PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Boston College transitioned its precision scoring apparatus from Hockey East to the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles scored five unanswered goals, four in the third period, and rolled to a 6-1 victory over Michigan Tech in the opening game of the Providence Regional on Friday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Eagles improved to 31-5-1 and extended their win streak to 13 games. BC has outscored its last three postseason opponents 20-4 to advance to Sunday’s regional final (4 p.m.) against defending national champion Quinnipiac (27-9-2)..
BC sniper Cutter Gauthier scored two goals, leaving him one shy of the BC single-season record of 38 set by David Emma in 1990. Freshman Ryan Leonard also notched a pair while goalie Jacob Fowler finished with 23 saves.
“I think it’s sticking to our process and then it’s only a matter of time,” said Leonard, a Washington Capitals first-round draft pick from Amherst. “After the first it was a 1-1 game but it was only a matter of time before the pucks would start going in.
“When we score one, we like to score them in bunches and feed off the momentum. That is what our team strives for and how we like to build our game.”
The Eagles scored on their opening shift on an expertly orchestrated breakout 36 seconds into the contest. BC senior defenseman Eamon Powell set the play in motion with the lead pass to sophomore left wing Oskar Jellvik, who blazed a path down the right boards.
Jellvik pivoted at the half wall and slipped the puck to Gauthier as he cut diagonally through the slot. Gauthier kept the puck on his forehand and beat goalie Blake Pietila with a wrister to the near post.
“I saw Jelly had a boatload of speed and there was a guy in front of me so I just tried to get the correct body position on him and use my speed to open up a lane,” said Gauthier. “With Jelly having eyes on the back of his head, I was calling for the puck and he made a great spin pass on my stick and the goalie wasn’t ready for it.”
Michigan Tech defenseman Chase Pietila has just gotten seated in the cooler for hooking when freshman center Max Koskipirtti tied the game 1-1 with a short-handed goal at 12:55. Koskipirtti forced a turnover in the neutral zone, skated into the right circle and fired a low shot that beat Fowler to the glove side for his fourth of the season. BC had an 11-8 edge in shots on goal after one.
“When he scored that short-handed goal for them, you could see their bench lift a little bit and it carried the momentum for a while,” said BC coach Greg Brown, the Hockey East Coach of the Year.
BC broke the 1-1 deadlock at 6:57 of the second on a busy play in front of the Tech cage. Defenseman Aidan Hreschuk got the puck in the left circle and sent through the low slot center Jack Malone at the crease. Malone, a graduate transfer from Cornell, sent it back across the blue ice to Leonard, who flicked into the exposed half of the cage for his first of two.
BC picked up its third major penalty in three straight games when freshman left wing Gabe Perrault was issued a five-minute major and game misconduct for a blow to the head at 12:18.
The Eagles entered the match owning the nation’s best penalty kill with an 89.6% success rate and confidently neutralized the Huskies’ power play. The teams exited the second tied at 21 in shots on goal.
“After that penalty kill, I thought we started to play a little faster, a little sharper and we were connecting on more passes,” said Brown. “Then that third period was our best period.”
BC went up 3-1 at 4:47 of the third on another congested play on Pietila’s doorstep. Malone got his second assist of the game on a similar play. Malone sent the puck through the crease to junior left-wing Connor Joyce, who punched home his second of the season.
BC made it 4-1 when Jellvik finished a transition set up from Will Smith at 6:27. Smith notched his 45th helper of the season. Immediately following a goal, a nasty NHL worthy scrum erupted in the neutral zone that took the referees five minutes to adjudicate.
“We knew they play kind of a chippy style,” said Leonard. “They are a hard-working team like they were and they like to finish checks and try to get underneath your skin.”
Huskies left wing Ryland Mosley got a five-minute major for contact to the head. Leonard’s 29th of the season on the power play put BC up 5-1 at 7:52. Gauthier closed out the scoring with his second at 11:25.
