NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Senior alternate captain Barry Almeida tied the score at 2-2 while skating shorthanded with 2:19 left in the third period and junior Chris Kreider broke the tie with 38.8 seconds remaining in the game to lift the fifth-ranked Eagles to a 3-2 victory over eight-ranked Yale before a sellout crowd of 3,500 fans at David S. Ingalls Rink on Saturday.
Freshman goaltender Brian Billett of Brunswick, Maine, recorded 31 saves to capture the victory in his collegiate debut.
With captain Tommy Cross in the penalty box for hooking, junior defenseman Brian Dumoulin flipped a pass to Almeida who weaved with the puck through two zones and beat Yale goaltender Jeff Malcolm (36 saves) with a backhand to tie the score at 17:41.
Kreider netted the gamewinner off a faceoff in the Bulldogs' offensive zone. Sophomore Bill Arnold won the faceoff to Steven Whitney who pivoted along the right circle with the puck to the goal line where he fed Kreider for a one-timer past Malcolm for the decisive score.
BC trailed 1-0 after the opening period and 2-0 midway through the second before senior alternate captain Paul Carey scored the team's first goal of the game in the final minute of the middle period.
Following a two-minute, two-man advantage for Yale late in the second period - from 15:27 to 17:27 -Carey broke through with assists to Pat Mullane and Almeida with 21.7 seconds left to bring the Eagles within one goal heading into the final frame.
BC ousthot host Yale, 39-33. Both teams went scoreless with a man advantage. BC finished 0-for-7, while Yale went 0-for-5.
Next, Boston College will reconnect with Boston University for a home-and-home series next weekend beginning on Friday, Dec. 2 at Kelley Rink at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
Team Records: Boston College 10-4-0; Yale 5-3-1
Game Notes: The team dressed three freshmen - LW Quinn Smith, C Michael Sit and RW Danny Linell on its fourth forward line. Smith, who made his collegiate debut at Notre Dame (Nov. 18) saw action for the second straight game. Linell returned to the lineup after missing the last four games because of a shoulder injury ... Mullane's assist on Carey's goal marked his team-leading 11th assist of the season ... BC extended its win streak against Yale to four games and improved to 6-1-0 against the Bulldogs under head coach Jerry York.