Arnold's Hat Trick Leads #2 Boston College Past Men's Ice Hockey, 6-1, Friday at Conte Forum
WARRIORS DROP THIRD STRAIGHT, LeBLANC POTS SIXTH GOAL OF ROOKIE SEASON
Links: Box Score
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Bill Arnold found the back of the net three times as part of a six-goal output, as the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team fell on the road to second-ranked Boston College, 6-1, in its lone contest of the weekend on Friday night at Conte Forum.
The Basics
Score: #2 Boston College 6, Merrimack 1,
Records: Merrimack (7-16-3, 2-10-2 HEA) | #2 Boston College (21-4-3, 13-1-1 HEA)
Location: Conte Forum | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
How It Happened
Winless at Conte Forum in its last 27 tries (0-24-3) heading into Friday's showdown, Merrimack sought its first victory in Chestnut Hill since Halloween night of 1997, but the Eagles assured that streak would last another game, handing the Warriors one of their most lopsided losses of the season.
Freshman Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) broke a stretch of six uncontested Eagle goals late in the third, burying his sixth tally of his rookie season with under four minutes to play to represent Merrimack's lone score of the night. The goal snapped a stretch of 120:18 of playing time since Merrimack's last goal – dating back to the second period of last Friday's contest at UMass Lowell.
Arnold scored twice in the first and once more in the third, as the Eagles' power play went 3-for-4 on the night to overmatch a Merrimack side that had just one road win in 13 tries before tonight.
Merrimack came out firing after the initial puck drop and had two golden opportunities for the first goal of the game in the opening minute. That early pressure led to a Warrior power play just 47 seconds in, but that momentum vanished after Arnold scored shorthanded to cap off a 2-on-1 rush and give the Eagles the opening marker at 1:18 of the first.
Play settled down for the ensuing 10 minutes, but BC would double its lead at 14:03, once again by Arnold, who was set up by linemate Johnny Gaudreau for the second time in as many scoring chances to make it 2-0 with less than six minutes to go in the frame.
Equipped with a two-goal lead after 20 minutes, the nation's top scoring offense – which entered the night averaging over four goals per game – used that to their advantage with another marker in the second, as Patrick Brown pumped the Eagles' lead to 3-0 at 6:22, accounting for the lone goal of a middle stanza that saw Merrimack outshoot the hosts by an 8-5 margin but still had nothing to show for in the goal column.
BC went right back to work in the third, scoring three times on four power-play opportunities to put the game out of reach. Adam Gilmour buried the first one at 6:00 even, and then four minutes later, after the Warriors killed off the first of successive penalties, Arnold wrapped up his hat trick by potting a rebound through traffic to make it 5-0 Eagles with just over nine minutes to go.
Arnold's three-goal night was the first such hat trick surrendered by the Warriors since - coincidentally enough - BC's Cam Atkinson did so back in February of 2010.
Another Eagle power play was quickly taken advantage of three minutes later, as Brendan Silk sniped a wrister from the top of the left circle to make it a six-goal cushion, but LeBlanc would get the Warriors on the board just over a minute later, cleaning up a rebound on an initial shot by Justin Mansfield (Arlington, Mass.) at 15:46. Sophomore John Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) picked up the secondary assist on the play.
A Closer Look
- In addition to Arnold's three-point night, Gaudreau (3), Michael Matheson (2) and Teddy Doherty (2) also had multi-point efforts for the Eagles, while 12 Eagles in total finished with at least one point
- Coincidentally enough, each side finished with 24 shots apiece, as the Eagles held an 8-5 lead after one, Merrimack came back with an 8-5 edge in the second and both teams finished with 11 apiece in the third
- While the Eagles went 3-for-4 on the power play, Merrimack was held empty on four power-play chances
- Mansfield led all Warriors with five shots on net
- Freshman Thatcher Demko finished with 23 saves for the Eagles
Up Next
Merrimack kicks off its last six-game stretch of the regular season with the final two road games of the 2013-14 campaign next weekend, as the Warriors head north to Orono, Maine, for a two-game doubleheader at the University of Maine next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 14-15). Puck drop both nights from Alfond Arena is set for 7 p.m.
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