Not even the two best goaltenders in the country could slow down Boston College’s quick-firing offense. Entering the Frozen Four semifinal game, the Miami U. RedHawks boasted the top two goalies in the country in sophomores Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard.
The Eagles simply didn’t care.
BC used relentless speed and lightning-quick shots to pummel top-seeded Miami, 7-1, to advance to the NCAA championship game. Ben Smith scored twice, and Joe Whitney added a goal and two assists to lead the Eagles to a resounding win.
“I thought we played really well on both sides of the puck, both offensively and defensively,” said BC head coach Jerry York. “We were aggressive on offense, but we also blocked a lot of pucks in our own end.”
“Total domination from Boston College,” said Miami head coach Enrico Blasi when asked for an opening comment. “They definitely deserved to win tonight.”
The first period offered a stingy pace of play conducive to the RedHawks’ preferred style of hockey. After only nine combined shots in the first 18 minutes, Smith capitalized on a power play to put BC up 1-0. With Cam Atkinson screening starting goaltender Knapp after winning the faceoff, Smith one-timed a Joe Whitney pass from the blue line.
The period came to an end with Miami leading the shot count, 6-5, and for the most part dictating the state of play.
The second period, however, was much more illustrative of BC hockey. Just over two minutes into the middle frame, the Eagle power play – 11th best in the country at a 20-percent conversion rate – struck again. Two seconds before the penalty ended, the puck bounced high off the boards and to the side of the net off a Brian Dumoulin shot. Pat Mullane picked up the stray puck and sent it over to Jimmy Hayes, standing right in front of Knapp, fired a shot that beat the goaltender for a 2-1 lead.
Just a minute later, Joe Whitney joined the Eagle attack, netting the third goal of the game. Dumoulin cradled the puck at the top of the Miami zone before turning out a nifty spin move to shake his defender. The freshman defenseman fired a laser across the middle of the ice to Joe Whitney at the bottom of the right circle, who fired it past Knapp for a 3-0 lead with 16 minutes to play in the second period.
RedHawks head coach Enrico Blasi had seen enough, replacing Knapp with Reichard. The new goaltender hushed the Eagle offense for the remainder of the second period, and BC goalie John Muse, who improved to a perfect 7-0 with the victory over Miami, matched Reichard save for save, including a fantastic save on a shorthanded breakaway attempt by Andy Miele early in the second period, logging 10 stops after two periods.
“If he scores, then it’s 1-1,” Blasi said. “It’s a different game, no question. You have to capitalize on your opportunities. The fact that we weren’t getting many to that point, and it was early in the second if we scored, it’s a totally different game.”
Sticky Eagle defensemen also pestered RedHawk forwards all night, thwarting offensive breakouts with a swipe of the stick and blocking numerous shots before they could get to Muse.
An aggressive start to the third period for Miami finally allowed the RedHawks to break through five minutes into the third period. Joe Hartman rocketed a slap shot through heavy traffic in front of the net, sending the puck past Muse.
Instead of crumbling, BC responded. Five minutes after Hartman’s goal, Atkinson picked up a feed from Brian Gibbons, who was sandwiched between two defenders in front of the crease, and flashed a pretty backhand five-hole to push the Eagles’ lead to 4-1. Just 34 seconds later, Patch Alber notched the first goal of his career after skating into the zone, picking up a pass from Smith in front of the blue line, and ripping a shot over Reichard’s shoulder. Only a minute later, Paul Carey got in on the act by firing a quick wrister from Reichard’s left after a faceoff, putting BC on top, 6-1, with eight minutes to play.
Smith added his second goal of the game with a little under four minutes to go to cap off the third-period deluge.