Friars best BC in a flash
No. 11 Providence College used an 8-second spurt in the second period to dump No. 16 Boston College, 4-1, last night in Hockey East play at Kelley Rink.
The Eagles were clinging to a 1-0 edge entering the middle stanza but the Friars received goals from Kasper Bjorkqvist and Brandon Duhaime just eight seconds apart starting at 12:29. Senior captain Brian Pinho of North Andover and Josh Wilkins added late empty-net goals to cement matters.
“I thought we came out real slow in the first period. We struggled to get our feet moving. Then we had a great second period,’’ said Friars coach Nate Leaman.
Last night marked the rubber match in the season series. BC took a 4-3 overtime decision at Schneider Arena on Oct. 15, with the Friars returning the favor at Kelley Rink, 2-1, on Oct. 27.
BC (10-9-3, 10-4-0), whose league lead shrunk to one point over Northeastern, was stymied early and often by PC goalie Hayden Hawkey (19 saves).
The Friars (15-7-1, 8-4-1) got in trouble with a bench minor for too many men at the 10:40 mark. The Eagles capitalized when Logan Hutsko tipped home a blast by defenseman Casey Fitzgerald at 12:03.
The Friars, who were outshot 7-2 in the opening frame, displayed more energy in the second, outshooting BC, 226, the most shots on net allowed by BC in a period this season.
“The thing we did better in the second period was shoot on our chances, stay on our toes, hunt down rebounds and get second pucks,” said Leaman.
The Friars’ relentless pursuit paid dividends in the second. Sophomore left winger Bjorkqvist roofed home a second rebound to knot the score at 12:29. Eight seconds later, Woll lost possession of the puck behind the net to Greg Printz, who passed to Duhaime out front for the tap-in at 12:37.
Harvard 3, Princeton 1 — Ryan Donato scored twice and Merrick Madsen registered 35 saves as the Crimson (8-6-2, 7-3-1 ECAC) dropped the Tigers (6-10-3, 3-8-1) at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
Northeastern 5, Maine 3 — At Matthews Arena, Adam Gaudette tallied twice and the No. 10 Huskies (13-5-3, 9-31 HE) beat the Black Bears (11-8-2, 5-5-1) .
Boston University 3, New Hampshire 2 — Jordan Greenway’s goal late in the second period helped the Terriers (9-11-1, 7-7-1 HE) edge the Wildcats (9-10-2, 4-6-1) in Durham, N.H.
UMass-Lowell 4, Arizona St. 0 — Kenny Hausinger scored twice and Tyler Wall stopped 24 shots as the River Hawks (13-9-0) blanked the Sun Devils (6-13-4) in Tempe, Ariz.
UMass 2, Vermont 2 — Matt O’Donnell scored with 4:15 left in regulation to lift the Catamounts (4-13-4, 1-7-3 HE) to a tie with the Minutemen (9-9-1, 3-5-1) in Burlington, Vt.
Merrimack 3, UConn 0 — Craig Pantano stopped all 16 shots and the Warriors (7-11-4, 4-7-2 HE) blanked the Huskies (8-15-2, 5-10-1) in North Andover.
Women’s hockey
Northeastern 4, Boston College 2 — Brittany Bugalski stopped 26 shots and the Huskies (12-9-2, 8-6-1 WHEA) upset the No. 2 Eagles (18-2-3, 12-1-3) at Kelley Rink.
Colgate 3, Harvard 2 — Lauren Wildfang scored early in the third period as the No. 4 Raiders (18-3-1, 9-2-0 ECAC) edged the Crimson (8-6-1, 6-4-1) in Hamilton, N.Y.
Boston University 5, Providence 1 — Nara Elia’s two goals helped the Terriers (8-12-4, 4-9-3 WHEA) drop the Friars (13-6-5, 9-2-3) at Brown Arena.
Men’s basketball
Providence 71, DePaul 64 — Jalen Lindsey had 18 points, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and the Friars (12-6, 3-2 Big East) topped the Blue Demons (8-9, 1-4) in Chicago.
Tufts 69, Williams 63 — Vincent Pace collected 12 points and 10 boards as the Jumbos (12-3, 3-0 NESCAC) erased the Ephs (11-3, 2-1) in Williamstown.
Women’s basketball
Northeastern 59, Coll. Charleston 37 — Jess Genco netted 17 points and the Huskies (8-8, 3-2 CAA) drilled the Cougars (5-11, 1-4) at Cabot Center.