The No. 3 Boston College men's hockey team (9-4-0) almost had finished an epic comeback against No. 4 Notre Dame (9-2-2) Friday night in South Bend, Ind., when Irish sophomore Bryan Rust ended the chance for an Eagle victory, breaking a 2-2 tie with 1.1 seconds remaining in overtime.
The Eagles came back from a one-goal deficit in the third period with 2:10 left. Freshman forward Johnny Gaudreau played a rebound off the pad of Fighting Irish goaltender Mike Johnson and forced his way between two defenders for the score.
BC led the game early when junior Chris Kreider scored a penalty shot with just over 12 seconds left in the first frame. The opportunity came when Notre Dame defenseman Stephen Johns used his glove to cover a puck in the crease. With this opportunity, Kreider put the Eagles ahead. The forward came down the ride side of the net and fired a shot past Johnson from the circle. The shot caught Johnson off guard, and he was beat to his stick side.
The Eagles held the advantage throughout the whole first period. They outshot the Irish, 15-11, but the momentum shifted as the teams returned from the tunnel for the second stanza.
At 6:54 in the second period, T.J. Tynan erased the deficit with a shot from the bottom of the left circle. Johns passed the puck to Austin Wuthrich at center ice. Wuthrich brought the puck to the left circle and then left it for Tynan at the boards. Tynan moved to the bottom of the circle and launched through an Eagles screen to tie the game at one apiece.
Then, at 11:34, Shayne Taker scored his second goal of the season when he backhanded a pass from Riley Sheahan and floated it over BC goaltender Parker Milner's head. This gave the Irish their first lead of the night.
The Eagles nearly evened the score with 2.1 seconds left in the second period; however, the goal was called back. Sophomore Kevin Hayes chipped in a pass from classmate Bill Arnold, but officials ruled that the goal did not stand due to a hand pass that was then touched by Johnson. Due to this call, the Eagles headed into the final period down by one goal.
After the third period heroics of Gaudreau, the Irish and Eagles entered the first overtime period. Rust laced a shot past the glove of Milner with just over a second left in the period, sending the Eagles home with their second consecutive loss at Notre Dame.
The Irish have become accustomed to playing in overtime situations this season. The match-up against the Eagles was their fourth overtime contest in six games. They stand at 2-0-2 in that stretch. Notre Dame also has not lost in overtime in 25 straight opportunities. Their record during that streak stands at 7-0-18.
The Eagles are coming off their second straight loss. After a 5-0 blowout at the hands of perennial rival Boston University, the Eagles hoped to regain some confidence against a solid Fighting Irish squad.
The team did not perform poorly. The two squads were nearly identical, as the Irish outshot the Eagles 35-34. However, Notre Dame did hold the advantage in late-game shots, outshooting the visiting squad 18-9 in the third and overtime periods combined. Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Milner made 32 saves on the night, including 14 stops in the third period. Johnson also made 32 saves, holding the Eagles at bay down the stretch.
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