#19 BC Holds On, Hands #14/15 Men's Ice Hockey 2-1 Road Setback Wednesday at Kelley Rink
Links: Box Score Postgame Comments: Dennehy
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Despite a third-period surge by the No. 14/15 Merrimack College men's ice hockey team, the Warriors were denied an elusive road win against No. 19 Boston College, as the Eagles nipped the Warriors, 2-1, in a Wednesday night Hockey East showdown at Kelley Rink.
The Basics
Score: #19 Boston College 2, #14/15 Merrimack 1
Records: #14/15 Merrimack (13-7-2, 4-5-1 HEA) | #19 Boston College (14-8-2, 7-5-2 HEA)
Location: Kelley Rink | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
How It Happened
In search of its first win in Chestnut Hill in 17 years, Merrimack had to dig itself out of a two-goal deficit after 40 minutes of play but got to within one after freshman Jace Hennig (Port Moody, British Columbia) punched in a power-play tally early in the third to make things interesting.
Needing a spark to erase that deficit, Merrimack got that chance on an early power-play opportunity to start the third, and with less than 30 seconds left on that man advantage the visitors capitalized. Senior Dan Kolomatis (Basking Ridge, N.J.) carried the puck through the neutral zone and found sophomore Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) down the far wall. He hesitated long enough to draw the defenseman over before threading a centering feed to Hennig, who tapped it in for his seventh of his rookie year. The assist also propelled Gustafsson into a tie for the league lead in power-play points and was his team-high 12th of the year.
When it appeared Merrimack was stealing the momentum, BC then looked to have a quick response after Austin Cangelosi banged in a rebound, but the goal was waved off after officials determined that contact was made with senior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) in the crease. That ruling was upheld after a video review.
And from there on out, the two teams would battle down to the wire with Merrimack controlling the bulk of scoring opportunities over the final 10 minutes of regulation; the Warriors nearly tied it on a few chances, but a few glorious stops by Thatcher Demko preserved BC's 29th straight home win against Merrimack dating back to Halloween of 1997.
But both goaltenders had strong nights, as Tirronen wound up with 30 saves compared to 22 stops for Demko, who improved to 12-7-2 on the season, while Tirronen slipped to 9-4-1.
A mostly even first period provided little in terms of scoring chances, as both sides went empty on their respective power-play chances. But BC was quick to capitalize out of the gate at the start of the second, as Adam Gilmour's seventh of the year brought the home crowd to life with BC's opening marker at 1:15.
That goal set the early tone for a period that the Eagles controlled in terms of scoring opportunities; BC finished with an 11-5 edge in shot attempts, as Tirronen made a couple eye-popping stops to keep the Warriors within one.
With BC on its second power play of the night, a bit of déjà vu set in after senior Kyle Singleton (Beaverton, Ore.) forced a turnover at the point and carried the puck in on a potential shorthanded breakaway chance; while the puck managed to get past Demko on the ensuing rush, the officials ruled no goal on the play but did, however, award a penalty shot.
Similar to Saturday's win at Quinnipiac, when the Merrimack bench opted to decline a penalty shot and instead force the Bobcats to skate with the two-minute minor, the Warriors had that chance again tonight but ultimately settled for the penalty shot. Singleton came in 1-on-1 against Demko looking for his first goal in over two years but missed wide, allowing the Eagles to maintain their one-goal edge.
Less than two minutes after that, the hosts doubled their advantage on Chris Calnan's team-leading 11th tally of the season; he maneuvered in tight and managed to squeeze a backhand into the net at 17:20 to send the Eagles into the second intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Despite Hennig's early marker, that would be the closest Merrimack would get, as the Warriors slipped to under .500 in league play for the first time this season.
Inside The Numbers
- For the 11th time in 13 games and sixth straight match, Merrimack was outshot on the night, as the Eagles finished with a 32-23 edge on the shot chart
- Merrimack mustered only two shots on its two power plays but still finished 1-for-2 on the man advantage; BC, meanwhile, was kept in check on its three power plays despite throwing six shots on net in those sequences
- The most lopsided period in terms of shot attempts was the second, as the Eagles held an 11-5 advantage in that category in the middle stanza
- Junior Brian Christie (West Chester, Pa.) led Merrimack with four shots and was one of only eight skaters to finish with an even plus/minus rating
- Merrimack also kept slipping in its season faceoff percentage after going 31-41 against BC tonight; only freshman Brett Seney (London, Ontario) had a positive faceoff percentage (9-7) on Wednesday
Up Next
Merrimack continues its eight-game-14-day stretch with a weekend league series against the University of Massachusetts starting Friday (Jan. 23) at Lawler Rink on Women's Ice Hockey and Skating Strides Night. Discounted tickets are available by entering a special promo code online and special Merrimack Athletics winter caps will be distributed to fans in attendance. To purchase, click here or call 978-837-5324.
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