Huskies ousted in 1st round for 3rd straight time
Boston College, a 1-seed, beat 4-seed Michigan Tech, 6-1, in the first round of the NCAA hockey tournament on Friday.
Michigan Tech's (19-15-6) season is over after a third straight first-round exit in the NCAA tournament. Boston College (32-5-1) advances to the Providence Regional final to face the winner of Quinnipiac-Wisconsin, with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.
Boston College takes the early lead
Boston College seized the momentum with a goal on the game's first shot 36 seconds in. After a Michigan Tech turnover, BC quickly got the puck to Cutter Gauthier, the nation's leading goal scorer, who beat standout Blake Pietila for a 1-0 lead.
Michigan Tech scores shorthanded goal, stays aggressive
Michigan Tech found itself behind early, but a penalty against the Huskies swung the momentum in its favor. Down a man, the penalty kill unit tied the game after Max Koskipirtti intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, then beat Boston College goalie Jacob Fowler with 7:05 left in the first period. The Huskies stayed on the front foot the rest of the period with an aggressive forecheck and finished the period with eight shots compared to BC's 11.
Kash Rasmussen had a 1-on-1 chance in the second but fired wide after beating Fowler.
Boston College took the lead on a rebound from Ryan Leonard in the second period. Leonard, the nation's third-leading goal scorer, hung around the crease and finished a rebound on a pad save to put the Eagles up 2-1.
Michigan Tech had a chance to equalize on a five-minute power play following a game misconduct on BC's Gabe Perreault. MTU generated three shots with the extra skater but couldn't break through as Fowler continued to parry the shots. Tech outshot BC 13-10 in the period.
BC buries Michigan Tech with big third period
The talent disparity in Boston College's favor started to show in the third period. BC's
Jack Malone corralled a long dump pass and skated around the net before firing a pass to Connor Joyce at the crease for a tap-in to go up 3-1. BC scored again immediately after Will Smith found Oskar Jellvik, who beat Pietila
1-on-1.
Boston College added two more goals from Leonard and Gauthier on a five-minute power play after a game misconduct against MTU's Ryland Mosley in the middle of the third to make it 6-1.
Boston College finished with six goals on 33 shots, while Michigan Tech converted once on 24 shots against Fowler.