On Jan. 17, 2025, Boston College men’s hockey beat Providence in a two-game sweep that contributed to a nine-game win streak. Exactly one year later, BC was tasked with the same opportunity: take down a top-15 Friars team on home ice to add on to a healthy winning course.
Having won nine of its previous 11 games going into Friday night, and coming off an 8–2 exhibition win over Stonehill, the Eagles had all the momentum they needed to stay red hot in their final games before the Beanpot.
Providence goaltender Jack Parsons had different plans, though, stopping 14 shots in the first period and finishing with 43 saves as No. 14 Providence (12–7–2, 7–3–1 Hockey East) came away with a 4–3 victory and tied No. 12 BC (11–7–1, 7–4–0) for second place in the Hockey East standings.
“Our intentions were good, but we made some turnovers that were too big,” BC head coach Greg Brown said. “You can’t make those against anybody, really, but especially against a good team like Providence. They’re not going to give you anything for free.”
The Eagles knew the talent between the pipes they were facing, and they came out buzzing to test Parsons immediately.
The freshman netminder was called from Chicago’s USHL team to hold down the fort for the Friars defense—his 1.99 goals-against-average and .917 save-percentage in his six games entering Friday would be good for first and third in Hockey East.
“Parsons has a very good pedigree,” Providence head coach Nate Leaman said. “He’s really trusting his game right now. And he’s quick, he’s big, he’s got good hands.”
The Eagles generated several odd-man rushes in the opening minutes, keeping not only Parsons on his toes, but a packed Conte Forum as well.
BC eventually struck first, as Aram Minnetian’s shot from the point got tipped into the back of the net by Brady Berard 9:12 into the first period. It was Berard’s third goal of the season.
A mere 12 seconds later, though, the Friars brought it back to a tie game. Michael Hagens was set up on the boards to give a breakout pass, but his feed fell behind Berard and into the hands of Clint Levens, who fired a shot past Louka Cloutier.
Then, with seven seconds remaining in the first, another costly mistake off an errant pass gave Providence its first lead of the night. Drew Fortescue circled behind the net and shoved the puck in front, and Aleksi Kivioja picked it up and shelved it for a 2–1 lead.
“The [Kivioja] goal was just great poise on it,” Leaman said. “That line has an identity. They know what they are. They know how to play. They’re three guys on the same wavelength.”
BC got its chance to tie things up after a tripping call on Levens early in the second period. In the final seconds of the power play, Luka Radivojevic rifled a one-timer from the left side, but Parsons stuck out his pad for a last-second save.
Shortly later, 8:42 into the period, Kale McCallum found a window through a plethora of screens and sniped a shot past Cloutier for a Friars 3–1 lead.
The Eagles had a quick answer of their own, though. Teddy Stiga flew through the left side, pulled back the puck, and snapped it top right to cut Providence’s lead in half just 36 seconds later. BC was dominating the scoresheet at the conclusion of the period, leading in shots 32–12.
Tensions began heating up, and a scrum in front of the net sent three players to the box—two from BC and one from Providence, giving the Friars the man-up advantage.
The Eagles killed the penalty with ease. Thirty-one seconds later, Will Moore had the puck down low and slid it five-hole off a Stiga assist to tie the game 3–3 with 8:42 remaining.
“Will played on the off-wing—not easy for a freshman, but he did a nice job,” Brown said.
The remainder of the third was silent, pushing the game into overtime. But the themes of the game held strong: Jack Parsons stopping pucks and the Eagles committing turnovers.
The Eagles had the first good look in OT, but Parsons delivered—by his standards—some easy saves.
When the Friars put it back into BC’s zone, Lukas Gustafsson looked for a flyer pass to Stiga. Instead, the puck went straight into the stick of Logan Sawyer, who fired a shot that slid under Cloutier for the 4–3 win.
“It was unusual for us to make big mistakes like that,” Brown said. “You want to play with confidence and possess pucks, but you have to read situations, too. That’s a huge part of playing winning hockey.”
