Three Rivers Classic: Questions For Day Two at Consol Energy Center
By Larry Snyder
After the first round of games on Friday at the Three Rivers Classic, the Boston College Eagles will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Consol Energy Center.
The Robert Morris University Colonials will do battle with the Bowling Green State University Falcons in the consolation game at 4:30 p.m.
You can check out all of the tournament action with our coverage of the opening games by our own Matt Gajtka.
As we head in to Day 2 of our coverage, I have some questions for the participants as they get ready for today’s contests.
Robert Morris:
1) Does Terry Shafer have anything left in the gas tank after turning away 59 shots against Penn State from Friday night? Could we see either of freshman goaltenders Brandon Lane or Dalton Izyk between the pipes in the consolation game?
2) With the loss against Penn State, the Colonials have dropped five games this season by one goal. Can the young squad with six freshmen and 10 sophomores bounce back from another close defeat to clip the Falcons of Bowling Green in the consolation game?
3) Sophomore defenseman Chase Golightly and senior left wing Mac Roy have produced all of their points on the power play this season. Can the RMU special teams be the difference against Bowling Green?
Bowling Green:
1) After the 5-0 shutout suffered at the hands of Boston College, can Bowling Green find their scoring touch against the Colonials? The Orange and Brown had success scoring goals this season going in to this weekend, averaging 3.05 goals per game in the first half of the year.
2) Bowling Green was winning an impressive 52.2 percent of its draws as they came into the Three Rivers Classic, but won only 26 of 62 against Boston College. Can the Falcons sharpen their talons and regain their edge on the ice against RMU?
3) Will the Falcons stay with sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke, who has a record of 6-2-4 to go along with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage, or do they change things up by starting freshman netminder Tomas Sholl who got a 7-0 shutout in his second start against Colgate University back on Oct. 19?
Boston College:
1) Will Boston College take the second-year Penn State program too lightly? Will the Eagles be looking past the Nittany Lions to their outdoor game next Saturday at Fenway Park against Hockey East opponent Notre Dame?
2) Sophomore defenseman Travis Jeke played in his first game of the season against Bowling Green and responded with one goal, one assist and three shots on goal. Does the Pittsburgh native have an encore for the folks at Consol Energy Center in the title game against Penn State?
3) Boston College went 3 for 3 on the penalty kill last night and is now ranked third in the nation by killing off 74 of 82 opportunities. Two of Penn State’s goals came on the power play in the win over RMU. Which school’s special teams will blink first in the championship game?
Penn State:
1) Penn State put up a season-high 62 shots against RMU on Friday night. It was the fourth time in team history that the Nittany Lions have had at least 50 shots in a game. Will they be able to dig deep and put together that kind of effort on offense against Boston College?
2) Can sophomore goaltender Matt Skoff keep the Nittany Lions in the game against the Eagles? Could the McKees Rocks native and his teammates steal a victory as they did last year in the consolation game on Day 2 against Ohio State?
3) In three games together, the Boston College line of junior Johnny Gaudreau, senior Bill Arnold and senior Kevin Hayes has produced five goals, 10 assists for a total of 15 points to go along with a plus-21 rating and a 3-0-0 record. Can the young Penn State defense keep them from lighting the lamp on Saturday night?
From The Clipboard: There was 8,553 in attendance for the games on Friday night at Consol Energy Center….Former Robert Morris Colonials captain Chris Kushneriuk will be holding a Sports Memorabilia Auction at the Three Rivers Classic to help raise funds in his battle against cancer behind Section 104.