The Boston College men’s hockey team put together a strong defensive performance, had a goalie make some big saves, and got some timely scoring from their star players on the way to a 3-0 win over Providence on Friday night. The Eagles took down a very good Hockey East opponent in their first of two games this weekend, picking up a shutout win over a team ranked in the top five of some national polls.
The two teams played a scoreless first period that didn’t really produce very many quality scoring chances. BC came up empty on an early power play chance and had a few decent looks on net late in the period, but for the most part, both teams did a good job at keeping the puck away from any dangerous scoring areas. In net, Jacob Fowler turned aside the only three shots that he saw and the two teams remained scoreless after the opening 20 minutes.
The second period started off in much the same way, without a whole lot of action at either end before BC got another chance on the power play. They didn’t waste their chance this time around, as a gorgeous passing play from Gabe Perreault and James Hagens set up Ryan Leonard for an easy tap in goal to give BC a 1-0 lead. The Eagles had some extra jump in the shifts following Leonard’s goal and had some chances to extend their lead, but they were unable to do so and Providence eventually settled back down. The Friars had their best chance of the night with just over a minute left, when Fowler was forced to make a big save from a shot right outside of his crease and then hold his post while Providence tried to jam home the loose puck on the rebound. He was able to keep them off the board, however, and BC held onto their 1-0 lead heading into the third.
Providence came out pushing for an equalizing goal early in the third period, forcing Jacob Fowler to make a number of saves, including a huge glove save on a breakaway chance. The Eagles spent a lot of time in their own zone throughout the first half of the period, but made their time on offense count. With just over eight minutes left in regulation, James Hagens and Teddy Stiga combined on a gorgeous passing play to set up Stiga with a chance out in front by himself. Stiga’s shot was saved, but Hagens was able to jump on the rebound and slide it home, giving BC a 2-0 lead. Hagens’s goal really seemed to take the life out of Providence, as the Eagles spent most of the next several minutes in Providence zone. The Friars did eventually pull their goalie in a late attempt to make a comeback, but Oskar Jellvik lofted the puck into the empty net and BC took the game 3-0.
This was just a great all around defensive effort from the Eagles, who kept Providence away from the dangerous areas for most of the night and had Jacob Fowler on his game to bail them out the few times that Providence did get a good look. It was an impressive win over a really good Friars team that has been on fire recently, and the Eagles will have a chance to do it again when they travel to Providence to wrap up their weekend series tomorrow night,