DURHAM, N.H. - The No. 1 Boston College men's hockey team pulled away late for a 5-3 win at No. 17 New Hampshire at the Whittemore Center on Friday night. The Eagles won their 11th straight league game to improve to 26-5-1 overall and 18-3-1 in Hockey East.
BC never trailed in the contest, but the Wildcats had an answer for every Eagle score until the final lead change of the night.
UNH (17-13-1, 10-10-1 HEA) stayed out of the penalty box until late in the third with the score tied 3-3. BC took advantage with its top unit on the ice and netted the game-winning goal; the second of the night for freshman Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.). Sophomore Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who scored twice on the night, sent a pass from left to right in the offensive zone to set up Leonard for the goal.
Leonard created the first goal of the night, skating through the left circle and firing an off-balance shot into the back of the net. UNH evened the game just over three minutes later as Kristpas Skrastins scored, unassisted, at the 7:21 mark of the first period.
Early in the second, Gauthier put the Eagles back in front as he skated past the Wildcat defense, wrapped around the net and slid the puck into an open net from the right side. Again, UNH found the equalizer in short time as Nikolai Jenson scored to even the score at 2-2 4:31 into the frame.
After a clean first period, BC was the first side to concede a power play at the 6:37 mark of the second for too many men on the ice. Freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) turned away both shots that reached the net as the top penalty kill unit in the country kept the Wildcats out of the net on the first man-advantage of the night.
BC and UNH continued to go goal-for-goal into the third period. The Eagles took their third lead of the night on Gauthier's second score of the night. Freshman Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) won a faceoff from the left dot to Gauthier on his right, who one-timed a shot into the back of the net. For the third time in the game, the Wildcats displayed a quick ability to bounce back. This time it was Colton Huard lighting the lamp just over two minutes later to knot the score at 3-3 at the 13:24 mark.
For the game, New Hampshire outshot Boston College 31-23. Fowler totaled 28 saves in the win, while Jakob Hellsten made 18 saves for the Wildcats.
SCORING
1st 4:05 BC Ryan Leonard (Oskar Jellvik, Charlie Leddy)
1st 7:21 UNH Kristaps Skrastins
2nd 2:51 BC Cutter Gauthier (Will Smith, Eamon Powell)
2nd 4:31 UNH Nikolai Jenson (Alex Gagne, Cy LeClerc)
3rd 11:23 BC Gauthier (Smith)
3rd 13:24 UNH Colton Huard (Nick Ring, Morgan Winters)
3rd 16:49 BC Leonard (Gauthier, Smith) - PP
3rd 19:14 BC Jaime Armstrong (Mike Posma) - EN
GAME NOTES
- BC has won 11 games in a row in Hockey East play; the longest streak by a Hockey East team since the Eagles' 12-game win streak in 2012-13.
- Gauthier scored his NCAA-leading 30th and 31st goals of the season. He is the first Eagle since Johnny Gaudreau (2013-14) to score 30 or more in a season.
- Leonard extended his point streak to 14 games.
- Leonard scored his 24th and 25th goals of the season; the fifth most all-time by a BC freshman.
- Smith extended his NCAA-leading point streak to 18 games.
- Smith's 53 points lead the NCAA and are fourth most in a season by a freshman as he passed Joe Whitney (2007-08).
UP NEXT
Boston College hosts UNH for its "Senior Day" game Sunday at 5 p.m.
