DURHAM, N.H. - Freshman netminder Casey DeSmith (Rochester, N.H.) turned away a career-high 34 shots and senior Mike Borisenok (Watervliet, N.Y.) scored an equalizer late in the second period to ultimately send the game into overtime, but the University of New Hampshire men's ice hockey team fell in overtime to No. 7 Boston College, 3-2, Saturday evening at the Whittemore Center.
Barry Almeida scored the game winner goal, a power play goal, off the rebound of a Tommy Cross shot at 3:27 of overtime.
With the loss, the Wildcats drop to 9-14-2 overall and 6-11-1 in Hockey Easy play, while the Eagles improve to 16-10-1 on the season and 12-7-1 in league play. UNH has now dropped four one-goal games including three in overtime in the month of January.
DeSmith's night was highlighted by a 19-save effort in the second period, while Parker Milner registered 31 saves in between the pipes for the Eagles.
Boston College opened up the scoring in the fourth minute of the contest, as Edwin Shea skated into Wildcat territory and sent a pass across the ice to Barry Almeida, who tipped a one-timer to the top right corner of the net for the 1-0 advantage. Bill Arnold was also credited with an assist on the play.
New Hampshire responded not long after with a power play equalizer early in the ninth minute of play. While on the offensive, sophomore Nick Sorkin (Rockville, Md.) was under pressure on the boards, but managed to sneak a pass between a pair of closing Eagles to junior Brett Kostolansky (Denver, Colo.), who blasted a shot past the glove of Milner. Sophomore Kevin Goumas (Long Beach, N.Y.) fed Sorkin to develop the play and was credited with an assist.
Boston College answered back later in the period with a go-ahead tally in the 17th minute as Chris Kreider fielded a pass from Micheal Sit and sent a shot over the shoulder of DeSmith for the 2-1 advantage.
The second stanza featured three successful penalty kills by UNH, including a momentum-shifting 5-on-3 kill early in the period, before the Wildcats netted the equalizer in the 19th minute of action. On one of UNH's last attacks of the period, sophomore Justin Agosta (East Meadow, N.Y.) floated a pass in front of the Eagle net, where Borisenok was perfectly perched to tip in the one-timer and even the score at 2-2 with 1:12 left on the clock.
The two teams were evenly matched in the scoreless third stanza as Boston College won the shot battle by a slim 10-9 margin, while UNH's best chance came on a power play, when a one-timer from Goumas in front of the net was kicked away by Milner.
Once in overtime, a tripping penalty set up the Eagles with a power play opportunity in the third minute as Almeida fielded a rebound and buried the game-winner with 1:33 left on the clock.
Overall, New Hampshire was 1-for-6 on the power play to Boston College's 1-for-4 effort with the man-advantage, while BC outshot UNH by a 37 to 33 margin.
The Wildcats return to action next weekend for a home-and-home series against Providence College. UNH will host the Friars on Friday, Feb. 3 when they play host to Providence College at 7:30 p.m. at the Whittemore Center. The game will be aired on CBS Sports. Tickets for the Providence game and all remaining UNH home games are available at unhwildcats.com.