Boston College Men's Hockey Defeats Notre Dame 4-0
Photo Courtesy of Boston College Athletics
Boston College came into thieir game against Notre Dame looking to make a statement on their home ice at the Kelley Rink. After losing last year's game to the Irish 4-0 in a non-competitive game, the Eagles returned the favor shutting out their rival in Chestnut Hill. Four different players found the back of the net for BC who are on a roll now and are now winners of 8 straight.
The atmosphere of tonights game was electric as Conte Forum was full and the student section was packed. The first period was scoreless but the back and forth physicality was on display. BC looked to be out playing their opponent, out shooting the Irish 8-5 in the opening period, but the first frame drew to a close with no score.
A Notre Dame penalty in the first minute of the 2nd period gave the Eagles the first power play of the game. Julius Mattila came up with the puck on his stick, and ripped it past goalie Cale Morris to put BC up 1-0. Notre Dame followed up with two power play opportunities of their own, but it was clear BC was the better team tonight shutting both of them down. As the period began to come to an end, BC put extreme pressure in the offensive end and after a line change, with Notre Dame's backs against the wall, Logan Hutsko scored again of a rebound for the Eagles. A few minutes later, with Notre Dame on the man advantage, Patrick Giles collected the puck in between the blue lines. Flying down the ice with a fellow Eagle trailing, Giles fired a wristshot that zipped back Morris giving BC a 3-0 lead and all the momentum. Goalie Spencer Knight deserves plenty of praise for keeping a clean sheet and stopping a Notre Dame breakaway the final minutes of the period.
The final period was playing out with both teams playing hard and fast back and fourth. Husko was looking for a multiple goal effort when he had a breakaway of his own that was turned away by Morris. Senior captain David Cotton got in on the scoring action with under 8 minutes to play, putting the game on ice for BC at 4-0, the same score they had been on the wrong end of the previous meeting with Notre Dame.
Quick Thoughts
This was a marquee matchup of two top ten teams tonight, and BC left no question as to who was the better team. To put their improvement into context, BC recorded four wins outside of their typical conference schedule all of last year; a Beanpot victory and three Hockey East tournament wins. The win over Notre Dame is their fith already this season, and it's only the begininng of December.
The first line for Boston College was dynamic once again with all three players recording a goal. The depth beyond the first line has been the biggest difference for the Eagles this season. "Julius's line is the most dynamic, but theres not much of a fallout as you go through our four lines." Coach Jerry York added after the game. Spencer Knight recorded his 4th shutout of the season, with Notre Dame challenging the goal tender all night. "Clearly Spencer was on top of his game." Coach also added in support of his goalie's spectacular play.
Next up:
The two teams will have a rematch on Sunday, where the rival Catholic schools will face-off in South Bend, Puck dropping at 5pm.