Strong First Period And Two Almeida Goals Aid Eagles

On Tuesday night, the No. 3 Boston College men's hockey team took on the No. 20 Providence Friars at Kelley Rink. Coming into Tuesday night's game, the Friars were fresh off a weekend sweep of former No. 1 Merrimack College, hoping to turn the momentum from their weekend performances into another victory against the highly ranked Eagles. However, BC used a strong first period to suppress any idea of an upset by Providence and came away with a 4-1 victory.

The Eagles' aggressiveness in the first 20 minutes set the tone for how both sides played the remainder of the contest.

"We played exceptionally well in the first period," head coach Jerry York said of his team's performance.

York went on to compliment the Providence defense and the excellent goaltending of recent Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week, Alex Beaudry. York acknowledged Providence's strong play, adding, "They really prevented us from breaking [the game] open in the first."

Despite the defensive efforts of Providence, the up-tempo offense of the Eagles was successful in finding open passing lanes in front of the net. After a holding penalty against Providence sophomore Mark Adams, Paul Carey was able to set up Barry Almeida on a beautiful centering pass from behind the net. Almeida one-timed the puck over Beaudry's blocker to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead with about five minutes left in the first.

Less than two minutes later, BC continued to exploit openings in the Providence defense. Captain Tommy Cross carried the puck down the right-side boards before passing to freshman Johnny Gaudreau, who sent the puck in front of the net where sophomore Bill Arnold tallied his 10th goal of the year. With only 3:02 left in the first, the goal gave the Eagles a comfortable 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.

Looking to mount a comeback, the Friars were quick to take advantage of two BC penalties in the second period and cut the deficit to one. With fourteen minutes left in the second, the Eagles were unable to clear the puck from the front of their net. Providence sophomore Derek Army gained possession of the puck and slipped the rebound past goalie Brian Billett's glove for a power-play goal.

Despite the defensive breakdown, the goal by the Friars did not rattle Billet. The freshman was solid in net all night, showing confidence and excellent movement between the pipes. His performance also earned him his third victory in as many starts this season.

BC sealed the win with 5:15 left in the third period while on the penalty kill. In an excellent hustle play by Carey, the senior forward stole a pass from Providence's defenseman at the Eagles' blue line. Carey sped past his opponent and went into the Friar zone on a breakaway. He placed a beautiful wrist shot off the far pipe and into the back of the net to stretch the BC lead to 3-1, earning his second point of the night. The goal also characterized how Providence head coach Nate Leaman felt his team performed offensively.

"We were timid tonight," Leaman said. "We lost puck battles and turned the puck over on soft plays."

In a game that the Eagles controlled from the initial drop of the puck, the team put together a solid showing after an emotional weekend series against their cross-town rival. The mindset of the team, led by its captains, is to not overlook any opponent.

"We try to treat every game the same," Carey, an alternate captain, said. "At the end of the day, whether it's a Tuesday night or a Saturday night, you just need to show up to play."

The Eagles did exactly that against Providence, extending their record to 12-5-0, and 9-3-0 in Hockey East play.

Carey and the Eagles now have one last Hockey East match-up before travelling to the Great Lakes Invitational just before the New Year. On Friday night, the Eagles will face a very strong UMass Lowell team.  After its strong performance Tuesday night, BC appears to be in good shape for their match-up at Tsongas Arena. If the team mantra of "one game at a time" continues, the Eagles will remain poised to extend their winning-streak and have an excellent second half of the season.