Michigan State University
Boston College
Late Goals Doom Spartans, 5-2
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 7, 2011
Grand Forks, N.D. - Fifth-ranked Boston College scored three goals in the final 8:20 of regulation to blow open a tight contest and hand Michigan State a 5-2 loss in the opening game of the 2011-12 season at the IceBreaker Tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Brett Perlini and Trevor Nill had the scores for MSU, which could not produce a win in the opening game in the head coaching career of Tom Anastos.
"I think we made some mistakes tonight, and mistakes tend to end up in the back of your net," said Anastos. "Credit to Boston College, because that is a very good team that we played. We got what we expected out of them - they move the puck well, and have good speed.
"Our focus is making good decisions for 60 minutes," continued Anastos. "When you don't make good decisions, you become a lot easier to play against. Our goal is to be a very difficult team to play - we want to make people have to go through us; that every battle is a tough one. "
The teams skated through a scoreless opening frame, and both teams spent the first half of the frame trying to settle the frenetic nerves and energy. Neither team could generate much, as there were several wide shots and chasing of errant passes in the early going. It sent the teams into the locker room in a scoreless deadlock for the first intermission.
BC broke through with its first goal of the game at 4:17 of the second period, when Tommy Cross took a pass from the left point and fired a hard shot from just inside the blue line. His shot was tipped in front by Patrick Brown, giving the Eagles the early advantage.
At 4:39, Lee Reimer was whistled for a major for checking from behind, giving the Eagles an extended power play. That advantage was negated 90 seconds later as BC was whistled for too many men. To further complicate things, the teams got a mid-period intermission as the power temporarily failed in the arena, and a 10-15 minute wait was required for them to come back up.
The Spartans killed off the remaining penalty time, and knotted the score at 10:32 of the period. Jake Chelios took the pass from Daultan Leveille, and fought through a check on the left boards. He carried the puck to the half-wall, and threw it out into the slot for Brett Perlini. Perlini collected it and shot from the left hash, netting the Spartans first of the season.
The Eagles took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission thanks to a goal in the final minute of the middle frame. Chris Kreider took a shot from the left side, which was saved by Palmisano. Kreider collected his own rebound, moved behind the net from left to right, and passed the puck from behind the goal line to Patch Alber in the right circle, and his shot found it's mark.
At the midpoint of the third period, the Spartans had a few nice chances, collecting their own rebounds and peppering Milner with a trio of shots at the left post, but the goalie was up to the task, preserving his team's slim lead. The MSU persistence paid off, as Trevor Nill knotted the game at 10:53 on a rush up the left side that he wristed from below the dot. The lead was short-lived, however; just 50 seconds later, Kreider carried the puck up the left side with a defender a half-step behind on his hip, got Palmisano to commit to the left post, then went forehand-to-backhand to put the puck into an empty right side. Kreider had another swipe in front of the net with about six minutes remaining in regulation, but Palmisano was up to the task.
The Eagles put another on the board at 16:27, when Steven Whitney sniped a shot from the right circle into the upper right corner of the net; the lead increased to 5-2 when Barry Almeida, unchecked in front of the net, put back a rebound past Palmisano.
Palmisano finished with 30 saves on the night, while Milner made 17 for Boston College.
NOTES: Drew Palmisano has 23 games with 30+ saves in his MSU career ... Trevor Nill's goal was his first since Oct. 22, 2010 against Alaska ... Reimer's major came with the accompanying game misconduct. He was not disqualified, which would have carried a suspension for Saturday's game ...
