Big Offense Key To Win At UVM

The No. 5 Boston College Eagles trounced the Vermont Catamounts on Friday night by way of their second period offensive show, beating the Catamounts by a score of 6-1 at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

The first few minutes of the game offered little excitement, but at just inside 14 minutes, junior Brian Dumoulin skated into the Catamounts' zone and passed it off to freshman Quinn Smith, who netted the first goal of his collegiate career to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. The game slowed down significantly after the goal, as the two teams engaged in a tough first period battle that was marked by good defensive positioning. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead and a 7-4 shot advantage into the locker room at the end of the first period.

The second period took off around the 18-minute mark, as the Eagles started to get more shots on goal and several scoring opportunities. A penalty against Vermont quickly followed by a five-minute major against Catamount H.T. Lenz, who was penalized for contact to the head on a boarding call, gave the Eagles a chance to soar. The back-to-back penalties gave the Eagles 73 seconds of 5-on-3 play and provided them with the opportunity to take advantage—and BC did just that.

"That five minute major—we capitalized and that was the turning point for sure," said head coach Jerry York.

 BC not only capitalized, but they did so in style. It didn't take long for the Eagles to score as just 39 seconds into their power play, sophomore Kevin Hayes redirected Chris Kreider's shot, putting BC up 2-0 at the 13-minute mark. As play returned to 5-on-4, it wasn't long before Kreider found himself with another scoring opportunity. This time it didn't hit off anyone's stick, however, as Kreider netted his 17th goal of the year. The tally gave the Eagles a game-changing 3-0 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the second period.

Even though the Eagles were sitting pretty with a very comfortable 3-0 lead, they never let up. Freshman phenom Johnny Gaudreau added yet another goal for BC with just inside three minutes to play in the half. Gaudreau created his own shot with a nice move to center and a top-shelf rocket to put the Eagles up 4-0. Yet, just like Kreider, the feisty forward netted yet another goal from just inside the blue line to put the Eagles up by a commanding score of 5-0 with just 24 seconds remaining before the intermission. Gaudreau's two goals (number 12 and 13 on the season) were good for his second straight two-goal game, as he continues to impress the league with his contributions.

"He seems to be getting his second wind," York noted. "The last three weeks of our season, he's been reenergized, and he really has some remarkable skills."

Just as the Eagles torched the Catamounts' defenders, the BC defense did more than just hold its own. The Eagles' defense held the Catamounts to four shots on goal in the first period and six shots on goal in the second. In addition to the structured BC defense and sound defensive positioning, Parker Milner added some key saves to help keep the Eagles' lead out of reach. Most notably, Milner stopped a trio of consecutive attempts late in the second period.

As the Eagles opened the third period, the game switched as BC relied more heavily upon Milner and co. to keep its lead out of sight. With the Eagles playing one man down after Steven Whitney's five-minute major, however, Vermont's Colin Markinson prevented the shutout by netting a goal with 12 minutes left to play.

Later in the third, Kreider scored his second goal (18th of the season) and collected third point of the night to close the door on the Catamounts and help the Eagles improve to 18-10-1 on the season. This win marked only the third victory for the Eagles inside Gutterson Fieldhouse since the Catamounts joined Hockey East in 2005.

BC looked impressive in this win, as it capitalized on two of its three power play opportunities. The Eagles have now scored at least one power play goal in each of their past six games. BC had been seriously underperforming on power plays, but this game demonstrated that the Eagles are ready to play as they approach the postseason.