Boston College men’s hockey entered this weekend staring down arguably the most important series of the season so far.
No. 2 BC split its series with unranked Merrimack on Jan. 10 and 11, raising questions about the winter break. It turned it around soon thereafter, toppling cross-town rival Harvard on Tuesday night.
No. 6 Providence (15–5–2, 5–4–2 Hockey East) had climbed up the ranks since its overtime loss to BC on Nov. 19 as the 10th-ranked team in the country, with redemption on its mind.
More of the same occurred last night, though, as the Eagles (16–4–1, 9–3–1) came away with a convincing 4–1 win in their ninth top-10 win of the season.
“We had a much better game Saturday up at Merrimack and grinded through the game against Harvard,” BC head coach Greg Brown said. “And then these were two very tough games against Providence, so it’s nice to get some momentum as we start the second half.”
BC wasted no time, netting its first goal of the night just over seven minutes into the game. James Hagens picked up the puck along the boards and fed Gabe Perreault on a 2-on-1, slapping it past Philip Svedebäck for a 1–0 lead.
Teddy Stiga and Ryan Leonard swapped spots on Hagens and Perreault’s line for the first time last night, but it seems both lines have been fluent and flourishing.
“We really take it game by game,” Brown said about the line shifting. “Depending on momentum, how the situation is, who seems to be combining well with each other.”
Jake Sondreal was sent to the box for hooking at about the halfway mark of the first frame, but the 5-on-4 was no problem for goaltender Jacob Fowler.
The sophomore goaltender stymied six shots during the penalty kill—Fowler finished the game with 30 saves.
“The most impressive thing about him is the level of concentration he can keep for a long time,” Brown said. “It makes him very consistent at a high level.”
Following the intermission, Sondreal quickly redeemed his two minutes in the box with a redirect into the top-left corner off Aram Minnetian’s pass for the 2–0 lead.
The Friars didn’t let BC get too comfortable, though, as they found the back of the net themselves 10 minutes later.
With just the Eagles’ fifth goal surrendered on the man-down, Will Elger perfectly placed a one-timer off the faceoff after Will Skahan’s roughing penalty.
“If a goal does go in, [Fowler’s] immediately on to the next play,” Brown said. “Another sign of great mental strength.”
And Providence was inches away from making BC pay and tying things up.
Providence’s Hudson Malinoski stole an iffy pass from behind the net and found a wide-open Elger in the slot. Fowler’s shoulder denied his point-blank fire on a last-second dive.
At the end of the second period, the Friars led shots on goal 24–11, forcing BC to reestablish the offense and shift momentum in its favor.
On the road, facing the sixth-ranked team in the country, and taking a win from them just the night before, this wasn’t going to be an easy task for the Eagles.
“You have to have that next-man-up mentality,” Brown said. “Because there’s always going to be injuries, and the guys have been great with it.”
But BC’s IIHF World Junior Championship stars continued to shine in their transition back to the main stage.
At 11:58 in the third period, Leonard deflected Lukas Gustafsson’s wrister from the point for his 15th on the season.
Then, six minutes later, new linemates Hagens, Perreault, and Stiga delivered the backbreaker as Stiga cleaned up the tic-tac-toe connection for a 4–1 Eagles lead.
“Their student body turned out in great numbers,” Brown said. “And that was a great atmosphere for a college hockey game.”
