Three straight charm for Eagles
BC drops N. Dakota again en route to final
DENVER - The first NCAA Frozen Four semifinal matchup was billed as the rookie goaltender vs. the senior veteran and the undersized speedsters vs. the giants in a budding rivalry between Boston College and North Dakota. Both teams have talent, both have determination.
Those in the know thought it would be close. Those in the know were wrong.
The Eagles scored four goals in the first period, added two more in the second, and romped past North Dakota, 6-1, last night at the Pepsi Center in front of 18,543. It marks the third year in a row BC will play in the championship game, taking on Notre Dame, a 5-4 winner over Michigan in overtime in the other semifinal. It is also the third straight year the Eagles (24-11-8) have knocked out the Fighting Sioux (28-11-4) in the national semifinals.
Junior left wing Nathan Gerbe, who at 5 feet 5 inches was the shortest player on either roster, proved why he is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist. His three goals came shorthanded, at even strength, and on the power play.
BC's first-year netminder, John Muse, who was tested early and late and ended up with 29 saves, badly outplayed Fighting Sioux senior J.P. Lamoureux (21 saves) and the Eagles' small but highly skilled forwards proved you can't hit what you can't catch.
"I'm extremely proud of our club," said BC coach Jerry York. "I thought we did a lot of just basic meat and potatoes type hockey tonight, finishing checks, moving pucks. We're certainly not trying to reinvent the wheel here at BC. We're a very solid, fundamental team. There's no trickery to our club. I thought Nathan played extremely well tonight, not just the goals but the character he brings to our club."
The Eagles' offensive juggernaut began at 7:08 of the first, when BC took advantage of a North Dakota turnover that led to a two-on-one break. Junior left wing Kyle Kucharski dished a pass from the left circle to the slot for junior right wing Andrew Orpik, who one-timed a shot past Lamoureux inside the right post.
Muse made a strong save on a backhand bid from the slot by right wing Andrew Kozek and BC quickly struck again with a shorthanded goal. Gerbe outskated 6-7 defenseman Joe Finley and beat Lamoureux on a wrist shot to the stick side at 13:14. At 15:13, Gerbe's shot from beneath the right circle trickled past Lamoureux and it was 3-0. With 14.8 seconds left in the period, freshman center Brian Gibbons threw a centering pass into the slot for senior Dan Bertram, who made it an insurmountable lead.
"He has a great shot and he just took it," said senior captain Mike Brennan. "A three-goal lead, you try not to read into that too much but when he put that in, it's a nice little finish to kind of add on to that lead we had. Again, you don't want to get too comfortable, especially against a team like the Sioux."
Gerbe's third goal made the Eagles comfortable. It came at 6:37 of the second during the man-advantage. He skated around the net, then lifted a backhander over Lamoureux for BC's fifth goal.
Gibbons made a terrific play on the Eagles' sixth goal. He fired a long lead pass to Gerbe, who skated up the right side during a two-on-one. Gerbe backhanded the pass across the slot for sophomore right wing Ben Smith, who one-timed it from the left circle. It marked the 18th point in an eight-game scoring streak for Gerbe, 10 of them goals.
Muse lost the shutout with 1:16 left when defenseman Jake Marto beat him over the glove from the left circle.
Gerbe said former BC defenseman Bobby Allen's recent address to the team made a big difference.
"I think the biggest thing was going out and having the mind-set of having fun," said Gerbe. "The last two years, our team sat back and was maybe a little too nervous sometimes, but this time, we have to enjoy it. Bobby Allen was talking to our team before we left and he said, 'Just enjoy the time you have here. You don't get here every year and you never know when you'll be here again, so enjoy it when you're here.' "
