After a shaky start to the season, No. 20 Boston College men’s hockey capitalized on an opportunity to extend its five-game unbeaten streak and close out 2021 on a high note.
Following a win against Mercyhurst on Thursday, the Eagles (10–5–3, 5–3–2 Hockey East) advanced to the 32nd annual Ledyard Classic title game against Dartmouth (3–9–1, 2–5–0 ECAC) on New Year’s Eve.
The Eagles put up three goals in both the first and second periods to cruise past the Big Green in a 6–1 victory and ring in the new year as the Ledyard Classic champions for the third time in program history.
Just like he did one day prior, Jack McBain opened the scoring Friday night. While BC struggled to score early goals in their previous Ledyard Classic matchup, McBain’s skillful snipe past Dartmouth goaltender Clay Stevenson came in the fifth minute. His third goal of the tournament built on his impressive short-handed and power-play goals from the day before.
The Eagles dominated the first period. Three minutes after McBain’s goal, a tripping call put BC on the man advantage, and just 20 seconds into the powerplay, captain Marc McLaughlin tipped in a shot-pass from Drew Helleson for his 13th goal of the season.
In the 13th minute, Mike Posma swiftly scored off of a nifty pass from Casey Carreau from behind the net to give the Eagles a comfortable 3–0 lead.
The second period told a similar story of an unstoppable BC offense. A little over a minute into the middle frame, Marshall Warren nearly tripped on a stick before beating Stevenson from the top of the circle for BC’s fourth unanswered goal.
Despite the daunting score, Dartmouth seemed reenergized following the intermission and quickly responded a minute later. Freshman Sean Chisholm got the Big Green on the board with a deflection off an Eagle’s skate that trickled past goaltender Henry Wilder to bring the score to 3–1.
McBain, however, restored BC’s four-goal lead in the seventh minute of the second period. His pair of goals for the second-straight night earned him the tournament’s MVP title. Helleson, meanwhile, registered a game-high three assists.
To seal the contest, Jack St. Ivany buried a rebound off Trevor Kuntar’s one-timer six minutes later, demonstrating why he leads Hockey East defenders in scoring.
Goaltender Justin Ferguson came in for Stevenson for the final frame, and he stopped all 11 of the Eagles’ shots on goal. Wilder continued to shine for BC, saving 26 shots on the night and rightfully earning the Top Goalie Award of the tournament.
Although the 6–1 score paints a picture of the Eagles commanding the game in all aspects, BC committed four penalties compared to Dartmouth’s two, and the Big Green won a majority of the face-offs by a final margin of 35–28. The Eagles relied heavily on their strong offense and goaltending to bring the trophy home despite these disadvantages.
In addition to McBain and Wilder, three players—McLaughlin, Helleson, and St. Ivany—were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Featured Image by Leo Wang / Heights Staff
