Boston College
Northeastern*
Men's Hockey Downs Northeastern, 4-1
November 27, 2004 | Men's Hockey
Nov. 27, 2004
A two-point effort from junior Stephen Gionta lifted Boston College (6-2-2, 3-0-2) past Northeastern (6-6-1, 3-3-0), 4-1, on Saturday night in front of 3,709 at Matthews Arena. The 4-1 win over the Huskies was BC's third conference victory as the Eagles preserve their unbeaten in-league status.
BC took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Ryan Murphy. The senior scooped up the loose puck behind the net, taking it from freshman forward Matt Greene. Murphy came around the right post and NU goaltender Keni Gibson, expecting the straight wrap-around, was beat when Murphy spun and went top-shelf on his glove side.
The goal was Murphy's 50th career point and his third of the season.
At the 12:35 mark, senior Dave Spina scored his fourth goal in the last four games. A rebound went to Chris Collins along the left wing. Spina parked himself at the far post and banged home the dish from Collins. Stephen Gionta was also credited with an assist on the tally.
BC cruised into the first intermission up 2-0. The Eagles out-shot Northeastern 29-12 in the first 20 minutes of action.
The first half of the second period saw BC goalie Cory Schneider make some remarkable stops. The most noteworthy was a quick wrister on a rebound that Schneider gloved over his left shoulder.
With less than a minute remaining, Northeastern cut the BC lead to one goal. Defenseman Donny Grover netted a rebound stick-side on Schneider. BC out-shot NU 18-15 in the second period.
The Eagles regained a two-goal margin at 3:31 of the third period. Brian Boyle posted up in the zone a few feet in front of the crease. He took a pass from Ned Havern, who was playing along the goal line extended, and put it past Gibson. Taylor Leahy also had an assist on the play, his second point in two games.
BC extended its lead as Gionta scored his third goal of the season. He took a dish from freshman Dan Bertram and hit a one-timer over the glove of Gibson to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Eagles.
Schneider made 29 saves for the Eagles. Gibson saved 34 of 38 BC shots on net.
The Eagles travel to Walter Brown Arena this Friday night, Dec. 3 to take on Boston University at 8 p.m. The game will be aired live on College Sports Television.
