Men's Hockey Extends Win Streak in 6-1 Rout of Merrimack

March 1, 2020

Men’s hockey is rolling after their 6-1 win at home over Merrimack on Thursday night. This marks Boston College’s sixth consecutive win, continuing their dominant hot streak.

The Eagles currently sit at 22-8-1 overall, earning them the fourth place national ranking. They went into this game confident, not only because of the win streak, but also due to a pair of wins over Merrimack just two weeks ago.

The freshmen were on fire for BC all night, as they have been for the majority of the season. Matt Boldy, Alex Newhook, and Mike Hardman combined for four of BC’s six goals. In addition, Newhook contributed two assists and Boldy added one.

Matt Boldy opened the scoring for the Eagles just over a minute into the first period. He slotted a pass from Connor Moore right past Merrimack goaltender Troy Kobryn down low to put BC up 1-0 early on.

Eight minutes into the first period, the Eagles struck again. Logan Hutsko took an open shot from the left wing and Julius Mattila pushed the puck into the slot. David Cotton was able to redirect the loose puck in mid-air for the second goal of the night.

BC continued to rain goals in the second period. The Mattilas had a twin moment as Julius slid a pass over to Jesper, who backhanded the puck into the net to create a 3-0 lead less than a minute into the second period.

It would take one more BC goal before Merrimack could notch its first point. The fourth goal from the home team was a Newhook one-timer off the assist from Boldy.

Merrimack finally scored nine minutes later with five left in the middle frame. Mac Welsher scored the shorthanded goal for Merrimack past Spencer Knight by the right post.

In the final 30 seconds of the period, with the score sitting at 4-1, the Eagles responded with another goal. Merrimack turned the puck over to Newhook, who got it to Hardman, who lifted it past Kobryn’s blocker.

The Eagles came into the third period with a 5-1 advantage. Despite major errors, they were confident to pick up the win. They sealed their victory with a sixth insurance goal around halfway through the period. Boldy sent the puck into the top right corner of the net to close out the night.

As far as goalkeeping, Spencer Knight finished his night with 19 saves on 20 shots. Adin Farhat rounded out the last two and a half minutes for the Eagles, marking his first NCAA appearance. Farhat joined the team halfway through the 2019-2020 season after being called up from the BC Club Hockey team. He faced no shots on net during his time in goal, therefore posting a 0.00 Goals Against Average thus far into his NCAA career.

The fourth-ranked Eagles will close out their regular season next week. BC currently sits atop the Hockey East rankings, four points above second-place UMass. They have clinched at least the second seed in the upcoming Hockey East tournament, and are likely to remain in first.

Before the postseason comes, however, the Eagles look to take on BU next in the Battle of Comm Ave. The rivalry game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Agganis Arena.