Well, that was just what the doctor ordered this weekend for the Eagles. An amazing effort last night in Amherst carried over to Banner Night at home vs a Northeastern team that beat BC just seven days ago. Tonight however was a totally different story as BC used a quick start and punctuated on NU penalties to beat the upset minded Huskies. In just a few days, you can see this team growing up as everyone has really improved their games since last Friday's debacle at Matthews Arena. The crowd obviously got to a young Huskie team that took to bad penalties early on giving BC a lengthy five on three, a chance that BC was able to score on when Kevin Hayes one timed a Teddy Doherty pass past Chris Rawlings. Just four minutes later, Pat Mullane made a great effort to block an NU shot and then passed it to Johnny G who, in typical Johnny G fashion, beat Rawlings to make it 2-0. Building off last nights third period, BC clearly was the better team in the first twenty minutes tonight. Northeastern came out flat and could not generate any real good chances on net. When the Huskies did indeed get some good chances, Parker Milner was there for the stop.
In the second, NU started to come back but were not able to sustain any real pressure in the BC end thanks to some real good defensive zone play from BC. Once the Eagles started to take a few too many penalties, the PK, led by Mullane,Whitney, Linell, and Johnny G, were able to keep from NU from not just scoring but preventing them from getting any really good "grade A chances" on Milner. Just by watching you could see that Northeastern was just desperately trying to keep it at a two goal game going into the third but that thought evaporated when they gave BC another lengthy 5 on 3. On that two man advantage, Steven Whitney bombed a slapper past Rawlings to pretty much put the game on ice. Not enough can be said about the special teams this weekend, especially tonight, for Boston College. Even though two for six on the PP is not fantastic, the Eagles, led by the first unit, were able to maintain great puck possession and force Rawlings to make some pretty good saves to prevent another BC tally.
In the end, another great performance by a team that is really starting to take flight. Whether it's the young defenseman, the bottom six guys, or the special teams, everyone is improving for the Eagles. It is crystal clear that this team has a boatload of confidence right now and as we all know, a BC Hockey team with confidence can be pretty dangerous. Great weekend.
Why BC Won-
1. The PK and PP were both very good. Capitalizing on other teams' mistakes is always critical and tonight BC did that when they needed to. You can't give a team like BC multiple 5 on 3's. The PK was once again phenomenal as Northeastern came up empty on the man advantage.
2. Parker Milner made some key stops. While NU didn't create a whole bunch of grade A chances, when they did, Milner was there to prevent a score. Really looks like he could have a big year.
3. The first line just dominates. They are the best line in the country and if they keep this up, they could have a record setting year.
Problems-
All around solid game. The third and fourth line both played well even though they didn't score.
Player of the game- Johnny G
Next Up- Friday @ Lowell, Sunday vs Lowell (4 PM)
I thought Patch Alber played his best game in a BC uniform Saturday night. I also really liked the play of Teddy Doherty. A defenseman at BC wearing #4 better be good, and with the exception of one dumb penalty, he was. Although he didn't get into a lot of action, I thought Silk looked very good on the ice -- good speed and positioning, good fight on the boards. I like these young guns.
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