ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Boston College spoiled RIT’s Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend played in front of a sellout crowd of 10,556, the fifth consecutive shutout for this event that has become one of Rochester’s most anticipated annual sports events.
It took awhile for BC to get on the scoreboard, but when it did, it did so in rapid-fire form en route to a 6-2 victory. Thatcher Demko made 25 saves for the win.
“I thought it was a really good early season test for us,” Boston College coach Jerry York said. “We knew coming in the environment was going to be what it was tonight. Big crowd. Good building. RIT has a good, solid hockey team.”
“The thing that was so different from this year’s team from last year [against Michigan] is we didn’t generate any excitement,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. “We couldn’t get any offense. There was no excitement on the bench at all. They didn’t allow us to get our fans into it. Their defense controlled our forwards.”
The Eagles scored three times in a 4:13 span wrapped around the first intermission.
At the end of a tightly played first period, BC broke out of its zone just after killing off a penalty. The four-on-two rush was too much for the Tigers. The quick passing culminated with defenseman Michael Matheson one-timing a shot from the right slot at 18:46.
“A good momentum swing for us,” York said about the first goal. “Our defense contributed offensively tonight. Our defensemen are going to do some nice things this year, as far as defending, but also offensively. They are going to be good offensive weapons for us.”
The Eagles didn’t let up when the second period began, scoring twice within 25 seconds. The first came at 2:34. Ryan Fitzgerald, from in close, roofed it for the 2-0 lead. Next, Teddy Doherty easily redirected a cross-ice pass past Mike Rotolo, who was getting to start in his hometown.
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000zXulvzcxlnw” g_name=”20141018-RIT-BostonCollege-Phillips” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_bbar=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”500″ height=”375″ bgcolor=”#AAAAAA” bgtrans=”t” btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” trans=”xfade” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_fullscreen=”f” f_constrain=”f” twoup=”f” f_topbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_htmllinks=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”f” f_show_watermark=”f” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” wmds=”llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.f2JCBkWJwnwrhAWn_lNU5O0AFHeEL85bPtTI2v.QOdXYPSXXM8w–” ]”They’re a good team,” Rotolo said. “They’re ranked high for a reason. I thought we gave a good effort, but that effort was too late.”
After a brief lull, BC made it 4-0 at 6:32. Steve Santini, coming down the middle, let a rising shot go from the slot that snuck under the crossbar.
RIT finally got the capacity crowd going when Todd Skirving scored at 1:06 of the third period. His shot from the far right side found its way inside the far post.
“I just threw it at the net,” he said. “I don’t think he even saw it.”
However, the excitement didn’t last long. Doherty’s shot at 5:55 was neatly deflected by Alex Tuch past a helpless Rotolo.
The Tigers nabbed their final goal at 14:21. During a power play, Matt Garbowski banged a rebound home that BC initially could not clear.
Boston College then got its only power-play goal when Ian McCoshen fired a blast from the right point past Rotolo at 17:26.
“I thought he was solid,” Wilson said of Rotolo. “The other goals were a breakdown in our team, not a breakdown in our goalie.”
The Brick City game is a key event to connect RIT to its students, alumni and community, as well as build their statue and hockey program.
“We were at Detroit in ’10 for the Frozen Four and they were there,” York said. “It was a big boost for the program. And now the new rink is another good boost. So they are on the right track for sure. They’ve got an outstanding coach, and I love the fan support. It looks pretty good for the future of RIT hockey.”
“I think we have to build off this,” Wilson said. “I want to expose the community of Rochester and the school to high-caliber teams. I do want to schedule a very difficult schedule. Our guys were excited to play this game.”
RIT will play Wilson’s alma mater, Bowling Green, in next year’s Brick City game. Meanwhile, RIT (1-2-0) travels to Air Force next weekend for a pair of games in its first Atlantic Hockey competition this season.
Boston College (1-1-0) returns home to play Colorado College and then Hockey East opponent Massachusetts.
