Where had we seen this before? It was another hard-fought bout Friday night against Northeastern at Kelley Rink, and for the Boston College men's hockey team, it was yet another spectacular finish.
With seconds left in regulation of a 1-1 game and the Eagles on the power play, senior defenseman and captain Tommy Cross took the feed from junior defenseman Brian Dumoulin and rifled a wrist shot towards the Northeastern goal. With traffic in front of the net, the puck disappeared momentarily but somehow found its way across the goal line, trickling through upright NU goaltender Chris Rawlings' legs with just 2.8 seconds remaining. Conte Forum erupted as desperation quickly transformed into elation and Cross' teammates mobbed him in celebration.
It must have felt like Groundhog Day for the Huskies, who four weeks ago suffered an equally crushing defeat in overtime at the hands of the Eagles and had experienced similar heartbreak in last season's Beanpot final, also falling to BC in overtime of that contest. For Cross and BC, it was blissful deja vu.
"We had really good net presence, couple guys were down there," Cross said. "I think it hit one of their defenders' hands in front and went straight down and went in five-hole."
The fortunate deflection gave the Eagles a 2-1 win. The Huskies were certainly game in this one, however. Coming out fast, physical, and aggressive, they challenged the Eagles early, fighting for loose pucks against the end boards and in the corners and creating their own fortune. At the start of the game it looked as if all the lucky bounces were falling in favor of Northeastern.
Midway through the first period, Northeastern turned a solid defensive stand into a fast break as junior forward Alex Tuckerman streaked up the left wing. He deposited a centering pass to teammate Garrett Vermeersch, who had found his way past the Eagles' defense and quickly attempted a backhand shot that was saved by BC junior goalkeeper Parker Milner. But the puck barely left the crease, allowing NU sophomore forward Cody Ferriero (younger brother of former Eagle Benn Ferriero) to take advantage of some confusion and tip the rolling puck into the net. The strange sequence gave the Huskies an early 1-0 lead that they carried into the first intermission.
It looked as if the Eagles would fall victim to more bad luck in the second period. Following more fruitless scoring opportunities for the Eagles, a Northeastern fast break threatened to increase the lead. A quick wrist shot glanced off Milner's shoulder and dropped right to the goalmouth. Freshman forward Joseph Manno looked to cash in on the point-blank opportunity, but Milner sprawled to his left, reaching out his glove hand and denying the NU attacker on the doorstep.
Milner's effort seemed to spark the Eagles, who scored their first goal less than two minutes later. Junior forward Chris Kreider batted down a clearing pass with his hand in the attacking zone. With one man to beat, he made a veteran crossover move, leaving the NU defender flopping hopelessly on the ice in his wake. Then he laid the puck off to a trailing Hayes who promptly buried his shot past Rawlings, top-shelf, to tie the game.
"Our team definitely prides ourselves on our unselfish play," Kreider said. "I was in tight. I thought I would try to pull Rawlings a little and pass it over to Kevin to get an empty-netter."
The assist was Kreider's team-leading 16th point, the result of BC's aggressive, effective forecheck. The Eagles created several turnovers in the attacking zone that led to excellent scoring opportunities, culminating in Hayes' goal.
The final period was back and forth, with each side registering a few chances but failing to convert. Then, in the final minute, a Northeastern interference penalty opened the door for Cross' heroics in the closing seconds.
Head coach Jerry York expressed pleasure with the execution of his team down the stretch, but he also acknowledged that this team has more battles ahead.
"I thought we controlled how well we played, and I feel very excited about the way the game finished," York said. "Hockey East is just a tough, tough road from October through March, and there's not many games that aren't contested very hard from both teams."
No doubt there is a long way to go, but if this team continues to execute and perform in the clutch, York and BC may be experiencing deja vu again in the spring.
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