CHESTNUT HILL –No. 15 ranked Boston College needed a get right game after enduring last weekend’s distressful series sweep by Providence.
The Eagles began their run up to the Beanpot with a 5-2 victory over New Hampshire on Friday night at Conte Forum. BC improved to 12-8-1 and 8-5-0 in Hockey East while UNH dropped to 11-11-0 and 7-6-0. BC and UNH will play the rematch on Saturday night (7) at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H.
“It was nice to get back in the win column,” said BC coach Greg Brown. “We knew we needed a good response after last week and I think our heads were in the right spot, but I thought we got a little too cute with pucks in the first and a little bit in the second.
“It looked more like the hockey that we wanted to play in the third. The guys have a good feel for when we play fast and try not get too greedy with the puck. Good things are happening.”
To facilitate the get right process, Brown made significant alterations to his top lines that involved two Boston Bruins first round draft picks.
Dean Letounreau was inserted into the middle of the top line with Jake Sondreal and Will Vote on the flanks. James Hagens was placed at left wing on the second line alongside center Andre Gasseau and right-wing Oscar Hemming. Gasseau centered the third line against Providence.
“We are still searching and you add two new pieces,” said Brown. “There have been glimpses of combinations that we really like and some other ones that haven’t so I thought tonight Gasseau’s line with James and Hemming did a nice job.
“Individually the guys are playing well but we still haven’t found those combinations that just click. We will keep experimenting but we like our depth and we have a lot of good options.”
One of Brown’s moves panned out at 1:39 of the first period. Junior defense Aram Minnetian fired a slap shot through a screen that Gasseau redirected by UNH goalie Kyle Chauvette for his third of the season. The good vibe soon evaporated when UNH junior right wing Nick Ring of Hingham tied the game 1-1 on the power play at 2:56.
“I thought we started great and it is always nice to get out with a quick goal,” said Brown.
BC went ahead 2-1 with Hagens and Letourneau collaborating on a tic tac toe power play goal at 5:54. Freshman defenseman Luka Radivojevic made a dish down low to Hagens at the bottom of the left circle.
Hagens feigned a shot and made a quick relay to Letourneau, who fired a one-time slap shot from the top of the right circle for his 12th of the season. Hagens and Letourneau were added to the Hobey Baker Award watch list on Wednesday.
“They are awesome to get on the ice with and they make passes so quick,” said Letourneau. “I thought James was shooting that puck but he made a hell of a pass. I thought I would just shoot it and it went 5-hole.”
UNH tied the game 2-2 at 4:36 of the second when center Cy Leclerc collected a long rebound and wristed the puck under the crossbar on BC goalie Louka Cloutier’s stick side for his third of the season.
BC went up 3-2 at 8:55 when Letourneau’s centering pass set up Sondreal for an easy tip in on the UNH crease. The tally was Sondreal’s seventh of the season.
BC went up 4-2 at 2:30 of the third when Hagens forced a neutral zone turnover, advanced the puck to the right circle, and fired a pinpoint top shelf wrist shot inside the far post for his 11th of the season. Letourneau scored his second on an empty netter at 18:37.
“I thought James had a good game tonight,” said Brown. “Puck possession is his real strength and he was able to keep the puck in the offensive zone and in the neutral zone and create a few plays.
“The pass on the power play on Dean’s goal was really alert. He found Dena and he put it in the right spot where Dean could one-time it.”
