CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - 10th-ranked Boston College dropped a 6-2 final to No. 7 Providence in the Eagles' Hockey East opener on Friday night in front of 6,200 fans at Kelley Rink.
BC fell below .500 at 2-3-0 (0-1-0 HEA), while the Friars improved to 4-1-0 (2-0-0 HEA).
Graham McPhee and Logan Hutsko tallied goals for the Eagles in a five-goal second period. The Friars carried a 4-2 lead into the third and sealed the win with a pair of insurance goals.
Late in a tightly contested first period, Jason O'Neill converted a rebound on the doorstep to give PC a 1-0 advantage.
The teams traded goals twice in the middle frame before Ron Greco was handed a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting O'Neill at 11:29 of the second.
David Cotton took a hooking minor a minute into the major, giving Providence a full two minutes of 5-on-3. Michael Callahan's wrist shot from the high slot beat Spencer Knight (26 saves) glove side to restore the Friars' two-goal lead.
Cotton collected an assist on Hutsko's goal for his 96th career point. The goal was Hutsko's 20th career tally.
BC finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play, while PC was 1-for-4.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 18:35, PC Goal (0-1) | Following a turnover at the BC defensive blue line, Tyce Thompson wristed a shot on target that was kicked out by Knight, but O'Neill pounced on the rebound just outside the crease to open the scoring.
2nd 8:08, PC Goal (0-2) | Albin Nilsson worked the puck above the goal line to the bottom of the right circle, and Matt Koopman's first-time backhand quickly snuck by Knight inside the near post.
2nd 8:40, BC Goal (1-2) | The Friars turned the puck over to McPhee in the slot and he deked backhand to roof a shot past Michael Lackey (26 saves) for an unassisted tally.
2nd 9:01, PC Goal (1-3) | Providence won a draw to Cam McDonald at the center point, and his first-time drive found the right half of the net through a partial screen.
2nd 9:37, BC Goal (2-3) | Cotton was tied up in the slot and the puck rolled to the left goal line for Hutsko, who whipped a shot into the top half of the net from a nearly impossible angle.
2nd 13:15, PC Goal (2-4) | On a 5-on-3 power play, Callahan drifted into the high slot on his forehand and released a wrist shot that beat Knight glove side to the right post.
3rd 9:04, PC Goal (2-5) | Following a faceoff win, Jack Dugan curled around the right circle and took a forehand shot which grazed the back of Knight's helmet and snuck under the crossbar from below the goal line.
3rd 17:16, PC Goal (2-6) | Knight denied Greg Printz on a one-timer in the slot, but Printz located the rebound and buried the loose puck low blocker side.
UP NEXT
The Eagles and Friars close their regular season series next Saturday night at Schneider Arena. On Friday, BC travels to the Whittemore Center to face UNH in Hockey East action on NESN.
