BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie No. 4 Boston College 3-3 in front of the 59th consecutive sellout of 4,003 at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon in a game televised on ESPNU. Sophomore Jay Anctil (Wolfeboro, N.H.) scored the equalizer for the Catamounts with 6:49 left in the game. Vermont moves to 0-2-1 (0-0-1 Hockey East) on the season while Boston College is 1-1-2.
Junior assistant captain Dean Strong (Mississauga, Ontario) scored on a delayed penalty for the Catamounts and junior Peter Lenes (Shelburne, Vt.) added an even strength goal.
Freshman Brian Gibbons scored a power-play goal for the Eagles and sophomore Ben Smith and junior Anthony Aiello each scored at even strength.
Prior to the game Boston College had been 78-2-5 in the last five plus seasons when leading after two periods. Vermont went 0-11-0 last year when trailing after 40 minutes.
"I'm so pleased on several different fronts. One being the resiliency of our team after being down two goals twice," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "I really liked our attitude on the bench. I liked the fact that we were positive and believed that we could come back against a tremendous team. And then to go out and do it. Sure we would have liked to get the two points but there were a lot of things we saw out there tonight that we can continue to build on as we get ready for Dartmouth."
Senior goalie Joe Fallon (Bemidji, Minn.) turned away 12 shots in the first period, including six during a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind against the Catamounts, to keep the game scoreless after one period.
Boston College took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Smith at 15:47 of the second period. Smith’s third goal of the season came on a feed from freshman Joe Whitney during a two-on-one.
Then Gibbons gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal with just 1:51 left in the second.
The Catamounts responded when Strong snuck in a goal from the left circle with just 27 seconds remaining in the period to cut the deficit to 2-1. With the Catamounts working with an extra skater because of a delayed penalty against Boston College, freshman Kyle Medvec (Burnsville, Minn.) and Lenes both setup Strong's first goal of the year. The assist was the first point of Medvec’s career.
Just 2:29 into the third period the Eagles regained a two-goal advantage on Aiello's goal. The defenseman knocked in a rebound from the slot to make it 3-1 BC.
Less than two minutes later Strong made a terrific cross-ice pass from inside his own zone to find Lenes open in transition. Lenes blasted a shot from the left circle that beat Boston College freshman goalie John Muse at 3:51 of the third to make the score 3-2. The goal was the second of the season for Lenes and the 23rd of his career.
Vermont tied the game at three with 6:49 remaining when senior Reese Wisnowski (East Middlebury, Vt.) found Anctil off a draw from the left circle. Anctil sent the puck in front from behind the goal line and it deflected off the skate of a BC defender and went into the net. The goal was the second of Anctil's career.
Boston College had a chance to win the game less than one minute into overtime when junior Benn Ferriero went in alone on Fallon but his shot hit the right post. That was the best scoring chance in overtime for either team and the game ended 3-3 with both teams picking up one league point in the Hockey East opener for both squads.
Fallon finished with 30 stops for the Catamounts and Muse turned away 22 shots for the Eagles. Vermont went 0-for-3 on the power play and Boston College went 1-for-2.
Vermont hosts Dartmouth next Sunday (10/28) at 4pm in the 69th meeting between the two schools. Sunday is Halloween at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Fans are encouraged to wear a costume. Fans will receive orange and black beads and a Rally medallion courtesy of UVM Continuing Education. There will also be a postgame skate with the Cats sponsored by Smith Barney.