Chestnut Hill, MA - Riding a six game win streak, the Illini were looking forward to taking on the #11 Boston College Eagles under the lights of Alumni Stadium.  They knew that the Eagles would prove to be a formidable opponent, especially playing 1000 miles away from home.

The Illini came out strong in the game, with J.J. Sestrich opening the scoring on an assist from Dan Dickson with 5:50 left in the first quarter.  The Illini’s lead would be short lived however, as the Eagles went on to score at 5:35.  The second quarter saw the Eagles score 2 more goals to take a 3-1 lead into the half.

The Illini opened up the second half with a goal by Scott Pfiffner, and the teams traded goals from there to put BC up 5-4.
Unfortunately, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and opening of the fourth.  Down 11-4, the Illini seemed to be on their heels.

The Illini however launched a furious comeback in the fourth, highlighted by goals from Nate Prescott, Bob Ridlen, Vinnie Casini, Stephen Black and Joe O’Malley.  The comeback stretched the fourth quarter and saw the Illini score 5 straight goals.  Unfortunately, the Illini ran out of time, as they came away on the short end of an 11-9 score.

The Illini return to Champaign this week to take on rival Illinois State at home on Tuesday, while traveling to Purdue to take on the Boilermakers on Wednesday.