No. 12 Boston College Men's Hockey Falls to No. 7 Western Michigan

The Eagles fell to the Broncos on Sunday night in the first round of the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off.

Boston College Men's Hockey (BC_MHockey) via X

The No. 12 Boston College Eagles (10-6-1, 7-3-0 HE) men’s hockey team lost its first game in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off to the No. 7 Western Michigan Broncos (11-6, 6-4 NCHC) 5-3 on Sunday night. 

Western Michigan struck first with a goal from right winger William Whitelaw at the 6:05 mark of the first period, assisted by defensemen Colby Woogk and Theo Wallberg. 

Boston College nearly scored the equalizer at 11:07. Center Will Moore tipped in a shot and it was originally called a goal, however Western Michigan challenged for an offside. 

After a review, the offside was confirmed and the goal came off the board. 

The Broncos maintained their one-goal advantage for the remainder of the period and went into the first intermission with the 1-0 lead.

Western Michigan doubled its lead early in the middle frame 2-0 with a goal by left winger Liam Valente at 2:45, assisted by center Grant Slukynsky and right winger Zach Nehring.

Later in the frame, Whitelaw knocked in his second score of the night at 12:57 with help from left winger Ty Henricks and center Owen Michaels to add to Western Michigan’s lead 3-0. 

Boston College got on the board 3-1 at 13:50 in the second with a goal from defenseman Aram Minnetian, his first of the season. Minnetian’s score was assisted by left winger Michael Hagens and right winger Ryan Conmy. 

Western Michigan responded and got back to its three-goal advantage 4-1 at 18:31 in the second with a goal by right winger Zaccharya Wisdom with help from defenseman Cole Crusberg-Roseen and left winger Bobby Cowan. 

Coming out of the second intermission, Conmy scored his seventh goal of the season 15 seconds into the third to dig into Boston College’s hole 4-2. 

Boston College’s late comeback attempt continued and the team got within one point 4-3 after a goal from center Dean Letourneau at 18:19 in the third, however Western Michigan iced the game with an empty netter at 19:33.

Louka Cloutier started in the net for the Eagles. In his latest outing, the freshman allowed four goals and recorded 21 saves.

Eagles newcomer Oscar Hemming made his debut in the contest. He had three shot attempts and recorded a -3 rating.

Next up, Boston College will take on Lake Superior State in the third place game of the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off on Monday evening. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. ET on BIG+.