Boston College storms by

It?s hard enough for opponents of Boston College to contain a whirling dervish like sophomore Johnny Gaudreau, who handles the puck as if it is attached onto his stick by a string. But, also trying to keep tabs on a fast-skating winger like senior Steven Whitney, who can get his shot away in Mike Bossy fashion, is an untenable chore.

Last night, the BC front-line tandem teamed up on two Whitney goals, including the Reading product?s eighth career game-winner, as the Eagles erased a three-goal deficit and skated past Merrimack, 4-3, before a Kelley Rink crowd of 6,638.

The win increased the BC (9-1-0, 8-1-0 Hockey East) win streak to nine while the loss was the Warriors? third in a row.

?Clearly, from my perspective, down 3-0, Merrimack had all the jump,?? said BC coach Jerry York. ?Whitney?s goal ignited the whole bench. It was a dangerous time in the game and the momentum was swinging clearly to Merrimack, for sure.?

The decisive goal came at 12:38 of the third period, only a moment after Gaudreau took possession of the puck. He fed Whitney, who unleashed a rocket even as Merrimack defenseman Tom McCarthy made a futile dive across to knock down the Eagle. The puck got behind Warriors goalie Sam Marotta (38 saves) to cap the BC comeback.

?Johnny got the puck over the blue line and he can hold onto the puck longer than anyone I?ve ever seen,?? said Whitney, who registered his fifth career multiple-goal effort. ?He waited and waited and passed it over to me.?

York, an unabashed admirer of quality goals, said, ?His (Whitney) release is the biggest thing. It?s not a slap shot. He snaps it.?

Merrimack (4-6-1, 3-3-0) went toe-to-toe with BC in a scoreless opening period as each club posted 14 shots on net.

The Warriors started to gain control during the second period when they erupted for three goals in a span of 4:36. It began just 1:15 into the stanza when freshman left winger John Gustafsson of Sweden connected on a shot from the left circle. Two minutes later, senior Kyle Bigos drilled a rising shot home from the right point. Boston native Mike Collins finished the burst from the doorstep at 5:51 with his team-high sixth goal, beating BC senior Parker Milner (23 saves).

Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy used a timeout at 7:16 to get fresh skaters but the ploy backfired as BC became more rejuvenated during the respite and responded with three tallies in 5:14 to knot the score. Whitney scored his first 23 seconds after the break, toe-dragging the puck for a split second to gain space before ripping a shot into the net. Senior defenseman Patrick Wey sent a power-play rebound past Marotta at 11:50 before sophomore Danny Linnell lit the lamp for the first time this season at 12:53 to knot the game at 3.

?I wanted to get a change. There were certain matchups we were looking for,?? Dennehy said about his timeout. ?But, that?s as hard as we?ve played in a while. Both Whitney goals were snipes. You don?t want to give up a three-goal lead but that?s a good team over there. They?re No. 1 in the nation for a reason.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bostonherald/sports/college/hockey/~3/KnCxPQ7aYvQ/view.bg

yorkshire pudding larry the cable guy miracle on 34th street santa tracker monkey bread letter from santa sweet potato pie