New Hampshire fans switched between roars of victory and sighs of resignation repeatedly throughout the final moments of No. 1 Boston College men’s hockey’s Saturday night game in Whittemore Center Arena.
Any game that goes to a shootout is guaranteed to be exciting. But this one was especially so, as fans sat on the edges of their seats while the shootout progressed and the Wildcats’ win was put out of reach by goals from Gabe Perrault and Ryan Leonard.
After a fifth-round shot from Ryan Conmy was gloved by Jacob Fowler, all eyes turned to Lukas Gustaffson, who had the opportunity to win the shootout for BC. To the disappointment of the sold out Wildcat stadium, Gustaffson delivered, sending the puck past goalie Rico DiMatteo.
The Eagles’ (25–6–2, 17–4–2 Hockey East) roster looked a little different in Saturday night’s game against New Hampshire (11–15–6, 3–14–5). The game went down as a tie for BC, but the Eagles picked up two more points in the Hockey East standings.
BC was missing Gasseau due to a major penalty he picked up on Friday night for slew footing, and Oscar Jellvik and Teddy Stiga were also out of the lineup. Michael Hagens got minutes for the Eagles in response, filling in at left wing.
“[Michael Hagens] is a versatile player,” BC head coach Greg Brown said. “He’s a great skater. He has a lot of skills. So, tonight, we used him up in forward, and he did a really good, solid job for us.”
The Wildcats also saw some changes, with backup goalie Rico DiMatteo starting for his first game this season after a frightening injury took starting goaltender Jared Whale out in Friday night’s 4–1 win from BC.
UNH came out swinging with some strong stickwork, resulting in a few big shots against Jacob Fowler, who, through some quick glove work, kept the net clear. But the Eagles did not just sit back and take it.
Throughout the period, each team had their share of odd man rushes, but both goalies remained impenetrable in net. With three minutes left in the opening frame, the Wildcats set their sights on Fowler, unleashing shot after shot against him, only for him to deny each and every one.
Eight minutes into the second frame, Kristaps Skrastins took a slapshot, which deflected off the stick of BC’s Will Skahan. That misdirection threw off Fowler, and the puck slipped past the posts to put New Hampshire up 1–0.
After a penalty-less first period, physicality began to pick up in the second. But despite a power-play opportunity for the Eagles, they were unable to tie things up, and headed into the third period in need of an equalizer.
When Ryan Leonard was taken down in front of the goal after a cross check from Luke Reid, the Eagles did not let their second man-up advantage of the night pass them by.
“They know exactly what was at stake and what we need to do to win,” Brown said. “They were excited to go out and have a good third period and they were able to do that.”
At the 3:41 mark, Perrault shot the puck across the net from the left side. It banked off of DiMatteo’s arm and into the goal, tying the score at 1–1.
Despite some more big chances from both teams, the score remained tied through the end of the third and the teams prepared to face off in overtime.
Overtime saw back and forth action from both teams, including breakaway chances from BC’s Leonard and the Wildcat’s Conmy, who shot twice on goal in the last 15 seconds of overtime, leading to two Fowler saves.
In the final 30 seconds, the Wildcats kept on the offensive. But Fowler made save after save, forcing the game into a shootout. From there, the teams entered what became a five-round shootout, culminating in Gustafssons’ game-winning goal for the Eagles.
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