Boston University defenseman Aram Minnetian slams University of Massachusetts forward Ryan Rautenbach to the ice during the Hockey East semifinals on Friday in Boston. BC won 8-1. (Staff photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
Boston College extended its winning streak to 11 games with an explosive performance Friday in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden.
The No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Eagles had six different skaters score a semifinal-record eight consecutive goals and cruised to an 8-1 win over No. 13 UMass in the opener.
The Eagles improved to 30-5-1 and 21-3-1 in the Hockey East and will face the winner of Boston University and Maine for their 12th tournament win and first since 2012. . The Minutemen fell to 20-13-3 and 12-11-2 and are now a bubble team qualifying for the NCAA Field of 16 Tournament.
“Obviously it's great to be the No. 1 seed, but we talked about the new season being single-elimination,” said BC freshman center Will Smith, who finished with one goal and three assists.
“So we go into every game feeling like we’re not the No. 1 seed because it’s a battle every night.”
UMass took a 1-0 lead with a clean entry into the BC zone at 6:33 of the first. Defenseman Scott Morrow led right winger Ryan Rautenbach down the boards to the half wall and fed the puck to Lucas Mercury at the top of the circle. Mercuri, a Carolina Hurricanes draft pick from Montreal, beat the high stick side of BC freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler (27 saves) for his ninth wrister of the season.
At 8:02, BC scored the tying goal on a power play. The Eagles' cycle game was in full effect when Cutter Gauthier slipped the puck along the blue line to Smith for a slapper from the left point. Goaltender Michael Froebel made the stop, but Amherst freshman right wing Ryan Leonard flicked the rebound in for his 27th of the season.
Massachusetts contested a violation for missed contact to the head by BC center Mike Posma early in the game. As a result of the review, Posma was given a five-minute major with 5 minutes, 26 seconds remaining. BC entered the game with one of the nation's best penalty kills with an 89.8% success rate, allowing the Eagles to quell extended threats. UMass ended the first game with his 9-5 advantage in shots on goal.
“You need depth on the penalty kill, and being able to go three or four deep helps a lot, especially when you're getting five minutes of major time,” said BC coach Greg Hockey Coach of the Year.・Brown said.
“I think it was a good momentum change for us. When we cleared the five-minute penalty, that's a long time for shorthanded and it gave us a boost.”
BC took a 2-1 lead on a play started by freshman left winger Gabe Perreault and ended at 4:41 of the second game. Perreault, the Rangers' 2023 first-round draft pick, won a puck battle on the end boards and passed to Leonard at the appropriate point. Hrabal stopped Leonard's slapper, but Perreault tucked the rebound inside the near post for his 16th of the season.
BC made it 3-1 with a goal from right winger Andre Gasseau at 6:43 of the second. Leonard scrambled for the puck behind the Massachusetts goal and backhanded the puck to Gasseau, who hit Hrabal at the near post for his 11th win of the season.
“You have to do your best against that team, and we were nowhere near there to begin with,” University of Massachusetts coach Greg Carvel said. “I told the players this week that we have to get off to a good start in this game, but I don't know what to make of this game.”
BC scored two goals in the 16th minute of the second half to shake off the game. Smith, a Hockey Baker Award finalist and first-round pick of the Sharks, converted Leonard's rebound for his 19th of the season. Gauthier, a Hobey Baker finalist and first-round pick of the Ducks, made the first of two with a wrist shot to put the Eagles up 5-1 at 16:49.
“These eight goals didn't just come from big, super highlight reel plays,” Gauthier said. “Those things came from little things like winning puck battles and making smart plays, and I think we did that throughout the 60 minutes.
“I thought today was a great example of not looking at the scoreboard and playing to our identity and focusing on the small details.”
BC took an 8-1 lead into the third inning on goals from defenseman Aram Minnetian, Perrault and Gauthier, who led the nation in points with 34 points.
