A rivalry game always brings out the best in any team. For the Boston College Eagles, that has been evident in recent years in their biggest games of the season against the archenemy Boston University Terriers.
However, as hard as it is to believe, their best contests in the head-to-head series have actually come down the road at Agganis Arena, where the 2012-13 opener of the series is taking place on this Sunday night.
The Eagles were able to jump ahead just 43 seconds into the game on a strong follow through effort by the Eagle offense to beat BU rookie Matt O'Connor. Sophomore Destry Straight was able to score his third goal of the season, punching in a wraparound attempt by junior Kevin Hayes.
BC senior Parker Milner stopped all six BU shots he faced in the period, while his counterpart, BU freshman Matt O'Connor made ten stops at the other end of the ice.
The Eagles held a 10-6 shots advantage and took three minor penalties in the stanza, killing off each one with relative ease. When the second begins, BC will also have 1:38 of 5-on-3 time as the Terriers took a pair of minor stick penalties late in the stanza.
Joshua Kummins is the Hockey East beat writer and a weekend editor for SB Nation Boston. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.