Jimmy Hayes nettled two goals for the Boston College men’s hockey team to help defeat the University of Massachusetts Lowell 5-3 on Saturday night at Kelley Rink.
The contest was knotted at two entering the final frame, however, BC (17-6, 13-5 Hockey East) broke the tie with back-to-back scores by Paul Carey and Joe Whitney to give the Eagles the lead for good, earning their second win in as many days.
Patrick Cey trimmed the deficit to one for UML (3-19-2, 3-15 HEA) before Hayes cashed in on an empty net to seal the victory for the home team.
The River Hawks struck first as Shayne Thompson found the back of the net 7:49 into the game for his third goal of the season. Boston College evened the score less than four minutes later on a Hayes power-play goal. BC was 3-for-3 on power-play opportunities for the night.
UML would not go away, however, as Chris Ickert beat BC goalkeeper Parker Milner at the 10:32 mark of the second period for the River Hawks’ second lead of the night. The Eagles again responded on Tommy Cross’ third goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining in the second.
The teams meet again this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at UML.
Maine, Northeastern draw
Maine overcame a two-goal deficit to Northeastern to earn a 3-3 tie on Saturday night at Matthews Arena in Boston.
The Black Bears (11-6-5, 8-4-3 HEA) took their first lead of the back-and-forth affair after three unanswered goals, digging themselves out of a 2-0 hole. Tanner House scored twice, including the game-tying goal at the 17:10 mark of the second frame and the go-ahead strike at 5:50 in the third.
The Huskies (7-10-5, 6-7-4 HEA) forced overtime after Wade MacLeod’s shot took an improbable bounce past UM goalkeeper Shawn Sirman.
Maine outshot the home team in the extra period, 3-0, but could not beat NU goalkeeper Chris Rawlings. The sophomore had his shutout streak snapped at an astounding 167:12 minutes of play.
Northeastern appeared to have taken command in the second with consecutive goals to take a 2-0 advantage. Anthony Bitetto finished a rebound less than a minute into the second for his second score of the season. Mike McLaughlin zipped a wrist shot past Sirman at 1:59 in the second for his second goal in as many games.
NU hosts Massachusetts on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to close out a six-game homestand while Maine hosts Boston University at 7:00 p.m.
BU edges UNH
Boston University snapped New Hampshire’s seven-game HEA winning streak with a 2-1 victory Saturday night at the Whittemore Center.
The Terriers (11-7-6, 8-5-4 HEA) broke a 1-1 tie at the 12:43 mark in the second period on Ross Gaudet’s backhanded score. The sophomore picked off a UNH (13-5-4, 11-2-2 HEA) pass in the defensive zone, cashing in from close range to give BU the lead.
Kieran Millan was superb between the pipes, tallying 38 saves on the night against the No. 7-ranked Wildcats.
UNH began the scoring five minutes into the second period as Greg Burke corralled the loose puck just in front of the crease for the easy finish. Millan had stopped the two shots prior, but was caught out of position for Burke’s first goal of the season.
BU knotted the score at 8:24 in the middle frame on a power-play. Charlie Coyle put home a rebound off of Adam Clendening’s post-rattling shot for the freshman’s seventh goal of the year.
Less than a minute after the Terriers took the lead, Millan stoned a pair of equalizer attempts by Stevie Moses and Burke to preserve the lead and the game.
BU returns to action on Friday night at Maine while New Hampshire visits Providence.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected].
