Boston College Athletics
Men's Hockey Blanks the Irish, 2-0
February 27, 2015 | Men's Hockey
Box score
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko’s 35-save shutout performance helped No. 9 Boston College clinch a first-round bye and home ice for the 2015 Hockey East playoffs as the Eagles subdued Notre Dame, 2-0, Friday night at Compton Family Ice Arena.
Sophomore Ian McCoshen and first-year forward Alex Tuch continue to light up the scoring sheet as both Eagles scored in Friday’s victory. Sophomores Austin Cangelosi, Adam Gilmour and Scott Savage along with senior Destry Straight all provided the help in BC’s offense.
Demko’s 35-save shutout marks his third-career shutout and first of the season as Boston College and Notre Dame matched one another’s shot totals at 35. Demko’s adversary, rookie Cal Petersen, stopped 33-of-35 shots for the Fighting Irish.
The Eagles’ penalty-killing unit stopped all three Irish power play opportunities while Boston College could not convert on its three chances.
Early on, the Eagles killed off a McCoshen hooking call and the Eagles’ defenseman rewarded his penalty-killing corps with a wicked slap shot at 13:31 to draw first blood.
Straight pushed the puck up to Cangelosi in the slot and the disc got worked up to McCoshen just feet within the blue line. With traffic in front of Peterson, McCoshen blasted the one-timer to the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
A few exchanges later, Tuch took advantage of his own rebound and doubled up BC’s edge, 2-0, at 16:45 of the opening frame.
Savage generated the scoring play by scooting the puck out of Boston College territory to Gilmour in transition. Tuch accepted Gilmour’s feed, triggered into Petersen’s left pad and roofed his own carom for his sixth goal in as many games.
Both goaltenders put on a performance down the stretch as the remaining 43:15 of the game was highlighted by both defenses.
Boston College outshot Notre Dame, 17-11, but the Fighting Irish retaliated with 14 shots to BC’s six in the final frame.
Notre Dame’s best opportunity to knot things up took place late in the third when senior Michael Sit was cited for tripping with 2:23 left in regulation. ND head coach Jeff Jackson opted for the extra skater, pulling Petersen, to give the Irish a 6-on-4 advantage down the stretch.
ND’s Austin Wuthrich had a point-blank shot from the slot and Demko preserved the shutout with roughly 50 seconds left by averting the screen and snaring the flying disc out of thin air to hold onto the Eagles’ 2-0 victory.
Boston College and Notre Dame will run it back tomorrow night at Compton Family Ice Arena live on NBC Sports Network. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Game Notes
- Boston College’s last shutout took place at home against UMass Lowell on Feb. 11, 2014 in a 3-0 victory. The Eagles’ last shutout on the road occurred after Thatcher Demko stopped 30 shots at Providence on Jan. 31, 2014
- Thatcher Demko pitched his first shutout of the season and third of his career. Demko’s first two shutouts occurred against UMass Lowell on Feb. 11, 2014 (3-0) and at Providence on Jan. 31, 2014 (2-0).
- Defenseman Ian McCoshen is riding a career-best four-game point streak and is the Eagles’ leading scorer in the last four games. The Faribault, Minn., native has scored a goal in three of his last four outings and total four markers across that stretch. Over the course of the last four games, McCoshen has accounted for six points (4-2-6). McCoshen accounted for the game-winning goal in tonight's game, marking his second of the season and third of his career.
- Freshman Alex Tuch, the Eagles’ leading point scorer with 28 points (14-14-28) is riding a six-game point streak, tied for most on the team. Adam Gilmour posted a six-game point streak from Dec. 13 to Jan. 16. Over that stretch, Tuch has notched six goals and three assists (6-3-9), including two power play goals.
- Boston College can still win a share of the Hockey East regular season title if the Eagles sweep Notre Dame with a win tomorrow night and Northeastern completes its weekend sweep of Boston University. The Eagles are two points behind the Terriers with one game left to play and split their season series with a win each. Playoff seeding will come down to victories against the third-place team. If that is also tied, wins against the fourth-place team and so on, and so forth, would determine who gets the No. 1 seed in the Hockey East playoffs.
- Friday’s win marks Boston College’s first victory at Compton Family Ice Arena. BC lost in overtime in November 2011 to open the doors to Notre Dame’s new facility.
