It was like a three-act play: A sleepy first period, a nasty second period, and a wild third period.
Despite facing late resistance, No. 14 Boston College kept its composure through the final curtain call, besting No. 12 Providence 3-2 in front of 7,389 at Conte Forum on Friday night.
Zach Sanford pounded home the game-winner on a rebound from Jon Gillies (33 saves) in the third period to reclaim the lead after Providence had erased a 2-0 deficit.
Sanford’s line with Alex Tuch and Adam Gilmour produced the best chances on the evening, with a hand in all three BC goals.
“They’re playing bigger than they were earlier in the season,” Eagles coach Jerry York noted after the game. “They’re using their bodies better, they’re over the puck better. We’ve taking the cuteness out of their games and making them harder and stronger players. They’ve still got a lot of skill, but they’re using their size a lot better.”
Even before the Sanford goal, that trio burrowed its way to the Providence goal line on multiple occasions, forcing Gillies to deflect a barrage of chances early in the period.
Defensively, the Eagles won battles along the walls and limited the Friars to just 11 shots through two periods. Thatcher Demko’s 23 saves may not have been plentiful, but especially in the final five minutes with the Friars pressing were equally as vital.
“We’re just a real physical team,” York added. “You look at [Steve] Santini, [Mike] Matheston and [Ian] McCoshen, we’re really deep and hard on the back end. We’ve talked about our identity as a playoff team. From the blue line on back, we’re really strong — big kids, big, opportunistic defensemen.”
One week after the Friars’ power play exploded for five goals in two games, tonight the power play dried up, going 0-5 on the night with just two shots.
“Our power play struggled against their kill,” said Friars coach Nate Leaman. “I thought that was the story of the game. If you’re going to win on the road, you’ve got to win with special teams … I thought they jumped us, and they were winning the battles, particularly low in their zone and faceoffs.”
Apropos of the Friars’ struggles to convert on the night, BC cashed in right after a penalty kill 2:36 into the second period, with Gilmour slipping the puck ahead to Tuch down the left wing, who buried the wrist shot under Jon Gillies’ right pad.
The game became nastier as the night wore on, mostly with Providence engaging the Eagles in more physical play along the boards. A scrap broke out at the 15:17 mark in the second when Ian McCoshen and Ross Mauermann wrestled one another to the ground while the other eight skaters were locked in a tangle of pushes and shoves mere feet away at center ice.
Even though Providence had a spring in their step following the mayhem, they couldn’t convert it into better scoring chances.
“There was a lot of stuff going on on the ice,” Leaman added. “It was an emotional game in the second half of the season, and a big game in the league.”
Noah Hanifin doubled the Eagles’ lead to start the third period with a slick goal started on the rush by Sanford, who squeezed the puck through two PC back checkers and got it to Hanifin, who finished it on the backhand to make it 2-0 BC, 4:24 into the third period.
Providence rallied to tie the game within a four-minute span after an arcing shot from Kyle McKenzie fluttered over Demko’s left shoulder and a Shane Luke wrist shot that dribbled through five-hole, but BC came right back to land Sanford’s game-winner less than three minutes later.
It was the Eagles’ third straight victory and ninth in 11 games as they enter Monday’s Beanpot semifinal against idle Northeastern.
“We played what I call ‘kids hockey’ early in the season,” York said. “And we’re playing what I call a man’s game now.”
