Inside College Hockey | 2004 NCAA Northeast Regional

March 28, 2004
NCAA Tournament | Northeast Regional
The Line of Fire
BC's Eaves-Eaves-Voce trio leads the way to the Frozen Four

By Nate Ewell

Boston College 3, Michigan 2 OT
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-MI	Mike Brown (8)	EV
12:09	A. Burnes
Second Period
1-BC	Tony Voce (29)	PP
9:02	B. Eaves, P. Eaves
2-MI	Andy Burnes (1)	EV
17:01	Unassisted
Third Period
2-BC	Patrick Eaves (18)	EV
15:16	P. Harrold, T. Voce
Overtime
3-BC	Ben Eaves (9)	EV
10:08	P. Eaves, P. Harrold
Goaltending
MI: Al Montoya, 70:08, 42 saves, 3 GA
BC: Matti Kaltiainen, 70:08, 15 saves, 2 GA
Penalties: BC 3/6; MI 4/8
Power Plays: BC 1-3; MI 0-2
Attendance: 8,439
All-Northeast Regional Team
F: Patrick Eaves, Boston College (MVP) F: Brandon Kaleniecki, Michigan F: Ryan Shannon, Boston College D: Andy Burnes, Michigan D: Andrew Alberts, Boston College G: Al Montoya, Michigan

MANCHESTER, N.H. – When Ben Eaves needs to get Tony Voce's attention, he calls out to "T." His brother, Patrick, is saddled with a childhood nickname, "Rat."

But Ben, the centerpiece of what Jerry York calls the best line he's ever coached, has no idea what the other two call him on the ice. Maybe there's something to this sixth sense, know-where-each-other-is-at-all-times stuff after all.

Usually the distributor, Ben wrapped up Sunday's game as the line's finisher, popping his own rebound out of midair past Michigan's Al Montoya 10:08 into overtime. It gave each member of the line a goal in the game, and capped a heroic game for Eaves, who had returned for his first shift back after missing three with cramps in his right quadriceps.

"Right when he came back out, he just looked at me and I knew he was there," said Rat – er, Patrick. "It was the bravest thing I've seen in hockey. He couldn't even bend his leg."

Head coach Jerry York had thought Ben, who was lying underfoot behind the team bench to get treatment, would have to go back to the locker room. You couldn't see him from the far side of the arena, but his teammates – even those guys who always know where he is on the ice – were craning their necks on the bench to check on their leader.

Freshman Brian Boyle did a solid job filling in for Eaves on the top line. Once he got the word that Eaves was ready, however, York flashed a trademark smile and jumped at the chance to reunite his incomparable trio.

"Usually you try to split kids up, you put a kid here and a kid there, but they just seem to mesh so well," York said. "I don't think I've had three like that, all together."

The trio was dominant Sunday, bottling Michigan in its zone for entire shifts throughout the game. In the end, Boston College outshot the Wolverines 45-17, and Eaves, Eaves and Voce accounted for 19 of the 45 shots. They drew two Michigan penalties and combined on a power-play goal by Voce.

But they did their very best work at even strength, generating chances off the rush, but mostly while cycling in the corners, since the puck rarely left the Michigan zone while they were on the ice. They scored the tying goal with 4:44 remaining in the third when Patrick put home a rebound generated from a faceoff play.

York appreciates the players as individuals, but agrees that there's a bit of a sixth sense they have as a group.

"Individually they are really three All-America type players," York said. "When they play together, I think they play off each other very well. You can have three All-Americans who can't play on a line together. These three players really mesh well together. I thought they were outstanding all night tonight."

Related Coverage

ESPN.com: Eagles Survive and Advance
Boston College, Michigan to meet for trip to Frozen Four

CLOSE CALLS

As in almost every overtime situation, the game could have been over – in favor of either team – before Eaves' storybook finish.

Boston College defenseman John Adams took a shot not long before the winner that sailed past Al Montoya's glove, struck the crossbar, then hit Montoya in the back before it was cleared from danger.

But much of the talk after the game was about Michigan's near miss just before that, and the tantalizing – or excruciating – thought of what might have been.

"I still don't know how that did not go in the net," York said of the scramble in front of Matti Kaltiainen. Kaltiainen had flashed a pad out to keep one puck from going in. Defenseman J.D. Forrest swatted one puck away with his glove. Then Kaltiainen robbed Michigan's T.J. Hensick with his glove.

How close was the puck to crossing the line?

"Too close," said Forrest, holding his index fingers just inches apart, close enough for a gimme on any golf course short of the PGA Tour.

INCH's Three Stars of the Weekend

3. Peter Harrold, Boston College
Set up Eaves' overtime winner with a nifty move that wouldn't be expected of him ... except that he had a similar move on a goal yesterday. The only glaring snub on the all-tournament team.

2. Al Montoya, Michigan
His reputation as a playoff goaltender will only grow with his performance this weekend.

1. Ben Eaves, Boston College
His linemates share honors here, but it's Ben who is clearly the catalyst. Sunday he was the finisher, too, with legendary flair.

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE BIG V

• Boston College watched a Bobby Orr highlight film on the bus ride to Durham, and players and coaches compared Eaves' game-winning goal to one they had watched. On the video, Orr had swatted a puck out of the air while his skates were behind the goal line.

It wasn't the only Orr mention of the weekend around the Eagles. The Boston Globe called Peter Harrold's move that set up his goal on Saturday "Orr like" in its Sunday edition. Harrold, when apprised of the compliment, laughed. "I think that's a vast, vast overstatement," he said.

• There was about a seven-minute stretch in the third period played without a whistle, and three sticks (one broken) were on the ice deep in the BC zone almost the entire time. A fourth was lost just before the whistle blew when Brett Peterson had his stick caught between a Wolverines' skate and boot. That stick almost stopped the puck that led to the much-needed icing whistle.

• Both goalies had adventures when wandering from their crease – and both worked in Michigan's favor. The Wolverines' second goal came after Kaltiainen raced after a puck, and poked it away momentarily, but Andy Burnes fired a slapshot into the net before Kaltiainen could get back in position. In the third period, after a Michigan penalty was whistled, Al Montoya was wandering from his crease when he either fell down or was tripped by Andrew Alberts. Despite protests from the BC bench, Alberts was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct and the potential power play was negated.

• Beth Eaves, Ben and Patrick's mother, was at the game with her husband, Mike, the Wisconsin head coach. She drove from Madison (with the family dog in tow), and was in Albany last night to watch her husband's Badgers fall to Maine in overtime. When asked if she could find a dog sitter and spring for a flight to Boston she replied, "I hope so!"

• Think Boston College got rattled at all when Michigan took a 1-0 lead? Think again. "The other team, they are allowed to score goals too," head coach Jerry York said Saturday, after Niagara had taken an early lead in the first round game. BC is 10-7-1 this year when its opponent scores first.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

Despite New Hampshire's loss on Saturday, an impressive crowd turned out for Sunday's game, comparable in size to the Michigan-UNH game.

Andy Burnes, Michigan's captain and only senior, had a memorable end to his college career. He had just two assists through the first 38 games of the year, but notched a goal and an assist on Sunday.

Ben Eaves wasn't the only person who played through pain Sunday. A puck left the ice at one point and struck ESPN rinkside reporter Sherry Skalko in the forehead. Skalko got a significant bump on the head, but kept working. No doubt a baseball reporter would have been out for six-to-eight weeks.

Never mind the absence of replays on the scoreboard video screen, which is annoying enough, but somewhat understandable. How about some out-of-town highlights? Sunday afternoon's game in Grand Rapids was on the dish and easily recordable.

WHAT'S NEXT

Boston College advances to the Frozen Four and will meet a familiar foe, Maine, in the 6 p.m. game on April 8 at the FleetCenter. The championship game is assured of pitting the WCHA against Hockey East for the fifth year in a row.

Michigan should return its entire lineup, besides Burnes, next season, unless a player or two leaves early (Jeff Tambellini? Al Montoya?). The guess here is that even without an NHL lockout, those players would return for their junior year – and an outstanding shot at returning to the Frozen Four, if not being the early favorite for a national championship.