For the first 38 minutes of this one, BU seemed like Hockey East's second-place team and BC seemed like the squad that was floundering. The momentum turned at the beginning of the third period, though, when the Eagles were able to sneak within a goal after Brian Gibbons notched the short-handed tally. For most of the third period, the Eagles were able to utilize their famous speed and keep the pressure on the BU defense, but it was too little, too late, and BU was able to hold on for the victory.
The Eagles went 1-for-7 on the power play and failed to score on a huge 5-on-3 opportunity at the beginning of the second period, which was when the Terriers were really able to seize the momentum.
Scoring for the Terriers were David Warsofsky, Joe Pereira and Wade Megan. BC's Cam Atkinson notched his 10th goal of the season, and Brian Gibbons finished with a goal and an assist in the affair.
Third period, 2:14, BU 3-2: And here's a buzz kill. The whistles blow and there's yet another penalty. This one goes against BC's Brian Gibbons for hooking. Gibbons is yapping as he heads to the box because he wanted a call against BU, too.
It's a shame because BC was really starting to control the tempo and keep the pressure on Millan and the BU blue line.
Third period, 2:41, BU 3-2: Ben Smith makes BC's best bid of the period (aside from that time the Eagles actually scored) when he fires one in from the point and Kieran Millan gets in front of it with his right leg at the last second.
Third period, 5:55, BU 3-2: John Muse makes a great stop with the entire right half of his body against Joe Pereira in a 1-on-1, and there's a stoppage in front of the Eagles net to tend to the ice.
Third period, 7:55, BU 3-2: That short-handed goal may have been the spark the Eagles needed. Ever since then, they've been showing glimpses of the aggressiveness and quickness that were expected from them tonight. They're finally starting to match BU's pace and attack the net.
Third period, 10:55, BU 3-2: And we've got a fight here. There's a whistle in front of the BU net and David Warsofsky grabs Tommy Cross in a headlock and is ready to get something started when the refs swiftly interfere.
There's a faceoff at center ice and BC has a minute left on the power play.
Third period, 12:31, BU 3-2: Guess what? Another penalty! Shocking! BC's Brian Dumoulin is in the box for roughing.
And then, in a swift reversal of fortune, the Eagles net a short-handed goal. BC's Brian Gibbons hits Cam Atkinson on the 2-on-1 and Atkinson sneaks the puck past Kieran Millan.
It's Atkinson's team-leading 10th goal of the season.
And just when we all were burying the Eagles …
The Terriers commit a penalty of their own, as Vinny Saponari is in the box for tripping, and it's 4-on-4.
Third period, 13:39, BU 3-1: BC is now 1-for-7 on the man-advantage. Even while BC is on the power play, it's barely noticeable because the puck spends just as much time floating around the Eagles' goal as it does in the Eagles' offensive zone. Not very impressive.
Third period, 15:45, BU 3-1: The Eagles earn yet another power play — can we go four minutes without a penalty? — and this time, Alex Chiasson goes into the box for interference.
I don't mean to be mean when I say this, but it's a good thing for BU that the Eagles have been largely unable to do anything on the power play, because this is their seventh one.
Third period, 16:37, BU 3-1: Once again, BU does a great job of clogging up the passing lanes during the power play and BC comes away with nothing. No opportunities, no goals and very, very little time left to give themselves any hope in this one.
Third period, 18:40, BU 3-1: And yet another penalty (they aren't wasting any time here). This time, BU's Eric Gryba is whistled for interference.
Third period, 18:53, BU 3-1: The penalty is killed off without event in the first minutes of the third period. The snow has stopped falling, which bodes well for the Eagles, whose biggest advantage is their speed. They haven't been able to use it tonight — let's see if things change in the final 20 minutes.
End of second period, BU 3-1: The good news for Eagles fans is, UNH rebounded from a 3-0 hole in the women's game this afternoon. And now that BC finally showed some life at the end of the period, the idea of a comeback isn't as outlandish as it seemed 20 minutes ago.
Brian Gibbons' goal in the last couple minutes of the frame injected some much-needed life back into the Eagles, who were getting out-shot (23-15) and out-hustled for the first 38 minutes of the matchup. If the Eagles can carry this momentum into the third period, they have a shot in the dark at completing the comeback. Of course, the Terriers got a stranglehold on the momentum early in this period, when they killed off a 5-on-3 power play. That could be the defining moment of this game.
If BU can pull this out, it is in perfect position to embark on a second-half-of-the-season run. After failing to live up to expectations throughout much of the first half of the season and falling into the cellar of Hockey East, the emotion surrounding a win like this could propel the Terriers a long way. All they have to do is hold on for another period.
Second period, 1:41, BU 3-1: The Eagles' band finally gets something to do as Brian Gibbons scores on the power play. He finally got some inside position in front of the net and notched his eighth goal of the season. Is this the spark the Eagles need?
There's a 4-on-4 here after Barry Almeida and Max Nicastro get whistled for a little skirmish in front of the BU net. There will be about a minute left on this penalty at the beginning of the third period.
Second period, 4:01, BU 3-0: Penalty successfully killed off by the Eagles. May not be enough of a spark to get them going, but it's a start.
Second period, 6:13, BU 3-0: The Terriers go on the power play yet again, as Malcolm Lyles is whistled for hooking.
Second period, 9:10, BU 3-0: This really couldn't get much worse for BC. During a delayed penalty, there was a scrum in front of the Eagles net and BU freshman Wade Megan tapped the loose puck in mid-air and redirected it past John Muse. The officials review the play — they're worried about a high stick and the goal coming off the line — but the goal stands as called.
The Eagles have now been outshot 17-10.
Second period, 10:42, BU 2-0: There have been a lot of whistles tonight. It's either offsides or a penalty every other second. Hard to get into a groove that way, especially when you're BC and you don't really have anything going for you right now.
And it just got worse for John Muse, who went tumbling back against the boards — along with his goal — and then almost got hit in the face by his own water bottle, which was swinging perilously from the top of the net.
Second period, 13:08, BU 2-0: BC has been largely unable to put any pressure on Kieran Millan this evening. Every time the Eagles get anywhere close to the goal, it seems like they just get panicked and frantic and before you know it, the Terriers swoop in and clear the puck.
Second period, 13:56, BU 2-0: You know you watch too much Grey's Anatomy when you can identify the extra from the Verizon Fios commercial as the patient who was obsessed with hummingbirds and almost died of a rare heart condition before being saved by Izzy. In Season 4. Which was two and a half years ago.
Second period, 15:29, BU 2-0: That was pretty miserable on BC's part. They barely even got any good looks with the two-man advantage, and everyone knows what that means: major momentum boost for the Terriers.
Second period, 17:23, BU 2-0: Right off the goal, BC goes on their third power play of the night when Andrew Cross lays a heavy cross-check on Joe Whitney. Right after that, a second Terrier goes into the box — Luke Popko won the faceoff but gets whistled for interference.
Can BC score on the 5-on-3 advantage?
Second period, 17:34, BU 2-0: There was some confusion for a second, but it appears that Joe Pereira has indeed scored. He shovels it toward the net on the backhand and it deflects into the net off John Muse's pad — but the question is whether or not the puck was across the goal line before the goal was moved.
The officials reviewed it and it was very close, but it is a goal.
It's Pereira's fourth goal of the year.
Second period, 19:31, BU 1-0: We're underway in the second period, and the power play has hereby ended. BU is 1-for-2.
The Terriers are coming out of the gate very aggressive, getting off two shots on John Muse in the first minute of play.
End of first period, BU 1-0: BC's Brian Gibbons had a great chance halfway through the power play, stealing the puck right in front of the BU goal, but he couldn't connect on a pass across the ice and BU regained possession.
BC went 0-for-2 on the man-advantage while BU went 1-for-2 (although there are six seconds remaining on that interference penalty), and for most of the period, BU seemed to control the tempo, outshooting the Eagles 9-5. But with about eight minutes left in the frame, the Eagles seemed to gain some momentum and get a feel for the conditions and for the Terriers. It seems that both squads are no longer in awe of the fact that they're playing at Fenway Park and they're ready to just play a hockey game, which bodes well for the second period.
First period, 1:54, BU 1-0: Interference on BC's Pat Mullane, who laid a nasty hit on Andrew Glass in the neutral zone.
First period, 4:36, BU 1-0: The Eagles get two shots and manage to keep the puck in their offensive zone for the most part, but still no dice as far as goals are concerned. Midway through the power play, BU's Nick Bonino makes a nice open-ice steal and gets a short-handed shot on goal for the Terriers.
First period, 6:38, BU 1-0: The third penalty of the game rolls in, as BC goes on the power play once again because of a penalty on Sean Escobedo.
First period, 7:10, BU 1-0: Barry Almeida absorbs a pretty fierce open-ice hit but somehow manages to direct the puck toward the BU net, anyway.
First period, 7:57, BU 1-0: BU successfully kills off the penalty, and the Eagles really didn't get any good opportunities there. They didn't even get a shot off.
First period, 10:34, BU 1-0: The Terriers are really controlling the pace, here, keeping the pressure on John Muse and the Eagles and controlling the puck in their offensive zone.
But BC gets a chance to retaliate as Wade Megan goes into the box for boarding.
BU is currently outshooting BC 7-3.
First period, 13:02, BU 1-0: The crowd roars as the Terriers notch a power-play goal. Marshfield native David Warsofsky hammers it in from the point then watches as it deflects off the post and trickles past John Muse.
As NESN's Andy Brickley pointed out, good thing this isn't football because Warsofsky elicited a very Ochocinco-esque celebration, there.
That's Warsofsky's fifth goal of the season, his third on the man-advantage.
First period, 14:51: BU will go on the power play after Tommy Cross heads into the box for cross-checking (ha). The penalty came right after Eagles goalie John Muse made a nice save in a one-on-one situation against Joe Pereira.
First period, 18:01: BC's biggest advantage on any given night is its speed, but will that even be a factor in these conditions? We shall see.
BC gets its first shot on goal and Terriers goaltender Kieran Millan sticks out a glove for the save.
There's 38,000 in the house for the game, despite the conditions.
First period, 19:31: We're underway, finally. Both of the teams are wearing special jerseys commemorating the Red Sox — BU has a Sox logo, and BC has a green stripe on the sleeves of its jerseys.
7:50 p.m.: OK, they tee'd it up for me, here. Ayla Brown is singing the National Anthem, which means, free plug opportunity for me!
American Idol starts in four days! Yippee!
7:42 p.m.: Pregame ceremonies are wrapping up here, and officially, BC is the home team, but the Eagles get a nice hearty booing as they emerge.
The Eagles faithful return the favor when BU comes out.
Snow is still coming down pretty heavily, and during the UNH-NU game, the players said it really slowed things down. We'll see what effect it has tonight.
(Uh oh. The last time "Uprising" by Muse was used during pregame ceremonies — Patriots-Jets — the team I wanted to win lost. This does not bode well for me. Of course, nobody knows what team I am rooting for now because it doesn't say it in my bio or anything.)
7:14 p.m.: Here are the lines for tonight, courtesy of Boston.com.
Also, puck drop is currently set for 7:47 p.m., and the snow is coming down at the Fens right now but is projected to stop by the time the game begins.
BC
Forwards (left to right):
Joe Whitney–Jimmy Hayes–Steven Whitney
Chris Kreider–Pat Mullane–Cam Atkinson
Paul Carey–Brian Gibbons–Ben Smith
Barry Almeida–Matt Price–Matt Lombardi
Defense
Philip Samuelsson–Edwin Shea
Tommy Cross–Malcolm Lyles
Brian Dumoulin–Carl Sneep
Goaltender
John Muse
BU
Forwards (left to right):
Chris Connolly–Nick Bonino–Vinny Saponari
Zach Cohen–Wade Megan–Alex Chiasson
Ross Gaudet–Corey Trivino–Joe Pereira
Andrew Glass–Luke Popko–Kevin Gilroy
Defense
David Warsofsky–Kevin Shattenkirk
Sean Escobedo–Eric Gryba
Colby Cohen–Max Nicastro
Goaltender
Kieran Millan
6:29 p.m.: With the women's game between UNH and Northeastern over — and be sure to check out NESN.com's coverage of the Wildcats' crazy come-from-way-behind victory — it's time to set our sights on one of the greatest rivalries in college sports.
Boston College and Boston University, two of the perennial powerhouses in NCAA hockey, will drop the puck just after 7:30 p.m. on the ice at Fenway Park, one week after the Bruins took down the Flyers in America's most beloved ballpark.
The reigning national champions have had a tough go of things lately, falling into an eighth-place tie in Hockey East standings with a 3-7 league record. Overall, the Terriers are 5-9, and their last win came on Jan. 2, when a scoring surge helped them take down UMass 7-3. Before that, though, they suffered two straight home losses to BC and Rensselaer. Can Jack Parker's crew make it two in a row for the first time since October?
The Eagles, meanwhile, are just two points behind UNH for first place in the league with a 12-7 record (10-5 overall). BC is coming off two straight losses out in Colorado, against St. Lawrence and Denver, but prior to that, it had a nice little five-game win streak going. Let's see if Jerry York & Co. can right the ship at Fenway.
