Bruins Top Blues in First of Home-And-Home Series

The first period ended scoreless, despite the Bruins doubling up the Blues in shots on net and having the better of the opportunities. 

Things broke open a bit in the second, as Hill got on the board first with a PPG on a jam play and looked to snatch the momentum. 

But the Bruins responded, went to work on the forecheck, and took control of the action from then on in the period (and in the game, really). They popped two tallies midway through the frame on nearly identical tic-tac-toe sequences on the rush — both beginning just inside the blue line on the right-wing boards, with the puck moving to a lefty on the top of the left face-off circle and then to a streaking white jersey going towards the net who tipped it home. Junior co-captain Hank Cleaves and sophomore Brendan Giles were the finishers (while junior Eli Friedman was in on both goals). 

Hill didn’t go away and tied the contest with another power-play goal after winning a face-off and banging in a carom off the back boards to seemingly gain some life. 

Once again, though, ’Wick kept pushing, put the hosts on their heels in their d-zone, and forced turnovers below the icing line. And this time, it would be senior John Burdett who picked up a loose puck in between the blue line and the top of the left circle and zinged one bar-down to give his team the lead again — 3-2 after two.
 

On the first shift of the third, it was a Friedman backcheck that turned the puck the other way and led to another beauty — as junior Harvard commit Lucas St. Louis buried a shot from inside the right dot. Cleaves and sophomore Drew DellaSalla earned the assists on the dagger of a give-and-go lamp lighter. 

From then on, the Bruins played a smart (yet aggressive) brand of hockey and limited any chance at a comeback from Hill. Junior Brendan Holahan made a few key saves to keep it a two-goal advantage and force the Blues to pull their goalie earlier than they would have liked. 

Junior co-captain James Shannon sealed it with an ENG with just under two minutes to play. 

A solid road win. Rematch tomorrow at Hartong at 4 p.m.