Boston College Knocks off UNH 5-2

The Boston College men’s hockey team took down New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon, beating the Wildcats 5-2. Four different players scored for the Eagles, who were able to end a three game winless streak. It was a very solid overall effort for BC, who looked noticeably faster than they did on Friday night against Providence.

The two teams traded goals in the first, with Graham McPhee opening the scoring on the day with a shorthanded goal. McPhee picked the pocket of a UNH player at the UNH blue line and used his speed to blow by another defender before beating UNH goalie Danny Tirone. The Wildcats tied it up just a few minutes later on the powerplay with a great wrist shot that beat Joe Woll.

The Eagles started the second on a powerplay of their own thanks to a last second penalty by UNH to end the first, and David Cotton took full advantage of the opportunity. The Eagles worked the puck down low, where Logan Hutsko gave Cotton a perfect pass in the slot area. Cotton ripped a shot past Tirone and the Eagles were back in the lead. JD Dudek scored the eventual game winner just four minutes later, off of a great passing play that gave him a wide open net to shoot on. McPhee added his second goal of the game with about 5 minutes remaining in the period to give BC a 4-1. UNH got one back when a bouncing puck found its way onto a stick right in front of the net, but BC took a 4-2 lead into the intermission.

Jake Tortora scored the only goal in the third period, putting a one timer past Tirone off a fantastic rush and pass by Chris Grando. The Eagles played solid defense and Woll made all his stops in the final period, and the Eagles took home a 5-2 win. Woll got the victory and made 20 stops on the day, with a very strong defensive performance being made in front of him.

UNH isn’t a top team by any stretch, but this was an impressive performance by Boston College all the same. After an uninspiring game against Providence on Friday, the Eagles cleaned a lot of things up on Sunday. The breakouts were crisper, the zone entries were faster, and there were a lot more dangerous scoring chances being created. BC continues to spend too much time in the penalty box, but they were solid on the kill today, allowing just one goal on six chances while scoring a shorthanded goal of their own.

This was a big win for BC, who’s recent stretch had them firmly on the wrong side of the Pairwise rankings. It also puts them back on the top of the Hockey East standings, a point ahead of Northeaster, albeit with one more game played. The Eagles have a bit of a break now, with no games on the schedule until Tuesday the 23rd, when they will host UMass Amherst. The break will hopefully allow the Eagles to get a bit healthier, as Aapeli Rasanen has missed the last two games with an injury. For a team that doesn’t have a ton of depth and that really needs to start racking up the wins, a healthy roster will be important.