Helleson's Overtime Heroics Lift No. 1 BC Past No. 15 BU in Battle of Comm Ave

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Drew Helleson slipped the puck around Ashton Abel's left pad in the dying seconds of overtime on Friday night as top-ranked Boston College defeated rival No. 15 Boston University 4-3 in the 283rd Battle of Comm Ave at Kelley Rink.

Helleson added an assist and registered a team-high five shots on goal as the Eagles (11-2-1) extended their nation-best unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1). BC snapped BU's five-game winning streak and handed the Terriers (5-2-0) just their second loss of the season.

The line of Jack McBain (1-1-2), Colby Ambrosio (1-1-2) and Nikita Nesterenko (0-1-1) combined for five points and a plus-6 rating in the victory. Captain Marc McLaughlin extended his career-long point streak to five games with a pair of assists, including the primary helper on Helleson's game-winner.

Spencer Knight made 21 saves between the pipes, improving to 10-0-1 on the season and remaining unbeaten at 18-0-2 in his last 20 starts overall.

BC improved to 3-1-1 in overtime this season and to 3-0-3 in their last six regular season meetings with BU.

The Eagles out-shot the Terriers 33-24 on the night and converted on one of their four power plays.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st 12:07, BC (1-0) | Following a clean faceoff win from McBain, Helleson fired a shot on net from the left point and McBain deflected the puck under the pads of Ashton Abel to open the scoring.

2nd 3:15, BU (1-1) | From behind the BC goal, Sam Stevens threw the puck off the right side of the net and Jack DeBoer muscled the puck under Knight's pads to even the score.

2nd 6:01, BU (1-2) | DeBoer dropped a pass to Markus Boguslavsky in the left faceoff circle and the sophomore ripped a shot high glove side to beat Knight from the dot.

2nd 11:56, BC (2-2) | Midway through a power play, Alex Newhook located a loose puck near the right post and set up an open Matt Boldy in front for a first-time, blocker side finish past Abel.

2nd 17:36, BC (3-2) | Nesterenko created a turnover in front of the BU net and McBain's backhand bid was denied, but Ambrosio pounced among traffic at the top of the crease to give the Eagles the lead.

3rd 5:16, BU (3-3) | During a Terrier power play, Alex Vlasic took a pass from Thomas Jarman at the center point and drifted left before firing a shot into the bottom left corner through a Luke Tuch screen.

OT 4:59, BC (4-3) | Helleson skated up the right wing boards before deking past a Terrier to the inside. The sophomore cut back to his forehand at the edge of the crease and tucked the puck around Abel's pad with 0.1 second on the clock.

UP NEXT
The rivals close the series on Saturday (Feb. 6) with the first meeting at Walter Brown Arena since 2004. Faceoff in the 284th Battle of Comm Ave is set for 7 p.m. on SportsLive and WEEI 850 AM.

Helleson's Overtime Heroics Lift No. 1 BC Past No. 15 BU in Battle of Comm Ave

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Team Stats

Drew Helleson

Jack McBain

Colby Ambrosio

Marc McLaughlin

Players Mentioned

Colby Ambrosio

Matt Boldy

Drew Helleson

Spencer Knight

Jack McBain

Marc McLaughlin

Nikita Nesterenko

Alex Newhook

Players Mentioned

Colby Ambrosio

Matt Boldy

Drew Helleson

Spencer Knight

Jack McBain

Marc McLaughlin

Nikita Nesterenko

Alex Newhook