Terriers Tie Friars In Hockey East Opener
October 29, 2000 | Men's Ice Hockey
The Terrier hockey team opened the Hockey East portion of its schedule at Providence College on Oct. 28, and the two teams battled to a 4-4 overtime tie in front of 2,087 fans at Schneider Arena.
B.U. is now 1-1-1 overall and 0-0-1 in Hockey East action, while the Providence remained unbeaten with a 2-0-1 overall record and an 0-0-1 mark in the league.
The Terriers, who were picked to finish second in Hockey East in the pre-season poll of the coaches, had to come-from-behind to earn the tie against the Friars, who were tabbed to finish sixth in the poll.
Providence, which was 5-1 against the Terriers in the last six meetings at Schneider Arena, jumped to a 2-0 lead at 15:17 of the first period.
Jon DiSalvatore scored his team's first goal when his shot from the Terrier blue line beat Terrier junior goalie Jason Tapp (Kelowna, BC) high to the glove side. Adam Lee upped the Friars' lead to 2-0 when he tapped in a rebound to Tapp's stick side while PC was enjoying a man advantage.
It was then the Terriers' turn to get on the scoreboard.
Sophomore left wing Brian Collins (Shrewsbury), who entered the game as B.U.'s leading scorer with a goal and four assists, scored on the power play when he deflected a shot taken from the left point by sophomore defenseman Mike Bussoli (Calgary, ALTA). Bussoli got the puck along the blue line from sophomore defenseman John Cronin (Duxbury).
The goal came at a 17:26 of the first period, a period that was marked by 12 total penalties-six each against the Terriers and Friars.
Each team had a 5-on-3 opportunity in those opening 20 minutes-the Terriers collected on their chance, while Providence failed on its opportunity.
"It changed the momentum of the game when they could not score on their 5-on-3," Terrier head coach Jack Parker said after the game.
"In that first period, we made some mistakes in coverage in our zone, and they were able to go up, 2-0," said Parker. "But, we came back, and I was pleased with the play of our forwards. I thought we played hard." The Terriers managed to take the lead, 3-2, in the opening minutes of the second period.
First, senior captain Carl Corazzini (Framingham) scored a shorthanded goal when he stole the puck at the Providence blue line, skated in on goalie Boyd Ballard, and beat the veteran goalie to the glove said.
Then, junior left wing Jack Baker (South Boston) scored on the B.U. power play when he was fed a perfect pass from Corazzini. Junior defenseman Pat Aufiero (Winchester) started the play when he got the puck to Corazzini who fed the puck to Baker who was cutting to the net.
The goal gave the Terriers a 3-2 lead at 4:33 of the second period. Just 4:01 later, at 8:34, the Friars tied the game when J.J. Picinic got behind the Terrier defense and beat Tapp.
The score remained tied, 3-3, until the 16:46 mark of the third period.
At that point, freshman center Gregg Johnson (Windsor, CT) scored his first collegiate goal when he collected the rebound of a shot taken by senior right wing Nick Gillis (Winthrop). Bussoli earned his second assist of the game and third of the season on the play.
It appeared the Terriers would come away with the hard-fought win, but with just 1:33 left in the game, the Friars' Devin Rask took a shot from the right point. Tapp was screened and never saw that puck as it went into the net to account for the final scoring.
"I thought we played a good, solid game," said Parker. "I feel good that we came in here and got a point.
"I thought we played well killing penalties (8-for-9), and we scored two power play goals and a shorthanded goal," the coach pointed out.
"I thought Tapp played another solid game, and I thought that Corazzini, Bussoli, and (John) Cronin played a heckuva game."
On the down side, senior defenseman Keith Emery (Belmont) suffered a sprained left knee, and is expected to miss a couple of weeks.
Scoring Summary
Boston University 1 2 1 0 - 4 Providence 2 1 1 0 - 4
First Period: PC-DiSalvatore (Weiman), 8:23 PC-Adam Lee (Doug Wright, Jay Leach), ppg, 15:17 B.U.-Brian Collins (Mike Bussoli, John Cronin), ppg, 17:26
Second Period: B.U.-Carl Corazzini (unassisted), shg, 2:40 B.U.-Jack Baker (Corazzini, Pat Aufiero), ppg; 4:33 PC-J.J. Picinic (Marc Suderman, Lee), 8:34
Third Period: B.U.-Gregg Johnson (Nick Gillis, Bussoli), 16:46 PC-Devin Rask (Matt Libby, DiSalvatore), 18:27
Power Plays: B.U., 2-for-10; PC, 1-for-9
Penalties: B.U., 9-for-18; PC, 10-for-20
Shots: B.U., 13-14-8-1-36; PC, 10-12-10-3-35
Saves: Jason Tapp (B.U.), 8-11-9-3-31; Boyd Ballard (PC), 12-12-7-1-32
