Ready For The Second Half

There are a lot of blogs talking about how players on their respective teams faired over the course of the first half, what went right and what went wrong, who needs to step up, what needs to change, etc. We all know what happened to our club in the first half of the season. The guys played really hard at times but unfortunately the rubber didn't bounce their way in a lot of games, particularly @ UNH, BU, and @ PC but we saw what the maroon and gold are capable of two weeks ago vs Michigan. They can play with and beat some of the top teams in college hockey, even though they were without their best defenseman for all but 3 games. I'm telling you right now, if this team can stay healthy, I don't think there is any doubt they will be hitting on all cylinders when it really matters.

The thing that has me most excited right now is Alex Tuch's play up at the World Jr's. Of course, playing with Jack Eichel would make someone like me look good but I think Alex is playing as good as he as all season. In fact, he played a lot better in the vs Michigan and UNH than he had earlier in the season. I can certainly see him developing into BC's "go to" guy if he comes back from Montreal playing the way he has.

As of right now, the Eagles sit 8 spots of the NCAA tournament, ranked 23rd in the pairwise rankings but they're going to have their chances to play some clubs that have proven themselves over the course of the first half of the season. BU, Vermont, Providence, and Lowell are all top 10 teams that have played well all season and BC gets 5 home games against those teams in the second half (BU is really @ BU but Agganis counts as a home game). This weekend's tournament @ Dartmouth is crucial because their first opponent, Brown, has really struggled in the first half meaning a loss to them would certainly drop BC down four or five slots. If they're able to defeat the Bears with a shorthanded roster (no word on Santini yet), they will have a chance to play a Big Green squad which currently ranks above them in the pairwise. If they come out of this weekend with two wins, watch out.

It certainly can be said that a lot of fans, certainly this guy at times, were a little to critical and pessimistic about this team's chances but at the end of the day, they have the best defense in the country, the best goaltender, and last time I checked, the same head coach. I'm not saying that we should expect them to win it all but I really believe they're going to make a run for it. All they have to do is find a way to get into the dance because once we are in the dance, there is not one team out there that wants to face a club with the words "Boston College' etched across the front of their uniforms.