Jimmy Hayes' three-point effort and John Muse's 30 saves led the Eagles to a 3-0 shutout, sending them on to the championship match where they will look to add to their record eight conference titles.
Both teams hit the ice hard for a fast-paced first period. A hungry Eagles offense put on a shooting frenzy to start the game and luckily for UVM, goalie Rob Madore (33 saves) was sensational for Vermont between the pipes as he made huge saves to keep his team above water.
Madore was put to the test when Cam Atkinson and Carl Sneep gave the Eagles two of their best scoring chances early in the period. Atkinson nearly tucked one in on the left side of the net after being hauled down to just one knee outside the crease while Sneep nearly slipped one through the five-hole after breaking down the far right side of the ice uncontested.
Chris Kreider was finally able to get one past Madore with just under five minutes remaining in the first when Hayes' blocked shot found his stick in the high right slot. He sent in a high wrister to beat Madore on his glove side with Sneep earning the second assist on the play. Both teams played a clean period with neither recording a penalty while BC outshot Vermont 15-8 after 20 minutes of play.
Vermont’s offense finally came to life in the second as they put up nearly as many shots as the Eagles with 13 to BC's 16. The Catamounts created more scoring chances on their two power-play opportunities, but still couldn't find a solution to get one past Muse.
Ben Smith nearly increased the Eagles lead after his penalty expired at 11:23 when he slipped in behind the Catamount defense unnoticed to break in for a quick shot but Madore was there to shut the door again. Colin Vock gave Vermont their best chance of the period while shorthanded when BC's defense gave up a loose puck on the blue line. He went in on a breakaway and tried to go five-hole on Muse, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
With just eight seconds remaining in the second, Smith crashed the net hard to bury a Phillip Samuelsson rebound at 19:52 and send the Eagles into the locker room with a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play. Hayes also picked up his second assist of the night.
BC would add to their lead again less than five minutes into the third. The Eagles executed a perfect breakout and took advantage of a 2-on-1 opportunity. Pat Mullane's initial shot just missed the side of the net but Hayes was parked in front to bury the rebound. Kreider picked up his second point of the game with the other assist.
Despite outshooting BC 9-2 for the remainder of the period, the Catamounts offense couldn't find an answer for Muse as his sensational performance between the iron was too much for Vermont to handle.
Although UVM couldn't complete the Cinderella story after knocking off No 1 UNH in the quarterfinals, the Cats put up a good fight in their postseason run.
Boston College will head into Saturday night's championship game at 7 p.m. where they will face the winner of the Boston University vs. Maine semifinal game.
