Eagles Post First Win of New Season

Boston College men's hockey finally broke into the win column.

Playing their first road game of the 2017-18 season at Hockey East rival Providence College on Sunday, the Eagles overcame a 3-0 second-period deficit with four unanswered goals. Junior defenseman Casey Fitzgerald scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime, as 13th-ranked BC beat no. 9 Providence, 4-3, to improve to 1-1-1 overall and 1-0-0 in Hockey East play.

Christopher Grando and Graham McPhee scored BC's other goals on Sunday at Schnieder Arena, while Logan Hutsko had two assists. Joe Woll made 31 saves against the Friars, who led by three goals just over five minutes into the second period.

BC opened the season with a 1-1 tie against Quinnipac on Oct. 6, then fell to No. 10 Wisconsin by a 5-2 count on Oct. 13. Both of those games were played at BC's Conte Forum.

The Eagles will now travel to No. 3 St. Cloud State this weekend for pair of games in Minnesota. SCSU is coming of a two-step sweep of visiting Alaska (Fairbanks). The Eagles and Huskies have played just once before all-time, a 2-1 BC victory during the 2004-05 season.

BC Blanks CC for Third Straight Shutout

Boston College is on a roll. Really.

The fourth-ranked Eagles have shut out three straight opponents, including this weekend's two-step sweep at Colorado College, and have allowed just two goals the entire regular season in getting off to a 4-1-0 start.

Freshman forward Jeremy Bracco set up three goals, two of them by Ryan Fitzgerald, in Friday's 3-0 win at CC. The Eagles followed up the next night with a 5-0 triumph in Colorado Springs as Adam Gilmour scored twice and Scott Savage and Zach Sanford posted two assists apiece.

Junior goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped all 45 shots he faced on the weekend against the host Tigers. He has also registered all four BC wins on the year, all by shutout, including earlier whitewashings of Army and Wisconsin. BC and Demko have now not allowed a goal in 196:58, or since the three-minute mark of the third period in a 2-1 loss at Rensselaer on Oct. 11.

The Eagles get back to work on Friday night at home at Kelley Rink against No. 6 Denver to begin a five-game homestand. BC will then open the 2015-16 Hockey East campaign at home on Nov. 3 against UMass.

Eagles Blank Badgers in Home Opener

No. 4 Boston College rebounded from a 2-1 loss at Rensselaer on Sunday with a 6-0 win over Wisconsin in Friday’s NCAA home opener at Conte Forum.

Austin Cangelosi (game-winning goal) and Colin White each scored two goals for the Eagles, while brothers Ryan Fitzgerald and Casey Fitzgerald each had two assists, with Ryan also notching a goal. Teddy Doherty had BC’s other score, shorthanded, and Thatcher Demko finished with 20 saves.

The Eagles travel to Colorado College for a two-game set next weekend.

Fitzgerald Hat Trick Lifts Eagles Over Huskies

Sophomore forward Ryan Fitzgerald scored all three goals, including two on the power play and the game-winner, as No. 19 Boston College defeated Connecticut, 3-2, on Saturday night before 6,815 at Conte Forum in a Hockey East conference matchup.

The win improved the Eagles, who were 16th in the Pairwise Rankings prior to faceoff, to 15-8-2 overall (8-5-2 Hockey East), while the visiting Huskies fell to 7-12-5 (4-6-2 HEA). BC, which avenged a 1-0 loss to UConn in Hartford in November, is 8-1-1 in its last 11 outings overall, while UConn has lost two straight games after a three-game unbeaten string.

Fitzgerald, who now has a team-high 12 goals in 25 contests, scored twice in the second period, pulling BC into 1-1 and 2-2 ties before notching the winning goal with 7:40 remaining in regulation with a man advantage to complete his first career collegiate hat trick. BC outshot UConn, 37-21, and was 2-for-4 on the power play. Junior defenseman Michael Matheson had two assists, and sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko made 19 saves in the victory.

UConn will host No. 14 Merrimack on Tuesday, while BC will entertain No. 18 Providence on Friday.