In recent years, the Boston College men's hockey team has neutralized any size advantage that its rival Boston University normally possesses over the Eagles with an agile attack that weaves through defenders and finds its way to the net.
On Sunday, though, the offensive pressure from BC was lacking, and Terrier goaltender Kieran Millan faced just 21 shots all game, most of which took place near the blue line or away from the crease. It was this lack of energy on the assault that ultimately doomed the Eagles to their third loss of the season.
"We did not play well enough to win the game tonight," head coach Jerry York said. "We weren't sharp, but mostly in the attacking sense. That's what bothered me the most.
"We have been attacking better in other games. The opposing goaltenders have had to make a lot of saves, but there weren't a lot of shots on goal tonight."
The Eagles actually had a few grade-A chances early, which if converted could have drastically altered the outcome of the night.
The first opportunity came at 8:03 in the second period after a bustle near the edge of BU's offensive zone gave the Eagles a four-on-one rush. Instead of rifling a shot from within the circles, defenseman Brian Dumoulin forced an extra pass that was broken up by the lone Terrier defender.
Just minutes later, a similar story plagued the Eagles. Barry Almeida stole possession of the puck away from BU, creating a three-man breakaway with no one to beat. Slightly off-balance, the junior threw the puck to Patch Alber for the final strike. Alber sent the shot wide, though, rendering the chance unsuccessful.
In both situations, a tendency toward a patient, take-the-extra-pass approach foiled BC's offensive potency.
"No question when the puck is in that grade-A area, from the net out to the dots at the top of the circle, that's a pretty good chance to score a goal," York said. "You might get a better chance if you move the puck, but if you move the puck in that area, it might not be a completed pass. It might be intercepted. It might not result in a shot.
"We have to address that. Grade-A opportunities are hard to get, but when you get them, let's shoot the puck."
After scoring just four goals in their past three contests, including a victory over Northeastern on Friday, in which the game-winner came with just 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation, how the Eagle attack responds to this temporary spell will be instrumental in determining the team's success as the season continues.
"We just want to play better, come out and attack, attack, attack, and get things going," York said.
Special teams not so spectacular
Coming into Sunday afternoon's contest, BC had converted 26.5 percent of its power-play opportunities. Some elementary math is all one needs to compute that a zero-for-seven effort against BU is well below the average rate at which the Eagles put points on the board.
Though BU did its part defensively, the Terriers were exceptional on the offensive end, as well, registering two scores on the man-advantage and adding a short-handed goal for good measure.
"[BU's] special teams were much better than we were tonight," York said. "Right off the bat, we lose the special teams battle three to nothing, and that's a deficit that is difficult to overcome in any game. You don't want to lose that special teams battle."
With 28 total penalties in the game and a pervasive grittiness present between the two teams, the Eagles had their share of opportunities. Four chances in the first 22 minutes of the game amounted to just two shots on net for BC.
"I thought that was our chance to get back into the contest," York said of the power plays. "I thought we had excellent puck movement, but there was no attack to our mentality. Especially in the first period, we never took it to the net, and that mentality stuck with us for the remainder of the night."
Odds and ends
Sunday's result marked just the eighth time in 255 games between the two Boston-area rivals in which the Terriers have shut out the Eagles.
After allowing four shorthanded goals all of last season, Wade Megan's score as the clock wound down in regulation was the third rendered thus far by BC in 2011-12, a 12-game span.
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