Dec. 10, 2016
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Facing a two-goal deficit against third-ranked Boston College following the opening period of play, the University of Notre Dame hockey team put forth a spirited rally in the second 20 minutes. Anders Bjork broke through on the power play and, after an Andrew Oglevie tally tied the game five minutes later, Bjork buried the shorthanded, game-winner for the Irish at 17:30 of the second to lift the 13th/14th- ranked Irish to a 3-2 win over No. 3/4 Boston College on Saturday night at a sold out Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022).
Notre Dame (9-6-2, 5-3-1 Hockey East) handed Boston College (13-6-1, 8-1-1 Hockey East) its first conference defeat of the 2016-17 season. The Irish outshot the Eagles 32-17, including a 21-9 count in shots on goal over the final two periods.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Boston College used first period, power-play goals by David Cotton and Julius Mattila to build a 2-0 lead, though the Irish had several scoring chances including Dawson Cook and Joe Wegwerth hitting the post.
At 9:16 of the second period, Bjork took a pass from Connor Hurley and fired it high past Woll’s blocker to get the Irish on the board with a power-play tally. Joe Wegwerth also assisted on the play.
Oglevie then leveled the score at 2-2 at 14:57 of the middle frame. After Cam Morrison dug a puck out from along the boards, Jake Evans sent a centering feed towards Oglevie, who wheeled and slapped a low shot past Woll for his eighth goal of the season.
Bjork’s game winner came at 17:30 of the second. Flying through the offensive zone with Oglevie on a two-on-one, Bjork faked the pass and then fired home his 12th goal of the season. It was his second career shorthanded tally.
In the Notre Dame goal, Cal Petersen finished with 15 saves, including a game-saving stop on David Cotton with under a minute to play in the third period.
Boston College goaltender Joseph Woll totaled 29 saves on the night.
Notre Dame finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while Boston College was 2-for-4.
COACH JACKSON’S THOUGHTS
On the slow start to the game …
“I thought we started a little slow tonight again and to get behind two goals I think that once we scored that first goal in the second period we started playing with speed again and trying to possess the puck. That’s the only way you’re going to have success against a team like that. I thought we did a much better job of coming out of our zone with speed and coming through the neutral zone with speed. In the first period … we were circling back and going back and D-to-D and back to defensive zone and I thought once we straightened that out we started possessing the puck better.”
On the shorthand goal and shorthanded chances …
“We’ve got guys with speed on the penalty just like they do. They lead the country in shorthanded goals. For us it is a matter of we want to play aggressively. If we have that opportunity, yeah, it makes a big difference when it comes to speed. With guys like Anders [Bjork] and Jake Evans, those guys can skate and we need them. Jack Jenkins, all those guys, we want them to be able to kill the penalty first and then they can attack.”
On Bjork’s performance …
“I thought he was awesome. He played like an All-American in the second and third periods. I thought the whole team was slow in the first period, but in the second period he turned it up a notch that’s when he breaks it down with his speed.”
On their mindset…
“It was good for our confidence we had a really up and down first half and I think we were confused tonight. We started like it was the first night and then we started like it was the second night. We just got confused early on. The crowd and the environment, I wish it could be like that every night, the band and the students were phenomenal the crowd was great environment.”
On the Boston College rivalry …
“The first time we played them in this building was one of the most memorable games in this building but this was close, this was a good game. I have so much respect for what they do and for Jerry [York]. They have a great program and they know how to win.”
On playing Boston College …
“We were really excited coming into this game and the atmosphere was great. It got us amped up and I think we said before the game, we were just talking to the guys and saying we have to leave it all out there. This is a huge game for us. We need more momentum going into the second half and that’s what we did tonight and hopefully we’ll carry that one over and keep this going.”
On his shorthand goal …
“I actually wanted to pass. I kind of opened up and wanted to feed [Andrew] Oglevie because he’s got a great one-timer but the defender faked like he was going to take away the pass so i just shot it so at least I would get a shot on net. But I wanted Oglevie shooting, he’s got a better shot than me.”
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish are now off for the remainder of the semester. Notre Dame will open the second half of the season with a home series against Alaska on Dec. 31 (4:05 p.m.) and Jan. 1 (2:05 p.m.).
To purchase tickets visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
NOTRE DAME – BOSTON COLLEGE GAME NOTES
- Junior goaltender Cal Petersen made his 67th-consecutive start in the Notre Dame net.
- Jordan Gross skated in his 96th-consecutive game, dating back to the first game of his freshman season.
- Notre Dame improved to 6-0-0 when leading after two periods of play this season.
- The Irish handed Boston College its first Hockey East loss of the season.
- Notre Dame’s win was just Boston College’s fifth loss over the last five years when leading after one period (54-5-8).
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).