After a tough loss to Quinnipiac last night, Boston College men’s hockey was looking for redemption in its consolation game against Ferris State in the Three Rivers Classic. Entering the game, BC had never lost to Ferris State in program history, and its fourth against the Bulldogs was no different after tying 1-1 but walking away with the consolation round victory after a shootout goal by J.D. Dudek.
After a strong showing between October and November, the Eagles (13-7-2, 8-1-1 Hockey East) have hit an inconsistent patch. With their last game of 2016, the Eagles ended the calendar year with a tie after a program record 58 total shots on goal in regulation.
Within the first 15 seconds of the game the Eagles were playing catch-up. Austin Cangelosi lost the first face off to Corey Mackin, and the Bulldogs (7-12-2, 6-7-1 Western Collegiate) dominated the puck with Ryan Lowney taking the first goal opportunity of the night. The shot went wide but Mackin was able to get the rebound, get behind netminder Ryan Edquist, and tip the puck into the back of the net. The Eagles were determined to show that the early goal was nothing but luck as they took more shots on Ferris State goaltender Justin Kapelmaster in the first minute and a half than they did in the first 10 minutes in their opening round loss to Quinnipiac.
The Eagles were given an opportunity to put themselves on the board when Dudek drew a penalty after being knocked down by Gerald Mayhew. With too much perimeter time from passing the puck against the back wall, the Eagles couldn’t capitalize on the power play. They would soon get another chance when Cameron Clark and Mitch Maloney were called for interference and high sticking, respectively. It was a rare case of 5-on-3 hockey, but again the Eagles couldn’t convert and ended the first period trailing behind the Bulldogs.
BC came into the second period with high energy, not allowing Ferris State to take a shot on Edquist for the first five minutes of the frame. The Eagles sent their first player into the box when Michael Campoli was called for cross checking, but nothing came of the advantage for the Bulldogs when the Eagles killed off the power play. The Eagles continued to bombard Kapelmaster with shots, but he was always there to make the save. After a flurry of action that left Kapelmaster on his back in the net, Craig Pefley was sent into the box for high sticking. Again, BC wasn’t able to capitalize on its power play and the period ended with the Eagles trailing behind the Bulldogs 1-0 and heading into the locker room scratching their heads, trying to figure out the riddle that is Kapelmaster.
The beginning of the third period began similarly to the first two, with BC bombarding Ferris State with continuous shots on the goal. Luke McInnis was sent into the box early for cross checking after swiping Pefley across the back only two minutes into the period. The Eagles killed it, and were soon given a golden opportunity to tie up the game when Chris Calnan was left with a wide-open goal after a pass from David Cotton.
The Eagles were robbed of the opportunity when Calnan was aggressively checked by Jared VanWormer. Soon after he was sent into the box, Tyler Dorantes was also sent in for slashing, giving BC its second 5-on-3 advantage of the night. While the Eagles weren’t able to get the puck into the back of the net during the nine seconds they had two extra players, as soon as VanWormer came out of the box Michael Kim was given his chance. With no one in his passing lane, he took a calculated shot through heavy traffic and was able to bury the puck into the net, tying up the game with only five minutes left in regulation. Ending the game with a tie, the two teams headed into a sudden death overtime to decide the game.
The five minute overtime was scoreless for both teams, but the Eagles were left with a dangerous disadvantage after Christopher Brown was called for tripping. BC was able to narrowly kill the penalty off and the game ended in a tie. Because the game took place in a tournament, the two teams went into a shootout to decide who would walk away in third place. The Eagles found their saving grace in Dudek, who faked multiple shots on Kapelmaster but snuck the puck past him just as he lifted his legs, pushing the puck past his feet and into the back of the net.
While the tournament ended without the outcome the Eagles had hoped for, York was pleased with the team’s overall performance against Ferris State.
“Tonight we were much more effective playing the way we like to play,” he told BCEagles.com. “We skated, we moved pucks, but we ran into an outstanding goaltender. He made some terrific saves. They had some good chances throughout the game but [Edquist], our backup goalie this year, really shined for us.”
Featured Image by Lizzy Barrett / Heights Staff
