Final, Boston College 4-3: This tremendous game could not end without one last bit of drama.
Notre Dame, which had pulled goalie Steven Summerhays for an extra attacker, thought they had jammed in the game-tying goal as time expired. It was called no goal on the ice, and an official review confirmed that ruling, allowing Boston College to leave Fenway Park with a 4-3 victory.
BC’s line of Johnny Gaudreau, Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes was stellar in the win, accounting for three of the Eagles’ four goals. Mario Lucia, T.J. Tynan and Bryan Rust all scored for the Irish.
Third period, 18:11, Boston College 4-3: Patrick Brown spent two minutes in the penalty box for elbowing, but the Fighting Irish were unable to capitalize despite several extended scoring opportunities in the BC end.
Brown nearly added to the Eagles lead immediately after the penalty expired, but his bid was foiled by Summerhays.
Third period, 10:00, Boston College 4-3: Summerhays and Billett make their way to the opposite creases as the teams switch attacking ends for the final 10 minutes of the third period.
Third period, 8:21, Boston College 4-3: This is getting exhausting.
Johnny Gaudreau put Boston College ahead once more and extended his Hockey East points lead, taking a feed from Kevin Hayes and slipping it through the five hole of Steven Summerhays.
That’s the second goal of the night for Gaudreau, and the second helper for Hayes. Bill Arnold, whose tally put BC ahead 3-2 just four minutes earlier, was also credited with an assist on the play.
Third period, 7:29, 3-3: No lead is safe here tonight.
Just minutes after Bill Arnold scored to give BC a 3-2 lead, Bryan Rust responded with an absolute laser from the right faceoff dot that beat Brian Billett to tie this game up yet again.
T.J. Tynan and Sam Herr assisted on the goal.
Third period, 4:38, Boston College 3-2: Though they were the ones down a man, the Eagles put the pressure on Notre Dame, and it paid off.
After Patrick Brown was foiled on a breakaway, Bill Arnold beat Steven Summerhays off a feed from Kevin Hayes to put Boston College back ahead.
Third period, 3:43, 2-2: Maybe it’s the unfamiliar surroundings or less-than-stellar ice sheet, but players have spent a lot of time in the penalty box tonight. BC’s Isaac MacLeod heads to the sin bin with a hook.
Third period, 2:31, 2-2: The Eagles are now 0-for-7 with the man advantage tonight, as Notre Dame is able to kill off the Gerths penalty with relative ease.
Third period, 0:31, 2-2: And, again, we start a period with a quick penalty. David Gerths is whistled for boarding just 31 seconds into the frame. BC has been silent on the power play thus far, though, going 0-for-6.
Third period, 0:00, 2-2: The third period is underway. Like it was in the earlier game, the period will be split into two halves, with the teams switching ends after 10 minutes.
Second intermission, 2-2: BC’s Kevin Hayes came close to jamming in the go-ahead goal in the closing seconds, but he was unable to get a clean shot on Steven Summerhays.
That concludes the second period, with Notre Dame’s T.J. Tynan depositing the only goal. It was Tynan’s team-leading 16th point of the season, but just his fourth goal. Sophomore Mario Lucia, who scored his 10th goal of the season in the first, leads the Irish in that department.
On a minor note, Summerhays seems to is having a lot of trouble keeping the net on its moorings. It’s popped out without much force on several occasions tonight.
Second period, 17:44, 2-2: Just as the coinciding penalties were set to expire, Notre Dame’s Kevin Lind is whistled for holding. BC will have 1:53 of power-play time.
Second period, 16:43, 2-2: We have another 4-on-4 situation on our hands, as Jeff Costello and Bruins draftee Ryan Fitzgerald both head to the box for roughing. It’s the third penalty of the game for Costello, Notre Dame’s captain.
Second period, 13:05, 2-2: Notre Dame successfully kills off both penalties, and Austin Wuthrich nearly puts the Irish ahead off a nice feed from Vince Hinostroza. The shot missed the net, though.
Second period, 11:04, 2-2: With Notre Dame’s Steven Fogarty already in the box for hooking, Irish captain Jeff Costello is sent off for slashing.
The Eagles will have a 5-on-3 advantage for 40 seconds.
Second period, 5:00, 2-2: Brendan Silk emerges from the sin bin, and the Eagles are finally back to even strength.
Second period, 0:23, 2-2: That did not take long.
With Brendan Silk in the box to serve Michael Sit’s major penalty, T.J. Tynan netted the equalizer just 23 seconds into the second period. Bryan Rust, Tynan’s fellow alternate captain, gets the helper.
First intermission, Boston College 2-1: All right, that was a lot of fun.
BC and Notre Dame played the first 20 minutes of their contest with a sense of urgency that was absent for much of the earlier game, with the Eagles taking a 2-1 lead into the break.
Brendan Silk and Johnny Gaudreau lit the lamp for Boston College, and Mario Lucia cut the lead in half with the Fighting Irish’s first tally of the night.
Top-line winger Michael Sit will not be allowed to stick around for the remaining two periods, however. The BC junior was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct with less than a second to play in the first.
First period, 15:20, Boston College 2-1: Sorry, Brian. Looks like I jinxed you.
Mario Lucia put Notre Dame on the board for the first time tonight, beating Brian Billett top-shelf off assists by Mike Voran and Robbie Russo. The Irish will now go on the power play, as well, as Brendan Silk is whistled for slashing.
First period, 14:22, Boston College 2-0: In addition to the two goals, the Eagles are doing a nice job of taking out the trash in front of goalie Brian Billett. Notre Dame has managed just three shots thus far to BC’s eight, and the Irish have not come across any grade-A scoring opportunities.
First period, 8:54, Boston College 2-0: Make that 2-0 BC.
Johnny Gaudreau, Hockey East’s goals and points leader entering tonight, beat Steven Summerhays off a feed from linemate Bill Arnold. The goal, the junior’s 16th of the season, extends Gaudreau’s point streak to 14 consecutive games.
First period, 7:32, Boston College 1-0: Michael Sit heads to the box for slashing, and Notre Dame will have its first power-play opportunity of the night.
First period, 4:54, Boston College 1-0: Yeah, this game is shaping up a little differently than its predecessor.
Winger Brendan Silk dribbled a rebound past Irish goalie Steven Summerhays to give BC a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the first period. Adam Gilmour and Michael Matheson assisted on the goal, which was Silk’s first of the season.
The pace in this game has been much quicker than that of this afternoon’s PC-Merrimack tilt, and the Eagles are doing a good job of distributing the puck despite the choppy ice surface.
First period, 0:45, 0-0: The big hits are coming out early, as Notre Dame’s Stephen Johns levels Quinn Smith in the open ice just 45 seconds into the game. The hit came after Smith released the puck, however, and Johns will spend two minutes in the box for charging.
First period, 0:00, 0-0: Game 2 from Fenway Park is underway. Kevin Lind controls the opening draw for Notre Dame.
8:25 p.m.: With the Eagles and Fighting Irish just five minutes from puck drop, let’s take a look at the starting lineups.
Boston College will start the top line of senior captain Patrick Brown centering between juniors Michael Sit and Quinn Smith. Senior Isaac MacLeod and junior Danny Linell will start on defense, and defending Hockey East Goalie of the Month Brian Billett gets the nod in net.
For a veteran-heavy Irish team, it’ll be seniors Jeff Costello, David Gerths and Mike Voran up front, senior Kevin Lind and junior Robbie Russo on the blue line and senior Steven Summerhays in goal.
Overtime, 2:30, 1-1: And that’ll do it. Game 1 of Frozen Fenway 2014 ends in a 1-1 tie.
Boston College and Notre Dame will take the ice for the nightcap in just a few minutes. Stay tuned.
Overtime, 2:30, 1-1: Nothing doing through the first half of overtime. The teams will now try their luck from the other side.
End of regulation, 1-1: Merrimack was able to kill off the final penalty, and Nick Ellis withstood a late flurry of Warriors shots. Ellis picked up a penalty for goalie interference in the process, though. It’ll be served by Kevin Rooney.
We’re headed to overtime, which, like the third period, will be split into two halves.
Third period, 17:25, 1-1: Defense has reigned throughout the second half of the third period, but the Friars will now go on the power play with less than three minutes remaining.
Merrimack’s Jordan Heywood was whistled for holding after he dragged a Friars skater down from behind.
Third period, 9:49, 1-1: After two and a half periods of scoreless hockey, we’ve just seen two goals scored in less than three minutes.
Providence senior captain Steven Shamanski used a beautiful move to beat Rasmus Tirronen with the Friars on the power play, tying the game at 1-1. John Gilmour and Trevor Mingoia were credited with assists on the play.
The teams will now switch ends of the ice, with Providence attacking left-to-right.
Third period, 7:24, Merrimack 1-0: Wake up the scoreboard operator, we finally have a goal.
Senior Mike Collins, Merrimack’s leading scorer, beat Nick Ellis with a rocket from close range on the 5-on-3 to give the Warriors the first lead of the day.
Chris LeBlanc was sent to the box for slashing shortly after, though, putting PC back on the power play.
Third period, 6:28, 0-0: Ross Mauermann, who has largely been silent, drew a hooking penalty as he went flying in on Rasmus Tirronen and went sliding headfirst into the end boards in the process.
Mauermann skated off under his own power, and Merrimack’s Jonathan Lashyn was sent to the penalty box for the second time tonight, but the Providence power play did not last long. Derek Army was whistled for tripping just eight seconds later, and captain Kevin Hart was sent to the box on an interference call to give the Warriors 50 seconds of 4-on-3.
Third period, 0:00, 0-0: Who will break through first? We’ll find out over the next 20 minutes. The third period between Providence and Merrimack is underway.
Due to wind down on the ice, this period will be broken into two 10-minute halves, with teams switching ends of the ice halfway through. They will do the same in overtime if an extra period is necessary.
Second intermission, 0-0: There are several Hockey East games that will be taking place indoors tonight.
UMass-Lowell just wrapped up a 4-3 win over Clarkson in a non-conference matchup. UMass vs. Northeastern, UNH vs. Nebraska-Omaha, Vermont vs. Yale and BU vs. Harvard are all scheduled for later tonight, as is, of course, BC-Notre Dame here at Fenway.
Second intermission, 0-0: You don’t get a much better scoring opportunity than a penalty shot.
Merrimack junior Connor Toomey was tripped up by Kevin Hart near the goalmouth with 1:14 remaining in the period, giving the Billerica, Mass., native the chance to go 1-on-1 with PC goalie Nick Ellis. Toomey beat Ellis glove-side, but his shot soared over the top-right corner of the net.
The teams will head to the dressing rooms with the score still knotted at 0-0.
Second period, 15:44, 0-0: Mike Collins came agonizingly close to potting the first goal of the night for the Warriors. The senior attempted to flip a backhander into the net with Ellis on the ground and out of the crease, but the puck scored over the open net.
Thirty-five minutes in, we’re still scoreless.
Second period, 13:48, 0-0: The scoreboard still shows goose eggs, but there has been plenty of action in front of the Providence net. For the second time in three minutes, a Merrimack scoring chance led to a full-team scrum in the crease, with goalie Nick Ellis square in the middle of it.
The flow of the game has been much more balanced since the midway point of the period, with both teams getting decent chances but neither able to capitalize.
Second period, 8:36, 0-0: Merrimack kills it off. PC is now 0-for-2 on the man advantage tonight.
Second period, 6:35, 0-0: Merrimack’s defense will now be tested even further, as defenseman Jonathan Lashyn heads to the box after hitting Shane Luke in the head with a high stick.
It’ll be a two-minute power play for the Friars.
Second period, 2:50, 0-0: PC starts the second period much like they began the first — by putting the pressure on Merrimack. Providence has the first three shots of the period, and their strong D in the neutral zone is preventing the Warriors from getting anything going on offense.
Second period, 0:00, 0-0: The teams have returned from the warmth of the clubhouses (this is a baseball stadium, we can call them clubhouses), and period No. 2 is about to begin.
First intermission, 0-0: Providence and Merrimack spent much of the first 10 minutes feeling out each other and the ice surface, but the speed of the game really started picking up in the second half of the first period.
The Warriors, especially, appeared to wake up after being outshot 5-1 to start the game. They are consistently putting pucks in the area in front of the net, but that spot is too often occupied by a Friars defenseman.
Sophomore Vinny Scotti had the best scoring bid so far when he sprinted in on PC goalie Nick Ellis with just under three minutes to play. Ellis made the save, though, and Scotti ended up dislodging the net by crashing into the left post.
Merrimack holds an 11-9 lead in shots.
First period, 15:25, 0-0: Brian Christie had a bid from directly to the left of Ellis, but his shot went wide, and Merrimack was unable to capitalize on its first man advantage on the game.
And, again, the snow patrol is sent in.
First period, 13:13, 0-0: The Warriors will go on the power play for the first time tonight, as PC’s Tom Parisi is whistled for holding.
First period, 11:59, 0-0: Merrimack has picked up the intensity a bit, but this game continues to be played in the Warriors’ end.
Players on both teams look like they’re still feeling out the unique ice surface, as the pace of the game has been very deliberate. That’s what you would expect in an environment like this, though.
The Friars still hold a 9-6 lead in shots, with a faceoff coming up in the PC end.
First period, 6:25, 0-0: Providence has controlled the tempo of this game so far, holding a 5-1 shot advantage. The Warriors finally got their first legitimate scoring chance around the six-minute mark, but they were unable to jam the puck past Nick Ellis.
We also just had our first visit of the night from the shovel patrol, who need to work on their skating a bit. At least three workers wiped out during that last timeout.
First period, 1:31, 0-0: We are underway from Fenway, and we already have our first penalty. Merrimack’s Justin Mansfield goes to the box for holding 1:31 into the first.
Both teams are sporting old-school uniforms — as is customary for this event — with Providence in black with white stripes and Merrimack in yellow with blue stripes.
3:45 p.m.: It’ll be junior Kyle Singleton, senior Rhett Bly and sophomore Ben Bahe out first up front for Merrimack, with seniors Jordan Heywood and Brendan Ellis manning the blue line and junior Rasmus Tirronen starting in net.
Merrimack has five local boys on its roster, including top scorer and Boston native Mike Collins, but it also boasts the most foreign-born players of any of the four teams playing today. Nine of the Warriors’ 21 players hail from outside of the U.S., including Tirronen (Sweden) and Bly (Regina, Sask.).
Also, in a brief correction of the previous post, Providence will be starting with what’s listed as its fourth line: sophomore Kevin Rooney centering between sophomore Brandon Tanev and senior Derek Army.
3:20 p.m.: We’re less than an hour from puck drop here at Fenway, so let’s take a closer look at the lineups Providence and Merrimack.
The unquestioned leader of the Friars’ offense is junior Ross Mauermann, who ranks third in Hockey East in points (27) and leads PC in all three scoring categories. The Janesville, Wis., native centers the Friars’ top line between sophomore Nick Saracino and junior Shane Luke.
PC’s top defense pairing consists of freshman Kyle McKenzie and senior captain Steven Shamanski, and freshman Nick Ellis will make his sixth career start in net. Ellis is 3-2-0 this season with a 2.56 goals against average and .892 save percentage.
We mentioned earlier that usual starting goalie Jon Gillies, last season’s Hockey East Rookie of the Year, would not play tonight. Now, we know why. Apparently, Gillies’ bags have not yet returned from Sweden — where the sophomore played for Team USA at the World Junior Championship last week — preventing him from suiting up.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JGillies32/status/419562323653967873 align=’center’]
We’ll be back with the Merrimack starters in just a few minutes.
11:30 a.m.: Good morning from snow-covered — and extremely cold — Fenway Park, where, in just a few short hours, four Hockey East squads will play the game as it was meant to be played.
It’s the third time the home of the Boston Red Sox has hosted Frozen Fenway, and the Boston College Eagles have been a fixture in all three. This edition will hold a bit of extra significance, however, as it marks the first time BC and Notre Dame — traditional rivals in nearly every other sport — will meet on the ice as conference opponents.
The Eagles enter the game tied for first in Hockey East and ranked No. 6 in the nation, and they boast the conference’s top offensive force in Calgary Flames draftee Johnny Gaudreau, who leads the league in goals (15) and points (33). The Irish, meanwhile, have struggled struggled to find consistency this season, sitting in ninth place with seven points. Saturday’s matchup will be their first game in nearly a month, as Jeff Jackson’s squad has not played since Dec. 7.
BC-Notre Dame will serve as the nightcap — puck drops at 7:30 p.m. — but Merrimack and Providence College will take the ice first. The No. 4 Friars sit tied with BC for the conference lead after making a run to the Hockey East semifinals last year, but they will likely be without standout goalie Jon Gillies, who recently returned from the World Junior Championship in Sweden. Freshman Nick Ellis is expected to get the start in net.
After enjoying relative success under head coach Mark Dennehy over the past four seasons, Merrimack has become a conference doormat yet again. The Warriors, whose 1.73 goals-per-game average ranks dead last in Hockey East, have just one conference win to their credit and have already lost twice to Providence this season.
Puck drops for Game 1 at 4 p.m., but keep it tuned here for updates throughout the day. Also, click here to check out some musings from Friday’s media day.
