March
14,
2003
Terriers
and Wildcats to fight for Hockey East title
Boston
University 6,
Boston College 5 |
FleetCenter
| Boston, Mass. |
Team |
Goal |
Str |
Time |
Assists |
First
Period |
1-BU |
Brian
Collins |
EV |
0:43 |
R.
Whitney |
1-BC |
Ned
Havern |
EV |
9:03 |
S.
Gionta, T. Hennes |
Second
Period |
2-BC |
Chris
Collins |
EV |
1:00 |
R.
Shannon, P. Herald |
2-BU |
Mike
Bussoli |
EV |
2:08 |
J.
Laliberte |
3-BU |
Brad
Zancanaro |
EV |
3:39 |
K.
McGowan, B. Miller |
3-BC |
Ty
Hennes |
EV |
4:07 |
J.
Adams |
4-BU |
Justin
Maiser |
PP |
16:39 |
M.
Bussoli, R. Whitney |
Third
Period |
4-BC |
Tony
Voce |
PP |
7:18 |
J.D.
Forrest, B. Eaves |
5-BC |
Tony
Voce |
EV |
11:50 |
S.
Gionta, B. Eaves |
5-BU |
Justin
Maiser |
EV |
16:38 |
D.
Spang |
Overtime |
|
No
scoring |
|
|
|
Second
Overtime |
6-BU |
Justin
Maiser |
EV |
5:00 |
B.
McConnell |
Goaltending |
BU:
Sean Fields, 85:00, 46saves, 5 GA |
BC:
Matti Kaltiainen, 85:00, 29 saves, 6 GA |
Penalties:
BU 6/12; BC 7/14 |
Power
Plays: BU 1-5; BC 1-4 |
Attendance:
17,565 |
By
Juan Martinez
BOSTON - See-saws had fewer ups and downs than
tonight's Boston College-Boston University Hockey East tournament
semifinal game. In the end, it was two guys familiar with
Fleet Center heroics who led the Terriers to victory in
a 6-5 double overtime thriller, the longest semifinal game
in conference tournament history.
“If
you tell me it’s going to be 6-5,” said BU coach
Jack Parker, “then I figure we lose. This was not
the game we wanted to play. It was wide open and almost
like there was nothing I could do. We tried to slow it down.”
Forward
Justin Maiser, whose history of scoring big goals at the
Fleet Center (Boston Bruins, take note) includes the OT
winner in the 2002 Beanpot championship, tallied the deciding
goal tonight to cap a three-goal, four-point performance.
“In
overtime, both of my linemates (Brian McConnell and Mark
Mullen) played well and fast on that last shift,”
said Maiser. “I was just screaming in front of the
net and shot it as hard as I could.”
BU Goaltender
Sean Fields, the MVP of the '03 Beanpot, was stellar in
both the third period and in the first overtime, consistently
turning aside Boston College rushes with a quick glove and
solid positioning.
“I
was real impressed with Sean tonight,” said Parker,
“especially in the second half of the game. He pulled
it together and decided that [the five goals] was enough.”
The
teams played to an even first period, with BU's Brian Collins
scoring just 43 seconds in on a shot that squeezed through
the pads of goalie Matti Kaltiainen. BC sophomore Ned Havern
answered back with his fourth of the season to even the
score midway through the period.
The
Eagles and Terriers combined for four goals in the first
4:07 of the second period. BU got goals from Mike Bussoli
and Brad Zancanaro, while Chris Collins and Ty Hennes scored
for BC. Maiser scored his first goal with three and a half
minutes left in the second to give BU a 4-3 lead after 40
minutes of play.
BC tied
the game at four on a Tony Voce power play goal 7:18 into
the third period, and eventually went ahead on Voce’s
second of the game less than five minutes later. But with
less than four minutes to go in regulation, Maiser notched
his second of the contest to send the game into overtime.
“All
I could think about was that [quadruple] overtime game against
St. Lawrence,” said Parker in reference to the Terriers’
NCAA East Regional classic of 2000. “But we had more
legs and jump as the game progressed.”
Fields
dominated the first overtime, stopping Voce, Ryan Shannon
and Ryan Murphy on point-blank opportunities within a span
of 2:37. He stopped 15 shots in the period and a tournament
record-tying 46 overall.
NOTES – Boston University
has yet to lose a tournament game this season. The Terriers
won the Ice Breaker Tournament, Great Lakes Invitational,
Beanpot and the first three games of the Hockey East tourney...BU's
Freddy Meyer did not play in Friday's game. He has missed
four of the last five games with a shoulder injury...The
announced sell-out crowd of 17,565 at the Fleet Center Friday
was the largest in Hockey East tournament history, breaking
last year's mark of 15,683.
Wildcats outlast pesky Minutemen
New
Hampshire
5,
Massachusetts 4 |
FleetCenter
| Boston, Mass. |
Team |
Goal |
Str |
Time |
Assists |
First
Period |
1-NH |
Tim
Horst |
PP |
17:06 |
K.
Truelson, S. Saviano |
2-NH |
Josh
Prudden |
EV |
18:08 |
L.
Gare, M. Mounsey |
Second
Period |
1-MA |
Stephen
Werner |
EV |
8:24 |
N.
Kuiper |
2-MA |
Greg
Mauldin |
PP |
14:40 |
J.
Lang, S. Werner |
Third
Period |
3-NH |
Tyler
Scott |
EV |
3:17 |
P.
Foley |
4-NH |
Steve
Saviano |
EV |
6:43 |
N.
Martz |
3-MA |
Stephen
Werner |
PP |
9:40 |
M.
Degnon, T. Pöck |
4-MA |
Tim
Turner |
EV |
9:50 |
M.
Warner |
5-NH |
Preston
Callander |
EV |
17:01 |
J.
Aikens, K. Truelson |
Goaltending |
MA:
Gabe Winer, 58:24, 23 saves, 5 GA |
NH:
Mike Ayers, 60:00, 26 saves, 4 GA |
Penalties:
MA 4/8; NH 4/8 |
Power
Plays: MA 2-4; NH 1-4 |
Attendance:
17,565 |
Even
in defeat, the Massachusetts Minutemen made a lasting impression.
Trailing
2-0 and 4-2 against top-seeded New Hampshire, UMass responded
with a pair of goals each time and was minutes away from
forcing overtime in its Hockey East tournament semifinal
game.
Don
Cahoon’s youthful bunch was shaky at times and unable
to consistently clear the puck while shorthanded, but they
showed the kind of pluck that will carry them back into
the Fleet Center in the future.
“He’s
brought them to a new level,” said UNH coach Dick
Umile about Cahoon. “There’s a lot of excitement
in their program.”
UMass
senior captain Tim Turner, who enjoyed his first winning
season with the Minutemen, agreed.
“We
started off with a lot of new faces in the locker room,”
he explained, “but we turned out to be a really good
team. The credit for that goes to the coaches.
“To
come back from being two down twice against UNH is amazing.
This
program is only going to go up and I can’t wait to
one day watch them in the Frozen Four.”
After
a solid first 10 minutes, UMass found themselves in a two-goal
hole when UNH scored a pair just 62 seconds apart.
“The
first time we were down two, it was a matter of getting
used to playing in this building," said Hockey East
rookie points leader Stephen Werner. "We had to get
the butterflies out of us. We were able to settle down going
into the second period.”
“I’m
happy we didn’t melt after the first two goals,”
Cahoon said. “Our credo all year has been ‘Let’s
not play to the scoreboard, boys, let’s just play
the game.’”
UMass
responded in the middle frame with two goals of its own,
led by Werner’s first of the game and leading scorer
Greg Mauldin’s power play marker.
UNH
regained the lead on third-period goals by Tyler Scott and
Steve Saviano, but once again UMass seemed unfazed.
Werner
halved the Wildcat lead less than two minutes after Saviano's
tally with his second of the game and the team’s second
with the man advantage. On the ensuing faceoff, UNH over-committed
in the neutral zone, giving UMass an odd-man rush that ended
with Turner wristing home a cross-ice pass from Mike Warner.
“That
was probably the best goal I’ve ever scored,”
said the Saginaw, Mich., native. “To see the puck
go in the net and the crown rise up was amazing.”
The
game remained knotted at four until UNH’s Preston
Callander’s wrist shot found room between UMass goaltender
Gabe Winer and the far post with 2:29 to play.
UMass
had entered the contest knowing it needed to shut down UNH’s
dynamic duo of Lanny Gare and Colin Hemingway. And while
it succeeded in that effort, the Wildcats’ got goals
from five different players and points from the other three
lines.
“We’re
getting good balance down the stretch,” said Umile.
“All our lines are scoring and that’s important
this time of year.”
NOTES – Of the 2171:09 minutes
UMass played this season, the Minutemen led for only 615:09.
They never led in this game...UNH is 8-0-2 when sophomore
Tim Horst registers a point. He scored the Wildcats’
first goal...UNH was 1-for-4 on the power play after coming
into the game scoring on 45.5% of tournament power play
opportunities...UMass’ Stephen Werner (2G, 1A) finished
his freshman season with 38 points in 37 games.
Plusses and Minuses
To
UMass fans, who were vocal and well represented in the Fleet
Center. It’s great to see the growing program with
a strong and excited fan base.
To
the Fleet Center pigeon that circled above the ice late
in the third period and into the overtime. He entertained
a sleepy crowd between overtime sessions and continues to
swoop down to ice level in the empty rink at 1 a.m.
To
the schedule makers, for setting up the Hockey East championships
to coincide with spring break at BU. There were few Terrier
fans in the Fleet, at least compared to the numbers that
usually dominate. The vocal students were missed.
To
the suits who run Boston's public transportation system.
I filed my last story at 1:15 a.m., only to learn that the
last "T" left North Station 15 minutes earlier.
I long for the days of the 24-hour train schedule.
WHAT'S
NEXT?
Saturday's
game will mark only the second time the Terriers and Wildcats
have played in the title game, with BU defeating UNH, 4-2,
in 1997.
BU is
2-1-0 against the Wildcats this season. Justin Maiser scored
the game winner in a 3-2 victory in New Hampshire, while
David Klema tallied the winner in a 5-2 victory at BU. Colin
Hemingway scored twice, including the winner in UNH’s
lone win against the Terriers, a 3-0 blanking at the Whittemore
Center.
Boston
College also awaits its NCAA fate, to be determined March
23 – a long wait due to scheduling conflicts at the
Fleet that prevented the championships from being held there
next weekend.
Massachusetts,
despite the best season in school history, saw its NCAA
hopes die tonight. The Minutemen finish the year at 19-17-1,
and will return with high hopes for next year; Tim Turner
was the only senior in their lineup Friday night.