Boston College Athletics
Hockey Set To Face Friars
January 25, 2002 | Men's Hockey
Jan. 25, 2002
Boston College
at
Providence
Friday, January 25, 2002
Schneider Arena
Providence, R.I.
7 p.m.
Boston College/Providence College Game Notes in PDF Format
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THE EAGLES IN BRIEF Boston College enters Friday's game at Providence with a 12-10-2 overall record and a 5-8-1 mark in HOCKEY EAST games. The Eagles have lost their last four games: two to No. 5 UMass-Lowell and two to No. 7 Boston University. Due to injuries, BC has been unable to dress a full compliment of skaters in each of the last four games. The team has fallen out of both sets of national polls.
Sophomore Tony Voce leads the Eagles in scoring. In 24 games, Voce has 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists. Although he's missed the last eight games, classmate Ben Eaves has 25 points on eight goals and 17 assists in just 13 games. Senior captain Jeff Giuliano follows in third with 20 points (seven goals, 12 assists), while freshman Dave Spina (seven goals, 12 assists) and sophomore defenseman J.D. Forrest (six goals, 12 assists) each have 19 points. Eight players have double-digit scoring totals.
AGAINST THE FRIARS: Boston College and Providence have met 128 times with the Eagles holding a 82-39-7 series advantage. BC has won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams, including the first meeting of the 2001-02 season on Nov. 14 at Kelley Rink. Since the beginning of the 1996-97 season, Boston College has a 12-4-3 record against Providence.
Three players led the Eagles in scoring against Providence with seven points apiece. Sophomore Ben Eaves has four goals and three assists, senior Ales Dolinar has three goals and four assists, and Jeff Giuliano has two goals and five assists. Sophomore Tony Voce has five points (two goals, three assists) and classmate J.D. Forrest has four points, all on assists.
LAST TIME AGAINST PROVIDENCE: Three Eagle players each tallied one goal and one assist as Boston College defeated Providence, 4-1, on Nov. 14 at Kelley Rink. Ryan Murphy, Ben Eaves and Ales Dolinar each recorded two points for Boston College. The two teams got on the board early and combined for three goals in less than two minutes in the first period. The win was the third in as many games for Boston College.
Eaves put the Eagles on the board 4:06 into the first period, scoring on a goal from Tony Voce and A.J. Walker. Boston College extended the lead to 2-0 just more than one minute later at 5:23 when Dolinar redirected an Andrew Alberts slap shot from the right point. Murphy also received an assist on the goal.
Providence climbed within one goal at 6:02 as Regan Kelly knocked in a pass from Drew Omicioli and Peter Fregoe, but Murphy gave BC a two-goal lead again from Dolinar and Ned Havern at 9:00.
J.D. Forrest netted a power-play goal - from Eaves and Dave Spina - at 5:23 of the second period to conclude the scoring.
Matti Kaltiainen stopped 19 shots in the win for Boston College, while Nolan Schaefer made 31 saves for Providence. Boston College outshot the Friars 35-20 on the night, including a 16-4 margin in the third period.
LAST TIME OUT: Seventh-ranked Boston University scored two goals 10 seconds apart, and added an empty-net goal, to defeat No. 13 Boston College, 3-1, in a HOCKEY EAST contest on Sunday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena before 3,806 fans.
The game was scoreless until the 16:32 mark of the second period when the Terriers netted the first of the team's back-to-back scores. Pat Aufiero made an end-to-end rush and put a goal in behind Eagle netminder Tim Kelleher. Ten seconds later - at 16:42 - Gregg Johnson scored on a break out from Freddy Meyer and Ken Magowan.
Defenseman J.D. Forrest pulled the Eagles within one goal at 8:18 of the third period. He knocked in the rebound of a Jeff Giuliano shot for the 4x4 goal. Ales Dolinar also assisted on the goal.
BU added an empty net goal at 19:20 of the third period to secure the win. Sean Fields made 28 saves for the Terriers, while Kelleher stopped 23 shots in the loss.
THE EAGLES AND THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Boston College is not ranked in the latest editions of the polls after dropping two games to seventh-ranked Boston University last weekend. The Eagles were ranked 13th in the USCHO.com poll and 14th in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll last week.
INJURY FRONT: Three Eagles will not be in the lineup against the Friars... freshman forward Ryan Murphy suffered a lacerated kidney in the Eagles' game on Jan. 18 and missed the team's last game ... freshman defenseman John Adams had surgery to repair a broken bone in his thumb on Tuesday, Jan. 8. He has missed the last four games ... sophomore forward Ben Eaves broke several ribs while he played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships. He has missed the last eight games, six with the injury.
WHO'S HOT: The Eagles' second line of Jeff Giuliano, Ryan Shannon and Dave Spina has recorded 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in the last five games. Giuliano has three goals and five assists and Spina has scored three goals and added four assists. Shannon has collected one goal and three assists ... freshman goaltender Matti Kaltiainen has a .940 save percentage in his last three starts. He has made 94 saves, while allowing only six goals.
NEARING A MILESTONE: Senior Jeff Giuliano is one points shy of becoming the 58th Boston College player to reach 100 points for his career. So far this season, he's scored 19 points (seven goals and 12 assists) in 23 games.
YOUNGSTERS LEADING THE CHARGE: The sophomore class has accounted for 41.7 percent of the Eagles scoring this season (37 goals and 48 assists for 85 points). When adding the freshman class' production to the total (22 goals and 40 assists for 62 points), the two classes have scored 72.1 percent of the team's points (59 goals and 88 assists for 147 points).
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE: This season, 10 of Boston College's 12 wins have come when the defense has held the opposition to one goal or fewer. BC has defeated Vermont 5-1, Notre Dame 4-1, Wisconsin 3-1, Providence 4-1, Boston University 3-1, Harvard 1-0, Massachusetts 4-0, Miami (Ohio) 5-1 and Minnesota-Duluth 5-1. The Eagles also have wins over Merrimack (6-4) and Massachusetts (4-3, OT).
FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Since the beginning of the 1999-00 season, Boston College is 54-4-2 when scoring four or more goals. The Eagles are 8-2-1 this season when reaching the four-goal mark after compiling a perfect 24-0-0 record last season when reaching the four-goal mark ... Nov. 30's game at New Hampshire (5-4 loss in overtime) was the team's first loss when it scored four or more goals since Nov. 7, 1999 (6-5 loss at Northeastern).
GETTING OFFENSIVE WHEN SHORTHANDED: Boston College leads HOCKEY EAST, and is third in Division I, with seven shorthanded goals this season ... the Eagles have 44 shots on goal this season when skating a man down ... twice this season BC has netted two shorthanded goals in a game: Nov. 14 vs. Merrimack and Dec. 8 at Maine ... sophomore Tony Voce leads the nation with his four shorthanded goals, while junior defenseman Bill Cass and freshman forwards Ryan Murphy and Ryan Shannon have each netted one shorthanded goal.
LIGHTNING STRIKES EARLY: Four times this season, Boston College has lit the lamp before the first minute of the game has elapsed. In the opening game of the year against Vermont on Oct. 6, Ben Eaves scored a power-play goal 45 seconds into the game. In BC's game against Northeastern on Oct. 20, Ryan Shannon struck 30 seconds into the game with an even-strength goal. In the first round of the Silverado Shootout against Miami (Ohio), A.J. Walker scored 41 seconds into the game. Dave Spina scored at exactly 1:00 to take a 1-0 lead at Massachusetts (Jan. 7).
Additionally, Jeff Giuliano scored 43 seconds into the third period against Alaska-Anchorage on Oct. 13, Eaves scored 56 seconds into the third period against Boston University on Nov. 17, and Tony Voce scored 37 seconds into the second period at Yale on Jan. 6 to give BC seven goals within one minute of leaving the dressing room this season. BC has a 5-1-1 record in games where the team scores so quickly.
FAST AND FURIOUS SCORING: Boston College has scored back-to-back goals in less than three minutes in seven different games this season. Five of the occurrences have come in the Eagles' last eight games. BC has a 5-1-1 record in games when the team scores so quickly.
Against Notre Dame (Oct. 26) Dave Spina and Ales Dolinar scored 1:22 apart. Against Providence (Nov. 14) Ben Eaves and Dolinar scored 1:17 apart. At New Hampshire (Nov. 30), Eaves and Brett Peterson scored 2:34 apart. Against Massachusetts (Dec. 1), Spina and Tony Voce scored 30 seconds apart. At Maine (Dec. 8), Ryan Shannon and Voce scored shorthanded goals 14 seconds apart. Against Miami (Ohio) (Dec. 28), Ned Havern and Voce scored 27 seconds apart. At Massachusetts (Jan. 7), Spina and Jeff Giuliano scored 24 seconds apart to open the game.
RARE OCCURRENCE: A very rare occurrence happened in the Eagles' 4-3, overtime victory over Massachusetts on Jan. 7. There was not a single penalty called in the game. In 63:52 of hockey, referee Tim Benedetto and linesmen Chris Low and Glen Cooke did not whistle any infractions on either team ... this season, only two games in Division I have been penalty-free. The other - Connecticut at Army on Jan. 4 - also went to overtime and ended in a 3-3 tie.
EAGLES AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS ...: Boston College and several players are listed among the Division I national leaders (as compiled by the NCAA as of Jan. 21 and USCHO.com as of Jan. 22).
Boston College is ranked 16th in scoring margin (+0.38 goals per game) and third in shorthanded goals (seven).
Sophomore Tony Voce is tied for 14th in overall scoring (18-13-31 games) and sixth in goal scoring (18). He is ninth in the nation in goals per game (0.82 gpg). On special teams, he is tied for 19th in power-play goals (six) and tied for first in shorthanded goals (four). He is also tied for 14th in game-winning goals (three).
Senior Ales Dolinar also ranks among the national leaders in game-winning goals, netting three for a 14th-place tie.
... AND LEAGUE LEADERS: Several Eagles are among the HOCKEY EAST leaders (conference games only) in scoring categories (as of Jan. 22).
Sophomore Tony Voce is fifth in conference scoring (18 points), first in goal scoring (11), tied for second in game-winning goals (two), tied for eighth in power-play goals (three), tied for first in shorthanded goals (three), tied for first in hat tricks (one), and first in shots (66).
Sophomore Ben Eaves is tied for seventh in scoring (15 points) and tied for fourth in assists (11). He is still among the league leaders even though he has played in half as many games as the rest of the leaders.
Freshman Dave Spina is tied for 10th in scoring (14 points) and tied for sixth in assists (nine).
Other Eagle skaters who are listed among the league leaders include senior Jeff Giuliano (tied for ninth in shots with 50), freshman Ryan Murphy (tied for fourth place in shorthanded goals with one), and freshman Ryan Shannon (tied for fourth place in shorthanded goals with one).
Freshman Matti Kaltiainen is seventh in goals against average (2.97), 10th in saves (156) and ninth in save percentage (.881). Junior Tim Kelleher is tied for second in shutouts (one).
GIULIANO - SHANNON - SPINA: The Eagles' second line of senior Jeff Giuliano and freshmen Ryan Shannon and Dave Spina has been clicking on all cylinders in the past five games ... the trio has netted 19 points during that span ...Giuliano has three goals and five assists ... Spina has scored three goals and added four assists ...Shannon has one goal and three assists ... the line has scored seven of the team's 12 goals in the last five games.
SENIORS LEADING BY EXAMPLE: BC's senior class - Jeff Giuliano and Ales Dolinar - has been leading the team by example since returning from the holiday break. In seven games, the duo has combined for 16 points (five goals, 11 assists).
Giuliano has scored three goals and added six assists in eight games. Dolinar has scored one goal and collected six assists in eight games.
FIRST GOAL GO-TO GUY: When the Eagles need to break into the scoring column in a game, freshman Dave Spina has proven to be the go-to guy. Of his 19 points this season, 10 have come on the team's first goal of the game. He has scored the first goal six times and assisted on four others.
SUCCESS FROM THE TOP: Since Ben Eaves' departure from the lineup, Ales Dolinar was moved from his usual spot in the line-up - centering the Eagles' third line - to Eaves' place centering the top line. The switch hasn't fazed Dolinar, who has increased his production since the move. He has one goal and six assists in eight games centering the top line.
CHANGING POSITIONS: After playing the first 20 games of the season as a forward, junior Anthony D'Arpino has moved back to his natural position as a defenseman. A depleted defensive corps forced the coaching staff to move D'Arpino to the blue line. He was a defenseman in his first two seasons at the Heights.
EAVES MAKES INTERNATIONAL IMPACT: Sophomore Ben Eaves represented the United States at the 2002 IIHF World Junior Championships, Dec. 25 - Jan. 4 in the Czech Republic. Team USA earned a fifth-place finish in the tournament with its 3-2, overtime victory over Sweden on Jan. 4.
Team USA completed the Group A round-robin with a 2-0-2 record. It then faced eventual goal-medal winner Russia in the quarterfinals, falling 6-1. Eaves recorded the USA's lone goal. Eaves played six games in the tournament, tallying one goal and four assists. He finished tied for third on the team in scoring and was named one of the U.S.' top three players at the championships by USA Hockey.
SPECIAL TEAMS SNIPER: While sophomore Tony Voce leads the club in power-play goals with six, he has also logged four shorthanded goals, as well as 4x4 and 5x3 goals this season. Overall, he leads the team in special teams scoring with 17 points (6-6-12 on the power play, 4-0-4 shorthanded and 1-0-1 in 4x4 situations).
VOCE'S PRODUCTION SCHEDULE: Sophomore Tony Voce has netted 31 points this season (18 goals and 13 assists) in 24 games, surpassing his 43-game, freshman total of 26 points in 2000-01. He equaled his scoring totals from last season in 17 games - on Dec. 28 against Miami (Ohio) - with an assist in the first period. He exceeded his previous total with a shorthanded goal later in the same game.
WALKER ENJOYING RENEWED SUCCESS: Junior forward A.J. Walker has notched 13 points - five goals and eight assists - this season. He had scored two goals in two seasons headed into the 2001-02 campaign. Coincidentally, Walker has scored all but five of his points when he has been on the ice with Ben Eaves. Walker and Eaves were also linemates at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. in 1998-99.
EVERYDAY PLAYER: Senior forward Jeff Giuliano has played in all 152 of BC's games since his arrival at the Heights in the fall of 1998. He has recorded 36 goals and 63 assists for 99 points.
MULTIPLE-POINT NORM: Sophomore Ben Eaves has recorded multiple-point efforts in eight of the 13 games he has played this season. He collected a season-high four points (one goal and three assists) in the team's opening game of the season and has three games with three points.
MAKING A CAREER OF IT: During his 53-game career, sophomore Ben Eaves has recorded 21 multiple-point efforts, a total that represents nearly 40 percent of the games he has played as an Eagle. In fact, since February 2001, Eaves has recorded multiple points in 16 of 30 games (53.3 percent of the games he has played). He had eight in 17 games to close the 2000-01 season and has already accumulated eight in 13 games this season ... earlier this season, Eaves recorded six multiple-point games in a row, the longest stretch at the Heights since Marty Reasoner did it in seven-straight games from Feb. 9 -March 7, 1998.
OLYMPIC UPDATE: Boston College hockey has several connections to the 2002 Olympics ... the hockey team has three former Boston College players involved as Brian Leetch and Bill Guerin were chosen to the team. John Cunniff '66 will serve as an assistant coach on the team ... in addition, Matti Kaltiainen's sister, Anna, will compete for Finland in snowboarding events.
FAMILIAR FACES STAYING TOGETHER: The Eagles' roster boasts five sets of teammates who played together in high school, as well as at the Heights. Senior assistant captain Ales Dolinar and sophomore Tony Voce were teammates at Lawrence Academy (Mass.). Freshmen Ryan Shannon and Taylor Leahy both came to BC from Taft (Conn.). Junior A.J. Walker and sophomore Ben Eaves were also linemates at Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) before re-teaming at the Heights. Sophomore Justin Dziama and freshman Ben McManama played alongside each other at Noble & Greenough (Mass.). And, while not a high school team, four players were members of the United States National Development Program teams: junior Bill Cass, sophomore J.D. Forrest, and freshmen Ryan Murphy and Dave Spina.
THE HEAD COACH - JERRY YORK: Head coach Jerry York is in his eighth season at the Heights and this 30th overall as a head coach. He has compiled a 171-109-23 mark (.602 winning percentage) at Boston College and a 638-444-57 (.585 winning percentage) in his career. A 1967 first team All-American for the Eagles, York came to the Heights in 1994 and has returned the program to its elite status. He is one of only two collegiate coaches to lead two different teams to NCAA titles and is the sixth coach to earn 600 career wins. York is currently sixth on the all-time win list. York began his coaching career at Boston College as a graduate assistant to John "Snooks" Kelley, then was an assistant coach for one season. He then moved to Clarkson to serve as Len Ceglaski's assistant in 1970, before assuming head coaching duties in 1972 when Ceglarski returned to BC. In 1979, York became the head coach at Bowling Green, leading the Falcons to the 1984 national championship.
CONSISTENCY BREEDS SUCCESS: The Boston College coaching staff is in its seventh season working together, guiding the Eagles. Head coach Jerry York arrived at the Heights before the 1994-95 season and brought associate head coach Scott Paluch with him from Bowling Green. That season marked associate head coach Jim Logue's second with the team. A year later, assistant coach Mike Cavanaugh joined the staff. Since the 1997-98 season, Boston College has recorded a 129-51-14 mark (.701 winning percentage). The Eagles won three HOCKEY EAST Tournaments over that span and were the 2001 national champions.
YORK REWARDED: This past summer, head coach Jerry York signed a new, five-year contract that runs through the 2005-06 season. Sixth on the college hockey career wins list, York has led the Eagles to the last four Frozen Fours, culminating in a national championship in 2001. He has also won three HOCKEY EAST Tournament titles and coached 11 All-American selections since arriving back at the Heights.
FUTURE EAGLES: Three players have signed National Letters of Intent to play hockey at Boston College next season, according to an announcement made by head coach Jerry York. All three players signed their commitments during the NCAA's early signing period. Patrick Eaves, a 5-11, 170-lb. forward from the U.S. National Under-18 Development Team in Ann Arbor, Mich, Peter Harrold, a 5-11, 185-lb. defenseman from the Cleveland Barons of the North American Hockey League, and Ben Lovejoy, a 6-2, 205-lb. defenseman from Deerfield Academy, will enter Boston College in the fall of 2002 and begin their collegiate hockey careers in the 2002-03 season.
BC MOVES UP IN SEARS CUP STANDINGS: Boston College currently stands in a tie for 21st place in the latest standings for the Sears Directors' Cup, released Jan. 8. The standings are annually tabulated based on schools' performances in NCAA Championship play and is a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.
Boston College has earned points in the following sports this year: women's cross country (finished sixth at NCAA Championship), football (finished 23rd in final CNN/USA Today poll), men's soccer (played in first round of NCAA Championship) and women's soccer (played in first round of NCAA Championship).
Stanford is currently in first place, while North Carolina is second and UCLA is third. Boston College is the highest ranked HOCKEY EAST school, followed by Providence in a 34th-place tie and Massachusetts in a 59th-place tie. Among its BIG EAST Conference rivals, Boston College is second trailing only 14th-place Notre Dame.
REMEMBERING THE PAST: 2002 JERSEY RETIREMENTS: Two former Boston College greats had their sweaters hung in the Kelley Rink rafters on Friday, Jan. 18. The jerseys of John Cunniff '66 and Bill Daley '61 retired in a first-intermission ceremony.
Cunniff was a two-time All-American (1965, 1966) and a three-time All-New England choice. He was also the winner of the 1966 Walter Brown Award presented to the top American-born player in New England. He led the Eagles in scoring in both the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons. Cunniff graduated tied as the Eagles' career scoring leader with Daley with 71 goals and 82 assists for 153 points. He is currently an assistant coach with the Albany River Rats of the AHL, the top farm club of the New Jersey Devils. He will serve as an assistant coach of the United States' team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City next month.
Daley led BC in career scoring when he graduated. In 78 career games, he scored 77 goals and collected 76 assists. Currently, he and Cunniff are tied for 20th in career scoring. Daley set the Eagles' single-season scoring record with 74 points in the 1960-61 season, and held the record until Scott Harlow later broke it in 1985-86.
The Cunniff and Daly jerseys now hang from the Kelly Rink rafters with other former greats Ray Chaisson, John "Snooks" Kelley, Jim Logue, Tom "Red" Martin, Joe Mullen and Edward "Butch" Songin. David Emma's number 16 retired in 2001.
UP NEXT: Boston College and Providence will play the final game of the 2001-02 regular-season series on Sunday, Jan. 27 at Kelley Rink. The game will be played at 3 p.m. and will be aired by Fox Sports New England.
