They say you need your best players to play their best in big games, and Boston College‘s best players certainly did that Saturday afternoon. Johnny Gaudreau, Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold combined for three goals and six assists to lead the Eagles to a 4-2 win over Notre Dame, forcing a decisive Game 3 in the rivals’ Hockey East quarterfinal series.
After turning Game 1 into a 7-2 blowout, the Fighting Irish got off to a fast start Saturday, as Bryan Rust scored just 39 seconds into the game. BC answered midway through the period when Gaudreau set up Patrick Brown, and then took the lead with 2:21 left in the first when Hayes set up Gaudreau for a 5-on-3 goal.
The Eagles held onto the one-goal lead through the second, and then put the game out of reach with goals from Hayes and Gaudreau early in the third. Vince Hinostroza cut the lead to 4-2 with just under four minutes to go, but it was too little too late. Game 3 will be Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. (call on 850 AM).
With his first assist of the game, Gaudreau tied Paul Kariya‘s Hockey East record 31-game point streak. And with four points on the day, he now has 32 goals and 37 assists in 36 games this season. The Flames draft pick should be just about a lock to win the Hobey Baker Award.
Score aside, the most encouraging sign for the Eagles Saturday was that they were effective in transition and were able to sustain offensive pressure — two things that had been areas of concern in their last two games against Notre Dame.
Regardless of what happens Sunday, the Eagles are locked into a one-seed for the NCAA tournament. The Irish aren’t 100-percent locks to make NCAAs if they lose, but they should be pretty safe.