BOSTON, Mass. — With tensions at a high point in the late stages of the first period, Boston College men’s hockey needed to maintain its aggressiveness but stay out of the box, according to BC head coach Greg Brown.
Down 2–1 after an unlucky bounce off the boards and a five-minute major led to their first-period deficit, the Eagles came into the second frame with what appeared to be a fierce urge to fight back. Physicality played a large factor in BC’s re-energization but only to a limited extent.
The hits ramped up and collisions became more commonplace. Then the goal-scoring chances amounted for the visitors—not just the unflinching rowdiness.
In a matter of nine minutes, BC managed to score three unanswered goals, grabbing a 4–2 lead. Teddy Stiga’s tip-in goal, Ryan Leonard’s rocket, and Brady Berard’s put-back propelled the No. 1 Eagles (17–4–1, 10–3–1 Hockey East) to a 6–2 road win at Agganis Arena in the 296th edition of the Battle of Commonwealth Ave.
“We have to manage the penalty situation better,” Brown said. “You have to play with emotion, but you can’t get caught up in it.”
BC picked up right where it left off in its all-time series against the No. 8 Terriers (13–8–1, 9–4–1). The last time the rival pair met was in the Hockey East championship game on March 23, 2024, when the Eagles captured a 6–2 win.
Going into Friday night’s affair, the first of a home-and-home series connected by the Green Line, both teams rode a four-game win streak.
BU gave up a goal a little under six minutes into the first period, but the Terriers weren’t fazed.
The goal came short-handed for the Eagles, as BU’s Matt Copponi made an errant pass through the neutral zone with his head down, leaving the puck for Will Vote, who tucked it in Mathieu Caron’s five-hole on the breakaway.
“A lot of self-inflicted stuff from our team again tonight,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Turning pucks over, giving them transition plays, which we know they’re good at it. And they made us pay.”
BU’s response was quick, however, largely due to a five-minute major on Michael Hagens. Hagens tried to defend his brother, James, after a post-whistle scuffle, but his aggressiveness cost him.
The Terriers capitalized on their second man advantage of the night with a rebound shot from Quinn Hutson, and it didn’t take long for them to pot a second goal.
Only 40 seconds later, BU zipped the puck in looking to chase it, but the puck awkwardly trickled off the boards instead. With Jacob Fowler out of position waiting for the puck to wrap around to his stick, he was in no place to block the ensuing shot, which Cole Eiserman stuffed in.
“The second [goal BU scored] was really unlucky,” Brown said. “[It] hit off the stands and took a funny bounce. But, you know, Fowler’s mental game is as strong as anybody. So he didn’t get down at all. He sticks right to his process, and he was very sharp the rest of the game.”
Early in the second period tides started to change. The Eagles were in a flow from that moment on.
Stiga did his best impression of a magician on the first of the three-goal second period, waving his wand through the air and tipping in a Gabe Perreault shot from the point. When the puck touched Stiga’s stick, it moved like a knuckleball into the net.
“He’s getting more opportunities, a little more confidence,” Brown said. “He seems to be more assertive. He’s figuring out college hockey the first couple months, and I think he understands what it’s like now.”
Then came Leonard’s wrist shot, which broke the 2–2 tie.
Leonard came in hot from the left wing and rifled a bullet past Caron’s shoulder, ringing off the crossbar and the left post. Leonard deposited the shot, and it was denied by the iron like an ATM, yet the goal horn lit up anyway.
The last of the three-goal barrage featured Berard taking advantage of a loose rebound after Connor Joyce played the puck off Caron’s pad.
The Terriers outbid BC in shots during the third period, 14–3, but the Eagles managed to hold onto their lead behind Fowler’s stellar play in net.
Shots were lifted at the second-year netminder, and recently-announced Hobey Baker Award finalist, from every type of angle in the final period of regulation. But Fowler blocked every one, and Leonard helped him out with two empty-netters to secure the 6–2 win and his hat trick.
“You gotta recover like crazy [for tomorrow],” Brown said. “You do all the little things, stay hydrated, stay as fresh as you can be. But also the mental side—you don’t wanna get too high when we come away with a win. We know they’re gonna make a push. We have to be ready for it.”
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