With just under three minutes to play in a 2–2 game against No. 14 Western Michigan on Saturday night, No. 2 Boston College men’s hockey’s Andre Gasseau picked up a tripping penalty to hand the Broncos a power play.
As the final seconds of Western Michigan’s power play ran out and BC fans prepared to yell “freedom!” in unison, Ryan Leonard stole the puck from the Broncos and dished it to Gabe Perreault. He immediately sent the puck back to Leonard, who knocked it into the back of the net to give BC a 3–2 lead with just 51 seconds remaining.
Twenty-eight seconds later, Leonard potted an empty-net goal to seal the Eagles’ win and send Conte Forum into a frenzy.
“Ryan Leonard happened,” Western Michigan head coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “He puts a lot of pressure on you.”
Thanks to Leonard’s heroics, the Eagles (3–1–0) downed Western Michigan (3–1–0) and picked up their second ranked win through four games.
“Gabe gave me the whole net, so there was no reason for me to miss that,” Leonard said.
Despite playing in front of yet another sold-out crowd in Conte Forum, the Eagles let Western Michigan set the tone of the first period.
The lines looked a little different for the Eagles in this matchup. BC head coach Greg Brown opted to split up the dynamic duo of Leonard and Perreault ahead of the tilt.
“Those lines, the way we started, looked good,” Brown said. “It was more that we didn’t start well, not that those lines didn’t start well, it was more to just try and find a little spark.”
Just over two minutes into the matchup, Western Michigan’s Owen Michaels tapped the puck past Jacob Fowler and into the back of the net to cap off a play that included a series of smooth passes from Tim Washe and Robby Drazner, giving the Broncos an early 1–0 edge.
BC found itself playing catchup for the next 41 minutes.
Although the Eagles rattled off high-quality looks, Western Michigan’s were the only ones finding the back of the net. With 9:28 remaining in the first period, Drazner executed on a bar-down goal to extend the Broncos lead to two.
BC found its first power-play opportunity of the night in the waning minutes of the first period, but came up empty and took a 2–0 deficit headed into the second frame.
It took nearly 17 minutes for the Eagles to find the back of the net in the second period. Eamon Powell laid a monster hit on a Bronco that got the crowd back into the game, and in the following minutes, BC snapped its scoring drought.
“He’s always had great skating, but now he’s using it even more,” Brown said. “The turning point of the game might have been when he stepped up and hit that guy in the neutral zone.”
Gasseau stepped into a one-timer that whizzed by Hampton Slukynsky and cut the Broncos’ lead in half with 3:33 left in the second period.
The Eagles continued that momentum into the final period. Teddy Stiga glided toward the net, created separation from his defender, and snapped a close-range shot past Slukynsky to tie the game a minute into the third frame.
“This is probably his best game,” Brown said of Stiga, who logged two points in the Eagles’ win. “But he’s an outstanding hockey player, and he shows us every day that he’s got a great motor.”
Eighteen minutes later, “Leonard happened,” and the Eagles penciled in their third win of the season.
“He’s playing the right way, he’s getting great chances,” Brown said. “We know that with his shot and his tenacity, that they’ll start to go in, and we’re fortunate they did tonight at the end.”
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