BC Hockey Recap: Games 4-7
By JD Biagioni
Game 4
Who: St. Cloud State
Where: Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN
When: Friday, October 20
Result: 5-2 loss
Recap:
In a role-reversal of their last game, BC was the one that jumped out to an early lead but let up a series of unanswered goal. BC came flying out of the gate and were rewarded with a slashing call at 4:38 of the first. The Eagles produced some excellent movement on the power play and scored before the power play expired, at 6:09. Casey Fitzgerald controlled the puck at the point before feeding the needle to Logan Hutsko, who skillfully tipped the puck past Jeff Smith. BC backup net-minder Ryan Edquist turned away all 11 shots that he faced in the first, and the Eagles went to the dressing room up 1-0.
The second period started just like the first, with BC netting an early goal. This time it was Christopher Brown with his first goal of the season at 4:10 of the second to stretch the Eagle lead to 2.
Unfortunately, the game took a turn for the worse for the Eagles after this goal. The Huskies of Saint Cloud State peppered the sophomore Edquist with 17 shots on goal in the second, converting on two of those opportunities to even the score before the end of the period. Kevin Fitzgerald converted for the Huskies at 10:48 of the frame; he crashed the net and jammed home a loose rebound when Edquist wasn’t able to corral the puck. Jack Poehling evened the score less than two minutes after the first goal for St. Cloud State on another rebound play.
The two teams remained deadlocked for the rest of the second into the third, when everything really unraveled for the Eagles. Outshot 19-4, BC let in three more goals, which amounted to five unanswered after the initial 2-0 lead. Jack Ahcan converted at 7:18 on the power play, ending BC’s string of kills to kick off the season. They actually killed off the first six of the evening, but it was only a matter of time before the Husky offense capitalized on an Eagle penalty. Five minutes later, St. Cloud’s power play exhibited some great movement in the offensive zone, which resulted in a Robby Jackson goal, the Huskies’ second consecutive power play goal and fourth consecutive unanswered goal. Another Poehling, Jack’s twin brother Nick, buried an empty netter with 30 seconds remaining to seal the deal, giving the Huskies a 5-2 victory to kick off the weekend series in Minnesota.
Number to know: 47-BC surrendered 47 shots on goal. They were 3 away from from allowing 50, something they haven’t done since December 2001 against Minnesota-Duluth.
Game 5
Who: St. Cloud State
Where: Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN
When: Saturday, October 21
Result: 3-1 loss
Recap:
St. Could jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead against Joseph Wall and the Eagles in the second night of the back-to-back. While BC outshot the Huskies 31-9 in the final two periods, they were only able to muster one goal, dropping two in a row to a Saint Cloud State team which left the series 5-0-0 on the young season.
The difference in the game was on the power play. In the first period each side was assessed two minor penalties, but St. Cloud capitalized on both of their man advantages. The first PP goal occurred at 2:17, when Jack Poehling slipped one by a sprawling Woll who made the initial stops on the attack before Poehling crashed the net to bury the puck. With 30 seconds remaining in the period, Jimmy Schuldt slid a pass to Mikey Eyssimont who wristed it past Woll. In between the two man advantage goals, Ryan Poehling tipped one past Woll on the doorstep. All in all, the Huskies finished the first period with a commanding 3-0 lead.
BC tried to flip the script in the second and third periods, as they outshot Saint Cloud 31-9 over the final two frames. Following the logic from the Huskies’ come-from-behind win on Friday, a game in which BC was outshot 36-12 over the final two frames, one would assume the Eagles would’ve been able to mount a comeback. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Husky goalie Dávid Hrenák turned aside 30 of those 31 shots. The only goal he let in on the evening was JD Dudek’s first of the season; Dudek, with the help of David Cotton, jammed home the puck in the crease off of a nice setup from Julius Mattila. This goal at 13:45 of the third was the first BC goal since 4:10 of the second in Friday night’s game. The final seconds ticked away and BC fell to 1-3-1, a tough hole to be in for a young team with such a difficult road ahead. This was the first time BC had ever traveled to St. Cloud, MN, and, after being outscored 8-3 over the two games, it’s safe to say the Eagles will be glad that they don’t have to return there this season.
Number to know: 4-the Eagles stellar penalty kill came into the weekend sporting 100% success rate on the PK. They faltered against the Huskies, however, and gave up four power play goals over the course of the two game series.
Game 6:
Who: Providence
Where: Schneider Arena, Providence, RI
When: Friday, October 27
Result: 2-1 loss
Recap:
BC returned to Providence, RI looking to pick up where they left off. The Eagles, losers of their last two, picked up their only win of the season against the Friars on October 15th when they they stormed back from 3-0 down to win it in OT. In this second meeting of the season, it was BC who scored early and Providence who scored often to sink the Eagles to 1-4-1 on the season.
BC took four penalties in the first 9 minutes of action, including 2 tripping calls within 30 seconds of each other which resulted in a 5-3 for the Friars. The Eagles weathered the storm and struck first with around 4 minutes remaining in the period. Connor Moore broke up the Providence rush and fed Casey Carreau. Carreau skipped the puck over to Mike Booth for the one-timer at the right dot. Friar goalie Hawkey made the initial save but Moore, the initiator of the transition play, nailed home the rebound. It was the first point of the season for each of these three Eagles.
JD Dudek and Scott Conway drew an embellishment and an interference penalty, respectively, at 6:57 of the second to set up a 4-on-4 situation. The Friar took advantage of the open ice. Erik Foley received a long pass from Spenser Young. Foley then beat his man one-on-one and beat Woll top left corner to even the score.
Jesper Mattila was sent to the box for slashing with just under two minutes remaining in the second. Ben Mirageas beat a screened Joe Woll with a writer from the high slot with under a minute to play in the period. This goal ended up being the game-winner, as neither team scored in the third period.
This victory marked Providence’s first Hockey East win against the Eagles since 2014, and their first win against the Eagles since 2015 in the Florida College Classic. The Eagles fall to 1-4-1 and welcome defending NCAA National Champion Denver to Chestnut Hill Saturday, October 28. A strong showing against the #1 Pioneers could be just what the Eagles need to turn their fortunes.
Number to know: 24–the Eagles have taken 24 penalties over the past three games. The Eagles must fix this undisciplined play if they wish to contend in the Hockey East.
Game 7:
Who: Denver
Where: Conte Forum
When: Saturday, October 28
Result: 6-1 loss
Recap:
The Eagles returned home losers of three straight road games. In search of just their second win of the season, the Eagles faced a tall test in defending National Champion and current #1 Denver Pioneers. BC looked to feed off the momentum of Friday night’s thrilling Red Bandana football victory but they fell short against a better all-around team, 6-1.
The Pioneers kicked things off with a power play goal at 11:57 of the first. Twenty seconds into a Graham McPhee slashing minor, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry played tic-tac-toe with the puck on the Denver breakout, before Gambrell beat Joe Woll with a snap shot.
It was a similar story in the second: the Eagles took a penalty and Denver capitalized on the first few seconds of the power play. Casey Fitzgerald was nailed for tripping just under a minute into the second. Terry, captaining the Pioneer power play, fed Mitchell for a one timer. Henrik Borgstrom was parked in the perfect position to tip it home for the 2-0 lead.
At 14:33 Denver scored on a set play off an offensive zone draw. Tyson McLellan won the draw to Blake Hillman who fired one by Woll and the BC defense before they could react.
BC finally got on the board at the start of the third. Christopher Brown tipped home a JD Dudek shot from the right point at 1:45.
This seasoned Denver team was just too much for the young Eagles. They thwarted all momentum BC may have gained from the power play goal with three more of their own to cap off the 6-1 victory. Henrik Borgström gave the Pioneers back a three-goal advantage with a writer through traffic on the power play. All in all, Denver’s power play finished 3-for-6 on the evening. Tyson McLellan potted the fifth goal in an even strength transition play. Denver stripped the puck in the BC zone and the puck landed with Colin Staub. McLellan crashed the net to receiver Staub’s feed and beat Woll. Blake Hillman put the final stamp on the game with a snapshot at 14:26 of the third.
The Eagles matched up with Denver as far as hustle was concerned, but the Pioneers’ skill was too much for BC. The only positive that came out of this game was that it ended BC’s brutally tough October slate of games. Their next five game include two with Merrimack, one with UCONN, and two with UVM. The 1-5-1 Eagles will welcome the opportunity to play some unranked teams and hopefully gain some ground against some winnable opponents.
Number to Know: 2- The Denver Pioneers have lost only two games in regulation in 2017 (January 13 vs. Western Michigan and March 17 vs. North Dakota