CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Behind three-point nights from senior linemates David Cotton and Julius Mattila, sixth-ranked Boston College skated past No. 15 Wisconsin for a 5-3 opening night victory at Kelley Rink on Friday to begin BC's 98th season of men's hockey.
Mattila scored twice in the first period, won 15 of his 26 faceoffs on the night, and finished with nine shots on goal and a plus-3 rating. Cotton was plus-4 in the opener while collecting two assists and a key insurance goal just 35 seconds into the third period.
Rookies Marshall Warren and Matt Boldy each scored his first collegiate goal in the second period, extending the Eagles' lead to 4-1.
Wisconsin responded with back-to-back goals, including Cole Caufield's second of the night, but Cotton's snipe on a no-look pass from Logan Hutsko restored the lead to two in the first minute of the third.
Freshman Spencer Knight (23 saves) posted his first NCAA win in net, making several key pad saves at each post throughout the night.
BC won both the shot (28-26) and faceoff (35-23) battles over Wisconsin, snapping a three-game losing skid in the series.
SCORING
1st 7:15, BC Goal (1-0) | Mattila skated down the right wing immediately following a BC penalty kill and wristed a shot into the far corner to beat Daniel Lebedeff (23 saves) inside the left post
1st 13:07, UW Goal (1-1) | On the power play, Caufield received a pass from Linus Weissbach in the left wing circle and fired a shot into the upper corner to beat Knight on the short side
1st 13:15, BC Goal (2-1) | A deflected puck off Cotton near the post came out to Mattila in the slot, and the junior buried a first-time effort into the left half of the net past an aggressive Lebedeff
2nd 2:43, BC Goal (3-1) | Warren curled on a pinch behind the Wisconsin net and wristed a shot off the far post from a weak angle just above the goal line
2nd 4:22, BC Goal (4-1) | Cotton located a loose puck near the left faceoff dot and centered a feed to Boldy, who settled the puck and snapped a shot glove side on Lebedeff
2nd 8:59, UW Goal (4-2) | Owen Lindmark skated in on Knight from the right wing while shorthanded and trickled the puck through the rookie's pads as it squirted across the goal line
2nd 14:25, UW Goal (4-3) | Caufield netted his second of the night on a backdoor one-timer off another power play feed from Weissbach
3rd 0:35, BC Goal (5-3) | From behind the Badgers' net, Hutsko backhanded a blind pass up the slot for Cotton, who rifled a wrist shot into the upper half of the net
UP NEXT
Boston College travels to face Colgate on Sunday (Oct. 13) at 4 p.m. in Hamilton, New York. The game will air live on ESPN+ and WEEI 850 AM.
