Edquist stops any concerns for BC
Don’t blame Boston College sophomore backup goalie Ryan Edquist if he continues to arrange an annual holiday trip for star classmate Joe Woll.
With Woll making a second straight appearance with Team USA at the world junior tournament and opening up a playing opportunity, Edquist turned aside 23 shots yesterday to blank UConn, 2-0, at Kelley Rink. It was the first career shutout for Edquist, who sports a 7-3-1 mark in two seasons.
“There were a lot of blocked shots. The defense sold out with a lot of big blocks there and that always makes goaltending easier,” Edquist said. “It’s always exciting (to play). You just have to stay levelheaded, stay focused. You get your opportunities here and there. I’ve learned a lot from (Woll), too.”
The 14th-ranked Eagles and visiting Huskies were both coming off lengthy holiday hiatuses of 20 and 21 days, respectively. As a result, the first period lacked a certain pizzazz.
BC (10-7-2, 10-3-0 Hockey East) jumped ahead 12:43 into the game with a powerplay goal off the stick of David Cotton. The left winger was allowed to skate from the right corner to the net front, where he knocked home his own rebound past Huskies goalie Adam Huska (27 saves) for his fourth goal of the season.
The other key play of the opening stanza came during an earlier UConn power play. Eagles forward J.D. Dudek stole the puck on the penalty kill, only to have Huskies defenseman Johnny Austin hustle back and retake it before a shorthanded bid could be taken.
“We lost a little momentum on the power play and then they scored their power-play goal,” UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “A good power play is 20 percent, so you lose 4-of-5. The thing you can’t do is lose momentum on the power play. You can’t do that.”
The Eagles were successful in staving off a 5-on-3 situation midway through the scoreless second period to maintain its slim lead. For the game, UConn (812-2, 5-8-1 HE) was 0-for-4 with the man advantage while BC was 1-of-4.
“Certainly, our ability to kill the 5-on-3, getting a power-play goal, and outstanding goaltending from Ryan Edquist allowed us to win the hockey game,” Eagles coach Jerry York said. “We won the special teams battle, but it was a close game and Ryan was steady for 60 minutes.”
Edquist came through early in the third period when he blocked a shot from the right side and slid across to the far post to foil a rebound attempt. Relentless pressure in front of Huska then paid dividends at 10:52, with fourth-line center Ron Greco scoring his fifth goal of the season.
Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald assisted on both goals.
“In essence, BC was a touch better than us tonight,” Cavanaugh said.