Boston College Athletics
UConn Shuts Out Men's Hockey, 1-0
November 05, 2014 | Men's Hockey
Box score
HARTFORD, Conn. – In the first-ever meeting between Boston College and Connecticut, the Huskies eked out a 1-0 victory in their first home game as a member of Hockey East on Wednesday night at the XL Center.
Sophomore Evan Richardson was the difference maker, scoring the contest’s only goal on the power play at 11:32 of the first period.
Sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped 21-of-22 shots, including 8-of-9 saves while UConn was on the power play. Huskies’ backstopper Rob Nichols was a huge factor defensively, stopping all 35 BC attempts for his shutout.
Boston College went 0-for-5 on the power play while the Huskies converted on one of their six chances.
Following a Brendan Silk hooking call at 3:59 of the first period, Demko made a point-blank stop on Kasperi Ojantakanen before the Huskies broke through later on in the frame.
UConn attacked on a Ryan Fitzgerald roughing call at 11:32 of the opening period.
The Huskies controlled throughout the man advantage and Richardson broke free on the left dot. With traffic in front of Demko, Richardson accepted the pass from Johnny Austin, took two strides and flung it over Demko’s glove for the 1-0 lead with the power play strike.
The Eagles were bestowed with a 42-second 5-on-3 advantage at 2:48 of the second period, but UConn clogged the middle to prevent any threats and Alex Tuch’s interference penalty at 3:58 closed the window on BC’s power play advantage.
Boston College spread the puck all around in the third period, outshooting the Huskies, 10-3. Nichols stood his ground and saw every puck, even after the Eagles lifted Demko in favor of the extra skater with a minute left in regulation.
UConn called for a timeout with 15.4 seconds to play and was able to hang on for the 1-0 victory.
Boston College returns home to host the Battle of Comm Ave. on Friday night in front of a national viewing audience. The Eagles host No. 5 Boston University on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. Friday’s affair will be shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Game Notes
- Wednesday’s game at the XL Center marked the first-ever home game for Hockey East’s newest member, University of Connecticut.
- UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh is in his second season with Connecticut after serving on Jerry York’s staff since 1995.
- Boston College’s streak of not being shutout in 106 games ended on Nov. 5, 2014. It stood as college hockey’s longest streak.
