Gionta sparks BC
Two periods had nearly elapsed last night and the pressure was squarely on Boston College.
BC trailed UMass, 2-0, on its home ice. The Eagles are the top seed in the Hockey East tournament; UMass is the eighth. Last year, the top-seeded Eagles lost in the first round to eighth-seeded Boston University.
But BC scored with 1:37 left in the second period to halve UMass's lead, netted the tying goal at 2:52 of the third, and Stephen Gionta buried a breakaway at 10:32 of overtime to give BC (22-6-7) a 3-2 win over the Minutemen (13-22-2) in the opener of the best-of-three quarterfinal series.
"We were down, 2-0, but we kept our resolve," said BC coach Jerry York. "Panic didn't set in at all."
Before the winning goal, BC netminder Matti Kaltiainen kicked out a Minuteman shot from a bad angle. Eagles defenseman Peter Harrold cleared the puck off the glass, and it hopped over UMass defenseman Mark Matheson onto Gionta's stick. The junior faked a shot, forcing UMass goalie Gabe Winer to flinch, then sent a wrister off the post and into the net. It was Gionta's eighth goal of the season and the biggest of his career.
Earlier in overtime, Peter Trovato and David Leaderer sprung loose for a two-on-one break. But Kaltiainen played Trovato aggressively, skating far out of his crease and snuffing the forward's off-wing wrister at 5:17.
"Matti made a great save in overtime on the two-on-one, and I think that was a momentum change," Gionta said.
Conversely, it was an unfortunate bounce for the Minutemen, who outplayed the Eagles for the first two periods. In their last matchup, the Eagles routed the Minutemen at Conte Forum, 6-0, Jan. 28.
"We're pretty disappointed in the way the puck bounced," UMass coach Don Cahoon said. "On the breakaway goal at the end, we had worked real hard all night not to give them that type of situation. It was a little bit of our exuberance and the bounce of the puck off the stanchion. It's a real lousy way to lose a game."
UMass's left-wing lock gave the normally free-skating, slick-passing Eagles fits for the first two periods. BC passes went awry. The Eagles couldn't get their usual speed rushing through the neutral zone. And after a scoreless first period, UMass netted two second-period goals to claim a 2-0 lead. Fourth-line center Obi Aduba scored his second goal of the season at 2:02. UMass doubled its advantage when Matt Burto, sprinting down the right wing, flung a backhander out front, where P.J. Fenton redirected the pass past Kaltiainen (20 saves) at 4:19.
At 8:44, York called his timeout, hoping to settle down his club. And with less than two minutes left in the period, BC finally busted through the UMass defense. Dave Spina laid a hit on a defenseman behind the Minuteman cage, forcing a turnover. The puck went to Patrick Eaves, who closed from the left circle and scored at 18:23 for his 18th goal of the season. The assist was Spina's 100th career point.
In the third period, with Burto and John Adams off for matching minors, Leaderer was called for a charging penalty, giving BC a four-on-three power play. At 2:52, BC tied the game when Brian Boyle took a pass from Eaves at the right circle and lifted a shot that ticked off Winer, hopped over the goalie, and bounced over the goal line.
BC dominated the third period, sending 17 shots on the Minuteman net. Winer made a tough save on Spina, who settled the rebound of a Greg Lauze slapper. Ned Havern had a good bid, skating in from the right wing before Winer stopped the forward's shot at 9:58. And Eaves hit the post with a fluttering backhander, creating third-period momentum that carried over into overtime.
"They had some real good chances," Cahoon said. "Our offense doesn't sustain itself like theirs does."
