GOAL BY GOAL: BC Men’s Hockey Settles For 4-4 Draw With Harvard On Black Friday

Boston College Men’s Hockey’s 7 game winning streak is no more, but it’s been replaced with an 8 game unbeaten streak.

In what was a pretty wild affair, the Eagles and Crimson swapped leads throughout the night with a bevy of very nice goals. In the end, Harvard came away with a late tying tally which held up through five minutes of overtime, sending both teams home with a 4-4 draw at Kelley Rink.

Boston College Goal #1: 16:48 of the 1st period
Jacob Tortora (Julius Mattila, David Cotton)

BC 1, HU 0

In an unexpected but pleasant turn of events, it was the Eagles who scored the game’s opening goal to take the lead in the first period. Jacob Tortora, on what was the first of his line’s many snipes, comes in across the blue line and takes the shot himself.

He beats Harvard goaltender Merrick Madsen glove side high, and we’re on our way.

Harvard Goal #1: 1:21 of the 2nd period
Adam Baughman (Jack Badini, Nathan Krusko)

BC 1, HU 1

The Eagles took the lead into the first intermission, but it didn’t last long. Harvard tied the score at 1-1 early in the 2nd period thanks to a blast from the blue line, which managed to find its way through three skaters and a screened Joe Woll for the goal.

The goal was reviewed for goaltender interference, but it was a brief review and the goal would stand. If anyone hit Woll it would have been his own player, so there wasn’t too much there.

Harvard Goal #2 (SHG): 7:51 of the 2nd period
Michael Floodstrand, Ryan Donato

HU 2, BC 1

A few minutes later, it was Harvard’s turn to pull ahead.

It’s a shame, too, because Woll pulled off a pair of highway robbery saves before finally getting beaten on the third chance. He stays with the initial Harvard shooter who crosses in front of the crease, and somehow manages to get back to the near post for the wraparound bid to deny that one too.

But Woll’s pretty much out of commission after the last save, and despite a last ditch effort to take up as much of the net as he can while down on the ice, Floodstrand has too much net to shoot at and it’s 2-1.

In fairness to Woll, he shouldn’t have even been put in that position — BC was on the power play, as impossible as that seems watching the replay. And not only do they give up the goal, but they also give up the man advantage with a penalty just prior to the goal being scored. Yikes.

Boston College Goal #2 (4v4): 8:00 of the 2nd period
Julius Mattila (David Cotton)

BC 2, HU 2

But the Crimson couldn’t even count to ten before the Eagles found the back of the net for the tying goal. Immediately off the draw, BC is able to force a turnover at the blue line after the Crimson win the faceoff.

Cotton takes the puck and finds Mattila who reacts to the turnover before any of the Crimson do, streaking in on net with an embarrassing amount of open ice to skate over. He goes stick side on Madsen, and the game is tied right back up at 2-2.

Boston College Goal #3: 10:50 of the 2nd period
David Cotton (Julius Mattila, Jacob Tortora)

BC 3, HU 2

Now it’s time for BC to pull back ahead. Just past midway, it’s the third line of Cotton-Mattila-Tortora putting together yet another beauty of a goal for the Eagles.

BC enters the offensive zone on a two on two, but thanks to the puck movement, the Eagles are able to get the Crimson defenders just twisted up enough to open up some room to make a play. The two Harvard skaters don’t switch up responsibilities in time, which allows Mattila to slide the puck across to Cotton, who’s now in front of his defender.

Cotton just has to get the most dainty of taps on the puck to beat Madsen, and he puts BC back on top with a score of 3-2.

Harvard Goal #3 (PPG): 4:11 of the 3rd period
Benjamin Solin (Nathan Krusko, Jack Badini)

BC 3, HU 3

Again BC took the lead into the locker room, and again it was the Crimson pulling even early in the following period.

Harvard starts a rush from their own end which ends up in something of a four on two for the Crimson across the BC blue line.

Before Harvard enters the BC end, it actually likes like the Eagles are set up pretty well defensively, with three skaters to defend and Harvard not particularly organized. But all three Eagles are on the same end of the ice, and no one notices Solin creeping in the back door.

No Eagles notice, that is, but Krusko does, and he crosses the feed to Solin who buries the chance to tie the game, now at 3-3.

Boston College Goal #4: 14:25 of the 3rd period
Julius Mattila (Jacob Tortora, David Cotton)

BC 4, HU 3

But with just five and change remaining in the third period, it looked like the Eagles had found their winning goal. The third line tallies their fourth goal of the evening, with a late developing two-on-one culminating in Mattila one-timing a monster snipe off the back bar.

The celebration is on, but the Eagles left just a bit too much time on the clock.

Harvard Goal #4: 17:18 of the 3rd period
Jack Badini (Nathan Krusko, Ty Pelton-Byce)

BC 4, HU 4 — FINAL

Less than three minutes later, it was the Crimson who came away with the happier half of the draw with the late tying goal.

After a game full of two man attacks, Jack Badini from Harvard puts together a great individual effort to fight through three BC defensemen at speed, eventually overtaking Casey Fitzgerald with just enough room to start the cut across the crease and wrist the puck past the glove of Woll, tying the score at 4-4.

That score would stand as the final, with the Eagles taking a penalty in overtime and holding on for the draw despite holding leads of 1-0, 3-2, and 4-3 in the game.

That’s all the BC hockey for the weekend, with both the men and women’ getting their games out of the way early for the holiday weekend. The men will now get a full week to prepare for next weekend’s home and home with the Terriers, which has returned to its rightful place on the schedule in early December.

With BU struggling in the early part of the season, and BC playing pretty well, the Eagles have to feel like anything less than a split would be a big disappointment.