March 12, 1998

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The Boston College Eagles defeated the Providence College Friars, 4-3, in the first game of the best-of-three HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinal series on Thursday, March 12 at Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Boston College jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when Blake Bellefeuille one-timed a pass from Jeff Farkas past PC goaltender Boyd Ballard at 1:14 of the first period. The Friars evened the game as Mike Farrell broke down the left wing and wristed in a shot at the 2:02 mark. BC reclaimed the lead at the 4:05 mark when Mike Lephart blasted a slap shot through Ballard's five hole from the right face off circle.

PC forced a 2-2 tie when Jon Coe jammed in a rebound 57 seconds into the second period. BC's Bellefeuille netted his second goal of the game on a power play when he tipped a shot from the right point at 7:28 of the second period.

With 3:24 remaining in regulation, Doug Sheppard one-timed a shot high to the glove side past BC goaltender Scott Clemmensen to even the game at 3-3. BC's Marty Reasoner tallied the game-winning goal with four seconds remaining in the contest to give the Eagles the win.

With the win Boston College raised its record to 23-8-5, while Providence fell to 15-17-3 overall.

Providence College will return to action on Friday, March 13 against Boston College in the second game of the HOCKEY EAST best of three Quarterfinal series at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES:
Boston College and Providence will meet in the second game of the best-of-three quarterfinal series on Friday, March 13. Game time is 7 p.m. at Kelley Rink in Chestnut Hill ... With the win, BC raised its home record to 12-4-2.

Scoring Summary

Providence     (15-17-3)..........  1   1   1   -   3       
Boston College (23- 8-5)......      2   1   1   -   4

Scoring by period
First Period:
BC, Blake Bellefeuille (Jeff Farkas, Mike Lephart) 1:14;
PC, Mike Farrell (Doug Sheppard, Fernando Pisani) 2:02;
BC, Lephart (Farkas, Brendan Buckley) 4:05.

Second Period:
PC, Jon Coe (Troy Lake, Jon Cameron) 0:57;
BC, Bellefeuille (Mike Mottau, Bobby Allen) ppg 7:28;

Third Period:
PC, Sheppard (Mike Omicioli, Farrell) 16:36;
BC, Marty Reasoner (Brian Gionta, Bellefeuille) 19:56.

SAVES:
PC, Boyd Ballard (59:56) 31 saves;
BC, Scott Clemmensen (60:00) 23 saves.

venue: Kelley Rink (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)