Boston College
Providence
No. 10 Men's Hockey Defeats Providence, 3-1
December 12, 2009 | Men's Hockey
Dec. 12, 2009
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Cam Atkinson, Pat Mullane and Tommy Cross each scored once, Steven Whitney tallied two assists, and goalie John Muse made 28 saves to lead 10th-ranked Boston College to a 3-1 Hockey East victory over Providence before 2,279 fans in Schneider Arena.
BC, which scored once in each period, improves to 10-3-2 and 7-3-2 in league play, achieving a double-digit win total prior to the Christmas break for the first time since the 2003-04 season when the team went 11-2-3 in its first 16 games.
The Eagles return to the ice on Friday, Jan. 1, 2010 against St. Lawrence at the Denver Cup in Colorado.
Atkinson got BC on the scoreboard late in the opening period, one-timing Steven Whitney's feed from the lower left circle for a power-play goal at 17:31. Joe Whitney also assisted on the score.
The power-play goal, Atkinson's seventh in the last eight games, was BC's first man-advantage tally its last 10 chances.
Mullane doubled the BC lead at 8:32 of the middle period on his third goal of the season.
After freshman defenseman Patrick Wey maintained the Eagles' possession in their offensive zone, Mullane skated across the offensive zone, left his feet to glove Wey's feed from the air and beat PC goalie Alex Beaudry (24 saves) with a nifty backhand at 8:32.
Cross lifted the team to a 3-0 lead at 2:49 of the third period, taking Steven Whitney's feed from the left side and driving to the net for the score.
Providence scored its lone goal at 15:55.
Muse made 28 saves to earn the victory, his sixth of the season and 49th of his career.
Team Records: Boston College 10-3-2; Providence 7-9-1
Game Notes: Atkinson extended his scoring streak to five games (5-2--7) ... BC went 1-for-2 in power-play situations and the team was not penalized in the game for the first time since Jan. 7, 2002, a 4-3 win at UMass in which neither team was penalized ... the game was played in one hour, 58 minutes.
