Colorado College overwhelmed defending national champion and Hockey East champion Boston College early to win their first round regional game, 8-4.
Colorado College's first line of Jaden Schwartz, Rylan Schwartz, and Stephen Schultz combined for ten points against the Eagles, scoring eight of those points in the first period of the game.
Very early on, the game looked like it had the makings of a high-scoring affair. BC's Jimmy Hayes scored a mere 19 seconds into the game, tapping in a Pat Mullane shot on Colorado College sophomore goaltender Joe Howe. That one goal lead would be BC's only lead of the entire game.
The Tigers top line of Schwartz, Schwartz and Schultz froze the BC defense, using their speed and puck moving ability to have their way and get through goaltender John Muse. They combined for the first three Colorado College goals of the game, shooting hard shots through negligent BC defenders to get through Muse. Colorado College's first line then turned it over to David Civitarese to score a shorthanded goal in the last minute and a half in the period. Said SB Nation's BC Interruption:
"BC was uncharacteristically outshot 18-8 in the first period and committed too many mental errors. If Samuelsson clears a Muse rebound or if Tommy Cross doesn't badly play the puck on a clear, the Eagles could have saved themselves one or two goals in the first."
BC showed a bit of life after the first intermission, and both teams skated evenly for the first ten minutes of the second period. Sophomore Paul Carey netted a soft goal past Howe to bring the game within two. It was Carey's first goal since February 25th against UMass Amherst. A Steven Whitney "charging the goalie" penalty led to a Colorado College power play, which would allow Jaden Schwartz his second goal of the game. The Tigers added two more to close out the second period and seemingly put the game out of BC's hands.
However, BC wasn't going quietly into the St. Louis night. Charging out of the second intermission, down 7-2, the Eagles started tallying goals to try to make a comeback. Junior forward Cam Atkinson scored his 31st goal of the season, taking advantage of a Colorado College defense who was sitting back on its heels. Atkinson's fellow junior Barry Almeida scored five minutes later to bring the game within three goals.
Colorado College had few, if any, opportunities in the BC zone in the third, allowing the Eagles to set up more offensive chances. Despite getting off 16 shots on Howe in the final frame and pulling third period goalie Parker Milner, BC couldn't get any closer. Eagles senior Brian Gibbons took a cross-checking call out of frustration as time wound down, allowing Colorado College's Dakota Eveland to score their eighth goal of the evening to seal the 8-4 win.
Colorado College's Howe stopped 39 shots on the night. BC's Muse stopped 22 shots before being pulled at the top of the third period. Muse's NCAA playoff record will end at 8-1. Milner stepped in for Muse, and saved six Tiger shots.
BC's season will end with a 30-8-1 record. It is the first time the Eagles made the NCAA Tournament but were bounced in the first regional round in head coach's Jerry York's 17 year tenure.
Colorado College will face Michigan Saturday evening at 9 p.m. to determine who will advance to the Frozen Four.