Wildcats improve to 2-0-1 in overtime this season.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sophomore defenseman Kalle Eriksson (Leksand, Sweden) scored the overtime game winner as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated No. 2 Boston College, 4-3, on Friday night at Conte Forum. The Wildcats are now 2-0-1 in overtime this season. This is the second straight year UNH has defeated the No. 2 team in the nation as the Wildcats posted a 3-1 win versus No. 2 UMass on Nov. 10, 2019 at the Whittemore Center. UNH is 3-1-2 versus BC over the last six games.
The Wildcats are now 3-3-1 (3-3-1 Hockey East), while the Eagles fall to 5-2-0 (5-2-0 Hockey East).
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will conclude the home-and-home series with Boston College on Sunday, Jan. 10 at the Whittemore Center at 4:00 p.m. on College SportsLive.
Score: New Hampshire 4, #2 Boston College 3 Records: UNH (3-3-1, 3-3-1 HE), BC (5-2-0, 5-2-0 HE) Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass. (Conte Forum) Date: Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 BOXSCORE | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
HOW IT HAPPENED Jackson Pierson
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead when senior forward Kohei Sato (Nishitokyo, Japan) skated down the ice and fired a shot from the top of the faceoff circle to the stick side of the net at 10:40 of the first period. Senior forward Eric MacAdams (Salem, Mass.) and freshman defenseman Nikolai Jenson (Cold Spring, Minn.) posted an assist on the goal.
The Eagles tied the contest at 1-1 on the power play at 14:59 of the first period when Colby Ambrosio blasted a one-timer from the slot to the stick side off a pass by Alex Newhook from behind the net.
Just nine seconds later, MacAdams went one-on-one with BC goalie Henry Wilder and sent the puck past the glove side for the goal to give UNH a 2-1 lead. Sato and junior defenseman Ryan Verrier (Reading, Mass.) each recorded an assist on the goal.
Eric MacAdams
UNH outshot BC, 14-11 in the first period, while the Wildcats went 0-2 on the power play and the Eagles went 1-2.
BC tied the game at 2-2 at 18:11 of the second period when Nikita Nesterenko sent a shot to the upper glove side corner of the net from the lower edge of the faceoff circle.
The Eagles outshot the Wildcats, 12-10 in the second frame, while each team went 0-1 on the man-advantage.
BC took a 3-2 lead at 2:49 of the third period when Patrick Giles scored on a rebound.
The Wildcats tied the contest at 3-3 at 6:55 when junior forward Filip Engarås (Stockholm, Sweden) scored a shorthanded goal. Junior defenseman Will MacKinnon (Plymouth, Mich.) sent junior forward Tyler Ward (Kamloops, British Columbia) and Engarås on a two-on-one as Engarås then found back of the net. Ward and MacKinnon posted assists on the goal.
Neither team would score again in the third period as the game went to overtime.
With 1:10 remaining in overtime, the Wildcats went on the power play and Eriksson netted the game-winner as he scored on a one-timer. Junior forward Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, Ind.) and senior forward Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) tallied assists on the game winner.
Cam Gendron INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Senior Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) made 35 saves to earn the win and improve to 3-3-1 on the season, while Wilder recorded 31 saves and is 1-2-0.
BC outshot UNH, 38-35.
The Wildcats went 1-4 on the power play and the Eagles went 1-5.
Mike Robinson BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
The game winner was Eriksson's first of his collegiate career. He leads the team with three goals this season.
Sato, MacAdams and Engarås each scored their first goals of season. Sato now has four career multi-point games and MacAdams has eight.
Ward posted his first point at UNH.
Last time the Wildcats defeated BC at Conte Forum was a 2-1 win on Nov. 5, 2010. The Eagles had gone 9-0-2 in the previous 11 games at home versus the Wildcats entering today's contest.
The shorthanded goal was the first for Engarås at UNH.
The Wildcats are 10-4-14 in overtime over the last three seasons.
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