It was a terrific night of hockey at the TD Banknorth Garden on Friday as 4 area teams took the ice for the Hockey East semi-finals. UMASS Lowell squared off against Northeastern in game 1, and Boston College took on Boston University for the second game. The players were clearly excited to play in front of the big crowds at the Garden, and the fans were loud and proud and did not disappoint.
In Game 1 the Huskies started getting hot in the second period, netting a pair of goals in less than a minute after a first period that was a goaltenders' duel. However, UMASS defenseman Ryan Blair scored his first goal of the year just before the end of the period to cut the lead in half. The third period was once again a defense struggle until Scott Campbell scored for the River Hawks with just 18 seconds to go in the game. The goal seemed to calm a very Huskies-friendly crowd and the building was quiet during the intermission. After such a good defensive game we thought we were in for the long hall in OT, but UMASS junior Chris Auger got the puck by Northeastern's goalie Brad Theissen, which sent the River Hawks into a frenzied celebration.
Game 2 seemed to be the game that people wanted to see, as thousands more piled into the Garden. Another defensive struggled seemed to be in order as the teams were tied at 0-0 after one. In the second period, BC got the scoring started with a goal by junior Ben Smith, but it was to be a short lived lead. The Terriers of BU scored 3 goals in a span of only 44 seconds, which really turned the tide of the game. Zach Cohen, Brian Strait, and Colin Wilson all were able to get the puck past BC goalie John Muse. The Eagles were able to cut the deficit to 1 on Joe Whitney's goal, but it was too little, too late.
photos by p0larbare
More photos from the Hockey East tournament can be found in our Flickr Group.
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