the win. If it is a low-scoring affair, Lowell might get the
upset. BC wants these 2 points, because the final 2 weeks are games with
always-tough UNH and a hard road trip to Maine. Lowell also wants to get
untracked, having not won a game since their win over Boston University
at the end of January. Lowell also faces 2 tough games with Maine next
week.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A satisfied BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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