BC | 6 |
---|---|
BU | 4 |
Rivals Boston College and Boston University met for the first time this season Nov. 8 at Agganis Arena.
BC was ranked No. 8 in the nation and BU was No. 17. It was the first time the teams had squared off without the retired Jack Parker behind the Terriers’ bench since Feb. 21, 1973.
The Eagles took a 5-1 decision that night. Since then, the teams have been moving in decidedly opposite directions. Friday night was no exception, with BC edging BU, 6-4, at Conte Forum. It was the 950th career win for BC coach Jerry York.
BU, which fought back in the third period after trailing by three goals, is 3-7-2 in the last 12 contests and has lost six of seven. BC, which has moved up to No. 4 in the country, is 10-2-2 since playing BU and is unbeaten since Nov. 29 the beginning of December (7-0-1).
York said playing BU is always exciting.
Advertisement
“The rivalry is really something very, very special,’’ he said. “I thought tonight’s particular game, full house [of 7,884], big crowd, BU did an outstanding job in the first period. We settled down and played a lot better through the second and into the third. I thought our power play [2 for 2] and penalty kill [5 for 6] were both very good tonight and we had to be in those areas.’’
Though undermanned as a result of injuries, BU (7-12-2, 2-6-1) had a strong opening period, going into the first intermission tied with BC, 1-1.
Freshman center Robbie Baillargeon gave the Terriers the lead at 10:47 when he ripped a shot from the left circle over the glove of goaltender Brian Billett (23 saves).
But BC (15-4-3, 9-1-1) responded during a power play to pull even. With 46.3 seconds remaining in the period, freshman center Adam Gilmour backhanded a shot past sophomore goaltender Sean Maguire (38 saves) for his third tally of the season. Sophomore defenseman Teddy Doherty faked a shot and instead dished the puck down to Gilmour. Gilmour stopped it in his skates, then finished off the play.
Advertisement
The Eagles took their first lead of the night at 4:35 of the second. Junior right Danny Linell fired the initial shot, which Maguire saved, but Quinn Smith corralled the rebound and beat the netminder on a backhand shot that squeezed inside the right post. It was Smith’s second strike of the year.
Junior left wing Johnny Gaudreau, who went into the weekend as the nation’s top scorer, kept his scoring streak alive on BC’s third goal. Gaudreau created a power play when he drew a penalty on Garrett Noonan for holding at 10:13.
Center Bill Arnold took a pass from right wing Kevin Hayes and relayed the puck from the left circle to Gaudreau in the slot. Gaudreau’s quick shot beat Maguire for the 3-1 lead and extended his point streak to 17 games. It was his 20th goal of the season and first of two on the night.
Hayes’s first of two assists marked his ninth straight game with at least a point. Arnold’s assist gave him eight straight games with at least a point.
The Terriers pulled within a goal at 2:50 of the third with freshman right wing T.J. Ryan potting his first collegiate goal to make it 3-2.
Advertisement
But freshman left wing Chris Calnan restored the Eagles’ two-goal lead at 6:20 when he skated the puck out from behind the net and took a shot in front that eluded Maguire. It was his third of the year.
Gilmour scored his second of the game, at 9:27, putting the Eagles up 5-2. Calnan, positioned in the right circle, threw the puck across the slot for Gilmour, who tapped it past Maguire.
BU started the comeback at 11:11 on Mike Moran’s goal and the Terriers closed to within one on a power play at 16:32 on junior right wing Cason Hohmann’s seventh of the year.
But BC closed it out on an empty-net goal by Gaudreau with 38.8 seconds left.
Despite the loss, BU coach David Quinn said there were elements to build on.
“We probably took a big step in the right direction tonight,’’ he said. “I thought we competed more than we have been through this stretch when we’ve been struggling. A lot of good things from our end tonight.
“Obviously you hate losing, but I thought we took a big step in the right direction tonight.’’
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.