Kimball Scores Twice in 4-3 OT Loss to #2 BC
Boxscore
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Pat Kimball (Framingham,
MA) scored twice, but Brock Bradford tied the score late
in the third and won it in overtime, giving the second-ranked
Boston College Eagles the 4-3 overtime victory at Lawler Arena
Friday night.
The Warriors came out hard, outshooting the Eagles 14-7 in the
first and outscoring them 2-1. Just 4:33 into the game, captain
Rob Ricci (Brampton, Ontario) backhanded a loose
puck in the crease past John Muse for his first of the season and
24th career. Karl Stollery (Camrose, Alberta) and
Chris Barton (Calgary, Alberta) notched the
assists.
After Paul Carey scored the first of three Eagle power play goals,
Kimball responded 1:28 later, netting his first of the game with
Joe Cucci (Melrose Park, IL) and Francois
Ouimet (Lorraine, Quebec) getting the helpers.
Merrimack outshot BC 15-11 in the second, but it was the
Eagles' Kyle Kucharski who evened the score, taking feeds
from Tommy Cross and Carey at 7:30 on the power play.
Kimball added his second of the night and third of the weekend with
just 1:08 remaining in the second, after Jesse Todd
(Calgary, Alberta) and Ouimet combined to force a turnover
in the neutral zone. Todd got it to Kimball, who snapped a shot
past Muse to give the Warriors the 3-2 lead heading into the
third.
But penalties hurt Merrimack in the third as the Warriors were
whistled for three straight minors giving the Eagles the chance to
get back into the game. On their second power play of the period,
Bradford sniped one past Joe Cannata (Wakefield,
MA) from the near circle to even the score midway through
the third.
Then with 1:33 remaining in overtime, Bradford netted his second of
the night and fifth of the season on a wrap-around play behind
Cannata. Benn Ferriero and Brian Gibbons earned assists on both of
Bradford's goals.
Making his first collegiate start at home, Cannata was solid,
making 17 third-period saves and 34 in the game.
Muse stopped 32 shots, including 26 in the first two periods, as
the Eagles improved to 5-1 overall, 3-0 in Hockey East.
The Eagles were three-for-seven on the man-advantage and fired 14
shots on Cannata when they were a man up. The Warriors, by
comparison, had just two power plays and did not score but
registered three shots.
Merrimack (2-4-1, 0-3-0 HEA) hosts the University of Massachusetts
next Saturday at 7 p.m.
