Boston College Athletics
Men's Hockey Prepares for Notre Dame
June 21, 1999 | Men's Hockey
November 4, 1998
Boston College Hockey (4-0)
vs.
Notre Dame (6-1)
November 6, 1998, Kelley Rink, 7 p.m.
The Trophy ... A victory in tonight's game means more than a slash in the win column; it means holding the Snooks Kelley/Lefty Smith trophy for another year. The trophy, honoring two legendary coaches, is awarded to the annual winner of the BC/ND hockey game ... Kelley coached the Eagles to 501 wins in 36 years, including the national championship in 1949. He retired in 1972 ... Smith led the Irish for 19 seasons (1968-87) ... BC head coach Jerry York played for Snooks Kelley from 1964-67 ... Current ND coach Dave Poulin played for Lefty Smith from 1978-82.
On a National Scale ... The Eagles are the nation's top-ranked team in many national polls.
POLL (First Place Votes/Total Votes) U.S. College Hockey OnLine 1. Boston College (23 / 30)BC leads the series, 11-7. Current Streak: BC has won the last three contests. Seniors vs. the Irish: BC leads 3-0 At BC: Series tied, 6-6 In the 90s: BC leads 4-1.USA Today/American Hockey Magazine 1. Boston College (8 / 10)
Lets Play Hockey 1. Boston College
BC vs. Notre Dame
Leading scorers vs. the Fighting Irish: GP G A P Blake Bellefeuille 2 2 2 4 Chris Masters 2 1 2 3 Jeff Farkas 2 1 1 2 Kevin Caulfield 2 1 1 2 Mike Mottau 2 1 1 2The Last Meeting: October 24, 1997 Joyce Center (2,667) BC 3, ND 2 -- Trailing 2-0 with 9:45 left in the third period, BC defenseman Mike Mottau rifled a slapshot past Notre Dames Matt Eisler to cut the lead in half. Forward Blake Bellefeuille scored the equalizer less than two minutes later. Mottau and Kevin Caulfield assisted on Bellefeuille's goal. Scott Clemmensen, playing in his first collegiate game, made several key saves to keep the Eagles close. BC held the momentum and with 5:16 remaining in the final period Mike Lephart cleared the puck to Marty Reasoner who found Brian Gionta for the game-winning tally. It was Gionta's first collegiate goal. Clemmensen and the Eagles defense killed a late penalty and held on for the come-from-behind victory. It was the third consecutive win for Boston College over Notre Dame and kept the Snooks Kelley/Lefty Smith Trophy in Chestnut Hill for another year. BC outshot the Irish, 37-26. Clemmensen made 24 saves for his first collegiate victory.
Shoot-Out ... BC is outshooting its opponents 142-99 this season. The Eagles are averaging 35.5 shots per game, while they are holding their opponents to 24.75 shots per game Last winter, the Eagles averaged 33.7 shots per game, while limiting their opponents to 24.9 shots per game.
Captain Buckley ... Senior defenseman Brendan Buckley is the most experienced Eagle, having played in 119 games in his three-plus seasons ... Buckley assisted on the Eagles first goal of the season. The Matt Mulhern tally put BC ahead 1-0 against Ohio State ... Buckley is the BC captain for the 1998-99 season.
Our Mottau is ...Junior defenseman Mike Mottau leads the Eagles in points (8) and assists (8) ... Five of his eight assists have comeon the power play ... Mottau tallied an assist on each of the first four goals in a 6-4 victory over UMass-Lowell on Oct. 31 ... Mottau assisted on two goals in the Ice Breaker championship game against St. Lawrence, including Chris Masters' game-winning goal ... Mottau is an assistant captain.
Yes Masters ... Senior center Chris Masters has scored a point in every game this season (1-3-4) ... Masters scored the gamewinner in a 3-2 victory over St. Lawrence in the championship game of the Ice Breaker Cup on Oct. 10 ... Masters is serving as an assistant captain for the Eagles.
Fond of Farkas ... Junior forward Jeff Farkas terrorized UMass-Lowell over Halloween weekend, tallying five goals and adding one assist ... He earned HOCKEY EAST Co-Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 25-Nov. 1 ... On Oct. 30, Farkas registered his first collegiate hat trick in the 6-4 victory ... Farkas enjoyed Halloween, scoring two goals and one assist in a 6-4 win at Lowell ... Farkas tallied two goals and added three assists in the 8-0 exhibition rout of Toronto. One of Farkas' goals came on the power play ... Farkas leads HOCKEY EAST with five goals in two conference games.
Scud-eri Missile ... Sophomore defenseman Rob Scuderi missed his first game of the young season on Oct. 31 with a bruised shoulder ... Scuderi scored two goals and added two assists against Toronto.
The Mighty Gionta ... Sophomore forward Brian Gionta ranks second on the team in goals (5) and points (7) ... He notched two goals and one assist in a 6-4 victory at UMass-Lowell on Oct. 31 ... Gionta notched his third career hat trick in the season-opening 4-3 double-overtime victory over Ohio State. Giontas gamewinner came 1:17 into the second overtime.
Belle-feuille tolls three ... Junior forward Blake Bellefeuille scored the game-winning goal, on the power play, in a 7-3 victory over UMass-Lowell in BCs HOCKEY EAST opener (Oct. 30) ... Bellefeuille notched two goals and added two assists in the exhibition win over Toronto on Oct. 16.
Stonewall Clemmensen ... Sophomore netminder Scott Clemmensen has recorded four wins in as many games this season ... After four games, he ranks fourth in HOCKEY EAST with a 2.92 goals against average ... Clemmensen won both games of the Ice Breaker Cup in Minneapolis, Minn. He made a season-high 31 saves against Ohio State on Oct. 9 ... Last year, Clemmensen set a BC single-season record with 24 wins.
The Crown Giuls ... Freshman forward Jeff Giuliano has four assists in four games ... Giuliano recorded two assists in his collegiate debut against Ohio State ... He is the center on a line with sophomore Brian Gionta and senior Andy Powers. This line has accounted for 25 percent of the Eagles' scoring in HOCKEY EAST action (10 of 39).
Ice Or-Pik ... Freshman defenseman Brooks Orpik has contributed immediately to the Eagles defensive corps ... He assisted on the gamewinner in the Ice Breaker championship game against St. Lawrence.
A-Line ... The line of Jeff Farkas, Blake Bellefeuille and Mike Lephart are continuing their stellar play from last season. The three combined for 105 points last winter, including 45 goals ... They combined for 11 points in the 8-0 exhibition victory over Toronto three weeks ago ... The three combined for seven of the Eagles' 21 points against UMass-Lowell on Oct. 30
The Coach ... Jerry York is in his fifth season at Boston College. He has a 74-67-14 (.523) record at the Heights. He currently ranks eighth on the NCAA all-time winningest coaches list with 541 victories. Before coming to BC, York served as the head coach at Clarkson and Bowling Green, winning the national title at BGSU.
First ones here, last ones to leave ... After four games, the Eagles have outscored their opponents, 8-0 in the first period. They have also outdueled their opponents in overtime, 1-0.
Ice-Breakers ... BC opened the 1998-99 campaign by winning the Ice Breaker Cup in Minneapolis, Minn. In the opening round, the Eagles won an exciting double-overtime game, 4-3, over Ohio State in a rematch of last years NCAA Tournament semifinal game. In the title game, BC defeated St. Lawrence, 3-2, to capture its first regular-season tournament championship since the 1994 Beanpot.
The NHL Awaits ... Nine BC players have already been selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Sophomore Bobby Allen was selected by the Boston Bruins (2nd round/1998); senior Brendan Buckley was selected by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (5th/1996); junior Kevin Caulfield was chosen by the Washington Capitals (5th/1997); goaltender Scott Clemmensen was selected by the New Jersey Devils (8th/1997); junior Jeff Farkas was picked by the Toronto Maple Leafs (3rd/1997); sophomore Brian Gionta was chosen by New Jersey (3rd/1998); junior Mike Mottau was selected by the New York Rangers (7th/1997); sophomore Rob Scuderi was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins (5th/1998); and junior Tony Hutchins was chosen by the St. Louis Blues (8th/1996).
On the Horizon ... The Eagles return to HOCKEY EAST action on Nov. 13 when they host Northeastern. BC will invade Matthews Arena on Nov. 14 to complete the HOCKEY EAST home-and-home series.
Slap Shots
* The Eagles are off to their best start (4-0) since 1985-86 when they finished 26-14-3.
* BC has registered two hat tricks in four games. Brian Gionta netted three goals in the 4-3 double-overtime win against Ohio State in the season opener. Jeff Farkas tallied his first collegiate hat trick in BC's HOCKEY EAST opener, a 7-3 win over UMass-Lowell ... Last winter, BC recorded five hat tricks.
* When Mike Mottau notched four assists against UMass-Lowell on Oct. 31, it marked the first time an Eagle had achieved that feat since Marty Reasoner recorded four assists against the River Hawks on Feb. 28, 1998.
* Mike Mottau and Jeff Farkas are tied for third in HOCKEY EAST with six points in conference games. Mottau is tied for second in overall games with eight points.
* BC radio broadcaster Tim Sweeney played for the Eagles from 1985-89. He was a four-year letterwinner and served as the team tri-captain during his senior season. Sweeeney played 291 NHL games in eight years. He played for Calgary, Boston, Anaheim and spent last season with the New York Rangers.
* Current Eagles in the NHL: Doug Brown (Detroit); Ted Crowley (Colorado); Bill Guerin (Edmonton); Steve Heinze (Boston); Craig Janney (Phoenix); Brian Leetch (New York Rangers); Marty McInnis (Anaheim); Ian Moran (Pittsburgh); Marty Reasoner (St. Louis).
