College Hockey: UNH rallies back for tie

DURHAM – Whatever UNH head coach Dick Umile said to his players after the second period worked.

Entering the third period, the Wildcats trailed Boston College, 4-1, before goals from Mike Sislo, Paul Thompson and captain Bobby Butler forced overtime and eventually proved to be the last goals as the teams left the Whittemore Center with one valuable point in Hockey East.

Butler netted his goal with just 53 seconds remaining in regulation on a wrist shot in front of the net that sent the sellout crowd of 6,501 into mayhem.

Leblanc had a chance to win it with 21 seconds remaining in overtime, after gathering a rebound in front of the net, but wasn't able to sneak the puck past a sliding John Muse.

"(I told them) just stay with it and trust each other," Umile said to his team after the second period. "Don't try to do it on your own. We had some really good chances, especially at the end of the game that we didn't score on. Give Muse credit."

The Eagles got things rolling early thanks to the power play, converting on four of their five man advantages.

Boston College opened up the scoring 8:17 into the game when Boston Bruins draft pick Tommy Cross sent a slapshot past UNH goalie Brian Foster, of Pembroke.

Two more early goals from Carl Sneep gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead after the first -- and that was after an Eagles goal was overturned because of a player in the crease.

UNH scored when captain Peter Leblanc corralled a rebound in front of the net and sent a wrist shot over the shoulder of Muse.

Boston College answered right back when Leblanc picked up a two-minute hooking penalty.

Ben Smith netted a one-timer off a pretty pass from Brian Gibbons that gave the Eagles a three goal lead.

The Wildcats failed to convert on several scoring chances early in the game.

Mike Borisenok came up just short on a one-timer from Steve Moses in the opening minutes and junior Phil Desimone skated by two defenders and rifled a wrist shot off the crossbar that deflected right to the stick of a Boston College defender minutes later.

"I thought he (Umile) really rallied his troops," said Boston College head coach Jerry York. "We had a good lead and were playing really well. It's easy for a team in their situation to roll over. Foster made some outstanding saves to keep them in it.

The only penalty that UNH killed proved to be the biggest.

After Sislo's goal that cut the deficit to two, Leblanc was called for interference, 5:19 into the third.

UNH ended up killing off most of the penalty while junior Phil Desimone was without a stick.

UNH remains unbeaten in the Hockey East at 2-0-1 and moves to 2-4-2 overall, while Boston College goes to 2-2-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the conference.