Trailing 2-1 with 14:22 remaining in the third period, Boston College junior forward Joe Whitney was so wide open from the left slot, he invoked the name of New York City’s most famous street to describe the look that led to BC’s third goal.
‘I had a walk down Broadway,’ the five-foot-six-inch marksman from Reading said.
BU coach Jack Parker echoed Whitney’s sentiment in recounting his first defensive unit’s third failure out of four, a breakdown in which poor bench miscommunication and on-ice decision-making each played a role. The tandem of junior defensemen Colby Cohen and Kevin Shattenkirk each finished at minus-three on the night.
‘The third goal was a real bad read by our defenseman,’ Parker said. ‘It was a 3-on-2 and our defenseman just played the wrong guy and let Whitney walk down Broadway and rip one. And [sophomore goalie Kieran Millan] couldn’t come running out on him because he had to worry about the other guys, too.’
The goal capped Whitney’s night (1 goal, 1 assist), and sent BU two points down just four minutes after BC junior Edwin Shea had netted his first career goal for the go-ahead.
‘That was kind of a key goal for us, that third goal,’ BC head coach Jerry York said. ‘Because BU was still within reach.’
A botched line change left BU thin in the neutral zone. Whitney, draped by brother Steven, a freshman forward, and BC sophomore forward Jimmy Hayes, were left with an opportunity to manipulate the last Terrier back.
‘There was some miscommunication on the bench, in terms of who was going out next,’ BU senior defenseman Eric Gryba said. ‘For about five seconds we had three guys on the ice, and then finally a fourth guy jumped out, and then a fifth guy jumped out.
‘Just one of those things maybe coach forgot to say something, or the line that was up forgot to – something could have happened up there, but I think it was just a miscommunication.’
For the first time in four games, the Terriers were able to jump-ahead with the game’s first goal, only to squander the lead for their first loss of the stretch. The Terriers are now 1-1-3 in their past four, only good for five points in the standings at a point in the year when BU needs to rack up a couple four point weekends.
‘It’s tough,’ BU junior forward Nick Bonino said. ‘It was a good game back and forth, a good hockey game. The third period, the puck just jumped into the net for them.’
On the fourth and final goal, junior forward Brian Gibbons swooped through the BU’s zone to the net, again beating Shattenkirk and company, and Millan, five-hole.
But on the second goal, a scrum in the middle yielding to a free-for-all situation, and Shattenkirk got the unlucky end of the turnout.
‘That goal they got to break the tie, Shatty’s fronting and it just hits the stick and goes slow into the net,’ Bonino said.
The night dropped C. Cohen to minus-10 on the season and Shattenkirk to minus-six.
‘When you’re minus-three you’re not very happy, and they were minus-three,’ Parker said. ‘Not good nights for those guys.’
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