Time To Strike Back

Before I start, I want to congratulate Providence on their National Title last night, their first in program history. I've got a good friend who loves PC and and I've always been able to give him crap about BC beating PC every single year and how the Friars were always irrelevant but the tables have turned, at least for now. Nate Leaman's coaching performance is one of the greatest I have ever seen. Yes, he had Jon Gilles but he didn't have a Johnny Gaudreau or a Jack Eichel to turn things around in a split second. He did it through a lot of hard work on the recruiting trail and for that, I give him and his staff all the credit in the world. They're no longer just a poodle fighting against the two Bulldogs anymore, they're one of the top programs in college hockey.

Outside of BC winning the whole thing, there really is nothing better than seeing BU lose a game, especially in that fashion but I want to say that what Dave Quinn and his staff have done over there in such a short amount of time is really something that we will have to reckon with for a long time. They're back, whether you want to admit it or not, we aren't going to steamroll these guys on a year to year basis anymore, like we have done all so often in the past (except for maybe this upcoming year we will). Despite my utmost respect for Coach Quinn and his team, I still love seeing them lose more than anything in the world because if they had won last night, it would have been the start of the longest offseason in the history of BC Hockey but fortunately, we were able to dodge a huge bullet.

While BU losing is great and all, it has got to be a wake up call for the Eagles. We spent all season in the rearview mirror because the college hockey media decided to chalk #9 up like he was the second coming of the Messiah. Well, all I'm saying is Johnny Gaudreau played his best game of his career in his only National Title appearance, Jack Eichel played very mediocre. It's time for BC to step up and make sure BU takes a back seat in the Boston colligate hockey scene but give them credit, they were able to attract a world class talent that will undoubtedly help their recruiting down the road but it's up to BC to make sure it's just a one hit wonder. I'm not saying BU isn't going to be a factor at all for the next couple years, like they have been all too often as of late, but BC has an opportunity this upcoming season to really take what they gave us this season and shove it right back in their faces. If and when Eichel leaves, we should be able to go in there and beat them by 5 or 6 goals next season with the type of talent we have returning and coming in. I remember the Terriers did this campaign last season where they printed out shirts that had "Never Again" scripted on the back. If I was the staff, I would take a copy of the all the articles I could find that were written about BU and post them on the wall as bulletin board material to ensure that the players coming in next season know that while we obviously want to win a National Title, the most important goal is making sure we don't have another season in which we are a step behind BU and if all goes according to plan, we should be able to take that mantle back quite easily next season.

Once again, congrats to the Friars on their title and to BU on a terrific season but let's take what happened last night in stride and come out firing on all cylinders next season.

The big three era commences

Go Eagles !