No. 15 Eagles Hold Off Seventh-Ranked Friars for 3-2 Road Win

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – 15th-ranked Boston College scored three straight goals in the second period and the Eagles' penalty kill held off No. 7 Providence in the closing minutes for a 3-2 Hockey East victory on Saturday night at Schneider Arena.

The Eagles snapped a four-game losing skid and improved to 3-4-0 (1-2-0 HEA), while the Friars fell to 4-3-1 (2-2-0 HEA). The teams split their two-game regular season series.

BC's top line of David Cotton (1-1-2), Julius Mattila (1-1-2) and Aapeli Räsänen (0-2-2) combined for six points in the victory. Rookie Alex Newhook also lit the lamp on the power play for his second of the year.

Fellow freshman Spencer Knight stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced on the night to pick up the win.

BC failed to cash in on two first period power plays but finished the opening frame with a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Jack Dugan gave the Friars the lead on the power play five minutes into the second, beating Knight through traffic from the right wing.

Providence's Greg Printz was handed a five-minute major and game misconduct midway through the game for hitting Rasanen up high in the neutral zone. The Eagles cashed in twice during the major power play on a Newhook deflection and a Cotton rebound.

Cotton set up Julius Mattila for a right side one-timer with 11.3 seconds left in the frame to extend the lead.

With 3:54 remaining in regulation, Cotton was handed a major penalty and game misconduct for hitting Albin Nilsson from behind along the end boards. A Tyce Thompson wrist shot beat Knight short side high at 18:55 to cut the lead to 3-2.

The Friars pulled Michael Lackey (36 saves) with 53 seconds on the clock for a 6-on-4 advantage, but Knight and the killers sealed the points.

SCORING SUMMARY
2nd 5:00, PC Goal (0-1) | Dugan took a pass from Michael Callahan and drifted to the top of the right wing circle before firing a wrist shot into the upper right corner through a screen.

2nd 10:47, BC Goal (1-1) | From the right wing, Graham McPhee stepped into a low wrist shot that was tipped inside the left post by Newhook for his second of the year.

2nd 11:39, BC Goal (2-1) | Cotton threw a high, weak-angle shot off Lackey's facemask and the rebound bounced off Rasanen in the low slot back to Cotton for a tap-in at the right post.

2nd 19:48, BC Goal (3-1) | In the dying seconds of the period, Cotton slid a pass from below the goal line to Mattila in the right circle and the senior's one-timer quickly beat Lackey blocker side.

3rd 18:55, PC Goal (3-2) | Thompson waited patiently in the left wing circle before firing a shot into the top left corner blocker side to cut BC's lead to one.

UP NEXT
Boston College will face UConn in a home-and-home series next weekend, beginning on Friday (Nov. 8) at Kelley Rink at 7 p.m. The Saturday matchup in Hartford begins at 3:30 p.m. and will air live on NESN.

No. 15 Eagles Hold Off Seventh-Ranked Friars for 3-2 Road Win

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Team Stats

David Cotton

Julius Mattila

Aapeli Räsänen

Alex Newhook

Players Mentioned

David Cotton

Spencer Knight

Julius Mattila

Graham McPhee

Alex Newhook

Aapeli Räsänen

Players Mentioned

David Cotton

Spencer Knight

Julius Mattila

Graham McPhee

Alex Newhook

Aapeli Räsänen