Boston College
NCAA Regionals - Mercyhurst College
Hockey Defeats Mercyhurst, 5-4
March 25, 2005 | Men's Hockey
March 25, 2005
Seniors Ned Havern and Greg Lauze each tallied one goal and one assist to lead the top-seeded Eagles to a 5-4 win over fourth-seeded Mercyhurst in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's East Regional at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.
Freshman Mike Brennan netted his second collegiate goal at 17:33 of the second period, extending the BC lead to 5-3 and giving the Eagles the decisive goal.
Mercyhurst, the champion of Atlantic Hockey, opened the scoring just 27 seconds into the contest. After freshman forward Pat Gannon evened the score two minutes later, the Lakers regained the advantage with a power-play tally at 7:53.
Boston College took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission, after sophomore Brian Boyle and Lauze netted power-play goals at 12:18 and 19:25.
Mercyhurst tied the game at 3-3 at 4:22 of the middle period on T.J. Kemp's power-play goal.
Havern's power-play goal at 10:36 put the Eagles back on top, and Brennan's goal later in the period gave BC a two-goal cushion.
Mercyhurst trimmed its deficit to one goal - 5-4 - when Rich Hansen beat BC goalie Cory Schneider with just 59 seconds remaining in the period.
Neither team scored in the final period.
BC recorded 58 shots on net, its second-highest total of the season (behind its 61-shot output in an overtime tie with Providence on Dec. 4, 2004). The Eagles put 20 shots on net in the first period, and 19 shots on net in each of the last two periods.
Schneider made 18 stops to record his 13th win of the season.
Game Notes: BC was 3-for-11 on the power play. Mercyhurst was 2-for-8 on the power play ... BC's senior class totaled seven points - two goals and five assists. Its sophomore class tallied two points - one goal and one assist. The freshman class notched four points - two goals and two assists ... Mercyhurst's Mike Ella made 52 saves in 58:18. Teammate Andy Franck made one save in 52 seconds of third-period action (while Ella left the ice for medical attention).
Quote from BC head coach Jerry York: "The game probably played out as we envisioned it. We had a chance to watch the film earlier on Mercyhurst. They are a terrific transition team; they are able to produce some really high-scoring chances. They remind me of New Hampshire in our league. Mercyhurst created a lot of odd-man situations. We allowed too many breakaways for my liking. Cory had to make some difficult saves, and I thought he had an outstanding performance tonight. The whole concept in these tournaments is that you win and advance. It doesn't have to be pretty. I am very happy to be playing in the late game tomorrow.
