The Boston College men's hockey team continued to roll this weekend, collecting its fifth and sixth consecutive victories in a whitewashing of the No. 3-ranked New Hampshire Wildcats. New Hampshire, which had already claimed the Hockey East title, gave an effort of a team that had nothing to play for.
Following Friday night's 4-1 victory in Durham, N.C., the Eagles had already jumped BU and climbed to No. 2 in the Hockey East standings. But the Eagles came out Saturday night with more urgency - and it showed. Early this winter, the BC squad's chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament were slim. After winning eight of their last nine games, however, the Eagles are now a lock for the national tournament, save for a major catastrophe.
In both games against UNH, the Eagles took the lead and never trailed the Wildcats. In Saturday night's affair, sophomore Benn Ferriero put the Eagles on the board as the first period came to a close, notching his 17th goal of the year. Ferriero corralled the rebound from a Tim Filangieri drive that freshman netminder Brian Foster couldn't control, then beat the outstretched Foster with just 20 seconds remaining on the clock.
Goals in the last minute give a team a huge boost going into the dressing room at the break, and for the second night in a row, the Eagles had all the momentum they would need.
Ferriero struck again early in the second period after Joe Chalebois was banished to the box for slashing. Eleven seconds into the power play, Ferriero threw the puck toward the net from left point that deflected off the leg of New Hampshire's Jamie Fristche and past the helpless Foster. The tally was Ferreiro's 18th of the season and his team-leading fifth multi-goal game of the '06-'07 campaign.
UNH would close the gap when Craig Switzer capitalized on the power play at 7:01 of the second period.
The Wildcats wouldn't get any closer, as Cory Schneider stood tall in net, stopping 16 UNH shots in the second period and 39 shots for the game.
BC's second line would score its third goal of the night when senior Joe Rooney tallied his 11th score of the season.
Nathan Gerbe added a goal, his 21st of the season, to end all hope of a comeback. Greg Collins notched his third goal of the year at 19:37 of the third period for UNH, but it failed to produce a win for the Wildcats, who finished the season on a three-game skid.
The Eagles' offensive efforts drew positive critique from both Ferriero and BC coach Jerry York.
"We all like to use our speed well, and now we're starting to realize where everyone is going to be," said Ferriero. "And we're getting a real good feel for each other on the line."
York spoke further on the emergence of the Ferriero, Bertram, and Rooney trio: "Now we're kind of settled down in our lineup and they're becoming a real dangerous line for us," he said.
It will be essential for that line, and the third line of Matt Price, Matt Greene, and Pat Gannon, to continue their strong play and ship in offensively. The Price, Greene, Gannon line has succeeded at shutting down the opposing team's top line as well as chipping in on the offensive end.
"They're very quick, and they've got good hockey sense," said York about the third line. "They've become good line for us, not just a checking line. They're creating a lot of offensive zone play; they've been scoring goals. Greene's been pretty hot the past few weeks. I think that's how you advance and become a good team. Right now, we feel pretty good about the depth of our club," said York.
For the coach, there's a lot to feel good about, as his team has finally rounded into the form that had them pegged at the top of the polls in early October.
Ferriero compared the current run to the Eagles' run leading up to last year's national championship game.
"You have to get hot at the right time. Like last year, we were struggling a little bit, but when we got to the playoffs we got things together and made a good run. This year, we are starting a little bit earlier … and we're getting hot at the right time. And there's nothing better than playing your best hockey heading into the playoffs. It will definitely help us down the stretch," said Ferriero.
Despite having the second seed in the Hockey East Tournament, things do not get any easier for the Eagles, who will host the Northeastern Huskies in the quarterfinals. Northeastern is significantly improved from last year, when they won just three games.
York acknowledged the progress the Huskies have made, crediting head coach Greg Cronin for their improvement: "I watched their last game against BU - a pretty impressive outing for the Huskies. I think Greg [Cronin] has them playing very, very well and they've certainly got one of the best freshman goaltenders - in not just the league, but in the nation. They've had a good year; he's done a remarkable job."
The Hockey East Tournament begins Thursday night, with the Providence Friars traveling to Durham, N.H., to face New Hampshire and the Eagles hosting Northeastern.
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