MANCHESTER, N.H. - No. 1 seeded Boston College scored twice in the final 1:17 of the game to claim a 3-1 victory over No. 16 seed Bentley on Friday afternoon in the NCAA Regional Semifinal at SNHU Arena. Gabe Perreault, James Hagens, and Ryan Leonard each lit the lamp for the Eagles. Aram Minnetian, Drew Fortescue, Aidan Hreschuk, Leonard, and J. Hagens all finished with one assist, while Jacob Fowler posted 20 saves.
BC improves to 27-7-2 overall, while Bentley drops to 23-15-2.
Boston College opened the scoring late in the first period when Perreault shifted his way around the Bentley goaltender and tucked home his shot for the lead. J. Hagens skated into the offensive zone with the puck before finding Leonard in the slot. Leonard quickly found Perreault to put the Eagles out in front before the first intermission.
Bentley tallied the equalizer early in the second frame when Ethan Leyh scored on the power play with a shot that snuck past Fowler.
As the clock ran down in the third period with overtime on the horizon, the Eagles took the lead for good with 1:17 remaining in the third period. Minnetian's shot went past the Bently net, but J. Hagens was there to pick up the loose puck and quickly made the wrap-around to the other side of the net for the game winner.
The Falcons pulled their goaltender in search of the equalizer, and Leonard sealed the game with an empty net goal with 32 seconds left. Bentley goaltender Connor Hasley made 42 saves.
SCORING
1st 16:45 BC Gabe Perreault (Ryan Leonard, James Hagens)
2nd 3:21 BEN Ethan Leyh (Stephen Castagna, Nick Bochen) - PP
3rd 18:43 BC James Hagens (Aram Minnetian, Drew Fortescue)
3rd 19:28 BC Ryan Leonard (Aidan Hreschuk) - ENG
GAME NOTES
- Boston College improves to 53-44 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
- BC is now 16-3 all-time in first round games of the NCAA Tournament
- The Eagles improve to 6-0-2 all-time in Manchester
- Boston College is now 4-0-1 this season when the game is tied entering the third period
- Eamon Powell played in 169th career game today, tying Rob Scuderi for the most in program history
- Ryan Leonard scored his 30th goal of the season, marking the first time since Cam Atkinson did so in 2009-10 and 2010-11 that a player scored 30 goals in back-to-back seasons
- Leonard extended his point streak to 17 games, the longest in the country
- Gentry Shamburger hit the century mark for career games played
- Gabe Perreault scored his 16th goal of the season
- James Hagens picked up his 26th assist of the year
- Drew Fortescue recorded his 11th assist of the season
- Aram Minnetian tallied his 13th assist of the campaign
- Aidan Hreschuk picked up his seventh assist of the year
UP NEXT
Boston College will play the winner of Providence vs. Denver in the NCAA Regional Final on Sunday at 7 p.m. The game will be available to watch live on ESPN2.
