PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Top seeded and No. 1 Boston College men's hockey scored five-unanswered goals to earn a 6-1 victory over Michigan Tech at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore
Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Freshman
Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) each scored two goals for the Eagles.
Holding a one-goal lead, the Boston College (32-5-1) penalty kill, tops in the nation, shut down a five-minute Michigan Tech power play in the second period. After the break, the Eagles found the back of the net three times in the first eight minutes of the third.
BC wasted no time opening the scoring when Gauthier scored his NCAA-leading 36th goal just 36 seconds into the game. Senior defenseman
Eamon Powell (Marcellus, N.Y.) tipped the puck down the right side to sophomore
Oskar Jellvik (Täby, Sweden), who then found an open Gauthier in front of goal. Max Koskipirtti drew Michigan Tech (19-15-6) level later in the first with a short-handed goal.
Leonard put the Eagles back in front midway through the second after getting his stick on a loose puck near the crease. Boston College added two goals early in the third, coming from junior
Connor Joyce (Westwood, Mass.) and Jellvik, to push the lead to three.
The Eagles scored twice on a five-minute power play midway through the third with Leonard and Gauthier each lighting the lamp for the second time on Friday.
Freshman goaltender
Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) made 23 saves in the game. Blake Pietila stopped 32 shots for the Huskies.
Leonard led all scorers with four points after also chipping in two assists. Powell recorded a trio of assists and Gauther also had an assist to finish with three points.
SCORING
1st 0:36 BC
Cutter Gauthier (
Oskar Jellvik,
Eamon Powell)
1st 12:55 MTU Max Koskipirtti - SH
2nd 6:57 BC
Ryan Leonard (
Jack Malone,
Aidan Hreschuk)
3rd 4:47 BC
Connor Joyce (
Jack Malone,
Eamon Powell)
3rd 6:24 BC
Oskar Jellvik (
Will Smith,
Ryan Leonard)
3rd 7:58 BC
Ryan Leonard (
Cutter Gauthier,
Eamon Powell) - PP
3rd 11:25 BC
Cutter Gauthier (
Oskar Jellvik,
Ryan Leonard) - PP
GAME NOTES
● BC is 50-43 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
● BC is 8-4 all-time against MIchigan Tech and 1-2 against the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament.
● BC is 26-2 when scoring first and 21-0 when scoring five goals or more.
● BC has won 13 in a row; the first unbeaten streak of 10 or more games by a Hockey East team since UMass' 14-game streak on the way to its 2021 National Championship.
● BC's 174 goals are the most since scoring 171 in 2010.
● Fowler won his 30th game, which now ties Al Montoya (Michigan, 2002-03) for the most in NCAA history by a freshman.
● Gauthier posted his 12th multi-goal game of the season to push his NCAA-leading total to 37. He passed Johnny Gaudreau (2013-14) and tied Doug Brown (1984-85) for the third most in a season in program history. He is one off the record held by Dave Emma (1989-90) and Scott Harlow (1985-86).
● Gauthier's first goal came 36 seconds into the game. It marked the fourth fastest goal of the season for BC with Gauthier previously scoring in 28 seconds; the fastest this season by an Eagle.
● Joyce scored his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 20 vs. RPI.
● Leonard recorded his seventh multi-goal game of the season to push his season total to 29. He is one behind Brian Gionta (1998-99) for the most in a season by a BC freshman.
● Leonard tallied a season-high four points with two assists.
● Smith picked up one assist to push his season point total to 68, which puts him in a five-way tie for 11th in a single-season in program history. The assist also marked his 45th of the season, which pulls ahead of Ken Hodge (1984-85) for the most in a single season by a BC freshman and is tied for third most all-time by an Eagle.
UP NEXT
Boston College faces defending National Champion Quinnipiac in the regional final on Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
