Boston College
Massachussetts*
Hockey Defeats Massachusetts, 5-2
January 27, 2005 | Men's Hockey
Jan. 27, 2005
A two-point effort from Patrick Eaves led the hockey team to a 5-2 victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen in front of 6,452 fans at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass.
The Eagles extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games. BC (16-3-4, 10-1-4) does not have a loss in the month of January and tonight's victory prevented the Minutemen (10-14-2, 4-9-2) from tallying their first win of the new year.
10 seconds into the game, Ryan Murphy almost put BC on the board with a backhanded, top-shelf try. Massachusetts goalie Gabe Winer was quick to deflect the attempt, but the Eagles dictated the tone early with the shot.
Chris Collins netted a goal at 4:19 in the first period. Stephen Gionta started the play with a pass behind the net to Murphy on the right goal line extended. Murphy centered the puck to Collins, who was waiting just outside the crease at far post. Collins buried the puck for his fifth goal and 10th point of the season.
Massachusetts evened the score at 6:31. On the first power play of the evening, defenseman David Leaderer scored on a high slapshot from the point.
Patrick Eaves extended BC's lead to two at 14:13. He took a pass from Taylor Leahy from the right circle and put a quick-release wrister top shelf on Winer. The puck sailed over Winer and hit the crossbar, falling over the line for Eaves'12th goal of the 2004-05 campaign. Ryan Shannon was also credited with the helper on the goal.
At the end of the first, BC out-shot Massachusetts 12-7. BC had not put two in the net in the first period of a game since the November 27 game against Northeastern. Shannon sustained a right ankle injury in the first and did not return for the remainder of the game.
Brian Boyle gave BC at 3-1 lead at 4:46 in the second period. Eaves dished the puck to Dave Spina behind the net and, along the right post, he slid the rubber to Boyle. The sophomore forward took a healthy swipe at it, banging home the slapshot.
The goal was Boyle's 10th of the season as Eaves and Spina notched their 32nd and 18th points of the season, respectively. Boyle currently has five goals in the last seven games.
The Minutemen brought themselves within one at 11:36 in the second. BC killed the tough half of the 3 on 5, but, with a one-man advantage, Massachusetts forward Kevin Jarman got one by Eagle goaltender Cory Schneider.
BC and Massachusetts traded penalties at 16:42 and, in the four on four situation, BC found the net to make it a 4-2 game. Leahy got the puck to Greg Lauze at the point. Lauze faked the slapshot from the right side and passed the puck to Brian O'Hanley rushing the net from the left. O'Hanley got it by Winer for his first career goal.
Lauze's helper was his first point of the season and Leahy notched his first multi-point game of the season with his second assist.
At the end of the second, BC was outshooting Massachusetts 24-14.
Both teams had chances in the first half of the third. Notably, Joe Rooney came close to notching a goal when he took a pass in front of the net. The rush was thwarted by Winer, keeping the game at 4-2 in favor of the Eagles.
To cap the scoring for BC, Matt Greene scored at the 17:00 mark in the third. From the corner, Dan Bertram set him up with a tape to tape pass and Greene buried it.
13 Eagles notched at least a point in the game.
Schneider improved to 8-0-3 with the win.
