Boston College
UMass-Lowell*
Men's Hockey Defeats UMass-Lowell, 3-2
October 19, 2004 | Men's Hockey
Oct. 19, 2004
A three-point performance by Patrick Eaves lifted the Eagles over UMass-Lowell 3-2 on Tuesday night. The win improves BC to 2-0-0 on the season and 1-0-0 in the Hockey East. The loss drops Lowell to 1-1-0 on the season and 0-1-0 in conference action.
Freshman Cory Schneider got the start in net for the Eagles, the first of his collegiate career. In the winning effort, Schneider made 23 saves.
Lowell struck first on a power-play at 7:02. Junior defenseman Matt Collar picked up a rebound on the right post and slid the puck by the left leg of Schneider. René Gauthier and Mark Pandolfo were credited with assists on the goal.
In the regular season to that point, every one of Lowell's four tallies has been in a power-play situation.
BC failed to answer in the first period. The Eagles went into the first intermission down 1-0, their first deficit of the 2004-05 season. BC slightly got the edge in shots for the period, amassing 16 (14 on target) to the River Hawks' 15.
The second period began with the teams trading penalties, but neither squad could capitalize on power plays. BC put consistent pressure on the River Hawks' defense, keeping the puck in their zone for strings of scoring opportunities.
With 10 seconds left in the period, Patrick Eaves equalized the game at one. Along the right flank, Eaves took a pass from Brian Boyle and shook free of a defender. A hard wrist shot beat Lowell goalie Chris Davidson short side.
A minute and a half into the third, Lowell regained the lead. An early penalty put Greg Lauze in the box, giving Lowell the man-advantage. Junior forward Ben Walter got it by Schneider to put Lowell up 2-1.
BC evened the game just more than a minute later. On a power play, Eaves took a slapshot from the point. Boyle, backing into the kill zone, deflected the puck and put it through the legs of Davidson.
The goal was Boyle's second point of the evening and the assist was Eaves' second point as well (his sixth on the season).
Eaves was not done there, however. Halfway through the third, he put the Eagles up for the first time in the game. Eaves, fresh off of the bench, scooped up a puck that was intended to be cleared from the Lowell zone. He collected the puck a few feet in from the blue line then had a clear line to the net. He moved into the zone then hit a hard wrist shot by Davidson.
On the game, Eaves posted three points on two goals and one assist. That combined with his four-point performance against Denver last Friday distinguishes him as BC's points leader with seven.
In the third period, junior defenseman Peter Harrold hurt his left shoulder and did not return. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday to assess the severity of the injury.
The Eagles next travel to South Bend, Ind. to take on the Fighting Irish Friday night at 7:30 p.m. (8:30 Eastern time).
