Friday March 12, 1993
HOCKEY EAST game at Walter Brown Arena, Boston, Mass.
Boston College (9-23-5, 6-15-3 HE) 0 - 2 - 0 -- 2
Boston University (26-7-5,18-5-1 HE) 4 - 2 - 0 -- 6
Scoring: BC-BU
first period:
1. BU, Brennan 8 (Friedman, O'Sullivan) 6:09 0-1
2. BU, Pandolfo 13 (Brennan, O'Sullivan) 10:24 PPG 0-2
3. BU, Pandolfo 14 (Thornton, Mark Bavis) 15:34 PPG 0-3
4. BU, Pomichter 13 (Prendergast, O'Sullivan) 18:23 0-4
second period:
5. BU, Pomichter 14 (Sacco, Prendergast) 6:55 0-5
6. BC, Moran (unassisted) 7:15 1-5
7. BC, Callahan 19 (Buckley, Hymovitz) 10:23 2-5
8. BU, Pomichter 15 (Sacco) 19:42 2-6
third period:
none.
Shots/saves: Josh Singewald, BC 20:00 15 shs, 11 svs.
Mike Sparrow, BC 40:00 25 shs, 23 svs.
Derek Herlofsky, BU 60:00 22 shs, 20 svs.
Penalties: BU 10/20, BC 13/26
Powerplays: BU 3/6, BC 0/3
Referees: Jim Fitzgerald, Frank Cole.
Linesman: Dennis Hughes.
Attendance: 1,456.
Summary: Mike Pomichter tallied his third career hat-trick and rookie
star Jay Pandolfo added a pair of goals to lead BU to their 5th victory
of the season against Green Line arch-rival Boston College in the opening
round of the Hockey East playoffs at Walter Brown Arena.
The Eagles came out hitting hard, trying to intimidate the Terriers
but couldn't get much together as BU completely dominated the first period.
Sophomore defenseman Rich Brennan drew first blood at 6:09 of the first when
he put a nice fake on BC D John Joyce and walked right in, beating BC tender
Josh Singewald with a low, quick wrist shot.
The goal seemed to serve as a brief wake-up call to the Eagles, as they
picked up their intensity and moved the puck better. Rob Laferriere had a great
chance for BC when sneaked in to Derek Herlofsky's right side and unleashed a
quick shot but somehow Herlofsky flashed his glove at it and made the save of the night.
BC Coach Steve Cedorchuk said before the game that BC would try and stay
out of the box that night, but the Eagles managed to take some bad penalties
anyway and it proved to be their nemesis as BU connected on 3 of 6 powerplay
opportunities.
The first came at 10:24, after BC's Jerry Buckley drew and extra 2:00
for an altercation with Kaj Linna for the first BU powerplay of the night.
Jay Pandolfo took a pass from Rich Brennan and took a shot from the left
face-off circle that deflected off BC D Jack Callahan's skate and slid into
the net for a 2-0 BU lead. At 13:50 Todd Hall went off for holding and this
time it was Pandolfo again, this time with a backhander as he wheeled around
Singewald right outside the crease for the 3-0 lead.
Just under 3 minutes later, at 18:23, Mike Pomichter got his first
of the night when he beat Todd Hall in the neutral zone and nailed Singewald
on a breakaway, to close the period with a 4-0 BU lead. BU outshot the
hapless Eagles 15-8, in what had to be one of the worst all-around periods
I've seen BC play.
Cedorchuk replaced Singewald at the start of the second with backup
Mike Sparrow, who has been much more solid than his 1-9 record indicates.
Sparrow inherited a 4-goal defecit and gave up 2 quick goals, but then shut
down the Terriers, stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced in 40:00 of play.
I would not be suprised to see him get the nod for the Eagles tonight, considering his fine performance Friday.
BC opened the period with a powerplay but that was negated when Jack Callahan took a holding call, so BU wound
up with 1:04 of a man-advantage. At 6:55 Pomichter got his second on a pass from Sacco, with
a shot that caught the far corner for the 5-0 lead. But just 00:20 later, BC's
Ian Moran got his 8th of the season when broke in the zone and cut in on
Herlofsky, beating him with a shot high to the stick side and putting the Eagles
on the board. After Don Chase and Rich Brennan tangled it up for matching minorsthe Terriers, Jack Callahan took pass from Buckley and walked around from behind
the net, stuffing it past Herlofsky for the Eagles' 2nd goal for one of the few
bright spots for the Eagles that night. The other flash of brilliance for the
Eagles came just a moment later, when Jacques Joubert took a loose puck at the
blue line and flew in on Sparrow, who made a splendid sliding save across the
goal mouth, preventing what was almost a sure goal.
At 19:42, though, Pomichter sealed the hat trick when he took Dave
Sacco's rebound and beat Sparrow on a low drive from just inside the right
circle to cap the evening's scoring.
BU didn't let up in the 3rd period, as it appeared Mike Prendergast
scored at 4:02 but Jim Fitzgerald successfully ruled that a BU player was in the
crease. The Eagles continued to pander along, mustering only 6 shots on net
while BU had 14, but Sparrow came up big to keep the Terriers off the board
entirely in the final stanza.
This rivalry has not been as competitive as in years past, as BU has
defeated the Eagles by scores of 7-4, 7-2, 5-1, 8-2, and 6-2 this season, after the
Eagles went 3-0-1 against the Terriers the season before. Clearly, this is
a rebuilding year for 9-23-5 Eagles, but several players show signs of promise,
and BC has already landed a couple of highly-touted recruits, including a
goaltender.
The two face off again tonight in the second game of the Hockey East
quarterfinal series after the postponement of the contest last night due to
the big storm that hit the Eastern seaboard. For their playoff chances to
remain alive, BC must win the game tonight, forcing a sudden-death game to be
played, which BC must win also. The Eagles will have their work cut out, but
expect a closer, better matched contest tonight, especially if Sparrow starts
between the pipes for the Eagles and turns in another solid appearance.
--Sid
BU '94