Chestnut Hill, MA.- Boston College used two quick first period goals by Paul Carey and Pat Mullane to go up by two in the first eight minutes. From there they never looked back and defeated Vermont 5-1. Vermont played a strong game from start to finish and gave BC all the trouble that they could have asked for but it was not to be as Boston College used their speed to perfection.

Despite a good defensive effort by Vermont, Boston College was just too strong. HT Lenz scored late in the first period to give UVM hope at 2-1 going into the second period. It was there that Barry Almeida scored a goal midway through to make it 3-1. He scored his second of the night, one of the prettiest goals a hockey fan will ever see, midway through the third period to clinch the victory for BC, at 4-1. Steven Whitney added an empty net goal to make it 5-1, which would hold to the end of the game.

Boston College with the win moved one step closer to clinching the league regular season title but they will still need a win or a tie on Saturday night to do so. With Boston University’s win down the road at Agganis, Boston University still has a chance if Vermont were to take game two tomorrow night against the Eagles, as Boston University holds the tiebreaker. With the win Boston College stays in a tie for second place in the Pairwise rankings. These are ever changing so check out the Pairwise page for all the updates as games go final.

What I saw

-Boston College was clearly the better skating team from the get go and it seemed as though BC would run away with the game early but the Catamounts stayed in the game until midway through the third period, where BC scored a clinching fourth goal off the stick of Barry Almeida. The goal was Almeida’s second of the night and 21^st on the season. He has come alive for the Eagles late in the season and in this game he put Boston College on his shoulders to seal the win late in the game.

-Vermont played one of their best defensive games of the year, despite giving up five goals. Considering what Boston College has done to opponents in recent weeks, giving up only 27 shots seems to be good effort for the first seed against a team that is out of the playoffs. Despite having no chance at the playoffs Vermont continues to show fight and effort. The first and second periods were especially impressive, albeit they could not generate any offense, only three grade A’s

What I thought

-Boston College needed the win and Vermont did not. It seemed as though the Catamounts had the better of the play in the second and third periods but could not solve Parker Milner. On second look, Vermont had a lot of possession but did not get into the quality scoring areas. In the first two periods, they had one goal and only two Grade A opportunities. This lack of offensive production with the amount of possession is just baffling.

-Barry Almeida scored one of the prettiest goals of the season in the second period. The Eagles were on the powerplay and he received a feed from Bill Arnold from behind the net in a bad position. Almeida did a 360 in front of Madore and put it high to the glove side. It was marvelous touch from a player that has been impressing mightily over the past few weeks.

-Boston College had all the momentum from the get go and they played a phenomenal home game against the Catamounts. In all honesty, this was a game that the Eagles should have won and they did.. Wins like this despite the lack of quality in the Pairwise and RPI are important throughout the season, they are wins that prove who you are as a team, Boston College is proving why they are one of the best in the country.

What they said

BC Coach Jerry York said, “The late runs that we have always had have been accrued by great goaltending. I think Parker is getting right into the midst now. Getting Hockey East tomorrow would be important. We have to figure BU will win tomorrow. We know Kevin Sneddon and Vermont won’t roll over for us.”

BC goalie Parker Milner said, “The biggest thing with my change over the past few months is the team in front of me. When the team plays well it makes the goalie look really good. The defense played great tonight. If they can limit them that’s big.”

BC forward Barry Almeida said, ” I just spun and tried to get it on net, it just went in luckily. Parker Milner is playing really well for us. He is going to be a huge piece going into the playoffs for us.”

What they didn’t say

Boston College should be able to get a win from Vermont tomorrow night. Tonight’s game was a clear indication to the skill that BC possesses over Vermont. If BC were to lose though it would be very interesting to see the reactions of the players. I, personally, don’t see this happening but one never knows in college hockey as any team can beat another. A complete effort will be needed tomorrow night by Boston College, one that will show the kind of team that they are going into the playoffs.

What else you should know

BC can clinch the regular season title tomorrow night with a win or a tie against Vermont. The win would give them a chance of revenge with UMass who defeated them twice on the season in three games. UMass is playing good hockey and it would be an interesting matchup for both teams.

Vermont’s season will end tomorrow night regardless of result. They have had a rough season this year and these games, regardless of result will help them in their development for next year.

Friday, March 2nd, 2012 - 11:51 pm | Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings