Michigan State University
Boston College
BC Ends Hockey's Season In OT, 6-5
3/24/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 24, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Boston College scored a power-play goal 11:53 into the first overtime - with just six seconds remaining on a five-minute major called on Michigan State - to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals and end the Spartans' season Friday night at Minnesota's Mariucci Arena.
"(The penalty call) was the ref's discretion," head coach Ron Mason said. "I didn't see it and I'll reserve my judgment until I see the tape. It was the hockey game, so I sure hope that it was the right call."
Boston College scored five power-play goals and a short-handed goal en route to the 6-5 victory. The Spartans, who held leads of 2-0, 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4, gave up a power-play goal with 50 seconds remaining in regulation before allowing the overtime winner.
"This was one of the more weird games I have been in in the 34 years I have been coaching," Mason said. "There were a lot of power-play and short-handed goals. We played extremely well when we played five-on-five. The bounces went to Boston College and we can't control that. In a game as important as this, you want the bounces to come your way."
"It was a very emotional loss for us tonight," senior center and team captain Shawn Horcoff said. "It came down to bounces and Boston College was fortunate to get them and we weren't."
The Spartans stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the first 8:33 of the game, as right wings Adam Hall and John Nail converted.
Hall's goal came at the end of a marvelous shift from Shawn Horcoff's line, as they cycled and kept control of the puck against BC's top defense pair. After Hall misfired on one centering pass from Horcoff, the Spartans regained control. Horcoff made a great pass to Hall alone in the slot and he fired a shot high past BC goaltender Scott Clemmensen.
Nail's goal came just over three minutes later, as the Spartans caught the Boston College defensemen in a line change. Sean Patchell poked the puck ahead to Nail who skated in on the left wing side. His wrister from the left circle beat Clemmensen to the near side.
The game then got tangled up in a web of penalties, including a five-on-three chance for the Eagles at the end of the first period which went into the second.
Boston College got two goals out of that situation, as Jeff Farkas and Brian Gionta both scored in the first 1:39 of the second to tie the game.
Andrew Hutchinson answered for MSU with a brilliant goal at 9:53 of the second. The sophomore defenseman continued his late-season surge, picking off a BC clearing pass and moving from left to right before wristing a shot over Clemmensen.
A Spartan giveaway led to Blake Bellefiuelle's short-handed score at 14:02 of the second. He raced in alone on freshman goaltender Ryan Miller and beat him to make it 4-4.
Two power play goals of their own - sandwiched around Kevin Caulfield's PPG for the Eagles - gave MSU a 5-4 lead in the third. John-Michael Liles, who had been slashed by BC's Mike Mottau at the end of the second period to draw a five-minute power play, scored on that power play with a wrist shot after a nice pass from Horcoff.
Dolyny's goal came on another pretty feed by Horcoff, who finished with three assists on the game. The cross-ice pass set Dolyny up for a one-time slap shot which beat Clemmensen for the junior right wing's 18th goal of the season.
Mike Lephart scored the game-tying goal with 50 seconds left in regulation on a power play after an MSU too-many-men-on-the-ice call. He gathered the puck amidst a scramble in front of the net and his shot deflected in past Miller.
The game-winner came late in the five-minute major, which had been called on Sean Patchell for hitting from behind. Mottau's shot from the point was blocked by a defenseman, but Gionta, who had drawn the hitting from behind penalty, shoveled the puck over to Farkas who put the game-winner past Miller.
