BC’s third-period comeback sinks UMaine Eagles halt Black Bear streak

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ORONO – A remarkable streak came to a dramatic end Sunday afternoon. The University of Maine’s Black Bear hockey team, 110-0-6 when taking a lead into the third period since a 5-4 loss to Northern Michigan on Dec. 30, 2001, saw Boston College received third-period…
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ORONO – A remarkable streak came to a dramatic end Sunday afternoon.

The University of Maine’s Black Bear hockey team, 110-0-6 when taking a lead into the third period since a 5-4 loss to Northern Michigan on Dec. 30, 2001, saw Boston College received third-period goals from Brian Boyle and Joe Rooney to tie it before Rooney won it with 52 seconds left in overtime 4-3.

“It’s not a stat you want to be part of,” said Maine sophomore goalie Ben Bishop, who finished with 28 saves including 13 of the Grade-A [high-percentage] variety.

BC is now 7-3-1 overall, 4-1-1 in Hockey East. Maine is 8-2-1, 3-2-1 (HE) while losing its second straight.

“It was a lack of focus, defensively,” said Maine senior center Michel Leveille, whose second goal of the game, 2:59 into the third period, extended Maine’s lead to 3-1.

“This was an awesome effort by everybody,” said BC senior center and captain Boyle, who had two assists to go with his goal.

Boyle began the comeback 7:14 into the third period.

Rooney took a seemingly harmless snap shot from the top of the left circle that Bishop kicked out routinely. However, Maine defenseman Matt Duffy, who was facing Bishop, had the puck hop over his stick and the 6-foot-7 Boyle used his long reach to capitalize.

“I was surprised it went in. I was behind [Duffy] and the puck bounced a little bit on him. I just whacked it. I just had my top hand on my stick and it went in the middle of the net,” said Boyle.

Bishop said he let up when the rebound went to Duffy.

“I figured [Duffy] would chip it out of the zone. I think Boyle kind of surprised him. He knocked it off his stick and into the far side,” said Bishop.

Three minutes later, BC goalie Cory Schneider kept his Eagles within one when he robbed Wes Clark just beyond the top of his crease. Mike Lundin pinpointed a pass from the corner to Schneider’s right.

“When I saw the puck go to the middle, I knew somebody had to be there. I got my stick on the ice and my pad down. I don’t think he got the best wood on it, my stick was in the right place and I got a piece of it,” said Schneider, who wound up with 24 stops, 8 being Grade-A’s.

“I tried to go five-hole. He made a great save,” said Clark.

Rooney tied it with 5:56 left after Maine’s Brent Shepheard overskated the puck in the neutral zone. Rooney eventually gained control of it before splitting Bear defensemen Lundin and Simon Danis-Pepin and beating Bishop in a one-on-one.

“Brian [Boyle] made a great play by going wide and taking a defenseman with him. That gave me a little lane between the defensemen,” said Rooney. “[Bishop] kind of surprised me. He came out pretty far and when I picked my head up, I saw some room over his shoulder and I beat him glove side.”

Bishop said, “He made a great shot. It hit the cross bar and went in. He walked through our entire team. That never should have happened.”

“We weren’t as defensive-minded with the two-goal lead as we should have been and it cost us,” said Maine senior center Mike Hamilton.

Rooney’s game-winner came off a well-conceived passing sequence that started with a defensive zone face-off after BC coach Jerry York taken a time-out to rest his top line of Rooney, Boyle and Ben Ferriero.

Defenseman Mike Brennan carried the puck out of the zone and got it to Boyle, who then dropped it for Ferriero and raced to the net front.

Ferriero slid it across the slot to the wide open Rooney and he calmly roofed it into the vacant net before Bishop could scramble over.

“I had the whole net to shoot at,” said Rooney.

Maine coach Tim Whitehead said “we had guys back but they didn’t pick up their guys coming into the zone.”

Leveille opened the scoring with a screened blast from the midpoint 17:10 into the first period but speedster Nathan Gerbe answered 41 seconds later the power play by taking a Boyle feed and pulling the puck around Bishop.

EAGLES 4, BLACK BEARS 3 (OT)

Boston College (7-3-1) 1 0 2 1 – 4

Maine (8-2-1) 1 1 1 0 – 3

First period – 1. Maine, Leveille 10 (Danis-Pepin, Purcell), 17:10; 2. BC, Gerbe 6 (Boyle, Bertram), 17:51. Penalties: BC, Filangieri, tripping, 3:02; BC, Boyle, interference, 13:44; Maine, Hopson, charging, 11:49; BC, Orpik, contact to head-roughing, 15:21; Maine, Soares, hitting from the behind, 16:21; Maine, Soares, roughing, 20:00; BC, Ferriero, roughing, 20:00

Second period – 3. Maine, Hamilton 2 (Leveille, Soares), 11:47 (pp). Penalties: Maine, Hamilton, boarding, 8:43; BC, Brennan, kneeing, 11:03; BC, Bertram, contact head-elbowing, 15:51; BC, Filangieri, slashing, 17:35; Maine, Bellamy, roughing, 20:00

Third period – 4. Maine, Leveille 11 (Ryan, Bellamy), 2:59; 5. BC, Boyle 5 (Rooney), 7:14; 6. BC, Rooney 3 (unassisted), 14:04. Penalties: Maine, Leveille, interference, 3:40; Maine, Shepheard, roughing and cross-checking, 19:53; BC, Brennan, double minor for roughing, 19:53

Overtime – 7. BC, Rooney 4 (Boyle, Ferriero), 4:08. Penalties: Maine, Soares, 10-minute misconduct, 3:54

Shots on goal: BC 7-10-11-4-32; Maine 8-10-7-2-27

Goaltenders: BC, Schneider (27 shots-24 saves); Maine, Bishop (32-28)

Power-play opportunities: BC 1 of 5, Maine 1 of 6

High-percentage scoring chances: BC 4-7-7-4-22; Maine 3-7-3-0-13

Attendance: 5,450


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