Discipline.
It’s something the No. 4 Boston College men’s hockey team has lacked early this season. Between the 59 penalties in seven games and the flurries of sloppy turnovers on defensive breakouts, the Eagles have missed that x-factor that has been fundamental to their past success.
But on Friday night, BC finally figured it out. The offense was crisp, the defense was rarely out of position, and self-imposed infractions were, for once, completely absent from the post-game score sheet. The Eagles (5-3-0, 3-2-0 Hockey East) left Kelley Rink with little to show for their efforts, though, as they fell in a highly contested match-up, 2-1, to the No. 10 New Hampshire Wildcats (3-1-2, 2-0-1 Hockey East).
As well as BC played, UNH was equally as impressive, and the result was a hockey game full of smooth, fantastic play that could have gone either way.
“I thought it was an outstanding college hockey game,” said BC head coach Jerry York. “I’ve coached about 1,500 games at the college level, and [Friday’s game] was a special 60 minutes of hockey. Both teams played exceptionally strong hockey, and I thought the discipline of both teams was outstanding.”
In the first period, BC came out strong, as the Jimmy Hayes-Kevin Hayes-Chris Kreider line pummeled the UNH crease with an offensive onslaught. Three separate times, Wildcats goaltender Matt DiGirolamo denied the chances, and one puck even ricocheted off the pipe, ending the Eagles’ hope for an early advantage.
But when asked about the spoiled opportunities, defenseman Patch Alber stressed that BC executed its game plan to near perfection.
“Our cycle has really been coming around the past couple of games,” Alber said. “I think that’s one of the ways we are going to score a lot of goals this year. Kreider and the two Hayes’ were incredible at that tonight, so we were just trying to work [UNH] down low and tire them out, try to get a couple chances that way.
“A couple bounces here and there, and it could have been a different ball game.”
Later in the period, it was UNH who received that quick bout of luck. Skating down the right side of the ice, Wildcats forward Dalton Speelman received the puck from Connor Hardowa and fired a spectacular pass through the miniscule opening that BC left open in front of their net between defenseman Patrick Wey and goaltender John Muse. The puck found John Henrion’s stick, and he easily tapped it in for the 1-0 lead.
Despite the ease of the goal, Wey was in perfect position, attempting to cut off the passing lane by gliding parallel to the oncoming UNH forwards. BC’s defense was ready, but the Wildcats were able to just sneak the puck through.
Early in the next frame, BC answered with some of its own offensive prowess. Forward Brian Gibbons rushed into the offensive zone on the left, but contrasted his speed with a delicate drop pass to Cam Atkinson behind him. Atkinson sent the puck across the ice to a streaking Alber, who then equalized the game with a nice strike past DiGirolamo’s glove.
“It was just a good clean breakout out of our zone, and then Cam just found me on the back door,” Alber said of the goal. “It was easy. Just a nice little tap-in.”
“There were some great plays out there on the ice,” York said. “A lot of stick-handling and a lot of passing. It bodes well for both of our teams as we go through the season that we can play at that level.”
As if both teams were not performing well enough already, with the Wildcats holding onto a 2-1 lead in the third period, neither team had yet to commit a penalty. The lack of power-play opportunities forced BC and UNH to remain disciplined throughout, neither squad wanting to be the first to relinquish a man advantage.
“It was unbelievable,” said UNH head coach Dick Umile of the absence of penalties. “It’s good hockey. But that’s how it is played [in the Hockey East]. It’s physical, but it’s clean. It’s a good pace, and it’s good hockey.”
Finally, at 11:54 in the final frame, Wildcats forward Kevin McCarey was called for hitting from behind. It was the game’s only penalty, and BC’s one chance at taking advantage of a miscue. BC’s forwards ripped shot after shot from the point, but DiGirolamo stood tall between the pipes and prevented any last chance at an Eagles comeback.
“The one power play in the game created a couple of chances for us when we were down 2-1 and trying to tie the game,” York said. “There were good chances. Both goaltenders were outstanding. Certainly, I thought [DiGirolamo] made some good saves also.”
The loss, though ending in a disappointing result, was one of the best games of the year fundamentally for the Eagles. On all ends, BC stayed true to its game plan and produced quality chances, but the Wildcats replicated that very strategy and came out on top.
“From my perspective, we still have to get better in some different areas we’ll work on, but our kids gave a good effort,” York said. “Two inches here, two inches there and maybe we come out with a win. But as I said, it was New Hampshire’s game tonight.”
A fittingly disciplined comment to describe such a flawless hockey game.