If Ryan Leonard takes the ice for Boston College men’s hockey in the 2024-25 season, chances are he is going to find the back of the net.
Entering No. 3 BC’s Friday night matchup against cross-town rival Northeastern, Leonard had totaled eight goals through 10 games, and was on a four-game goal scoring streak.
Less than five minutes into the Eagles’ tilt against the Huskies, Leonard extended that streak to five.
In a breakaway opportunity, Leonard glided down the ice and waited patiently for his partner in crime, Gabe Perreault, to send him a last second pass in front of the net which left a wide-open opportunity that Leonard buried to give the Eagles a 1–0 lead.
“[The] first goal is as easy as it gets right,” Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe said. “Getting stuck on the wall and two on one, and two of the top players in college hockey go down and make a great play.”
The Eagles (9–2, 4–1 Hockey East) added two more goals to their total courtesy of Andre Gasseau and a second Leonard goal, ultimately downing long-time foe Northeastern (1–6–3, 0–4–3), 3–0 to keep the Huskies winless in Hockey East play.
Jacob Fowler logged 28 saves in his third shutout of the season in his return after being suspended for punching a UConn skater in BC’s loss to UConn.
“Pretty much business as usual,” Brown said of Fowler’s return. “He felt bad that he had to miss the game, but Jan [Korec] came in and played great against Providence. So it’s great to have depth in goal, but he was definitely excited to play tonight.
With 13:12 remaining in the opening period, Northeastern got its first power play opportunity of the night.
But after just one shot on goal, the two minute man-advantage came to an end. The penalty kill marked BC’s 23rd straight penalty kill of the season, as the Eagles have not allowed any opponent to score on the power play. BC killed Northeastern’s other opportunity as well.
“They’re just, they’re really aggressive,” Keefe said of BC’s penalty kill. “But they just, they force you to have to make two or three really good plays in a row to break them down
Less than a minute and a half after BC completed its first penalty kill, the Eagles extended their lead.
Lukas Gustaffson sent the puck toward the net from the blue line and it made its way to the stick of Gasseau, waiting just outside of the crease. Gasseau lifted the puck past Cameron Whitehead to give the Eagles a 2–0 edge with 9:48 left in the first period.
“Definitely more net presence, more puck protection down low,” Gasseau said when asked what he has added to his game this season. “I think using my skill, my body to puck protect and get to the net more. So that’s an advantage for me.
A blemish of the BC season thus far has been the face-off win percentage. Ranking 57th out of 60 Division 1 programs, BC entered the matchup with a faceoff percentage of just .451 compared to Northeastern’s .566 face-off win percentage—good for second in the nation.
Despite the final score, the Eagles won just 42.3 percent of the face-offs.
“We have to improve,” Brown said. “We lost three centers last year. We have three freshmen taking centers against older, bigger guys, guys that are very experienced … I’m sure the younger guys every game will get a little bit more experience, and hopefully we’ll be strong sooner than later.”
As the second period wound down, Leonard could be seen gingerly skating off the ice after his shift, appearing to gesture toward his knee. The next shift, Leonard hit the ice and struggled to get over the boards.
“He has a little leg injury, but nothing too serious,” Brown said of Leonard’s apparent injury. “When he catches it you can tell, but he should be okay.”
Just over a minute into the third period, though, Leonard launched a wrister that ricocheted off the bar and crossed the goal line to give the Eagles a 3–0 lead—and his 10th goal in 11 games.
“We know when he’s creating chances and his line mates are finding him, eventually they will go in, and lately, they have been,” Brown said of Leonard’s goal scoring.
The score put the nail in the coffin for Northeastern, as fans consistently made their way to the exits as the clock made its way toward triple zeros.
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