BOSTON - Will Smith and Lukas Gustafsson scored third period goals to snap a 1-1 deadlock after 40 minutes and No. 1 Boston College posted a 3-1 Hockey East road victory over Northeastern on Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
The Eagles improved to 12-3-1 (5-2-1 HEA) overall and 5-1-0 in their last six games, while the Huskies dropped to 4-8-1 (1-8-0 HEA).
Gabe Perreault joined Smith and Gustafsson in the scoring column on the night. Perreault and Smith both had multi-point nights with a goal and an assist each, while Jacob Fowler earned his 12th victory in net by stopping 25 of the 26 NU shots he faced.
Northeastern struck first at 16:12 of the first period when Alex Campbell deflected a left point shot from Jackson Dorrington inside the left post from the slot.
The Eagles answered through Perreault 5:45 into the second period following a poke check from Fowler to Smith in the defensive zone. Smith picked out Perreault to spring his linemate on a breakaway, and Perreault deked to his forehand before lifting a shot into the roof of the net blocker side. Fowler collected his first career point with the secondary assist.
BC took the lead for good less than two minutes into the third as Smith followed his own right wing shot and finished from just above the goal line. Aram Minnetian's touch pass earned the rookie defenseman a primary assist on the eventual game-winner.
Gustafsson added an insurance goal at 12:46 as he took a one-handed feed from Oskar Jellvik along the right wing, cut inside to the edge of the crease, and elevated a shot inside the near post to beat Cameron Whitehead (31 saves).
BC was perfect once again on the penalty kill, going 4-for-4 to close the weekend 7-for-7 a man down. The Eagles out-shot the Huskies 34-26, led by a game-high six shots from Cutter Gauthier.
Boston College hosts No. 9 Providence next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. to close the first semester. The top-10 matchup between the Eagles and Friars will air live on NESN.
