Boston College-Michigan Final: Eagles Ride Big Period to 5-1 Win Over Wolverines
By Joe Micik
Boston College-Michigan Final: #16 Boston College hockey earned a big 5-1 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Kelley Rink on Saturday night.
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With the win, Boston College has won back-to-back games, improving their record to 9-7-1 as the first half of the season comes to a close. This one came against a quality visiting opponent.
Boston College-Michigan Final: Game Synopsis
Most of the first few minutes of play belonged to Michigan, and what momentum they had seemed to be confirmed by an Ian McCoshen penalty, resulting in a Wolverine power play. It was not to last long, however, as Dylan Larkin took a penalty 14 seconds later to negate the power plan and make it a 4-on-4 for 106 seconds.
During that period of open ice for both teams, Teddy Doherty got a hold of the puck and blasted a clean shot over Zach Nagelvoort’s shoulder to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
A very short Eagle power play ensued and expired, but that lone goal by Doherty would soon have company. Ian McCoshen took a one-timer from the point to give Boston College a 2-0 lead just two minutes later; the score was reviewed and upheld.
In the following minutes, Boston College sustained several lengthy shifts on the offensive attack. The Eagles had a few near-misses and made Nagelvoort stand his ground, but eventually, BC broke through again thanks to Destry Straight. A wrister from the right circle made it a 3-0 lead with just under six minutes to go in the period. Michigan would settle down and run up the shot totals from there, outshooting the Eagles 15 to 9 for the period, but Boston College held a big lead on the scoreboard.
Boston College stood their ground throughout the second period, again being outshot by a significant margin (14-7) but maintaining their lead. Michigan seemed to have the better of the play in the middle frame, but BC’s success rested on their goalie, Thatcher Demko. Through two periods, the sophomore stopped all 29 shots he faced, including a few big saves in the second.
In the third, it was more of the same with Boston College trying but not successfully adding to their lead. Unlike the previous two periods, Michigan finally put their shot advantage to use on the power play. Dylan Larkin went in for the score to make it a 3-1 hockey game early in the third period, giving the Wolverines some life.
For much of the period, it seemed like the Eagles were going to have to protect their three goals, but the Eagles’ Quinn Smith was able to find a way to get a bad angle shot past Nagelvoort to give BC a three-goal lead again with about seven minutes left. The Eagles were able to hold the Wolverines off from there, despite more power play opportunities going to the visitors. Quinn Smith finished the night with an empty-netter to make it 5-1.
Boston College-Michigan Final: The Stats
Quinn Smith was the game’s leading goalscorer with two, both of them coming in the final eight minutes of the contest. Three other Eagles had two points each on assists: Mike Matheson, Chris Calnan, and Alex Tuch.
Thatcher Demko recorded 41 saves in one of his best individual performances of the year; his counterpart, Zach Nagelvoort, saved 24 in the loss but picked up a secondary assist on Michigan’s only goal.
Boston College-Michigan Final: Goal Chart
| BC | Teddy Doherty (4×4) | 5:44 1st | Gilmour, Tuch | MICH 0 | BC 1 |
| BC | Ian McCoshen | 7:42 1st | Spiro, Gaudreau | MICH 0 | BC 2 |
| BC | Destry Straight | 14:03 1st | Matheson, Tuch | MICH 0 | BC 3 |
| MICH | Dylan Larkin (PP) | 3:38 3rd | Nieves, Nagelvoort | MICH 1 | BC 3 |
| BC | Quinn Smith | 12:51 3rd | Sit, Calnan | MICH 1 | BC 4 |
| BC | Quinn Smith (EN) | 18:43 3rd | Calnan, Matheson | MICH 1 | BC 5 |
Boston College-Michigan Final: Bottom Line
Boston College needed this game heading into their winter break, and they got it. When January comes, they are going to need to sustain a solid run of victories, and this was a good way to end the first half of their season.
The first period had to have been the best the Eagles have played all year to date, scoring three goals and consistently attacking the net, despite getting outshot. In the second or third, play was more even and it appeared that the Eagles were going to have to go into protect mode. Thatcher Demko did a great job of holding that lead, but there was just enough offense in the first to take the stress out of the game.
The faceoff numbers were not great and Michigan took far too many shots; also, the Eagles took many more penalties than the Wolverines did, but this was more than enough of an effort. Boston College has to feel good that they can go into the long layoff on a win.
Boston College-Michigan Final: Next Up
Boston College hockey will return to the ice on January 2 for the Ledyard Classic hosted by Dartmouth. Their first opponent will be the Brown Bears.