NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ! (AGAIN)

When I walked into the rink in late September for the first practice of the year, I was fortunate enough to talk with Coach York for a few minutes. I asked him "Coach what do you think of everyone writing you off after losing a lot of scoring ? " He gave a nice, simple reply. "Mike, this is a good hockey team. "We can Win a National Championship." Last night, for the 3rd time in the last 5 years and for the fifth time overall, Boston College captured that coveted national title that this team has been working so hard for all season long with a 4-1 victory over a tough Ferris State team. What I really want to talk about however, is not the game or what happend, but how this team (And this coach staff) have been able to rally off 19 straight wins and win a National Championship. If you had called me on our ride back from Orono and said "This team will win the National Championship", I would not have believed you at all. I mean look, we were losing to UMass, Maine, and having trouble with teams like Northeastern. But, after that weekend in Orono, I began to notice something a little bit different in the way this team went about their business, something a little different in the attitude they had each and everyday at practice. This team suddenly realized that just because you're wearing a Boston College sweater, it doesn't necessarily mean your going to automatically win (Although it does fell like that now !) This team worked hard and they EARNED this National Championship with the hard work they put forth not just in the past three months, but since September.

In terms of the game, I thought BC held their own versus one of the better teams I have seen all season long. Ferris State battled so hard all night and had the Eagles up just one goal late in that game before Johnny G, who is not only the best freshman in Hockey East, but in the country, potted another one of his highlight reel goals to put the cherry on top of the sundae. In reality, the offense was great but the two reasons we won this game were the always amazing goaltending of Parker Milner and the solid defense and penalty killing in big time situations. The Eagles did a fabulous job of killing off all four FSU pp's as they ended the season with allowing just one PP goal since the Beanpot final versus BU. The speed that this PK comes at you with gives you no time to settle down and think about what your next move is going to be. At BC, everyone of these penalty killers plays really hard and attacks the puck whether it's down low or up top on the point. Give credit to Coach Cav, his penalty kill is certainly one of the reasons this time won a National Title. I thought BC's power play worked it around pretty well last night and were rewarded with a nice PP goal from Paul Carey (Who was my MVP of the tournament). Just an amazing way to cap off a special season.

The third thing I would like to talk about is our head coach. Ok, I'll give you John Wooden, Pat Summit, maybe Joe Paterno and Coach K but after that, there is no one better than Coach York. I don't care what anyone says, he is the best coach in NCAA Division 1 athletics today. His ability to motivate his teams while being the classiest human being in the world is something that you will never see, anywhere you look. I don't know when it will happen but this school needs to build a statue of this man. Yhea sure Dough Fluite was great and all, but the biggest icon in the history of Boston College athletics is Coach York. I would also like to talk about a player that I probably talk too much about but tonight is certainly a night where his name must be talked about. Tommy Cross is not just a special hockey player and a special leader, he is a special human being. Let me give you an example. After the game last night, before saying anything else to the media, he thanked them for all of their hard work trying to promote the game of college hockey. Just a class act in everything he does. In the history of Boston College hockey, we have had a lot of great captains but Tommy Cross has set the standerd of what a true leader should be. An amazing career Tommy, amazing career.

What can I say ? I could not be more proud of this hockey team and this hockey program. You know I couldn't write this without telling you that we have now tied Parker and his program with 5 National Titles. It's kind if amazing that before 2001, BU had four championships while we had just one. My dad always tells me  " You're so lucky that your a BC fan right now", " We have suffered through so much for a long time ". I think I can rest assured that our suffering is over and for the boys down on the ugly side of Comm Ave, it's just the beginning.This is the golden age of Boston College hockey, led by the greatest coach in the history of college hockey. What a year, NATIONAL CHAMPIONS !

Why BC Won

1. Parker Milner. I have said enough. He should have been an All American. He played amazing again last night. Give Coach Logue a lot of credit for what he has done with Parker and his development as a goaltender.

2. The PK. It got to a point where I was 100 % convinced they were not going to let up a goal. This unit has been so good all year long.

3. So many guys played well. I thought Steve Whitney, Paul Carey, Bill Arnold, and Pat Mullane played their best hockey all season this weekend. The way these guys can skate and create chances in the offensive zone is just amazing.

4. We have the greatest coach in college sports. I don't care what anyone says, he is the greatest.

Notes 

1. This is the fifth National Championship in school history, tying Minnesota and The Other School who also have 5.

2. The BC senior class ends their careers with a 110-42-1 record. Amazing.

3. Paul Carey, Steve Whitney, Brian Dumoulin and Parker Milner were all named to the NCAA All Frozen Four team.

4. Parker Milner was named Frozen Four MVP.

Personal Note- 

I personally would like to thank all of you for reading this blog over the course of this year. When I started this thing last December, I never thought it would get to the 600 something views it gets per day. I would like to thank my mom, dad, and uncle for sacrificing their time to drive me to road games this season and supporting me all the time. I would also like to thank Tim Clark of the BC Media Department. Without him, I don't think it would be possible for this blog to exist. He has helped me in so many ways and for that I thank him. If you think this is the end of blogging, you are wrong. I will still write 2-3 post every week whether it is about recruiting, scheduling, lineup changes, etc....

So I thank you and wish you a happy golf season !,

GO EAGLES !