Boston College men’s hockey and Connecticut combined for seven goals in the first period of a Friday night matchup at Kelley Rink.
After a close first period, UConn (16–11, 12–6 Hockey East) outscored the Eagles (10–15–4, 5–10–3) 2–1 in the final two frames en route to a 6–4 loss for BC, extending its losing skid to 11 games.
The game started with fast-paced and penalty-free hockey. A minute and a half into the game, UConn’s Artem Shlaine opened the scoring after receiving a feed from Ryan Tverberg.
Three minutes later, after a UConn turnover in its defensive zone, Casey Carreau tied the game for BC off a pass from Jack Dempsey. The assist marked Dempsey’s second of the season, his first coming in BC’s Jan. 8 loss to the Huskies.
In the ninth minute, UConn captain Jachym Kondelik regained the lead for the Huskies with his 11th goal of the season off a back-door feed from Vladislav Firstov.
BC quickly responded, as two minutes later, Liam Izyk scored his first goal of the season.
With just under 13 minutes left in the period, UConn took the lead again with a wrist shot that flew past goaltender Eric Dop. One minute later, UConn padded its lead with another goal by Jarrod Gourley, his second of the night and third of the season.
Penalties were sparse in the first period—and throughout the game—but 14 minutes into the frame, Gourley went to the box for cross-checking. The Eagles had some scoring opportunities but couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage.
In the last minute of the first period, Izyk found the back of the net for the second time to cut the deficit to one. He capitalized on some confusion in front of the net and tapped a loose puck past UConn goalie Darion Hanson.
“I thought Liam Izyk was our best player tonight,” BC head coach Jerry York said in his postgame press conference. “Not just because he had two goals, but because his overall game was outstanding.”
Both teams played a much slower second period, but UConn dominated, taking 15 shots on goal compared to the Eagles’ seven. The Huskies’ shooting dominance paid off, as they added two more goals—one each from Carter Turnbull and Kevin O’Neil.
Two minutes after O’Neil’s tally, Hudson Schandor committed UConn’s second penalty of the night. Once again, the Eagles couldn’t execute on the power play, and the second period ended with the Huskies up 6–3. BC went on the power play again two minutes into the third frame but did not score.
“We’ve got to be better on our power play,” York said. “All four goals came from two-foot range, right by the crease. Those are gritty goals. We gotta get more of those offensively.”
Carreau added the final goal of the night with just under five minutes left to play, but BC came up short, and the Huskies walked away with a season sweep of BC.
Featured Image by Steve Mooney / Heights Editor
