(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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 -------- 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!