Jimmy Hayes (one goal, two assists) and John Muse (30 saves — first shutout since March, 2009) are my two stars of the game.
Third period, 18:56, BC 3-0: Muse is in the middle of a fight here late in the contest. The BC keeper took down Downing with a leg tackle in the crease and the UVM forward responded with a few hooks and crosschecks. Downing is heading to the locker room.
Third period, 18:19, BC 3-0: The sea of green is doing all it can to pop one as they're all over every puck in the BC zone. Still no scoring chances though.
Third period, 17:00, BC 3-0: UVM pulls Madore with three minutes to go. Gutsy call, but they're desperate.
Third period, 14:30, BC 3-0: Cullity emerges from the UVM box as the Cats kill off the Eagles power play.
Third period, 12:25, BC 3-0: A late hit ignites some flying fists as Whitney was popped by UVM's Patrick Cullity after an offsides whistle in the Vermont zone.
We're looking at a 5-on-4 BC power play as both Cullity and Pacan are in the Cats bin. BC's Gibbons is in the Eagle box for a retaliation hit.
Third period, 9:41, BC 3-0: BC didn't allow any shots during the latest UVM power play. It would have been the perfect time for the Cats to light the lamp and attempt a comeback, but after that impressive kill, BC is riding high.
Third period, 7:50, BC 3-0: UVM's fourth power play isn't off to a strong start as they're having trouble penetrating BC's defenders in the Eagle zone.
Third period, 3:32, BC 3-0: After a two-on-one was denied by Madore, Hayes was waiting out front on the doorstep to bury BC's third goal. Hayes is everywhere tonight.
Third period, 1:44, BC 2-0: Quick shots on goal update: BC is out-shooting UVM 31-22.
Third period, 1:29, BC 2-0: UVM needs to gain some early momentum here in the third. They picked up the pace midway through the second but the late penalty led to a dip in momentum and BC took advantage with the last-second tally.
Third period, :01, BC 2-0: Hayes picked up the other assist on Smith's goal for his second of the night.
Second intermission, BC 2-0: The Eagles pop another as Samuelsson feeds Smith in front to sneak it past Madore on the backdoor. It's Smith's 13th of the season.
Second period, 19:06, BC 1-0: Colin Vock gets stoned on a shorthanded breakaway as Muse comes up big to keep the Eagles on top.
Second period, 17:11, BC 1-0: Vermont's David Pacan gets called for a tripping to put BC on the power play. Bad time for a penalty as UVM was looking to gain some momentum.
Second period, 16:22, BC 1-0: UVM got a little momentum from their power plays as they seem to be controlling the play here with just a few minutes to go in the second period.
Second period, 15:52, BC 1-0: Muse gets a few big stops in a row as UVM peppered him from up top and on two straight rebounds. It's about time the Eagles' keeper broke a sweat.
Second period, 15:23, BC 1-0: Great individual effort by Hayes who finagled down the right wing and in through the crease but Madore took away all angles to get a big save.
Second period, 13:54, BC 1-0: The Catamounts get a nice shot on from the point but without traffic, Muse easily saved it. BC's Barry Almeida blocked an earlier shot on the kill and limped off the ice. We'll update his status as soon as it comes in.
Second period, 12:15, BC 1-0: There must be some tasty snacks in the BC penalty box as the Eagles are heading back to sin bin for the third time already this period. This time it's Patrick Wey with a boarding call.
Second period, 11:40, BC 1-0: BC penalty killers kill off another one with ease. As Smith came out of the box he nearly sniped one past Madore as he caught the far post.
Second period, 9:23, BC 1-0: UVM gets another shot at the power play as Ben Smith gets whistled for a trip.
Second period, 8:04, BC 1-0: Vermont is hanging in there but BC is still controlling the flow of this one. Hard to imagine where UVM would be without Madore.
Second period, 7:00, BC 1-0: The Eagles kill off the Cats' man-up.
Second period, 4:43, BC 1-0: Kreider heads to the box with a charging call, putting UVM on the power play. Miller, who was on the receiving end of the charge, got popped twice on his last shift.
Second period, 3:53, BC 1-0: Madore already has 20 saves on the night while Muse has had to stop just nine.
Second period, 3:20, BC 1-0: BC couldn't get much done on the man-advantage. Maybe the Cats' offense can build off this and knot things up.
Second period, 1:20, BC 1-0: BC will go on the game's first power play as Kevan Miller gets called for interference in front of his net.
Second period, :47, BC 1-0: Muuuuuuuse rains down from the stands after a nice glove save by the BC netminder to kick off the middle frame.
First intermission, BC 1-0: Hayes nearly put the Eagles up by two goals as he flew down the right wing and appeared to have had Madore beat but ran out of real estate as the UVM defense closed in.
First period, 17:40, BC 1-0: Sneep and Hayes are credited with assists.
First period, 15:49, BC 1-0: Kreider cracks Madore with a top-shelf, near side snipe to give the Eagles the lead. Madore stopped his first 12 shots faced before that dandy of a shot by the freshman forward.
First period, 12:23, tied 0-0: The Eagles have seven scoring chances on Madore already. How long can the UVM keeper keep this up?
First period, 9:25, tied 0-0: Atkinson gets a nice wrister off from the right circle but Madore's 145-plus minute shutout streak remains intact.
First period, 7:46, tied 0-0: Madore comes up with two big saves. The first with a right pad on a backdoor attempt and the second on a semi-breakaway by Atkinson.
First period, 7:19, tied 0-0: Muse escapes a couple shots with a lot of traffic in front.
First period, 5:37, tied 0-0: BC's Kreider nearly sneaks a wrap-around past Madore but the Cats keeper gets his left pad there in time for the stop.
First period, 5:12, tied 0-0: No big scoring chances yet. Both teams have been working the dump-and-chase but the defensemen are doing a fine job in their own end.
First period, 2:45, tied 0-0: Pretty evenly matched here in the first few minutes of action. Plenty of yellow in the crowd tonight. No, there's not a lot of UVM fans, just a lot of empty seats.
4:57 p.m.: Keep an eye on Eagles freshman Steven Whitney from Reading, Mass. Whitney recorded four points (one goal) in wins two quarterfinals wins over Massachusetts at Conte Forum over the weekend.
UVM may have the answer to cooling down Whitney in netminder Rob Madore who made a combined 51 saves in back-to-back shutouts against New Hampshire in Games 2 and 3 of the quarterfinals.
4:41 p.m.: The Eags and Cats are ready to roll at the Garden with BC looking to advance to the finals and grab its ninth Hockey East title while UVM is looking for its first.
8 a.m.: The Eagles and Catamounts kick off Friday night's Hockey East doubleheader as BC and UVM battle it out at 5 p.m. in the single-elimination semifinal round, with the victor taking on the winner of the nightcap between Boston University and Maine.
Head coach Kevin Sneddon's 17-13-7 (9-11-7 HE) Vermont squad is riding high after the No. 8 team knocked off No. 1 UNH in the quarterfinal series. After getting spanked 7-4 by the Wildcats in Game 1, Vermont stormed back with a pair of shutout wins, including Sunday's 1-0 thriller, courtesy of senior forward Jay Anctil's overtime tally.
Boston College made quick work of No. 7 UMass Amherst as the Eagles won 6-5 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday to end the Minutemen's campaign.
Cam Atkinson led the No. 2 Eagles with four points in the opener against UMass. Atkinson and Barry Almeida combined for six of the team’s 11 goals in the quarterfinals.
