Boston College Athletics
Hockey Faces Key Game On Friday
January 31, 2002 | Men's Hockey
Jan. 31, 2002
Boston College at UMass-Amherst
Friday, February 1, 2002
Mullins Center
Amherst, Mass.
7 p.m.
Boston College/Massachusetts Game Notes in PDF Format
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THE EAGLES IN BRIEF: Boston College enters Friday's game at UMass-Amherst with a 12-12-2 overall record and a 5-10-1 mark in HOCKEY EAST games. The Eagles have suffered losses in their last six games, all HOCKEY EAST contests. Due to injuries, BC has been unable to dress a full compliment of skaters in each of the last six games.
The Eagles' success has been streaky this season. The team has five-game and four-game winning streaks to its credit, but also has a six-losing streak and a four-game winless streak also.
Sophomore Tony Voce leads the Eagles in scoring with 33 points (20 goals and 13 assists). Senior Jeff Giuliano and sophomore Ben Eaves both have netted 25 points, each on eight goals and 17 assists. Eaves reached that point in 13 games, while Giuliano's totals have come in 26 games. A total of eight players have scored in double figures this season.
AGAINST THE MINUTEMEN: Friday's meeting between Boston College and UMass-Amherst will be the 28th in the series. The Eagles hold the series advantage, 23-4-1. Boston College has won both previous meetings in the 2001-02 series. BC topped UMass, 4-0, at Kelley Rink on Dec. 1, then defeated the Minutemen in overtime, 4-3, on Jan. 7 at the Mullins Center. Overall, the Eagles have won 18 of the last 20 meetings with the Minutemen and have gone undefeated (4-0-1) in the last five meetings.
In the first meeting of the season, sophomore Tony Voce scored two goals and classmate Ben Eaves added three assists in the Eagles' 4-0 victory. The team scored three times in the first period and went on to their fifth win in six games overall. Tim Kelleher made 20 saves in the shutout.
In the last meeting, Jeff Giuliano scored two goals - including the game-winner in overtime - and added one assist to lead the Eagles to the 4-3 win. Dave Spina netted one goal and collected two assists, while Ryan Shannon had two assists. Voce scored the team's other goal. After building a 3-0 lead after one period, UMass rallied to tie the game in the third stanza and send the game to the extra session.
In just four career games against UMass, Eaves has recorded nine points on two goals and seven assists. Giuliano follows with eight points (five goals, three assists). Senior Ales Dolinar and sophomore defenseman J.D. Forrest have each scored five points against the Minutemen, each on one goal and four assists apiece.
LAST TIME OUT: Providence's Drew Omicioli scored two goals and added one assist as the Friars defeated Boston College, 5-2, in HOCKEY EAST action on Jan. 27 at Kelley Rink. Tony Voce scored both of the Eagles' goals.
Voce opened the scoring at 2:39 of the second period with an unassisted goal, but Providence responded with four unanswered goals in the frame. Devin Rask scored less than one minute later - at 3:22 - from Omicioli, then Peter Zingoni scored at 8:29 from Jon DiSalvatore and Peter Fregoe to take a 2-1 lead. Omicioli scored his first goal of the night at 11:15 on the power play from Regan Kelly. He added an even-strength goal at 14:41 from Chris Chaput and Eric Lundberg to give the Friars a 4-1 lead after two periods.
Voce netted his second goal of the game at 7:46 of the third period from Jeff Giuliano and A.J. Walker. The Friars added an empty-net tally at 18:31 to close the scoring.
Nolan Schaefer made 31 saves for Providence, while Tim Kelleher made 26 saves for Boston College.
FOR WHOM THE INJURY BELL TOLLS: A total of five Eagles were not in the lineup against Providence for either one or both games last weekend ... sophomore forward Ben Eaves broke several ribs while he played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships. He has missed the last 10 games, eight with the injury ... freshman defenseman John Adams had surgery to repair a broken bone in his thumb on Tuesday, Jan. 8. He has missed the last six games ... freshman forward Ryan Murphy suffered a lacerated kidney in the Eagles' game on Jan. 18 and has missed the last three games ... sophomore defenseman J.D. Forrest missed the first game of the series - on Friday - with the flu, but returned on Sunday ... senior Ales Dolinar was out of the lineup on Sunday with the flu.
18 ... 17 ... 16 ... 15 ...: Boston College has not dressed a full compliment of 18 skaters since Jan. 7, it's last game at UMass-Amherst ... with Ben Eaves out of the lineup and John Adams undergoing thumb surgery, the Eagles dressed 17 skaters on Jan. 11 and 12 against UMass-Lowell and Jan. 18 against Boston University ... on Jan. 20, BC dressed 16 skaters after Ryan Murphy left the previous game with a lacerated kidney ... on Jan. 25, only 15 skaters dressed against Providence as J.D. Forrest came down with a case of the flu ... the following game on Jan. 27, Forrest returned but Ales Dolinar came down with the flu and missed the game.
INJURY GAMES MISSED IN 2001-02: Boston College players have missed a total of 30 games in 2001-02 due to injury ... sophomore Ben Eaves leads the team with 10 injury games missed, followed by freshman John Adams's eight ... the defensive corps have been hit hard this season as a defensemen and goaltenders have missed a total of 15 games.
WHO'S HOT: Senior captain Jeff Giuliano has scored 13 points in the last seven games. He has netted four goals and collected nine assists. He also recorded his 100th career point during that span ... freshman Dave Spina has eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last six games ... senior Ales Dolinar has three assists in his last two games.
GIULIANO HITS 100 AND KEEPS GOING: Senior Jeff Giuliano entered Friday's game against Providence with 99 career points. He reached the 100-point mark with a first-period assist, then kept going to add three additional points on the evening. He later assisted on A.J. Walker's third-period goal, scored his own third-period goal, then assisted on Ned Havern's goal ... Giuliano finished the evening with a career-high four points ... he now has 104 career points ... he is the 58th Eagle to reach the 100-career point level.
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS: Sophomore Tony Voce is one of only six players nationally who have scored 20 goals so far this season. With two goals against Providence on Jan. 27, he reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career ... as a freshman in 2000-01, Voce recorded 12 goals in 43 games ... he is tied for fifth nationally in total goals and is tied for sixth in goals per game (0.77) ... Boston College has had at least one 20-goal scorer every season since the 1994-95 season.
DUBIOUS RECORD: The 2001-02 Eagles have set a dubious school record. With losses in each of its last six games, BC has established the school record for consecutive losses. Surprisingly, in 80 years of hockey at the Heights, the longest losing streak in the history of the program had been only five games, a mark only matched five times since the 1932-33 season.
WE MISS YOU BEN: With sophomore Ben Eaves in the line-up, Boston College is 7-4-2. Without him, the team is 5-8-0 ... with Eaves, the offense averages 3.62 goals per game. Without him, the team averages 2.77 goals per game ... no player misses Eaves more then wingmate Tony Voce. In 13 games the duo has played together, Voce has recorded 22 points (15 goals, seven assists). In the 13 games without Eaves, Voce has scored only 11 points (five goals, six assists). Voce also had a five-game point-less streak without Eaves.
YOUNGSTERS LEADING THE CHARGE: The freshman and sophomore classes have combined to score 69.9 percent of the Eagles' offense this season ... the freshmen have contributed 23 goals and 42 assists for 65 points ... the sophomore class has combined for 39 goals and 49 assists for 88 points ... the two youngest classes have netted a total of 153 of BC's 219 points.
WINS COME THROUGH 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 AS THE "MAGIC NUMBER": Between Nov 30, 1999 and Nov. 30, 2001, Boston College compiled a 44-0-1 record when scoring four or more goals. The streak was snapped this season at New Hampshire on Nov. 30 when the Wildcats won in overtime, 5-4, at the Whittemore Center. Since then, BC has just a 4-2-0 record when scoring four or more goals.
GETTING OFFENSIVE WHEN SHORTHANDED: Boston College leads HOCKEY EAST, and is third in Division I, with seven shorthanded goals this season ... the Eagles have 47 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.
VOCE AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS ...:
Sophomore Tony Voce is listed among the Division I national leaders in five categories. He is the only Eagle to be ranked in Division I. The following is a list of his ratingsas compiled by USCHO.com and the NCAA (as of Jan. 31):
Overall scoring: Tied for 14th with 33 points
Goal scoring: Tied for fifth with 20 goals
Shorthanded goals: Tied for first with four
Goals per game: Tied for sixth (0.77)
Points per game: Tied for 16th (1.27)
EAGLES AND THE LEAGUE LEADERS Several Eagles are among the HOCKEY EAST leaders (conference games only) in scoring categories (as of Jan. 31).
Four players are listed among the league leaders in scoring: Tony Voce (fifth, 13-7-20), Jeff Giuliano (tied for seventh, 4-13-17), Ben Eaves (tied for 14th, 4-11-15) and Dave Spina (tied for 14th, 6-9-15).
Voce leads the league in four categories: goals (13), shorthanded goals (three), hat trick (one) and shots (77). He is also tied for eighth in power-play goal with three.
Giuliano is tied for second in assists with 13 and sixth in shots with 56. Eaves is tied for fifth in assists with 11. Ryan Shannon is tied for 10th in shots with 51.
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 10 games, the duo has combined for 23 points (five goals, 18 assists). Giuliano has scored four goals and added 10 assists in 10 games, while Dolinar has scored one goal and collected eight assists in nine 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 20 points this season, 11 have come on the team's first goal of the game. He has scored the first goal seven times and assisted on four others.
SUCCESS FROM THE TOP: With 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 eight assists in nine 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 33 points this season (20 goals and 13 assists) in 26 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 15 points - six goals and nine assists - this season. He had scored two goals in two seasons headed into the 2001-02 campaign. Coincidentally, eight of his points have come 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 154 of BC's games since his arrival at the Heights in the fall of 1998. He has recorded 37 goals and 67 assists for 104 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. Each of those four players attended Huron (Mich.) High School.
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 171-111-23 mark (.598 winning percentage) at Boston College and a 638-446-57 (.584 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 129-53-14 mark (.694 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 21st-place tie 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, football, men's soccer and women's soccer.
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 from 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 is currently an assistant coach with 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. 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.
ON THE AIR: All of Boston College's games can be heard live on 96.9 FM WTKK. Jon Rish calls the play-by-play, while Ken Hodge provides the color commentary. The game can also be accessed live via the Internet at www.bceagles.com.
UP NEXT: Boston College and Boston University will meet in the first round of the 50th annual Beanpot on Monday, Feb. 4 at the FleetCenter. The game will be played at 8 p.m. and aired on NESN.
