Spencer Knight Shuts Out UMass, Puts Boston College in First Place
Photo by BCEagles.com
Boston College scored three times in the second, and Spencer Knight turned away all 30 shots he faced in BC’s 3-0 victory of UMass Friday night in Amherst.
The win vaulted BC into a tie with UMass for the top spot in Hockey East and gave the Eagles the tie-breaker over the Minutemen, as this was the rubber match of the season series. The two split a home-and-home earlier in January, with the road team winning both games. Filip Lindberg paced UMass to a win in Chestnut Hill behind a 41-save performance. The following night, BC’s offense erupted for six goals, including three on the power play, in a 6-3 victory at the Mullins Center.
Friday night, the teams were back at Mullins in a battle for first place. Knight was on his game all night but was particularly strong in the first, when UMass had the majority of the opportunities to kick off the game.
BC got on the board just over a minute into the second period when Alex Newhook batted a puck past Matt Murray. Logan Hutsko doubled the lead midway through the frame, sending a back-handed shot top-shelf on a 2-on-1 with David Cotton streaking down the off wing. Graham McPhee tacked one on late in the period in what would turn out to be the game’s final goal. The goal was only McPhee’s third of the season, but he now has goals in back-to-back games.
Much like the earlier game in Amherst, special teams made the difference. Unlike last time, however, it was the Eagles penalty kill, not the power play, that gave them the edge. BC killed off all five UMass power play opportunities on the night. Last season, the Minutemen converted on the power play at nearly a 30 percent clip. This season, the number is down to 11 percent this season.
UMass threw 11 more shots on goal in the third, but none got past Knight. The shutout marked his fifth of the season, but his first since blanking Notre Dame early in November.
The tie for first will remain in effect until at least next Friday when BC hosts UMass Lowell and UMass hosts Providence. BC does take the ice once before then, facing off against Boston University in the first round of the 68th annual Beanpot, a non-conference game. Northeastern and Harvard have combined to win the last three Beanpots, marking the longest stretch without a BC or BU victory in tournament history.
One other note regarding the BC-UMass tie atop the conference: the Eagles have two games in hand on the Minutemen. In fact, BC has at least a game in hand on every team in Hockey East except for BU, Northeastern and Vermont.
The win over UMass, BC’s tenth in-conference victory, quickly erases the doubts of last weekend’s hiccup against Maine. It was very much a trap weekend for the Eagles, who had the weekend with Maine sandwiched between games against BU and UMass.
Looking ahead, this is the last time BC and UMass will face off in the regular season. They are, however, the two favorites to meet at the TD Garden with the Lamoriello Trophy on the line. Who knows, they could see each other in Detroit in early April as well.