Boston College
Boston University*
Hockey Blanks BU, 2-0, At Agganis Arena
January 15, 2005 | Men's Hockey
Jan. 15, 2005
With a second-period goal by Ryan Shannon and a late empty-net tally by Patrick Eaves, second-ranked Boston College (14-3-3, 8-1-3) blanked BU, 2-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,224 at the recently-opened Agganis Arena on Saturday night. BC handed BU (13-9-0, 9-3-0) a loss in the Terriers' first conference contest in the new building.
The win is BC's second over BU on the weekend. In taking four conference points from BU, the Eagles move up to the top spot in the Hockey East standings for the first time this season. The win also gave BC a 2-1 edge in the teams' now-completed regular-season series.
BC put the offensive pressure on early. With a power play seconds into the game, the Eagle offense had a chance to quickly materialize. Seven minutes into the game, BC had four shots on goal and prevented BU from challenging BC goalie Matti Kaltiainen.
Joe Rooney put the rubber on the pipe halfway through the period. He found the puck in front of the net on the tail end of a BU power play, but his attempt hit the crossbar above the glove of BU goaltender John Curry.
BC out-shot BU 7-2 in the scoreless first period.
The Eagles were shorthanded for the first minutes of the second. Seemingly back-to-back penalties forced BC to sit in its zone rather than attacking BU's.
At 10:01, BC took a 1-0 lead. The play began with Dave Spina picking up a loose puck in BC's zone. He dished the puck to Patrick Eaves who rushed the left side. As the defenseman closed in, he slid the puck to Ryan Shannon at the far post and he got it past Curry with ease.
Although BU had six shots on goal in the middle frame, Kaltiainen shut the door on the Terriers on every attempt.
At the second intermission, the Eagles went back to the locker room up 1-0. Going into this game, BC was 9-0-0 when leading after the second.
The Eagles outshot the Terriers 10-6 in the second. Eaves had a chance to extend BC's lead to two midway through the third. On a BU power play, he found himself at the end of an errant pass. Flanked by Stephen Gionta, Eaves made a hard move at the left side of the net. His attempt was blocked by Curry.
A minute later, BU came close to equalizing the game. Terrier Brian McGuirk took a pass in front of the net and put a one-timer attempt on Kaltiainen. The BC goalie thwarted the attempt and fell on the puck, preserving his shutout.
Eaves closed the door on the Terriers late in the third. For the second consecutive night, BU has been forced to pull its goalie. Eaves poked away the puck at the blue line and skated to an uncontested, empty-net goal.
For the second straight game, Shannon, Spina and Eaves dominated the box score. In the two wins over BU, all three players notched five points.
