CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – No. 1 Boston College men’s hockey shut out No. 17 New Hampshire, 1-0, to win the Hockey East Regular Season Championship at Kelley Rink on Sunday evening. The Eagles, with one game remaining, clinched the top seed in the conference tournament at 27-5-1 overall and 19-3-1 in league play.
Locked in a scoreless-tie through two periods it was BC senior defenseman Eamon Powell (Marcellus, N.Y.) who finally lit the lamp in the third. The Eagle captain took the puck from his own defensive zone and played a one-two pass along the left boards with freshman Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) before sending a backhanded shot into the back of the net.
In the first period, freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) amassed 14 of his 27 saves. The win marked the rookie netminder’s second shutout of the season. For the Wildcats (17-14-1, 10-11-1 HEA), Jakob Hellsten stopped 20 shots.
The BC penalty kill turned away all four power play attempts for New Hampshire. For the game, the Eagles blocked 13 shots to the Wildcats’ 11. Junior defenseman Aidan Hreschuk (Long Beach, Calif.) blocked a game-high three.
SCORING
3rd 7:22 BC Eamon Powell (Ryan Leonard)
GAME NOTES
● BC won its 18th Hockey East regular season title and first since 2021.
● BC has won 12 games in a row in Hockey East play; the longest streak by a Hockey East team since the Eagles’ 12-game win streak in 2012-13.
● Fowler completed his second shutout of the season in a 27-save effort.
● Leonard extended his points streak to 17 games.
● Powell extended his point streak to 11 games with the third-period goal.
UP NEXT
Boston College wraps up the regular season at Merrimack on Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m.