Eagles Put Muzzle on Terriers

Boston College defeated its rival BU in the first meeting of the year

In front of 6,000 hostile Boston University fans on Saturday night, the Boston College Men’s Hockey team put on an excellent performance at Agganis Arena, defeating the BU Terrier’s 4-1.

After falling behind 1-0 in the second period, the Eagles responded with four unanswered goals in the second and third period to silence the BU crowd and return home victorious to Chestnut Hill. Along with their solid performance offensively, the defense had a stellar performance.

Junior goaltender John Muse was named the number one star of the game, tallying 30 saves in a very good performance between the pipes.

In a very physical game, the two teams went into the locker rooms after the first period tied 0-0. Returning to the ice, BU got off to a quick start when sophomore Nick Bonino snuck a wrap-around goal past Muse just over two minutes into the period.

The Eagle’s offense appeared to be having trouble beating BU’s goaltender Kiernan Millan as the second period continued. With four powerplay opportunities in the first and second period, BC’s offense was not able to capitalize on any of them. The offensive woes changed drastically for the Eagles with just over two minutes left in the second. Assisted by junior Joe Whitney and sophomore Jimmy Hayes, defensemen Carl Sneep fired a rocket from above the circle that beat Millan high side.

The Eagle’s continued on their offensive tear in the third period. Just 38 seconds into the final frame of the contest, sophomore defensemen Edwin Shea scored the first goal of his college career, slapping a rebound past Millan into an open net. Shea’s goal gave the Eagle’s a 2-1 lead and the team did not look back, netting two more goals to complete their convincing 4-1 win over the Terrier’s.

Joe Whitney and Brian Gibbons finished off the scoring for the Eagles. Gibbons goal was perhaps the most notable of all five scored in the game, skating through the BU defense and beating Millan gloveside high. The goal left Agganis Arena completely silent, except for the small contingency of BC fans that had much to cheer for.

On the defensive side of the ice for the Eagles, goalie Muse finished off a solid weekend of work. Against UMass Amherst on Friday night and BU on Saturday, Muse surrendered a total of only two goals. BU outshot BC 31-27 in the contest, but big saves by Muse allowed the Eagles to shut down the Terrier offense after taking the lead early in the second.

Now in sole possession of second place in Hockey East with a record of 8-3-2 (6-3-2 in H.E.) the Eagle’s are looking to extend their current five game winning streak with two more Hockey East matches on the road to finish out their December schedule.

After New Year’s, the team will travel to Denver for the Wells Fargo Denver Cup, and then return home for another contest against BU.

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