Boston College 5, Bowling Green 0: Billett Notches First Shutout
By Joe Micik
Boston College hockey returned from their Christmas/finals break on Friday evening in decisive fashion, as in their semifinal game of the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, the #7 Eagles defeated the Bowling Green Falcons, 5-0.
They will face either the Penn State Nittany Lions or the Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday in the championship game.
It was the first career shutout for junior goalie Brian Billett, who helped the Eagles improve to 11-4-2 on the season. Dating back to early December, Boston College has now won three games in a row.
The Eagles, specifically their line of Johnny Gaudreau, Bill Arnold, and Kevin Hayes, launched a massive assault on the Falcons, totaling seven points in the first period alone. Gaudreau had three of them, scoring his fourteenth goal of the season while adding two assists. Arnold and Hayes each had two points, all on assists.
Goal Sequence
[BC] Johnny Gaudreau (1:19 1st; Hayes, Arnold): BC 1, BGSU 0
[BC] Travis Jeke (3:33 1st; Gaudreau, Arnold): BC 2, BGSU 0
[BC] Teddy Doherty (6:45 1st; Hayes, Gaudreau): BC 3, BGSU 0
[BC] Scott Savage (12:50 2nd; Sit, Brown): BC 4, BGSU 0
[BC] Mike Matheson (19:43 3rd; Jeke, Straight): BC 5, BGSU 0
Travis Jeke’s goal early in the first period was his first of the season. Meanwhile, Doherty scored his second, while Savage and Matheson both earned their third goals of the year on Friday.
Billett stopped all 27 Bowling Green shots on his way to victory. The Falcons’ Tommy Burke made 33 saves; shots were 38-27 in favor of the Eagles.
Neither team converted on any power play opportunities — the Eagles, getting their first man-advantage in over two games, went 0-for-2, while Bowling Green was 0-for-3.
This Eagles team took advantage of a weak opponent, which happens to be the program which afforded Jerry York his first national championship as a head coach. For now, it would seem Boston College is determined not to let their annual mid-season slump (which would have typically already started by now) happen.