(Box from BC game summary sheet) Friday, October 26, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA BC 4, ND 1 NON-CONFERENCE GAME ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTRE DAME (CCHA) 1 0 0 - 1 (0-4-1 overall, 0-1-1 CCHA) BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 0 0 4 - 4 (2-3-1 overall, 0-2-0 HE) Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play ND 5- 4- 8 -- 17 5 - 10 1 - 5 BC 11-13-15 -- 39 6 - 12 0 - 4 ND - Morgan Cey 11-13-11 - 35 saves/3 goals (59:06) BC - Tim Kelleher 4- 4- 8 - 16 saves/1 goal (60:00) Referee - John Gravellese Assistants - Tom Quinn, Kevin Shea Attendance - 7884 1st Period ND1 Aaron Gill 3 (Inman, Dunlop) PPG 4:42 Penalties ND - Stastny (roughing) 1:29 BC - Peterson (roughing) 1:29 BC - Dziama (roughing) 4:21 ND - Globke (slashing) 7:29 ND - Gill (holding) 13:30 ND - Wanchulak (hooking) 18:52 2nd Period None Penalties BC - Alberts (roughing) 4:39 ND - Galvin (holding) 9:35 BC - Dziama (interference) 13:40 BC - Cass (holding) 15:48 3rd Period BC1 Dave Spina 3 (Giuliano, Shannon) 1:38 BC2 Ales Dolinar 2 (Hennes) 3:10 GWG BC3 Jeff Giuliano 3 (Spina, Alberts) 10:34 BC4 Ben Eaves 3 (unassisted) ENG 19:51 Penalties BC - Adams (holding) 12:26 3 Stars - 1. BC - Jeff Giuliano (1G, 1A) 2. BC - Dave Spina (1G, 1A) 3. ND - Morgan Cey (35 saves, 3 goals) Notre Dame University: F ROB GLOBKE, AARON GILL, DAVID INMAN Alex Lalonde, Connor Dunlop, Brad Wanchulak Corey McLean, Yan Stastny, John Wroblewski Jake Wiegand, Michael Chin, Jon Maruk D Brett Lebda, Neil Komadoski Derek Smith, EVAN NIELSEN T.J. Mathieson, TOM GALVIN G Tony Zasowski, MORGAN CEY, Jeremiah Kimento Boston College: F Jeff Giuliano, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina Ned Havern, Ben Eaves, Tony Voce TY HENNES, ALES DOLINAR, RYAN MURPHY Anthony D'Arpino, A.J. Walker, Justin Dziama D John Adams, J.D. Forrest ANDREW ALBERTS, BILL CASS Taylor Leahy, Brett Peterson G TIM KELLEHER, Matti Kaltiainen, Robbie Miller COMMENTS -------- It required patience from Boston College, waiting until the 3rd period to break through with 4 goals to defeat Notre Dame 4-1 Friday night at BC. The Eagles had dominated most of the game throughout but had been unable to score on freshman goaltender Morgan Cey until early in the final period. Once the door was opened, though, BC scored twice more and added an empty- netter to break a 4-game winless streak. The Eagles got a goal and an assist each from Jeff Giuliano and Dave Spina, while the Fighting Irish goal was a power play strike by Aaron Gill. Boston College got the sellout crowd roaring early with a pregame ceremony to unveil the banner commemorating the 2001 national championship. Players entered the ice in a spotlighted spectacle, then a brief video showing last year's players and highlights was played. The banner was unfurled from the rafters, a simple display that duplicated the look of the previous banner for BC's previous championship in 1949. Play early in the first period was a bit tentative and defensive, both teams feeling each other out. BC was called for a penalty at 4:21 -- Justin Dziama got a roughing call. The Eagles may have been fortunate because they could also have been called for too many men, as 6 skaters were on the ice for an extended time but not noticed by the officials. In any case, Notre Dame took only 21 seconds to get on the board when David Inman and Connor Dunlop had bids from the slot turned away, and the rebound was corralled by Aaron Gill and pushed into an open right side of the net. Though no one realized it at the time, this was the high point of the evening for the Irish, as BC dominated the game from that time onward. The Eagles started outskating and outworking Notre Dame in the ND zone, keeping the puck in the zone for extended stretches and putting pressure on the defense. The Irish were able to block some shots, and frosh goalie Morgan Cey played well to keep the puck out of the net during 3 power plays the remainder of the period. Notre Dame got their few offensive chances on odd-man counterattacks when BC was pushing forward, but either had passes blocked or shots go wide, ending with only 5 shots on goal for the period. The second period was similar in a lot of ways, with BC continuing to get strong pressure in the Notre Dame zone and Cey somehow keeping the puck out of the net. Sparked by the return to the lineup of Ben Eaves, the Eagles were able to sustain possession and pepper the Notre Dame net. Aside from occasional counterattacks, the Irish mostly were forced to try to dump the puck out to relieve pressure. BC's Tony Voce, Dave Spina, Ryan Shannon, and Brett Peterson all had good shots on power plays, and the Eagles defensive corps were able to keep the puck in at the point. Tim Kelleher was not called on to make many saves but was very good when called on to keep the score 1-0. Cey showed the crowd why he is playing in net for Notre Dame, with solid positioning and good vision. There was a sense, though, that the Irish could not continue to play with fire in giving so many chances to the Eagles. Sure enough, Boston College tied the game early in the third when Ryan Shannon got the puck in deep left and pushed it free for Jeff Giuliano. He was able to spin around in the left circle unattended, wheel toward the slot and shoot a backhander toward the far side. Dave Spina was in position just to the right of the goalie and tipped it inside the right post. BC kept the pressure on with forechecking, and ND defenseman Neil Komadoski made a fatal mistake by trying to skate the puck into the slot from the right circle, where he lost control. Ales Dolinar collected the puck and pushed the shot past Cey to the left post and in for the Eagles first lead at 3:10. Notre Dame now started working harder to get the offense in gear and had their best chances of the game, only to find Kelleher there to make 2 big glove saves on Brett Lebda slap shots. After both teams had more opportunities as the game opened up, BC got a big third goal after a scramble in the right corner left the puck free for Giuliano to pick up and turn at the outer right circle. As a BC player and ND defender crossed in front of the goal Giuliano sent a hard wrister high just inside the near post and it was in the net before Cey ever saw the puck. Notre Dame continued to work to get offensive pressure and BC scrambled to block shots and clear the puck. The Eagles also got some counterattack chances of their own, with Tony Voce breaking into the slot but Cey making the save. Notre Dame continued to fight for chances, pulling Cey with a minute left and calling a timeout to set up plays. After several clears and icings by BC, Eaves blocked a last shot, then stole the puck from the ND defense when they went back to collect in their own zone. He spun and sent a soft shot sliding into the empty net for the final score. The difference for BC from last Friday's loss to UMass-Lowell was a much better effort to control the puck on the boards and fight for possession, along with fewer defensive mistakes. The return of Ben Eaves was also a spark for the offense, with Eaves providing more puck control and adding a sharpness that his teammates fed off. They played 5 defensemen (frosh Taylor Leahy got only a few shifts) and their 3 experienced d-men played much more solid than last week's efforts. Brett Peterson and J.D. Forrest particularly were able to control the Notre Dame offensive rushes without giving up many shots. Admittedly, the Irish did not present the same sort of physical pressure that Lowell sent at BC, but the BC effort was markedly better in this game and they finally scored the goals to get the win. The most troubling aspect for the Eagles was the inability to put the puck in the net despite dominating most of the game and getting lots of shots. That could be both a mix of their youth and inexperience and the solid effort of ND goalie Cey, who set his personal high in saves for a game in his young career. Notre Dame has definite talent, with several graduates of the US National Development program on the team. Most of those players were very good in the game, particularly Rob Globke and Brett Lebda (an offensive force from the blue line, very smooth.) However, the rest of the lineup did not show much intensity defensively and was unable to translate initial offensive forays into shots. They were outskated by the Eagles, with most of the loose and 50-50 pucks going to Boston College. If not for the effort of Morgan Cey in net (solid!) and some unlucky bounces for BC, this game could have been 5-1 in the second period and not close at all. As it turns out, the 4-1 final margin was closer than the game really was. Notre Dame is winless so far and faces 3 more road games before returning home. If they don't find a way to start winning it could be a long, long season for them. They face a Northeastern team tonight in Boston that is hoping to be a player in the Hockey East race and will have to work harder to have a chance in this one. BC wins its first game at home for the 2001 season and showed a lot of positive signs in this game, perhaps most importantly a good performance from goalie Tim Kelleher. If their other goaltenders can pick up their game as well, and the defense continues to improve, the offense is good enough to keep them in the thick of things in Hockey East. They won't be consistent enough to challenge for the top of the league, but will be capable of winning on any night. The Eagles next play a pair at Wisconsin next weekend, a tough road trip.