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CHESTNUT HILL - This past weekend was circled on calendars months in advance. The second-ranked Boston College Eagles squared off in their home opener against longtime rival Notre Dame Friday night before a sellout crowd of 7,884 at the Kelley Rink. The game was a war between the goalies and the defenses, but in the end the Eagles gave up a late goal in the third period that they were not able to recover from, losing 1-0.
With senior captain Ben Eaves out with a head injury and junior forward Dave Spina sidelined with an ankle injury, the Eagles started freshman Joe Rooney at left wing, Tony Voce at center, and Patrick Eaves at right wing.
The Eagles came out strong in the first period, consistently putting shots on goal. The opening minutes were balanced between each team as both skated with speed and intensity. The BC's offense was fired up and aggressive, but ND responded with its own forceful offense.
The first scare of the game for BC came at 7:45 of the first period. Behind the Eagles' net a pass was intercepted by ND defenseman Wes O'Neill. He looped around the net and flicked the puck at point-blank range in front. BC goalie Matti Kaltiainen was ready and made a spectacular save, robbing ND of an early goal.
Each team was a bit careless in the first period, each penalized twice. The first for BC came at 10:04 when sophomore defenseman Andrew Alberts was called for roughing by contact to the head. The Eagles' penalty kill stopped any chance ND had to score during the power play. At 12:24 both teams were penalized. Irish right wing TJ Jindra was called for obstruction and BC right wing Stephen Gionta got a roughing penalty.
It was back and forth between the teams during the penalty as neither team broke the other's defense for a solid shot. BC took the advantage late in the period when ND was penalized for high sticking at 18:21. BC pressed the net hard, but was unable to establish itself against the ND penalty killing unit and the period ended with the score at 0-0.
The Eagles dominated the period offensively, attempting 19 shots as opposed to the Irish's 8. BC couldn't get one past freshman goalie David Brown though as he made 11 saves in the period. Kaltiainen saved five shots.
The second period opened with both teams showing good offensive and defensive balance. This would be the theme of the whole period. The Eagles challenged Brown, but the ND defense seemed to be everywhere on the ice as they played with energy and determination throughout the period.
The Eagles could not take advantage of deflected shots as the defense quickly scooped up the puck and sent it down the ice multiple times.
Jerry York's team has been successful this season in putting rebounds back in for goals, but ND was able to contain the number of rebounds allowed and cleared the puck when necessary.
BC's passing game was off-target and often intercepted by the swarming ND defense. The Eagles' defense outdid the ND offense though. BC was able to overpower the Irish whenever ND seemed to get a break toward the goal.
ND went on a power play at 9:16 in the period when freshman Brian Boyle was called for contact to the head by high sticking. ND's power-play unit was held without a chance to put one in the net as BC continuously cleared the puck down the ice to force time to expire without a ND score.
About five minutes later BC went on the power play as ND was called for boarding at 14:40. The offense was unable to muster anything during the penalty as they could not set anything up around the ND net because of slow and off-target passing.
Numerous centering passes were mishandled and leading passes down the ice were misjudged.
The closest the Eagles came to a goal was a shot from the right side of the ice by Gionta that got past Brown, but ricocheted off the crossbar. Again the Eagles out-shot their opponent nine to six, but when the clock wound down, the game remained scoreless.
The third period was marked by continually good goalie and defensive work on each side. Both looked to put just one goal on the scoreboard as it seemed one would be enough. The Irish took an advantage early in the period as Voce was called for charging at 6:35.
Once more the Eagles' penalty kill was up to the task. The BC defense killed the penalty though by keeping the puck out of ND's hands as they continuously cleared the puck down the ice with good passing. Kaltiainen continued his brilliance as he made two spectacular saves to keep the Eagles in the game.
At 12:24 in the period, the Eagles went on a power play when ND was called for contact to the head by elbow. The Eagles could not put together an offensive strike though as the ND defense flooded the puck around their own goal.
With just over five minutes left ND broke the scoreless tie. A pass was sent gliding slowly along the ice, but Kaltiainen covered it before Notre Dame could do anything with it.
With the game seemingly destined for overtime, ND stunned the crowd.
On the faceoff, ND center Aaron Gill won the puck, and before the crowd could take another breath he passed it back to left wing Mike Walsh, who fired it past BC defenders and Kaltiainen for the goal at 14:56 of the period.
The Eagles did not bow down though. BC continued to press and threw as many bodies in front of the net as possible.
With 1:20 left in the game, BC called timeout and came back on the ice with an empty net.
Skating six on five, the Eagles pounded the ND net. With 29 seconds remaining, Ryan Shannon took a shot from in front of the net that was snatched out of the air by Brown. A few seconds later there was a pile up in front of the net ant the puck was deflected over the net during the scramble. BC was desperate, but Notre Dame held on.
It was the first time BC had been held scoreless since Feb 18, 2001 against UNH. The shutout was the first at home since Jan 22, 1999 against Providence. After the game, coach Jerry York pointed to the great defense for both teams as the highlight of the game.
"It was a good defensive battle. Both teams battled pretty hard. Brown and Kaltiainen were excellent in goal. It was a goaltender's battle," said coach York.
Kaltiainen finished with 17 saves while Brown finished with 27.
Brown played an amazing game, providing his team with the win against the tough BC offense. "Hats off to them," said York. "Their goaltending was there when we had good chances to score."
BC fell to 3-2-1 on the season with the loss, but looks to rebound against Hockey East rivals UMass on Wednesday and Maine on Friday.
BC looks to continue its defensive superiority in the season so far, and if its offense comes back with the fire of its three wins, BC should stay right where it wants to: first in the nation.
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