NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - No. 2 Boston College men's hockey overcame a two-goal deficit in a 6-4 win over Merrimack at Lawler Arena on Friday night. The Eagles improved to 15-4-1 with the win, while the Warriors dropped to 10-11-1.
Trailing 2-0 after one, BC answered with its first of the night coming three minutes into the second on a shot from the left circle by sophomore Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Gauthier's first of the night came on an assist from junior defenseman Aidan Hreschuk (Long Beach, Calif.). Gauthier finished the night with a hat trick and added an assist.
The Eagles got the game-tying goal late in the second as sophomore defender Lukas Gustafson's (Atlanta, Ga.) ripped a shot toward the goal that was knocked into the net off the rebound by sophomore Andre Gasseau (Garden Grove, Calif.). Gauthier soon followed with his go-ahead goal with less than a minute remaining in the period.
The Boston College offense continued its productivity into the third with an early goal by freshman Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.). Freshman Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) carried the puck up the left side and backhanded a pass to Gustafson, whose shot from the slot was saved and put in the net by Smith.
Leonard added a fifth goal for the Eagles as they increased their lead to 5-2, but the Warriors continued to attack and cut the BC lead to one goal with three and a half minutes to play.
BC freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) faced five shots on net in less than two minutes of action right out of the gate and turned away the first four before MC broke through with a goal by Ethan Bono. The assist came from a Luke Weilandt pass from behind the net.
The Warriors doubled their lead late in the first with a breakaway goal from Ivan Zivlak to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
For the game, Fowler finished with 31 saves. Zachary Borgiel made 35 stops for Merrimack.
SCORING
1st 1:59 MC Ethan Bono (Luke Weilandt)
1st 18:49 MC Ivan Zivlak (Ty Daneault, Mark Hillier)
2nd 3:00 BC Cutter Gauthier (Aidan Hreschuk)
2nd 17:23 BC Andre Gasseau (Lukas Gustafson)
2nd 19:15 BC Gauthier (Gabe Perreault)
3rd 2:32 BC Will Smith ( Gustafson, Ryan Leonard)
3rd 12:39 BC Leonard (Perreault, Gauthier)
3rd 13:08 MC Mark Hillier (Michael Citara)
3rd 16:28 MC Matt Copponi
3rd 19:52 BC Gauthier (Gasseau)
GAME NOTES
- BC snapped a four-game losing streak to Merrimack.
- BC trailed after one for only the fourth time this season and is now 2-1-1 when trailing after the first.
- BC last overcame a two-goal deficit to win Oct. 13 vs. LIU.
- Fowler recorded 31 saves; his third straight game of 30 or more and seventh of the season.
- Gauthier collected his first hat trick of the season to push his season total to 17 goals and lifted his career-best point streak to 10 games.
- Gauthier posted his fourth multi-goal game of the season and first since Nov. 17 vs. Connecticut.
- Gustafson notched his first multi-point and first multi-assist game of the season.
UP NEXT
Boston College hosts Merrimack for Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day at Kelley Rink at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21.
