DURHAM, N.H. - Parker Milner recorded 39 saves and a balanced offense in which four skaters recorded two points led the top-ranked Boston College men's hockey team to a 5-1 victory against 15th-ranked University of New Hampshire in front of a sellout crowd of 6,501 in UNH's home opener at the Whittemore Center.
UNH is now 0-3-0 with all three losses coming in Hockey East league play. BC improved to 3-1-0, 1-0-0.
UNH goaltender Matt Di Girolamo (Ambler, Pa.) finished with 20 saves. Milner made 20 saves in the second period as well as 14 in the third. Bill Arnold, Johnny Gaudreau and Paul Carey all finished with a goal and an assist while Barry Almeida tallied two assists.
BC skated to a 3-1 lead through one period of play. The Eagles quickly took a 1-0 lead at 1:30 when Di Girolamo stopped Almeida's initial shot from the right circle and Carey's shot from the slot, but Brian Dumoulin corralled the puck off that rebound at the left post and deposited a shot into the open left side.
UNH went on the power play at 2:05 and scored 19 seconds later to tie the score, 1-1. From behind the net, Stevie Moses (Leominster, Mass.) slid a pass to the right doorstep, where Nick Sorkin (Rockville, Md.) lifted a shot under the crossbar. Mike Borisenok (Watervliet, N.Y.) was also credited with an assist.
Boston College regained the lead, 2-1, at 6:26. Almeida moved the puck from the left corner to low in the near circle, where Carey struck a one-timer that beat Di Girolamo. Kevin Hayes also tallied an assist.
With the teams skating 4-on-4 midway through the first period, UNH generated an odd-man rush in which Dalton Speelman (San Jose, Calif.) found Austin Block (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) in the low slot, but Block's wrister was stopped by Milner.
The Eagles extended the advantage to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 16:10. Johnny Gaurdreau initiated the scoring sequence by sending a pass from the left corner to the left point. Tommy Cross corralled the puck and his slap shot was redirected into the net by Bill Arnold.
New Hampshire recorded a 20-9 shot advantage in the second period, but the Eagles netted the lone goal of the middle stanza to build a 4-1 lead.
Five minutes into the second stanza, the Wildcats generated a flurry of offense in which Speelman was denied on a shot from the left circle and Jeff Silengo (Madison, Conn.) was turned aside off the rebound at the top of the crease. The puck was cycled back to the right point, where Damon Kipp (Salmon Arm, British Columbia) blasted a shot through traffic that caromed off the right post.
Two minutes later, a series of Eagles' tic-tac-toe passes from the left circle to the slot to the left doorstep set up Arnold's shot that was stopped by Di Girolamo at the left post.
BC took a 4-1 lead at 14:23 off a faceoff to Di Girolamo's right. Arnold drew the puck to the slot, where Chris Kreider wristed a high shot into the net.
With 2:30 remaining in the second stanza, the Wildcats also had a dangerous scoring opportunity off a faceoff. The puck advanced to the low slot and the low shot off the stick of John Henrion (Holden, Mass.) was blocked aside by Milner.
Seven minutes into the third period - with UNH on the power play - the Wildcats cycled the puck to Speelman at the right doorstep, but he was denied by Milner and the rebound in the slot went beyond his reach before a BC defender cleared the loose puck aside.
BC capped the scoring at 9:20 of the final frame on Gaudreau's tally that was set up by Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney.
New Hampshire returns to action Oct. 21 for the first of two games at St. Cloud State University. The Wildcats' next home game is Oct. 28 against Union College. Game time at the Whittemore Center is 7 p.m.