Comeback Bid for Eagles Falls Short in Hockey East Quarterfinals

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Trailing 2-0 late in the game, No. 1 seeded Boston College scored with less than three minutes remaining in the game to cut the deficit down to one, but No. 9 seed Northeastern scored an empty net goal with two seconds to go in the game as the Eagles dropped a 3-1 decision to the Huskies on Saturday night at Kelley Rink in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. James Hagens scored for Boston College, while Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard each tallied an assist.

BC drops to 26-7-2 overall, while Northeastern improves to 14-19-3.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock during the opening frame, with BC holding a 13-7 edge in shots.

Northeastern opened the scoring with just under six minutes remaining in the second period when Cam Lund was open in the slot and put his shot in the top right corner.

The Huskies doubled their lead minutes later after Joe Connor followed up on a loose puck just outside the crease off a Christophe Tellier shot that was saved by Jacob Fowler.

BC nearly cut into the deficit midway through third period, but Northeastern goaltender Cameron Whitehead sprawled across to make the glove save on Gabe Perreault's shot from the left faceoff circle.

After pulling the goaltender with just a few minutes remaining to go with an extra attacker to chip away at the deficit, J. Hagens fired a shot past Whitehead to put BC back within one. Perreault, surrounded by four Northeastern skaters, managed to split the puck between two of them to find Hagens before the quick shot into the bottom right corner.

The Eagles once again pulled their goaltender and went 6v4 with 25.7 seconds left after the Huskies were called for a penalty. As BC put the pressure on to find the tying goal, Northeastern's Ryan McGuire shot the puck from his own defensive zone and scored an empty net goal with just two seconds on the clock to put the Huskies' lead back to two.

SCORING
2nd      14:11    NU       Cam Lund (Jack Williams, Jake Higgins)
2nd      16:20    NU       Joe Connor (Christophe Tellier, Ryan McGuire
3rd       17:26    BC       James Hagens (Gabe Perreault, Ryan Leonard) - EA
3rd       19:58    NU       Ryan McGuire - SHG, ENG

GAME NOTES

The Eagles close out the home slate with a 14-3-0 record at Kelley Rink this season
Ryan Leonard is now on a 16-game point streak, the longest in the country
Gabe Perreault tallied his 32nd assist of the season
James Hagens hit double digits for goals after scoring his 10th of the year

UP NEXT
Boston College sits No. 1 in the Pairwise and has earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, March 23, when the bracket and pairings will be announced.

Comeback Bid for Eagles Falls Short in Hockey East Quarterfinals

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Team Stats

James Hagens

Ryan Leonard

Gabe Perreault

Drew Fortescue

Players Mentioned

Jacob Fowler

James Hagens

Ryan Leonard

Gabe Perreault