Bill Arnold scored two goals to propel No. 1 Boston College to victory Friday night, defeating the Massachusetts hockey team, 4-2, in Chestnut Hill.
The Eagles (4-1-0, 2-0-0 Hockey East) own the series against UMass (1-2-1, 0-2-1 HEA), winning 50-of-63 games played all-time between the two.
“We have to solve some little issues,” said Minutemen coach Don Cahoon. “We can’t continue to put ourselves in a position to beat ourselves. That will be the work and direction of this week [in practice].”
UMass will return to play Friday as it hosts No. 7 Boston University at the Mullins Center in the first game of a home-and-away series.
Arnold gave BC the early lead just 78 seconds into the game, netting the first of his two goals on the night to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage. Arnold has emerged as the central offensive threat for BC, recording a team-high of nine points in the Eagle’s first five games.
The Minutemen countered at the 8:23 mark when freshman Andrew Tegeler scored his first collegiate goal to tie the game at 1-1. The Hopkinton native posted 44 points while playing for the Junior Bruins last year before attending UMass.
“I was really happy for Andrew,” said Cahoon. “He was in the right place at the right time with the good rebound goal … I thought he handled the intensity of the game and the challenge.”
BC regained the lead with just over three minutes left in the first when Chris Kreider scored a power play goal, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.
Despite committing four penalties in the second period, the Minutemen would hang tough, allowing only one goal on 14 shots. Sophomore Jeff Teglia, who took over in net midway through last Saturday’s game against Providence, received the start, saving 31 shots.
“I thought he was pretty solid all night,” said Cahoon of Teglia’s performance. “He gave us a chance to be in the game.”
The deciding factors in the contest were the penalties, consequently resulting in long shifts and a lack of offensive opportunities.
“We spent a lot of time killing penalties,” said Cahoon, who watched his team commit 10 penalties in the game, including a 10-minute misconduct call on senior T.J. Syner in the final period.
Johnny Gaudreau increased BC’s lead in the third period to 4-1 when he scored an unassisted power play goal. Senior Michael Marcou pulled UMass within two at 4-2, when he netted his first goal of the season with just under three minutes left in the game.
Although Teglia was pulled with 35 seconds left, the Minutemen were unable to create any chances and the Eagles grabbed the first of three season-series games between both teams.
BC held the shot advantage in the game at 35-to-20 over UMass. The Minutemen were unable to create opportunities on the power play, going 0-for-7 on conversions.
Scott Cournoyer can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Cournoyer.
