BC netminder Muse stymies Terriers in Round 1 of 2009
by Chris Aliano
BOSTON - Edwin Shea is not used to seeing his name on the box score at the end of games. On Saturday night at Agganis Arena, the sophomore defenseman found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal, one that proved to be the game-winner as Boston College picked up a 4-1 victory against Boston University in a pivotal Hockey East tilt.
With both teams tied at 1-1 heading into the third period, Shea took a pass from Cam Atkinson and put it on net. Sophomore netminder Kieran Millan (23 saves) was in position to make the save, but the puck took an unlucky bounce off of teammate Kevin Shattenkirk and deflected into the net just 38 seconds into the period. From there on out, it was all Boston College.
"Terrific weekend for our club," BC head coach Jerry York said afterward. "We were very fortunate to come out of Agganis with a couple points. I feel very proud of the effort we had from our club tonight."
The Eagles are undefeated in their last five games and completed a weekend Hockey East sweep of No. 9 UMass and their Comm. Ave rivals. The four points boost them to a first-place tie in the standings with UNH.
"We've been on a little run here where we're seeing a lot of improvement in different areas," York said. "[Tonight] We were solid defensively, both goaltenders played well, our young defensive core made some good decisions, they managed the puck very well. We got exceptional goaltending, and we really managed the puck well in our own end."
The game's first star, Boston College netminder John Muse, was stellar in making 30 saves to pick up his fifth win of the season. It has been an up-and-down season for Muse, who had offseason hip surgery and has posted less-than-impressive numbers so far between the pipes. He proved again that the stats can be thrown out the window when his scarlet-and-white rivals take to the ice opposite of him, making several impressive stops, including a slew of saves while his team was defending a 5-on-3 power play in the second period.
Junior forward Joe Whitney capitalized on a BU defensive breakdown at 5:38 to extend the lead. With his linemates rushing in on a 3-on-2 opportunity, Whitney's brother, Steve Whitney, drew a defender by skating along the goal line toward Millan before dishing it to freshman defenseman Philip Samuelsson. The puck then found the stick of sophomore center Jimmy Hayes, who got a shot on Millan before the rebound found Whitney. The Reading, Massachusetts native had an open lane toward the net, took several strides and blasted a shot from point-blank range that beat Millan short-side.
"Steve [Whitney] came down the right wing drove to the net and Jim [Hayes] made a good drop pass and the defenseman went with Jim, so I had a walk down broadway and tucked it upstairs," Joe Whitney said afterward.
"Joey got a goal, and he played a very good game for us," York said. "He got a lot of mustard on that shot."
Junior center Brian Gibbons wrapped up the scoring at 12:37 with his fifth goal of the season, picking the puck out of midair on a clearing attempt before skating around Shattenkirk and putting one underneath Millan.
Despite the loss, Boston University head coach Jack Parker was more impressed with his team's efforts compared to last night following a 3-3 tie against Vermont.
"I thought we got beat by an awfully good college hockey team," Parker said. "I thought we played hard tonight, I was happy with my team's efforts.
"In general we were more ready to play and more into the game, and more vested in the outcome [than yesterday], we weren't playing as if it didn't matter."
Junior forward Nick Bonino opened up the scoring at 2:10 of the second period for the Terriers' lone goal of the evening. After taking a pass from sophomore linemate Chris Connolly, Bonino made a quick break for Muse's back door and sneaked the puck through the crease for another of his trademark wraparound goals. Unfortunately that was the lone highlight for BU on the evening.
"BU's got some strong forwards, and they won some 1-on-1 battles low, but Johnny was right there for them," York said. "Tonight I thought we played pretty well defensively in front of John."
Senior defenseman Carl Sneep, who leads the Eagles' defensive corps in scoring, notched his sixth goal of the season when he beat a screened Millan from the point at 17:42 in the second to tie it up.
Both teams struggled on the power play. The Eagles came into the contest ranked sixth-best in the nation on the extra-man opportunity, while the Terriers, who have been solid on the penalty kill, continue to be snake-bitten on their own power plays. That didn't change Saturday: BU went 0-for-5 on the power play despite an impressive 10 shots attempted. The culmination of this futility came when the Eagles successfully killed a 5-on-3 power play, which in actuality was a 5-on-2 when an Eagle defenseman dropped his stick and was limited to using his body to block passing lanes.
"We got lucky on the 5-on-3, it was like a shooting gallery there," York said. "We had some incredible saves and some shots that were just wide there."
The loss keeps the Terriers in the basement of the conference, standing at 9th thanks to Providence being swept by Maine on the weekend.
"We've got a long way to go from where we are in the standings, and a long way to go from where we are scoring-wise, but this game gave us a little bit of a lift as far as our focus and our effort," Parker said.
"The better team won tonight, that's for sure."
The Terriers next return to the ice next Friday when they host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Notes and Notables
Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen finished the night -3 on the plus/minus... The loss snapped a 39-game unbeaten streak for the Terriers when Nick Bonino records a point... Victor Saponari made his second start of the season, replacing Kevin Gilroy in the lineup... Justin Courtnall replaced Wade Megan, who was a healthy scratch...
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