Boston College Athletics
Hockey Heads Cross Town To Face Northeastern
February 20, 2002 | Men's Hockey
Feb. 20, 2002
Boston College-Northeastern Game Notes in PDF Format
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THE EAGLES IN BRIEF: Boston College enters this weekend's series with Northeastern with a 16-14-2 overall record and an 8-11-1 mark in HOCKEY EAST games. Friday's game will be the second of three regular-season meetings between the two teams. In its last game, BC snapped its three-game winning streak by falling to Merrimack, 5-2, on the road. Overall, the Eagles have won three of their last four 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-game losing streak and a four-game winless streak.
AGAINST THE HUSKIES: Boston College and Northeastern have met 175 times with the Eagles holding a 127-36-11 series advantage. In the last nine games against the Huskies, BC holds a 7-1-1 record. Earlier this season, Northeastern defeated the Eagles at Matthews Arena, 4-3, on Nov. 20.
Senior Ales Dolinar is the team's leading scorer against Northeastern. In 13 career games, he's notched 11 points (three goals, eight assists). Classmate Jeff Giuliano has scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 13 games, while junior defenseman Bill Cass has scored six points (one goal and five assists).
CASS FINDS SUCCESS AGAINST THE HUSKIES: Junior defenseman Bill Cass is known more as a defensive defenseman, but against Northeastern he's gotten into the habit of getting a bit offensive. In 13 career games against the Huskies, he's scored six points (one goal, five assists) for a quarter of his career offensive production. Until this season, his lone goal came against Northeastern when he found the back of the net on March 2, 2000 in the Eagles' 7-2 victory at Matthews Arena.
LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHEASTERN: Freshman Ryan Shannon's two goals were not enough to lift Boston College over Northeastern as the Huskies defeated the Eagles, 4-3, on Nov. 20 at Matthews Arena. Shannon gave Boston College a quick 1-0 lead just 30 seconds into the game, but Northeastern came back and scored three straight goals to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. Jim Fahey netted a power-play goal at the 2:57 mark of the first then Leon Hayward converted a shorthanded attempt at 14:48 of the stanza. Mike Ryan scored the first of his two goals on the night at the 10:11 mark of the second period to extend the Northeastern lead to two goals.
Boston College jumped back within one goal when senior Ales Dolinar stuffed a Tony Voce rebound past Northeastern goaltender Mike Gilhooly with 2:01 left in the second period.
Ryan's second goal at 3:21 of the third period completed Northeastern's scoring, but the Eagles netted a goal with an extra skater with 49 seconds left in the game. Shannon streaked in off the boards to redirect a Bill Cass shot from the point. Dolinar won the faceoff to set up the goal.
Boston College's freshman goaltender Matti Kaltiainen stopped 14 shots on the night, while Gilhooly recorded 35 saves. BC out-shot Northeastern, 38-18, for the game.
LAST TIME OUT: Merrimack posted a 4-0 lead midway through the second period and went on to defeat Boston College, 5-2, on Feb. 16 at the Volpe Complex. The Warriors score d two goals 32 seconds apart in the first period - at 3:57 and 4:29 - to take the 2-0 lead. Alex Sikatchev added two goals in the second period to extend the four-goal advantage.
Dave Spina scored a power-play goal at 12:32 of the second to put the Eagles on the board, and Bill Cass added a goal 59 seconds into the third period to pull BC within two goals, 4-2, with a period to play. But the Eagles were unable to get any closer and Merrimack added an empty net goal at the end of the game for the final score.
BC rebounded from a 23-11 shot disadvantage midway through the second period to outshoot Merrimack, 36-31, including a 14-6 advantage in the third period. Joe Exter stonewalled the Eagles with 34 saves, while Matti Kaltiainen made 26 saves for BC.
POST-BEANPOT PUSH HAS BEGUN: Boston College has now started its traditional post-Beanpot push to the NCAA Tournament. The team is 1-1-0 so far after the 2002 Beanpot ... since the 1997-98 season, Boston College is a combined 42-10-4 after the Beanpot, a .786 winning percentage. Included are three HOCKEY EAST Tournament titles and four consecutive runs to the Frozen Four. Four of the nine losses have been in postseason tournament play: 1998 - national championship game, 1999 - national semifinal, 2000 - HOCKEY EAST Tournament final and national championship game ... Boston College has a 8-2-2 record after the Beanpot in the last four seasons against the Eagles' two remaining regular-season opponents (Northeastern, 4-0-1, and New Hampshire, 4-2-1).
DIFFERENCE MAKER: With Ben Eaves in the line-up, Boston College is 10-5-2. Without him, the team was 6-9-0 (2-8-0 in HOCKEY EAST)... with Eaves, the offense averages 3.47 goals per game. Without him, the team averages 2.80 goals per game ... the power-play clicks at 23.0 percent with him and 10.5 percent without him ... no single player missed Eaves more then wingmate Tony Voce. In 16 games the duo has played together, Voce has recorded 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists). In the 15 games without Eaves, Voce scored only 12 points (six goals, six assists). Voce also had a five-game point-less streak without Eaves.
HOLDING A LEAD TO CLOSE THE GAME: This season, Boston College is 13-0-1 when holding a lead entering the third period. Conversely, the Eagles are 2-11-1 when trailing entering the final stanza.
WALKER LATEST ON DISABLED LIST: Junior forward A.J. Walker suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Feb. 4 in the first round of the Beanpot. He suffered the injury when he slid into the goalpost in the first period against Boston University. He is expected to miss approximately four weeks with the injury.
INJURY GAMES MISSED IN 2001-02: Boston College players have missed a total of 39 games in 2001-02 because of injury ... sophomore Ben Eaves leads the team with 13 injury games missed, followed by freshman John Adams' 10 ... the defensive corps have been hit hard this season as the defensemen and goaltenders have missed a total of 17 games.
WHO'S HOT: Sophomore Tony Voce has recorded 10 points - four goals, six assists - in the last seven games and has a five-game point-scoring streak alive ...sophomore J.D. Forrest has five points (one goal, four assists) in the last five games ... sophomore Dave Spina has two power-play goals in the last two games to raise his total to five on the season ... the power-play unit has recorded one goal in each of the last five games, its longest scoring stretch of the season.
YOUNGSTERS LEADING THE CHARGE: The freshman and sophomore classes have combined to score 70.0 percent of the Eagles' offense this season ... the freshmen have contributed 32 goals and 47 assists for 79 points ... the sophomore class has combined for 45 goals and 65 assists for 110 points ... the two youngest classes have netted a total of 189 of BC's 270 points.
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. The following is a list of his ratings as compiled by USCHO.com (as of Feb. 20) and the NCAA (as of Feb. 19).
Overall scoring: Tied for 12th with 41 points
Goal scoring: Eighth with 22 goals
Shorthanded goals: Tied for fourth with four
Goals per game: Tenth (0.69)
Points per game: Fifteenth (1.28)
EAVES AND VOCE FINALISTS FOR WALTER BROWN AWARD: Sophomores Ben Eaves and Tony Voce were recently selected as finalists for the 2002 Walter Brown Award. The award is given annually by the Gridiron Club of Boston to the outstanding American-born college hockey player in New England ... eight of the 12 finalists are from HOCKEY EAST institutions ... Boston College players have won the last three Walter Brown Awards. Brian Gionta (2001) and Mike Mottau (1999 and 2000) were the most recent Eagles to win the award ... Boston College players have won a total of 20 Walter Brown Awards, the most of any school.
SUCCESS AFTER FIRST PERIOD SHUTOUTS: Boston College has a 11-5-0 record this season when not allowing a goal in the first period. Matti Kaltiainen has a 6-3-0 record with his losses at Wisconsin (5-2, Nov. 2), Providence (5-2, Jan. 25) and Boston University (5-3, Feb. 4). Tim Kelleher has a 5-2-0 record after blanking the opponent in the first period. Kelleher's two losses were both to Boston University (2-1, Jan. 18 and 3-1, Jan. 20).
WINS COME THROUGH DEFENSE: This season, 12 of Boston College's 16 wins have come when the defense has held the opposition to one goal or fewer. When allowing one or no goals, 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, Minnesota-Duluth 5-1, Harvard 4-0 and Merrimack (2-1).
BAROMETERS OF SUCCESS: Sophomores Ben Eaves and Tony Voce have been barometers of the team's success this season. When either player records a point or scores a goal, the team has had greater success this year.
Eaves Voce Scores a point 9-4-2 13-5-2 Scores a goal 7-2-0 9-6-1 Held pointless 1-1-0 3-6-0
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 24 points this season, 13 have come on the team's first goal of the game. He has scored the first goal nine times and assisted on four others.
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 16 games, the duo has combined for 31 points (five goals, 26 assists). Giuliano has scored four goals and added 14 assists in 16 games, while Dolinar has scored one goal and collected 12 assists in 15 games.
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 a 6-2-0 record when scoring four or more goals.
SHOOTING GALLERY: Boston College has outshot its opponent in each of the last nine games and in 26 of 32 games this season. During the recent stretch, BC has put 285 shots on net to its opponents' 238. Overall on the season, the Eagles have outshot opponents 1,002 to 818.
SHUTOUTS ALL AROUND: Both regular goaltenders have recorded shutouts this season. Junior Tim Kelleher has two to his credit, while freshman Matti Kaltiainen has one. Kelleher posted back-to-back blankings in November, shutting out Harvard (1-0, Nov. 25) and UMass-Amherst (4-0, Dec. 1), both at home. Kaltiainen earned his first career shutout with a 4-0 victory over Harvard on Feb. 11 at the FleetCenter.
GETTING OFFENSIVE WHEN SHORTHANDED: Boston College leads HOCKEY EAST, and is fourth in Division I, with eight shorthanded goals this season ... the Eagles have 52 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 is tied for fourth in the nation with his four shorthanded goals, while junior defenseman Bill Cass, freshman forwards Ryan Murphy and Ryan Shannon and freshman defenseman Andrew Alberts 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, Tony Voce scored 37 seconds into the second period at Yale on Jan. 6, Anthony D'Arpino scored 43 seconds into the second period against Harvard on Feb. 11, and Bill Cass scored 59 seconds into third period against Merrimack on Feb. 16 to give BC nine goals within one minute of leaving the dressing room this season.
BC has a 6-2-1 record in games when 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. 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.
EAGLES AND THE LEAGUE LEADERS: Several Eagles are among the HOCKEY EAST leaders (conference games only) in scoring categories (as of Feb. 19).
Tony Voce is ranked in seven categories. He is fifth in the league in scoring, notching 13 goals and 12 assists in 20 games. He also leads the league in two categories - hat tricks (one) and shots (91), is second in shorthanded goals (three), fifth in goals (13), tied for sixth in game-winning goals (two) and tied for ninth in assists (12).
Jeff Giuliano and Ben Eaves are tied for sixth in assists (14). Ryan Shannon is tied for sixth in game-winning goals (two) and tied for fourth in shorthanded goals (one). Ryan Murphy is also tied for fourth in shorthanded goals.
Both goaltenders are among the league leaders. Matti Kaltiainen is eighth in goals against average (3.18), 10th in save percentage (.874) and saves (222). Tim Kelleher is 10th in GAA (3.39) and tied for second in shutouts (one).
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.
MULTIPLE-POINT NORM: Sophomore Ben Eaves has recorded multiple-point efforts in nine of the 17 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 four games with three points.
MAKING A CAREER OF IT: During his 57-game career, sophomore Ben Eaves has recorded 22 multiple-point efforts, a total that represents 38.6 percent of the games he has played as an Eagle. In fact, since February 2001, Eaves has recorded multiple points in 17 of 34 games (50 percent of the games he has played) ... he had eight in 17 games to close the 2000-01 season and has already accumulated nine in 17 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.
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 20 points (6-8-14 on the power play, 4-0-4 shorthanded and 1-1-2 in 4x4 situations).
VOCE'S PRODUCTION SCHEDULE: Sophomore Tony Voce has netted 41 points this season (22 goals and 19 assists) in 32 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.
EVERYDAY PLAYER: Senior forward Jeff Giuliano has played in all 160 of BC's games since his arrival at the Heights in the fall of 1998. He has recorded 37 goals and 71 assists for 108 points. His 160 games played currently ranks him in seventh place all-time at the Heights, where he is tied with Marty Hughes '01. Rob Scuderi '01 holds the record with 169 games played ... Ales Dolinar is currently in 15th place on the career games played list with 154 games.
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.
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 175-113-23 mark (.600 winning percentage) at Boston College and a 642-448-57 (.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 133-55-14 mark (.693 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.
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 will play the backside of a home-and-home series with Northeastern on Sunday, Feb. 24, in a 3 p.m. game at Kelley Rink. Sunday's contest is the HOCKEY EAST Game of the Week on Fox Sports New England. BC will close the regular season with a home-and-home with New Hampshire on Saturday and Sunday, March 2 and 3.
