SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Junior forward Joe Whitney tallied the decisive goal at 11:29 of the third period to lift No. 15 Boston College to a 3-2 win over No. 10 Notre Dame before 2,997 fans at the Joyce Center.
Whitney redirected defenseman Carl Sneep's shot from the center point for his second goal of the season.
BC (1-1-0) scored twice in the second period and once in the third to claim its first victory of the season and coveted Lefty Smith - John "Snooks" Kelley Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the victor of the game between the Eagles and Irish.
Junior goaltender John Muse made 20 saves and Boston College concluded the contest killing a Notre Dame power play. The Eagles finished 8-for-8 in penalty-killing situations.
Down by one goal, senior Ben Smith got the Eagles on the scoreboard at 5:43 of the middle period. The Avon, Conn., resident, redirected freshman defenseman Philip Samuelsson's shot from the point for his first goal of the season.
Junior Brian Gibbons gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead at 9:11 of the second period. He skated through the neutral zone, beat Notre Dame defenseman Eric Ringel, then beat goaltender Brad Phillips (13 saves) in a one-on-one situation.
Gibbons also possessed perhaps BC's best chance of the opening period while skating shorthanded. Gibbons broke from the defensive zone with Ben Smith in a two-on-one situation. After the ND defenseman committed to Smith, Gibbons' breakaway attempt was saved by Phillips.
The host Irish (3-3-0) scored once in each of the first and third periods and outshot the Eagles, 22-16 in the contest.
Junior Calle Ridderwall opened the game's scoring with this third goal of the season at 4:21 of the opening period.
ND junior Ben Ryan tied the game at 2-2 just 11 seconds into the final period.
Next, Boston College will host Merrimack in its home opener on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The Eagles and Warriors will conclude the two-game weekend series on Sunday, Nov. 1 at Merrimack's Lawler Arena on 4 p.m.
Game Notes: Two freshmen - Samuelsson and forward Chris Kreider - both assisted on Smith's second-period goal for their first collegiate points ... With eight penalty kills in the game totaling more than 17 minutes, BC improves to 13-of-14 in penalty-killing situations this season. BC also killed a pair of two-man disadvantages - one for 49 seconds in the first period and one for 16 seconds in the second period ... The Eagles improve to 16-11-2 in the all-time series against the Irish and 4-4-2 in the last 10 meetings. BC is now 7-2-1 in 11 meetings at Notre Dame. BC earned its last victory in South Bend, Ind., on Nov. 10, 2000, by a score of 5-3.