Men's Ice Hockey Drops 5-1 Decision to Providence
January 6, 2006 | Men's Ice Hockey
BOSTON - The No. 20 Boston University men's ice hockey team (7-8-1, 5-6-1 Hockey East) succumbed to league-leading No. 13/12 Providence College (12-6-1, 9-2-1 Hockey East) by a 5-1 tally in the teams' last of three regular-season meetings at Agganis Arena on Friday night. The Terriers were not able to overcome the Friars this season, posting a 0-2-1 record in the trio of league match-ups. The hot PC team lengthened its win streak to six games with the victory.
After a valiant BU effort in the opening 15 minutes of the game, PC bounded back near the end of the stanza and got on the board in the waning seconds. A deflated Terrier team allowed three Friar second-period goals sandwiched around BU senior John Laliberte’s (Saco, Maine) late power-play tally, followed by another goal in the final frame for the 5-1 PC win.
“In general, besides the first 15 minutes, I was really disappointed with our effort,” said BU Head Coach Jack Parker. “We’ve seen Providence three times and we haven’t been able to score on them and they’ve scored on us. All three games I thought their goalie played really well and their defense played very well in front of him – they’re an impressive team.”
PC’s Colin McDonald converted on the power play with three seconds remaining in the first with a high shot from the right point for the 1-0 lead before the Friars again used special teams to find the back of the net early in the middle period. Jamie Carroll scored PC’s fifth shorthanded goal of the season when he caught a breakaway during a BU changeup at 4:12.
The Friars increased their lead to three when a bad break by BU defenseman Dan Spang (Winchester, Mass.), who tripped as the puck was passed to him at the right point, caused a 2-on-1 heading into the BU zone. Although senior co-captain David Van der Gulik (Abbotsford, B.C.) blocked the initial shot, PC’s Pierce Norton grabbed his own rebound and tapped it in at 9:13.
Laliberte made his mark with the man advantage at 16:18 when he sent a one-timer from the right faceoff circle past PC netminder Tyler Sims. Spang and junior Kevin Schaeffer (South Huntington, N.Y.) earned the helpers on the play.
The Friars sealed the win with a late second-period goal by Nate Meyers at 19:35, followed by a sniper of a shot by Jon Rheault from the left faceoff circle at 5:13 that beat BU sophomore goalie Karson Gillespie (Mankota, Sask.) high glove side for the 5-1 score.
BU was 1-for-6 on the power play, while PC was 1-for-4.
The loss was Gillespie’s first of the season after he shutout Denver, 1-0, on Nov. 25, then posted a 5-1 win at Dartmouth on Dec. 10.
The Terriers take on cross-town rival Northeastern on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Huskies’ Matthews Arena.
To purchase tickets for Terrier home games, or for more information, click here or visit the Ticket Office at 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or call 617-353-GOBU (4628).
