Blink and you would have missed it.
Cam Burke lined up for a faceoff midway through the second period of Boston College men’s hockey’s matchup at New Hampshire on Saturday. He won the faceoff and slid the puck to Colby Ambrosio who was hovering above the left hash mark. Ambrosio received the pass and jammed the puck through New Hampshire’s defense, and, in a split-second, fired a rocket straight into the net.
Ambrosio’s goal put the Eagles up 2–1 in the second frame, and BC (1–1, 1–0 Hockey East) never lost its lead. The Eagles went on to score two more—including a second goal from Ambrosio—to defeat the Wildcats 4–2. The win marked the first career victory for BC head coach Greg Brown.
“I think we had a very strong effort—that was the first thing that jumps out,” Brown said. “The guys really put their hearts into the game.”
Penalties plagued both teams all night, but only the Wildcats capitalized on one of their three power-play opportunities.
The Eagles’ defense and goaltender Mitch Benson rallied on the penalty kill after referees called a tripping penalty on Trevor Kuntar in the second minute of the game, but New Hampshire gained momentum as BC struggled to maintain possession of the puck.
Just five minutes later, another penalty on the Eagles gifted the Wildcats their second power play, and Liam Devlin beat Benson to put New Hampshire on the board. The high wrist shot was Devlin’s third goal in as many games.
BC’s offense responded by peppering six shots at New Hampshire goaltender David Fessenden before the Eagles went on their own one-man-advantage in the 11th minute of the first frame. Aidan Hreschuk and Marshall Warren both created promising scoring opportunities, and the Eagles radiated energy.
Although the Eagles failed to capitalize on the power play, less than a minute later, senior defenseman Mitch Andres fired the puck through Fessenden’s five-hole for the equalizer and his first career goal.
Despite two penalties on New Hampshire for too many men on the ice, both of BC’s second-period goals came at equal strength.
Just before the ninth minute of the middle frame, Ambrosio sniped a shot directly off of the faceoff for the Eagles’ first lead of the night.
The two teams traded shots until three minutes remained in the period, when a shot-pass from Andres found Liam Izyk and Matt Argentina on the goal line. In a flash, Izyk spiraled the puck perfectly above Fessenden’s shoulder to bring the score to 3–1.
The Wildcats, though, set the tone in the final frame, taking 24 shots compared to BC’s 10.
With just under seven minutes remaining, Kalle Eriksson sailed a shot from the point to cut the Eagles’ lead to one while putting the Wildcats in a prime comeback position.
But Ambrosio sealed the Wildcats’ fate in the final minute, scoring on an empty net for his second goal of the night.
Though the Eagles failed to capitalize on any of their five power-play opportunities, their offense battled for the 4–2 victory.
“I thought we created a decent amount of chances in the first two periods,” Brown said. “We didn’t score on all of them, but it was good to create more offense than we did.”
Benson shined, recording 29 saves and a .935 save percentage on the night.
“[Benson] was challenged all night, especially in the third, and he was very solid for us,” Brown said.
