BOSTON--It looked like Northeastern would snap its seven-game slide midway through the second period in the Beanpot opener against Boston College last night. Behind a tremendous 56-save performance by Huskies goalie Tom Cole, Northeastern (4-22-2 overall, 1-14-2 Hockey East) jumped out to a 3-1 lead midway through the second period.
But a quicker, craftier B.C. squad (23-7, 12-4) soon took charge, tallying four unanswered goals to defeat B.C., 5-3.
The Eagles wore down the Huskies with an attacking perimeter passing game. B.C. forwards Marty McInnis and Marc Beran did well to keep the puck around the boards and set up shots at the point. Eagle defenders Ted Crowley and Mark Dennehy had their fair share of the 60 shots on goal, but Cole shut down the Eagle offense early on with sterling saves.
On one play in the scoreless first period, Eagle's wing Bill Guerin controlled the puck in front of an otherwise wide open Northeastern net with only Cole to stop him. Guerin let loose a blistering wrist-shot and Cole snagged the shot with a swat of the glove.
"Their kid [Cole] played unbelievable," McInnis said. "But I think we wore him down with all our shots. By the end of the game he must have been dead tired."
B.C.'s pressure on Cole was ultimately Northeastern's undoing. By the start of the third period the Huskie netminder had saved 43 shots while All-America defender Rob Cowie and linemate Will Averill skated double shifts to try to keep B.C.'s prolific scorers in check.
Shot In The Dark
Nobody gave the Huskies much of a chance to win this game, let alone stay close with the Hockey East's first-place Eagles. Northeastern had dropped its previous two decisions to B.C. this season, 7-4 and 6-4, and the Huskies are currently in last place in the league.
But it was anybody's game after two periods of play. The Huskies came out strong in the second period, jumping out to a 2-1 lead behind goals by Sebastian LePlante, the team's leading scorer, and Rob Kenny.
After making it 3-1 on a score by forward Matt Saunders, the Huskies inability to keep up with the Eagle's quicker forwards finally caught up to them. Beran and Sean Farley scored to knot the game at 3-3.
With quick rushes and finesse passing, B.C. kept the puck grounded in the Northeastern zone. It was just a matter of time before B.C. would net another goal.
Eagle's freshman forward Jack Callahan knocked a rebound past Cole to give B.C. its first lead of the game nine minutes into the third period.
Meanwhile, the weaker Huskies offensive line ran into serious problems moving the puck up the wings. LePlante, Schure and company managed fewer than half of B.C.'s total shots.
With two minutes remaining Guerin iced the game with a cross-ice pass to a wide-open David Emma to make it 5-3. Emma's goal set a new B.C. career scoring record of 224 points.
B.C. faces Boston University in next Monday's championship game, and Northeastern will take on Harvard in the consolation match.
"I feel bad, really bad," Cole said. "This is my third straight Beanpot, and the third straight year that I'll be playing in the consolation round." First Period: Scoring--none; Penalties--B.C., David Emma (high-sticking) 12:27; N.U., Tom O'Connor (interference) 12:27; N.U., Rob Kenny (interference) 19:55. Second Period: 1, N.U., Sebastian LePlante (18) (Peter Schure) 6:36; 2, N.U., Kenny (6)(unassisted) 7:07; 3, B.C., Matt Glennon (5) (Jeff O'Neill, David Pergola) 8:43, 4, N.U., Matt Saunders (10) (O'Connor) 11:48 shg; 5, B.C., Marc Beran (7) (Emma) 15:34 ppg; 6, B.C., Sean Farley (2) (Beran) 18:30. Penalties--B.C., Marty McInnis (holding) 10:18; N.U., O'Connor (hitting from behind) 14:06. Third Period: 7, B.C., Jack Callahan (9) (Beran, Ron Pascucci) 10:40 ppg; 8, B.C., Emma (28) (Beran, McInnis) 18:05. Penalties--N.U., Will Averill (tripping) 9:43; N.U., Schure (boarding) 11:36. Saves: B.C.--Sandy Galuppo 12-3-6--21; N.U.--Tom Cole 19-24-8--51. Power Play: Boston College 2-5; Northeastern 0-2.
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