BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont earned its first win over a ranked opponent in the Todd Woodcroft era Friday night rallying from behind 3-0 to defeat No. 9 Boston College 5-4 in overtime from Gutterson Fieldhouse in the Catamounts Hockey East opener. Philip Lagunov scored two goals including the game-winner three minutes into overtime to earn two valuable Hockey East points for Vermont.
COACH'S QUOTE
"One of first lessons in hockey you learn when you play in the playoffs is to never quit, ever," said Head Coach Todd Woodcroft. "Tonight, the team demonstrated that we will stay in every fight - there was never a doubt that the players would battle until the end and through multiple momentum swings, they showed a character that is beginning to reveal itself."
"We as coaches were pleased with almost every aspect of this match," continued Woodcroft. "Our goaltending was excellent. Our specialty teams were excellent. Contributions from all lines made the game exciting to watch. Another lesson in hockey is that you never get too high from the wins or too low from the losses. We enjoyed that victory briefly and must return even stronger tomorrow because we will get the best from a worthy opponent."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a tight first period Boston College broke the game open with goals from Jack St. Ivany and Patrick Giles 2:18 apart. Just 44 seconds into the second period BC's Jack McBain extended his season-opening point streak with his third goal of the season to give the Eagles a commanding three-goal edge.
- The Catamounts answered right back, first year Simon Jellus scored his first career goal just 59 seconds after McBain's tally to start a UVM run of its own. Jellus took a feed from Cody Schiavon and skated into the BC zone cutting to the left before firing back towards his right beating BC's Eric Dop.
- Vermont struck again on the power play 89 seconds later. A UVM point shot was blocked in front of the net but Jacques Bouqout was able to tap it back to Robbie Stucker who one-timed a floater towards the crease. In flight, the puck caromed off Lagunov and in for his second goal of the season. The play was reviewed by the officials but stood.
- UVM completed its comeback with 4:37 left in the middle frame. Luca Münzenberger carried the puck from the UVM zone through the neutral zone gaining speed and blowing by a couple of BC defenders. As he cut to the net he fed a backhand pass to Dallas Comeau who redirected it past Dop to tie the game at three. Andrew Lucas also earned an assist on the game-tying goal.
- UVM's power play clicked again 90 seconds into the third period to give UVM its first lead of the night. First year Isak Walther picked up his first career goal as an Andrew Lucas point shot hit William Lemay in front of the net and came right to Walther in the slot. With Dop in recovery mode Walther was able to snap a quick shot past him.
- BC equalized with 6:26 left in regulation. A UVM defender blocked a shot by Sam Sternschein but the rebound came right to Giles who scored his second of the night with a quick release through traffic that UVM's Gabe Carriere never saw.
- Joel Määttä almost ended the game in regulation on a rush into the BC zone in the dying seconds. William Lemay floated a puck to the neutral zone and Will Zapernick left it for Määttä who rang a shot off the crossbar with 35 seconds left.
- BC appeared to win the contest in overtime with what would've been Giles hat trick goal but the play was waved off for goaltender interference. On the next BC rush up ice BC's Marshall Warren wiped out Carriere cutting to the middle and was called for charging. Setting up a golden opportunity for UVM on the power play with 2:28 left in regulation.
- UVM would need only 28 seconds with the extra skater advantage to score its third power play tally of the game. Lagunov redirected a Cory Babichuk point shot past Dop to seal UVM's first win of the 2021-22 campaign.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore goaltender Gabe Carriere earned his first career win making a career-high 39 saves.
- First year forwards Simon Jellus and Isak Walther scored their first career goals for the Catamounts. Classmate Luca Münzenberger also picked up his first career point with an assist.
- This was the first win under Coach Woodcroft when the Catamounts trailed after one period.
- Tonight, was Vermont's first win over a team ranked in the top-10 since defeating No. 9 Providence 3-1 on February 1, 2019.
- It was also Vermont's first overtime win since defeating Merrimack on January 26, 2019.
- Tonight, was Philip Lagunov's fourth career game-winning goal.
- Vermont earned its first win in the series with the Eagles since March 12, 2016 in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. BC had won nine straight contests before tonight.
- Tonight, was the first time UVM's scored three power play goals in a game since December 29, 2018 against RPI.
WHO'S NEXT
Vermont and No. 9 Boston College are back at it tomorrow night for Halloween at the Gut. Action is set for 7 p.m. and kids are encouraged to wear their costumes. The game will be streamed lived on CollegeSportsLive.com
