Rarely do the words Boston College men’s hockey and below .500 go in the same sentence. But for the first time since the 2022–2023 season, the No. 18 Eagles sit below .500.
Fortunately for BC (3–4–1, 1–2–0 Hockey East), though, it snapped its three-game losing streak on Friday night in Burlington, Vt., in a 2–1 thriller against the Catamounts (3–4–0, 1–2–0).
Although the Eagles are still winless in Conte Forum, a win is a win.
“It was huge for us to pull out a win,” BC head coach Greg Brown said. “We feel like we weren’t playing that badly, but when you lose a few in a row, you start second-guessing.”
The goal-scoring started fairly early for a BC offense that has struggled to score so far this season. That didn’t ring true in Burlington, though, as Dean Letourneau netted a goal during the Eagles’ second power play of the opening frame.
Off a Vermont misplay, Letourneau cashed in his third goal of the season thanks to a give-and-go from Jake Sondreal.
“He is a completely different player from last season,” Brown said. “He is much stronger and ready for the pace, size, and strength of college hockey. He is able to extend plays longer and extend pucks and all that is allowing him to make the offensive plays he is making.”
Even though the Eagles had the upper hand for almost the entirety of the matchup, all of that changed in the last five minutes of the game.
A Letourneau hooking call sent BC’s first goalscorer of the night to the penalty box, offering a sigh of relief to Catamounts’ fans in Gutterson Fieldhouse. That’s when everything unraveled for the Eagles’ defense, and BC’s worst nightmare came to fruition.
Cloutier made his presence known in net with a big-time save after a Caeden Herrington shot. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a Max Strand rebound from ending up in the back of the Eagles’ net two seconds later.
While it seemed like Vermont may have just about inched past the Eagles after knotting the score in the final minutes of the third period, Landan Resendes shut down any chance of that happening.
On BC’s final power play of the night, James Hagens showed up when it mattered most. His name may not be listed with a goal in the box score, but he did notch the game-winning assist.
“It was very important that the bench stayed positive after we gave up the tying goal, and then it was a great play by James coming off the bench in a line change,” Brown said.
Firing through traffic, Hagens placed the puck within reach of Resendes, who skated past the Catamounts and delivered a breakaway goal.
Just like that, the Eagles were back on top after a shaky few minutes.
“What a nice way to get your first collegiate goal, a game-winner, late in the game,” Brown said.
None of Vermont’s attacks on goaltender Louka Cloutier amounted to anything. Taking the first night of the series, BC earned its first Hockey East win of the season.
“We weren’t always playing percentage hockey, and it’s an important difference to play to win and not shoot yourself in the foot,” Brown said. “We are growing.”
