Boston College is really, really good at this hockey thing. The second-best offensive club in the nation made the Minnesota Golden Gophers defense look silly about seven and a half minutes into the first period of their 2012 Frozen Four matchup, dancing around what appeared to be maroon-colored pylons and scoring the first goal of the game.
Steven Whitney was credited with the goal, assisted by both Barry Almeida and Bill Arnold.
But down the stretch of the first period, the Gophers showed up and decided to show that they're pretty good at this game too. Minnesota turned up the energy and frankly took over the game for the latter half of the first period, but BC goalie Parker Milner was phenomenal, making at least two huge stops to preserve the 1-0 score.
The Eagles escaped the first period with the lead, but if they're not able to turn the tide, Milner won't be able to hold off the Gophers on his own much longer.
For complete coverage of the entire NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, check out our 2012 Frozen Four StoryStream.