BC Finally Connects Against Terriers

With a rookie goaltender between the pipes and a thirst for revenge, the No. 2 Boston College men's hockey team came out firing against its B-line rivals at Agganis Arena Saturday night. The Eagles defeated the No. 13 Boston University Terriers by a final score of 6-1, ending BU's five-game winning streak.

"I thought tonight we were very solid in all three zones," head coach Jerry York said. "I think from our defensive core up to our forwards I felt very good about the way we played. I think that [Friday] night was an indicator that we meshed as a club even more as the year went on. We haven't scored a goal first in the series, but that gave us a good jump when the rookie line of freshman combined for that goal."

The Eagles struck gold early in the opening stanza on a goal from the all-freshman line of Quinn Smith, Michael Sit and Danny Linell. After BC gained possession of the puck at center ice, Smith ripped a shot at Kieran Millan that bounced out in front of the net, and Linell capitalized on the rebound, notching his first collegiate goal at 5:51.

Despite falling behind, the Terriers were not about to give in just yet, putting home a puck before the first frame came to a close. From behind the net, Corey Trivino directed the puck into traffic in front of the BC goal, deflecting it in for a score to tie the game at 1-1 with 1:04 remaining in the period.

This tie was short-lived, however, as the Eagles erupted in the middle frame, lighting the lamp four times and leaving the Terriers in the dust.

Captain Tommy Cross wasted no time adding his second goal of the season at 1:50 into the second period on an assist from Steven Whitney. Cross buried the puck high into the net, and ignited a flame under the Eagles.

"The next big boost we got was Tommy Cross's top shelf backhand," York said. "From the captain, it just lifted the whole bench and I thought we were on our way to having a very special night, and it turned out that way."

At 13:53, Chris Kreider added the second goal of the stanza. Johnny Gaudreau whipped a puck to the Eagles' leading goal-scorer, who beat Millan glove-side on a one-time laser.

Within the next two minutes, Gaudreau tallied his seventh goal of the season, putting the Eagles up 4-1. Brian Dumoulin tested Millan with a shot that deflected back to the stick of Gaudreau, who lifted the puck into the back of the net.

The last scoring effort of the second period came from Bill Arnold at 18:24. Dumoulin found Arnold just as he jumped off the bench, and Arnold slapped the puck home. The second period came to a close with a comfortable four-goal lead for the Eagles.

After BC's five-goal parade on Millan, BU made a goaltender change and sent Grant Rollheiser between the pipes. Despite the change, Rollheiser also had little luck against the Eagles' blistering attack.

Alternate captain Paul Carey sent the final puck into the back of the net at 3:38 into the last frame, ending the game with a long-awaited BC victory over their Comm. Ave. rivals, even though BU finished with a 41-31 shot advantage.

"[BC] had really struggled putting the puck into the net in all kinds of opportunities the first two times we played them, especially in the first two periods," BU head coach Jack Parker said. "The puck jumped into the net for them tonight, and that's the way the game goes sometimes."

Freshman goaltender Brian Billett came up with 40 saves in the contest for the Eagles, and appeared poised, confident and casual in the net, despite the outing being just his second collegiate start.

"It was unimaginable," Billett said about getting the start at BU. "Going into the game I was just as relaxed as usual and I knew I had a great team in front of me. I felt comfortable that we were going to get a win out of it."