Time to Do Some Changing

What happened at Kelly Rink on Friday evening is not really a thing of rocket science. It's not some calculus problem that we've got to try and figure out. Instead, it was one hockey team that couldn't have been more excited to play one of the top teams in the country and another team that wished they were still eating turkey and potatoes. BC just lost to Holy Cross. Let that sink in. They have won three games all year and BC has never lost to an Atlantic Hockey team. It has to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of college hockey, without a doubt.

What can I say ? That was as bad a loss as I can ever remember, in fact, I would say that is the single worst loss in the last fifteen years. The fact that BC lost that game last night because they didn't feel like playing for the first fifty minutes, has to make BC fans wonder what the mindset of this club is right now. The bottom line is BC just didn't want to be there. They didn't want to play, they didn't want to have to skate hard, and they felt like it would be cool to spot another team five goals before coming back. Nope. Awful. Just plain horrible.

Last weekend up in Maine was, in my opinion, just a blimp on the screen. You're going to have bad games once and a while. But when you lose a game many predict you should win by five or six goals, that's a different story. How do the guys come out like that ? How was so little effort shown in the first two periods ? This team obviously thinks they're this great team that's a bunch of world beaters. Guess what ? THEY'RE AN AVERAGE HOCKEY TEAM.

I don't know what the staff is going to do this week in practice but I'm pretty darn happy I'm not going to be one of the twenty seven skating sprints up and down the ice for two hours. A lot of people have told me, "well maybe it's a good wakeup call for them" or "they will be better because of this". I don't want to hear that. What happened on that ice last night was one of the most agonizing displays on hockey I have ever witnessed. This is a super proud program with tons of people that love this school's hockey team. Not one person was proud of that team walking out of the rink yesterday.

Anyways, congrats to Holy Cross. That is a program changing win, no doubt. I'm certainly going to be rooting for those guys to win their league and make the NCAA tournament because they play as hard as any team I've ever seen. Congratulations.

Demko In Vs Holy Cross/ Lineup

Thatcher Demko will start today versus Holy Cross. It is his first start since November 8th @ Boston University.

Here is the lineup-

Johnny G- Bill Arnold- Austin Cangelosi 

Ryan Fitzgerald- Kevin Hayes- Destry Straight

Quinn Smith- Pat Brown- Adam Gilmour 

Matty Gaudreau- Mike Sit- Brendan Silk 

Savage- Santini

Macleod- Matheson

McCoshen Linell

Demko

Previewing the Holy Cross Crusaders

The Eagles will look to continue their impressive streak of not having lost back to back games yet this season when they play host to ancient rival, Holy Cross, on Friday evening @ Kelly Rink. This will be the first meeting between the Eagles and Crusaders since November of 2004, which was a 5-0 BC victory. A handful of fans have questioned the decision to schedule Holy Cross, especially on a Friday after Thanksgiving but I think they need to take a step back and look at the broader picture. Outside of Boston University and Notre Dame, Holy Cross is BC's biggest rival and is perhaps the schools oldest rival in football. While their hockey program may not be up to the standards of BC's, I think it's a classy move to schedule them because they don't always get a chance to play top notch competition. Also, it wouldn't be smart if BC just loaded up on playing teams like Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin every month. I don't know if I would like to see these two teams play every year, but I hope that BC continues to schedule home contest vs Holy Cross in the near future.

So far this season, the Crusaders have amassed a 3-9 record, with all of those wins coming in the Atlantic Hockey league. They are 2-6 on the road. They have played three games vs Hockey East teams (Northeastern twice and BU), they are 0-3 in those games and were outscored by a 11-5 margin in those contest. They actually played BU really tough, only losing by a goal on the road. Their three wins have come over Army, Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart. Two players from Holy Cross, Mike and Joey McNamara have a father that played @ BC in the late 80's and they grew up literally right next to BC's campus. Their mother was also BC's tennis coach for a period of time. So yea, there are a couple of connections between these two teams.

As for the Eagles, it should be business as usual as they have not lost a non-conference home game since they fell to Denver in October of 2011 by a 5-4 margin. I'm not sure of any specifics but I would expect some line changes, especially on the first two lines. I'm not sure the staff is going to keep the Johnny G, Arnold, and Cangelosi line together after they went -9 up in Orono. Coach York normally doesn't like to switch lines after one bad game so I would surprised if there is anything real dramatic but look for some changes. In goal, it will most likely be Thatcher Demko. Expect an official announcement tomorrow morning. This is will be his first game since November 8th @ Boston University. Let's be honest for a second here. BC is probably going to win by a large margin tomorrow. They are just too talented for a team like Holy Cross. The biggest thing that they have got to find a way to do is play for a full 60 minutes. It's been three weeks since they played a really good, full 60 minute hockey game. Hopefully that will change in front of the home crowd tomorrow night.

Scouting Holy Cross- 

RPI Rank- 55th

Record- 3-9, 7th in Atlantic Hockey

Leading Scorers- Tim Driscoll (2-5-7), Mike McNamara (2-4-6), and Adam Schmidt (2-5-6)

Team Offense- 2.00 goals per game, 53rd in country.

Team Defense- 3.08 goals per game, 38th in country.

Power Play- 13.16 %, 51st in country.

Penalty Kill- 80 %, 36th in country.

Keys for the Eagles- 

1. Put them away in the first forty minutes. Don't let this be a one or two goal game in the third period.

2. Capitalize on the power play. For some reason, BC's power play is a heck of a lot better at home than on the road. They have 17 power play points @ Kelly Rink. They have just 6 on the road.

3. Need some good goaltending. I think it would be a real confidence booster going into a big series next weekend if Demko can go in and play outstanding.

Notes- 

1. The game starts @ 4 PM.


Go Eagles !

Milano Article

Here is an interesting article I came across this morning on next year's star recruit, Sonny Milano. 

Have a great Thanksgiving with your family and friends. 

Go Eagles. 

Staff Anounces 2014 Incoming Forward Class

Coach York has announced that four new forwards will be joining the Eagles in 2014 and man is it one heck of a class. In fact, it may be better than this years highly touted group. The group is led by projected first round pick Sonny Milano out of the US National Development Program. Accompanying Millano will be two big, strong, physcial forwards in Alex Tuch (USNDT) and Zach Sanford (USHL) The fourth and final member of the group is speedy center Tanner MacMaster. 

No matter who leaves after this season, it's pretty certain that these four guys will each find a spot in the lineup at some point next season. I expect that Millano and Sanford could be on the top two lines while Tuch will be a third line guy and MacMaster could be the fourth line center. But that's a long way away. 

Here are some quotes from Coach York on the guys- 

“This elite class of forwards is a group we are very excited about,” York said. “Much like the impact of this year’s freshmen class is having, we anticipate the same kind of results from these four next season.”

“Milano is creative playmaker whose skill set matches what we’re trying to do here at Boston College,” York said. “He will bring speed to our left wing position

“Tuch is a big and powerful forward,” York said. “He will bolster our front lines through his physical and aggressive style of play.”

“Sanford offers a great deal of size and skill to our front lines,” York said. “He is a mature, developed skater and will mesh well with next year’s roster.”

“MacMaster is a crafty centerman whose awareness and quickness will benefit our team down the road"

Reminder to Donate to the BC Hockey Toy Drive

Examining What Went Wrong On Saturday

Going into this season, I think everyone around the BC Hockey program believed that they had a team that could do some serious damage come February, March, and April mainly because there is as much talent on this roster as there was on a couple of BC's National Championship teams. Unfortunately, when you have a young team, you are prone to some really bad letdowns. In it's most basic explanation, the game on Saturday was a letdown of epic proportions. There was not one guy that was ready to play, especially BC's top guns. The first line of Johnny G, Bill Arnold, and Austin Cangelosi was a combined -9 on the night. Not only that, but they gave up a lousy goal just thirty seven seconds into the game. In order for BC to be successful on both ends of the ice, they need these three to be playing at a high level. It starts and ends with your stars and BC's just flat out didn't play like they normally do.

If there is one word to describe BC's defensive effort, it would be "exposed". Maine made BC's defense core look like a bunch of high schoolers out there. Sure, it would have helped if Santini was back there but with the way some others guys performed, I'm not sure Nick Lidstorm would have made a difference. For example, Maine's first two goals were just a result of their forwards outworking BC's two defensemen. The Eagles have to make a better effort to separate body from puck and not let guys get a free pass to the net. It seemed that there were more white shirts in front of Billett than there were maroon shirts for the majority of the night. Ok, maybe having their most physical guy back there on Friday could help just a wee bit.

Thirdly, the staff has got to figure out the power play. Yes, both units have made steps in the right direction as it seems that BC is spending a lot more time in their opponents end but still, there is too much perimeter passing and not enough quality chances. If you have no talent, then blasting bombs from the point may work out once and a while but when you have a couple of magicians up front, they why are you not generating more chances below the dots ?  You're not going to win every game, even if you have a potent power play but if you can score clutch goals on the man advantage, you are going to give yourself a chance to win every game in this league. The Eagles didn't do that on Saturday and obviously they got blown out of the water.

Lastly, a handful have emailed me about the goaltending situation and after thinking about it for a little while, I think it would be unfair to simply write off Billett. Sure, he has struggled against good teams but he played well in the games he needed to play well in. The biggest problem he has right now is his rebounding control. Everything seems to be falling out of his glove and it was the sole reason for Maine's fourth (and game clinching) goal. If he can get that sorted out, everything will be fine.

Anyways, let's hope for a big win on Friday to get back on track going into a huge home and home next weekend versus New Hampshire. Expect Demko to be back in net.

Go Eagles.

Black Bears Use Big First Period to Defeat BC

Devin Shore had two goals for Maine

For the fourth straight game, the Eagles gave what could be described as a "half hearted" effort only this time they payed the price as they were blown out of the building by the Maine Black Bears, 5-1. First of all, let's give a lot of credit to Red Gendron and his team. They played extremely tenacious in all three zones but especially in the neutral zone. They didn't give BC anything, no odd man rushes, no breakaways, no real grade A chances, just nothing. I don't know how good that Maine team will be this year but man did they play hard last night. From puck drop to the final whistle, white shirts were flying all over the ice.

As for the boys in maroon and gold. That certainly wasn't the case. How do you know your team is not ready to play ? When you give up a goal thirty seven seconds into the game on what should have been a relatively simple 2 on 2 rush. BC's defense just got beat all night in every aspect, it also didn't help that Brian Billett had as tough a night as he is ever going to have in between the pipes. You know how we were talking about how BC's first period vs Harvard was their best of the year ? Well last night was without a doubt their worst of the year. They looked liked they wanted to be somewhere else besides Alfond Arena. Their opponent on the other hand looked like a pack of gorillas that had just been released from the zoo.

Surprisingly, none of Maine's five goals came on the power play and I actually thought BC's penalty was the only bright spot on the night. When it came to the goals though, they were just awful. Not picking up guys, letting up awful rebounds, being outnumbered in front of the net, losing battles in the neutral zone...I could go on for while but I will stop. It was just an all around horrible effort in the first period and you can't beat good hockey teams on the road without playing solid for all sixty minutes.

The Eagles actually carried the play substantially over the course of the last forty minutes but Maine's goalie Martin Ouellette stood on his head. If he continues to play like that, Maine is going to be real tough come playoff time. I thought BC's second line of Hayes, Straight, and Fitzgerald was probably the only line that played somewhat OK but other than that, it was pretty horrific to watch. The defense, well, they struggled. Mightily.

At the end of the day, Maine is a tough place to win and it's just one loss. When you keep playing the way BC has, you're going to lose hockey games and when you face quality clubs and play like that, you will get smoked. That's what happened last night. If it sounds like I'm worried, I'm not. I think we have a great team this year and when Demko gets back next week, I think the goaltending situation will start to play itself out. With a young team, we're going to see bumps in the road and tonight certainly was. It's no reason to blow it all up and fix things but the Eagles certainly need to be ready to face what will be a determined Holy Cross team next weekend.

Why BC lost- 

1. The first period was awful. There is no other way to put it, no one stood out and played well in maroon.

2. Maine played awesome. They were ready to play. We weren't. End of story.

Positives- 

1. The penalty kill was fine. The Black Bears were 0/5 on the PP.

Go Eagles.

Previewing the University of Maine Black Bears

Tonight, the Eagles will travel four and a half hours to Orono for their only trip of the season to Alfond Arena where they will face the red hot Maine Black Bears. Under first year head coach Red Gendron, the Black Bears are 5-4-1 but are coming off a beautiful 7-0 drubbing of Boston University last Friday night @ the Alfond. Much like the weekend in Minnesota a month ago, tonight is all about revenge for the Eagles as they were embarrassed at home last January to what was a last place Maine team on not one, but two straight nights. The Eagles are 1-3-1 in their last five to Orono, the lone win came last November when they escaped with a 3-2 victory. Maine is 5-1 @ home this season. 

Up front, the Black Bears are led by Devin Shore, perhaps one of the most underrated forwards in all of college hockey. I would say he is certainly top three or four forwards in Hockey East, without a doubt. However, Shore is not their leading points scorer. That honor belongs to freshman Cam Brown who has recorded nine points thus far this season. On the blue line, Maine is led by sophomore Ben Hutton who is actually tied for the team lead with four goals on the year. He is 8th in Hockey East in terms of defensemen scoring. Unlike last season, it appears that the Black Bears have a pretty deep lineup both up front and on the blue line but I would expect them to match the line of Shore, Connor Leen, and Steven Swavely against BC's big first line.

Keys for BC- 

1. Get off to a solid start. Over the last three weeks, BC has been playing better hockey in the first period. Alfond is a real tough crowd so hopefully can silence it early on.

2. Keep Shore at bay. If BC can keep him off the scoring page, I think they have a great chance of winning. Look for Matheson and McCoshen to get a lot of playing time vs him.

Notes- 

1. Expect Billett to be back in net. Demko is not ready.

I'm off to Maine. Go Eagles !

Eagles Blowout Crimson

The Boston College Eagles extended their unbeaten streak to seven games on Wednesday night as they put a beatdown on crosstown rival, Harvard, by a 5-1 margin @ the Bright Hockey Center. The Eagles had goals from Johnny G (x2), Austin Cangelosi, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Destry Straight. Six Eagles, including defenseman Teddy Doherty, had multiple points on the night. Johnny G led the way with three points overall. He now leads the country in points with 23.

First of all, I don't think the final score indicates the way Brian Billett played tonight. He stopped 34 of 35 Crimson shots, including a giant onslaught early on in the second period when BC was clinging to a 1-0 lead. Unlike Friday night vs UMass, the Eagles' weapons were able to put the puck in the back of the net when they were given the opportunity and they made life very easy for their Jr goaltender. For those that thought this goaltending battle was Demko's to lose, I think you might have to think again because Billett is starting to play as well as he has ever has.

Coach York pointed out after the game that he thought the first period was BC's best of the year. I think it would be pretty hard to say otherwise as the Eagles outshot Harvard by a 15-3 margin and probably should have been up by three or four goals. Getting fifteen shots is great and all but I was really pleased with the way BC defended in the first twenty minutes. Harvard had no space and no odd man rushes to work with. Unfortunately, that all changed in the second.

Give credit to Harvard because they really took it to the Eagles in the second period. BC was standing around in their own end watching white shirts pass the puck around for almost half the period. Thankfully, BC was able to catch a break and go down on a 4-2 rush which resulted in a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play after which Destry Straight scored his second goal of the season. I think after the second goal Harvard started getting a little too aggressive and they gave BC a lot of room through the middle of the ice. That's a cardinal sin against BC, especially when Johnny G is on the ice. Watch the highlights to see what commenced.

To put it in the nicest possible way, the third period was not a fun twenty minutes of hockey. Harvard's main goal over the course of the last period was to hurt BC's best players, particularly Johnny G. After the Crimson's Kevin Guiltinan leveled "G" from behind in the corner, Billy Arnold responded by coming to blows with the Crimson defenseman. I'm sure the staff is a bit disappointed that Billy was assessed a game misconduct but I think he did the right thing by standing up for his teammate. This wasn't just an ordinary hit from behind. Guiltinan clearly lined Johnny up in the corner and had every intent on harming him. Hopefully the ECAC steps in and hands down a severe punishment. A Mike Matheson boarding penalty shortly after resulted in Harvard's only goal of the night. If you give a team like Minnesota or Providence five power plays, they're going to blow you out of the building. For some reason, BC just won't stop taking dumb, useless, penalties.

All in all, it's always great beating those guys by that margin but it wasn't by any means a perfect game for the Eagles. The first period was as good as it's going to get but the second and third were both below average periods that may be ignored because BC was able to capitalize on their chances in the offensive end. Anyways, a win is a win and I'm sure it's going to be a pretty confident group of guys traveling up to Orono on Friday night.

Positives- 

1. The first line of Johnny G, Bill Arnold, and Austin Cangelosi played it's best game of the season. Arnold and G are always going to be playing at a high level but the staff has to be very pleased with the way Cangelosi has played of late.

2. Brian Billett played exceptionally well. Make that three straight games where he has given BC a chance to win even though they might not be playing at a high level at all times.

3. Teddy Doherty played great. Probably BC's best defenseman tonight.

Negatives- 

1. The Eagles were outshot by a 32-17 margin in the second and third periods.

2. Power play was 0-4 but they moved it around great. They're certainly moving in the right direction. I'd like to see them put Cangelosi on the second unit though.

Notes- There is a chance Demko is back on Saturday night @ Maine. He practiced this morning. Santini is out for one more game so Doherty will go again.

Players of the game- Johnny G and Brian Billett

Next Up- Saturday night @ Maine.

Previewing the Harvard Crimson

For the first time since December of 2009, the Boston College Eagles will travel four miles down the road to faceoff against cross-town rival, Harvard, tomorrow night at the Bright Hockey Centre. The Eagles and Crimson faced each other in the first round of last seasons Beanpot, of course, Boston College came away with a 4-1 victory. Before we dive into all the numbers and stuff, I love it that these two teams have restarted their regular season series. Back in the 50's and 60's, believe it or not, Harvard was BC's chief rival. If you haven't seen the Eagles make the trip the Cambridge, I would highly recommend it because it's a pretty cool place to watch a hockey game, especially when BC is in town.

Anyways, Ted Donato's club is off to a bit of a rough start as they're 3-4-1 on the season with wins over RPI, Princeton, and Bentley. They have lost to Union, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, and Quinnipiac. They also tied RPI. I'm sure none of those teams jump out at you as a powerhouse but Clarkson, Union, and Quinnipiac are all really good hockey teams that could be contending for a spot in the Frozen Four come April. I wouldn't call any of those "bad losses". The one common opponent between the Eagles and Crimson is RPI, whom the Eagles trounced 7-2 in October.

Up front, Harvard is led by Nashville Predators draft pick Jimmy Vesey, who has recorded six goals and two assist thus far this season. Also leading the way for the Crimson are Brian Hart (6 points), and Kyle Criculuo (7 points). On the blue line, Harvard is relatively young as they have two freshmen, Clay Anderson and Kevin Gulilitian who have played in all eight games. Aiding the young guys are seniors Danny Fick and Dan Ford. Whether their numbers are good or not, the Crimson have a bunch of really talented guys that can skate well and put the puck in the net. Some of these forwards like Vesey and Kerfoot could cause some major problems for BC if the Eagles allow them a lot of space.

As for the Eagles, the biggest thing they have to do is finish their chances in the offensive end. They garnered a lot of high quality opportunities against UMass on Friday night but they just were not able to pull through. BC is at it's best when Johnny G is flying around the ice, making out of this world passes, and scoring goals. Even though he had two points this weekend, he was not as big of a factor as he normally is in the offensive end. I look for him to have a "bounce back" game tomorrow night. As I noted on Monday, Santini will be out due to his suspension which means Teddy Doherty will be back in the lineup. Hopefully he can continue to play at a high level like he did Thursday @ UMass.

Lineup Notes- 

1. Calnan will be back in. Matt Gaudreau will not play. Expect Billett in net.

Scouting Harvard-

RPI Rank- 38th.

Leading scorer- Jimmy Vesey (8 points)

Best win- vs RPI

Projected starter- Raphael Girard (1.52 GAA) could also be Steve Michalek (2.72 GAA)

All time series- Boston College leads 70-44-5 and currently holds an eight game winning streak vs Harvard.

Keys for Eagles-

1. Capitalize on good chances. Get Johnny G the puck in space.

2. Stay out of the box. We would have had four points last weekend if it wasn't for so many penalties. This team won't lose a lot of hockey games if they stay out of the box.

Go Eagles.

Weekend Thoughts

Instead of writing a full recap of a game that took place almost 48 hours ago, I'm going to kind of summarize where I think this club is at this point in the season. First of all, let's forget about the officiating on Friday night. You know as well as I do, the performance those refs put on was something that probably shouldn't have taken place Coach York would never, in a million years, say something like that but I think, deep down, the staff was really upset about some of the events that took place on Friday. Anyways, let's forget about all that crap.

First of all, I thought Brian Billett was really good both Thursday and Friday. He still needs to work on his rebound control as he almost let a couple of real bad ones slip by him but at the end of the day, he gave the Eagles a chance to win on both nights. That's all you can ask for out of a goaltender. I would expect him to go on Wednesday because Demko is not fully healed from a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for this weekend.

On the offensive side of things, I thought UMass did a fantastic job of shutting down Johnny G. Yes, he had two points this weekend but he is always going to have his points. It's when you keep him under control and don't give him space, where he is not much of a factor. I thought BC's third and fourth lines were solid for the most part but I'm still a little confused about the X's and O's going on. I thought Matty Gaudreau played great on Friday and I believe he deserves to start again this week. However, I don't agree with putting him on the third line. The decision to bench Calnan was a little troubling considering the fact that he played fine on Thursday (in my opinion). I would expect there to be a few changes on Wednesday night.

The biggest issue that needs to be addressed with this team is the penalties. Whether you liked the way the refs called the game on Friday, there is nothing you can do about it and a penalty is a penalty. The PK has been really good statistically but they're not going to kill off fifteen straight penalties against what was the #4 power play in the country. Guys like Mike Matheson and Steven Santini are two of the most valuable players on this club. They need to be logging a lot of minutes. It doesn't help when your best +/- guy (Santini) gets tossed in two consecutive games and has to sit out another two. Whether it was a penalty or not (and it wasn't), guys don't need to be trying to take people's heads off with under five minutes to play in a league game.

Overall, I like where this team is at. It would have been great to get four points this weekend, but considering the fact we had to kill off a five minute major with three minutes to go in regulation, I'm just fine with three points. I was extremely pleased to see the staff put all the big guns on the first power play unit for the first time since the Minnesota series. The result was some scary good puck movement and a goal that was called back for some reason I can't explain. If you would have told me that through eleven games we would be sitting a point out of first place, at 6th in the pairwise, and haven't lost a league contest yet, I would be pretty darn pleased.

It also helps when you land a once in a lifetime talent.

Go Eagles.

Eagles Land Biggest Recruit In Years

Remember how I stated a few weeks ago that it's been a little out of the norm that BC only has two commits in the past like three, maybe four months ? Well they changed that in a huge way on Saturday morning when they received a commitment from Sonny Milano, a former Notre Dame recruit. Milano is rated an "A" skater by the NHL Central Scouting Service. He currently plays for the US Under 18 team and has recorded 33 points (!) in 20 games played.

To say the least, this is one of the biggest recruits the staff has ever landed. This kid is sensational. Absolutely unbelievable. BC beat schools such as Minnesota, Michigan, and Boston University to get Milano's commitment. That gives you a sense of just how good this guy is.

Forget everything I said earlier. He is coming in 2014/15.

UMass recap will be up later.

It's a great day to be an Eagle.

GO EAGLES !!

Eagles Escape Amherst With 2-1 Win

Simply put it, that was one heck of a hockey game. As is usually the case @ the Mullins Center, the UMass Minutemen gave the #6 Boston College Eagles everything they had but thanks to phenomenal penalty killing, a standout performance from Brian Billett, and a nice ruling from the officials, the Eagles return to Chestnut Hill with their 5th straight win and their 4th in Hockey East, catapulting them into first place. 

Last weekend, we saw a BC team that dominated two sub-par opponents from start to finish. Tonight was a different story. I think it's fair to say that UMass isn't on the same playing field talent wise as BC but man did they play their hearts out tonight. They badly outplayed BC for much of the first period and were rewarded with a tap in rebound goal with just a 1:48 left in the stanza. I haven't seen the tape yet but it looked like UMass just got a nice bounce in front, maybe they just won a battle for the lose puck, and tapped it by Billett. It could have easily been a two or three goal lead for the Minutemen because BC was flat out lethargic for the whole first period. The only guy that looked like he was ready to play was in net. 

The second period was much better, especially the middle part of it where it seemed BC had possession of the puck below the UMass blue line for five straight minutes. They cycled the puck well below the dots and forced freshman Mac Haight to make some pretty spectacular saves. The Eagles finally broke through when Isaac Macleod made a nifty pass to the front of the net where Johnny G was able to bang it by Haight. Bill Arnold did a good job of winning the faceoff, Macleod made a intelligent play to pinch in and "G" just did what he always does. The second BC goal came just four minutes later on the power play when Kevin Hayes banged home a rebound. It was BC's first power play goal of the season on the road. I thought the PP was average tonight. They had a couple of chances late in the second period to make it a two goal game but UMass made the plays when they needed to. The staff switched Teddy Doherty in for Ian McCoshen on the first unit for BC's final two power plays. I thought Doherty, as he usually is on the power play, was good. 

The third period felt like it took three hours to complete. BC, like they have done way too often lately, got in some penalty trouble all period (four in the third) and UMass appeared to capitalize on Mike Matheson's third penalty of the night, just three minutes into the third. After Coach York called a timeout and asked the refs to review the play, they called it no goal. Micheletto and the rest of the UMass bench went absolutely nuts. During the post game press conference he asked the media to direct all questions about the no goal to the refs and he also stated that he would explore all options with the league. That's pathetic. You lost the game. Two guys were offsides by three feet, blame them, don't blame the refs. I can 100% assure you that if that happened to us, Coach York would not say anything like that. Just take it and move on. 

Anyways, what I should really be talking about is Coach Ayer's penalty killing unit. They were sensational tonight, especially in the third period. Once Ian McCoshen took a tripping penalty with 1:30 left in the game, UMass called a timeout hoping to draw up a play for the game tying goal. BC had other ideas as they didn't allow UMass to enter the zone until there were nine seconds left in the game. They blocked eight shots in the third period, nineteen in total. Guys like Bill Arnold, Austin Cangelosi, and Isaac Macleod all played really well when BC was a man down. 

All in all, it's a win but it sure as heck wasn't a "good" win. The biggest thing that I take away is that even though BC brought their C/B- game, they won a game in a tough environment. That wasn't the case a year ago. BC is a young team that is going to go through some tough times but it is extremely encouraging to me that they are finding way to win games, especially these league games. It's only a game and it's just two points but when you play like that against an inspired opponent and come away with a W, then you have to feel pretty good. 

Positives- 

1. Brian Billett. This was without a doubt his best game of the season. He may go again tomorrow depending on how Thatcher Demko’s hamstring is feeling. He didn’t dress tonight because of it. 
2. The penalty kill. They killed off all seven UMass power plays, including four in the third period. 

Negatives- 

1. Too many penalties. I hate calling guys out but Mike Matheson has got to stay out of the box. He took three penalties tonight, one for an embellishment. The other two were just totally unnecessary. Hopefully he can cut down on them. 
2. Need more sustained pressure. There were two times tonight where BC constantly pressured UMass in their end for a good chunk of time. Other than that however, there were not a lot of odd man rushes or quality chances. 

Player of the game- Brian Billett 

Next Up- UMass tomorrow @ Kelly. 

Previewing the UMass Minutemen

The first place Eagles will look to extend their four game winning streak tonight out in lovely Amherst as they take on Hockey East foe, UMass. This is the first meeting of two meetings between Boston College and UMass this season. The other will come tomorrow night @ Kelly Rink.

This has been a season of ups and downs for the Minutemen so far as they have a 3-6-1 record with wins over Maine, and Michigan State (x2). While they do have those three victories, they're coming off a humiliating 9-0 loss @ home to the UNH Wildcats last Saturday night. They also lost 4-1 in Durham on Friday night. As of today, the Minutemen sit in 8th place in Hockey East with three points (a win and tie vs Maine). If you're into the common opponents stuff, the only Eagle opponent UMass has faced is Boston University, whom they lost to on opening night by a 3-1 count.

The big problem for the Minutemen right now is their goaltending situation. Starter Steve Mastalerz was injured on Saturday night and it is unclear whether he will go tonight or not. From what I have gathered, even if he does play, he could be in some extreme pain. Not to mention he is facing the best offense in the country, averaging exactly five goals per contest. If Mastalerz does not go, UMass has two freshmen in Alex Wakaluk and Mac Haight ready to fill in. Combined, they gave up nine goals on thirty three shots versus UNH on Saturday. If they play like that against BC tonight, I don't even want to consider what guys like Johnny G and Kevin Hayes could potentially do. 

The last couple of years, the Mullins Center has not been kind to the Eagles but they do have a 23-6-1 record there since it's inception. Like UNH and Minnesota, the Mullins is an olympic ice surface which should give both teams a lot of room to skate north and south. For BC, they have got to limit UMass' chance on their side of the red line. If it becomes a skating contest, that is fine but I would like to see BC get out to an early lead, much like they did last weekend, and force the Minutemen into some offensive zone turnovers that will result in a bunch of odd man rushes for the Eagles.

No Hockey East game, especially on the road, is a walk in the park. With BC playing real well right now and UMass struggling just to keep pace in Hockey East, this is a perfect trap game. If BC is not ready to play, like they sometimes haven't been in this building, then UMass has a chance. If BC can get it going early and continue to capitalize on the power play, I like their chances.

Scouting UMass- 

Rank- Not ranked. 8th in Hockey East.

Team offense- 51st (2.10 goals per game)

Team defense- 49th. (3.70 goals per game)

Power play- 4th (28.57 %)

Penalty Killing- 44th (78.2 %)

Keys for the Eagles- 

1. Just continue to do what they have been doing. Playing uptempo, Eagle hockey. It sounds cliche, but it is true.

2. UMass has a good power play. BC has got to stay out of the box.

3. Pressure these young, inexperienced goaltenders. Make them win the game for UMass.

Go Eagles

Support The BC Hockey Toy Drive

This is the first of many notes I will post over the next few days, reminding you of the BC Hockey Toy Drive. It will be headed by Brian Billett, Billy Arnold, and Kevin Hayes. It is a certainly a great initiative and I hope that you will bring gifts for the drive to the following games-

November 29th vs Holy Cross and December 6th vs New Hampshire.

Santini Officially Out Of Thursday's game/Doherty To Play

BC defenseman Steven Santini has been suspended one game by Hockey East for his contact to the head penalty on Sunday afternoon versus Army. It was certainly a questionable call, to say the least, but there is nothing BC can do about it. They cannot appeal the decision according to Hockey East rules.

Teddy Doherty will start in place of Santini on Thursday night @ UMass. Santini will be back for Friday's game.

Go Eagles.

BC vs Army Highlights

Eagles Trounce Black Knights

Matty Gaudreau records his first goal. Photo by Dave Arnold.

If you thought BC's Friday night blowout of Boston University was bad, you wouldn't believe what happened last night @ Conte Forum. The Eagles absolutely annihilated the Army Black Knights by an 11-0 count in front of a pleasant crowd of 5,492. It was the first time Boston College has scored eleven goals since November 19th, 1984 when they put the same number up on Holy Cross. I'm going to keep my analysis of this game short and sweet because it's all summed up in one sentence, that game was a group of men versus a group of boys, on the ice. Off the ice however, I thought it was extremely classy for BC to have a moment of applause for all those Army kids. I wish nothing but the best to that team and their coaching staff. Thank you for serving our country each and every day.

Of course, Johnny G did his thing and made the Army defenseman look like a bunch of traffic cones but the thing I was most pleased with was BC's power play. Sure, it was against an inferior penalty killing unit but they moved it around well and finally, potted a few goals. They finished at three for five on the day. It's their second multi-goal game of the season on the power play. The biggest question mark surrounding this club over the summer was the freshmen class and how much they could come in and contribute. As a group, they were terrific last night as Matthew Gaudreau recorded his first colligate goal, Adam Gilmour, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Austin Cangelosi all picked up three points, and the defense did a fantastic job, evident by the zero shown on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

Lost in all the goals and celebrations however was a game misconduct given to Steven Santini in the third period for contact to the head. I left after BC made it 7-0 so I didn't actually see the hit but from what I have heard, the Army player was on the ice for a good period of time. The worst part about this whole situation is that Santini will now have to sit out BC's game @ UMass-Amherst on Thursday night due to the fact that he was given a misconduct. Given that it was the third period in an 8-0 hockey game, it probably wasn't the best move to go out there and try to take someone's head off.

Anyways, a win is a win and the process of becoming the best team in college hockey by April continues but there is no doubt that both games this weekend were two huge steps in the right direction. BC played some excellent hockey teams like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Northeastern, and RPI early in the season and obviously, that has prepared them well for the lesser teams such as BU and Army. Many have questioned why BC scheduled this game but in reality, I don't think you want to go against the powerhouses like Minnesota and Michigan night in and night out. The fact that this team has gotten to this point in the season with this record, to me, is impressive. All is well in Eagle Hockey land.

Positives- 

1. Johnny G was out of this world. I'll post the highlights right after this post. Watch. Also, he was named Hockey East player of the week.

2. The power play was excellent. Loved the way they moved it, Fitzgerald's goal was the prettiest goal by either unit this season.

3. Billett continues to make this a competition. Sure, it's Army but a shutout is a shutout. He will play next Friday.


Negatives- 

1. Santini's game misconduct in the third period of a 8-0 game. Since he is out Thursday, Teddy Doherty will go.

Player of the game- There were a lot but I'll go with Johnny G.....it was also nice to see Matty Gaudreau pick up his first goal in his first appearance. Certainly a nice day for the Gaudreau family.

Next Up- @ UMass on Thursday night.

Previewing the Army Black Knights

After a gigantic 5-1 beat down of arch rival Boston University on Friday night, the Eagles will look to pick up their 4th straight win vs the lowly Army Black Knights. So far this season, the Knights are 0-5, and currently rank dead last in the college hockey RPI (ranking percentage index) at 59th. Actually, the Knights fell to former BC assistant coach Mike Cavanaugh and UConn a few weeks back. It was Coach Cav's first ever win as a head coach.

In terms of statistics, the Black Knights rank 57th in goal per game, currently averaging 1.60 goals per contest. On the other hand, they have allowed 4.20 goals per game, good for 56th in the country. On special teams, the Black Knights have the 55th best power play in the country to go along with the 43rd ranked penalty kill in the nation. I think you get the point. If BC were to lose this game, it would be a good old fashion pairwise killer. Right now, BC has some really strong wins over some good clubs but losses like these can kill you come tournament time. For example, last season BU lost two games to a Harvard team that won ten games all season. If BU wins both of those games, they have a great chance to make the NCAA tournament. Basically, a loss today to a team ranked 59th out of 59 teams in college hockey would be flat out embarrassing and it would greatly decrease BC's chances of getting a #1 seed in March.

As for the Eagles, they played fine on Friday but they can do a lot of things better. First of all, this would be a good time to do some fine tuning to the power play. Currently, BC has scored just four goals on the power play this season. That ranks 47th in the country. When was the last time we had a power play that was ranked outside of the top 20 ? As you have probably noticed, this team is stocked with talent up and down the lineup. It's not like they don't have the firepower to have a potent power play. Heck, they probably have the two best distributers of the puck in college hockey. Last weekend vs Northeastern, neither unit had sustained zone time. I thought that changed on Friday as both had a lot of time under the other teams blue line but they did not get enough pucks to the net. There was way too much perimeter passing or looking for the perfect shot. Credit BU, they blocked a good amount of shots and they killed well  but I still think the Eagles' power play should be a lot better than it currently is.

Scouting the Black Knights- 

Record/RPI rank- 0-5-0, 59th.

Leading Scorers- CJ Reuschlein (3 points), Mac Lalor (2 points), Willie Faust (3 points)

All Time Series vs BC- Boston College leads 36-3-1, BC is on a 24 game winning streak vs Army.

Last Meeting- 1994, 9-3 win for the Eagles.

Notes- 

1. Army is one of four college hockey teams without a win this season.

2. If you can't make the game, you can watch it live on the BC athletic website.

3. Johnny G, Kevin Hayes, Ryan Fitzgerald, Mike Matheson, and Bill Arnold are all riding three game point streaks going into today.

Go Eagles !

Utter Domination

Some hockey games are fought between two evenly matched teams but a lot of times the score won't indicate it. On other occasions, the lesser team may catch the favorite on a bad night and sneak one out. Other nights, there is one team that is clearly more talented, faster, smarter, and just flat out better. That was the case tonight @ the Jack Parker Rink as the #8 Boston College Eagles embarrassed the #19 Boston University Terriers by a 5-1 count in front of a sold out crowd. Going in, I was confident that BC was the more skilled team but no matter how good BC is our how bad BU is, you know the Terriers are always going to bring their best vs the Eagles. Tonight BU was flat out awful. BC wasn't tremendous by any stretch of the imagination. They're just the better team at this point in the season.

We could go through all the X's and O's and we'll dive into a few of them later on but the bottom line is that Johnny G was too nifty for BU. He made some of those defensemen such as Noonan and Grzelcyk look like orange cones out there. The pass he made to Billy Arnold on BC's third goal was just something I don't think any BC player, ever, could have made. Not Gionta, not Gerbe. Only him. He's that good. Last weekend, Northeastern did a great job of taking time and space away from him. If you're going to give "G" space, then you've got to have a lot of quick guys that can catch up with him and be physical. Teams like Minnesota have that. BU certainly does not. They failed greatly in trying to contain Johnny Hockey. 

Other than Johnny G, I was very pleased with the way Ryan Fitzgerald, among others, played tonight. He was +1 on the night but played a vital role in some key BC penalty kills. He's got that nice mixture of offensive firepower and defensive intelligence. A lot like Billy Arnold, just a great two way player. I'm not sure many people expected him to have six points in eight games. Not to mention that slick pass he made to Kevin Hayes to put BC on top 4-1. Speaking of Billy Arnold, I thought he played his best game of the year tonight, evident by his +3 rating and three points. You know Hayes and Johnny G are always going to bring it on the offensive end but when Arnold brings his offensive skill set with him along with his already tremendous defensive zone play, it equals a dangerous combination. 

It's no coincidence that just days after I write a few paragraphs on the third D pairing of Isaac Macleod and Danny Linell, they go out and play their best games of the season. Both guys were +3 tonight. When BU started to press late in the second period, I thought these two, especially Macleod, were tremendous. Isaac is not a great skater but his extra long stick makes him a big asset on the penalty kill. He must have had three or four really key poke checks that eventually led to momentum killing clears. The key to BC's transition game is the breakout. Nobody did a better job of starting those breakouts than Danny Linell did tonight. He has come a long way this season. Give him credit. 

Finally, I thought Thatcher Demko played sensational. Sure, BC's defense was really tight but BU had a ton of power plays, including a full minute of 5 on 3 with three minutes left in the second, down just two goals. Thanks to a couple of blocked shots and one or two big glove saves from Demko, the Eagles were able to maintain their two goal lead going the third. 

All in all, it doesn't get any better than humiliating that team and their fake fans @ that rink. BC is now 10-3-1 @ Agganis since 2005 when it was built. This team is starting to play some really good hockey and tonight was another step in the right direction but remember, it's a process. Sunday is another step in that process. Awesome win. See you Sunday. 

Positives- 

1. Johnny G was Johnny G. If there is anyone in the country that doesn't think he is the best player in college hockey, they ought to check into a hospital. 

2. Penalty kill/Demko came up big when they needed to. If BU scores on that 5 on 3 late in the second, it's a different game. Once BC got out of that, there was no looking back. 

3. The Macleod/Linell defensive pairing. They get criticized a lot but they played their best in the biggest game. That's all the staff ask of them. 

Negatives- 

1. Any time we beat that team @ that rink by that score, there won't be any complaints from blogger. PP was better, still not good. 

Notes- 

1. BC moves into first place in Hockey East with the win. 

2. Billy Arnold recorded his 100th point as an Eagle tonight. Congrats Billy ! 

3. Johnny G is good at hockey.

4. BC only allowed 6 shots when the teams were both at even strength 

Player of the game- "G"

Go Eagles !!!!! 

Previewing the Boston University Terriers

For the 263rd time, the Boston College Eagles will faceoff against their ancient rivals, the Terriers of Boston University, however this time there is a bit of different feeling surrounding the matchup. For the the first time since 1973, the red and white will be without their legendary head coach, Jack Parker. I don't know about you but I think it's going to be a really weird feeling looking across the ice at their bench and not seeing him with his arms crossed, finger pointed at the refs, and screaming at the top his lungs. Whether you want to admit it or not, this rivalry is not the same without him.

Anyways, as Coach York told the media today, it's still the maroon and gold vs the scarlet and white, and that's all that matters. The Eagles are looking for some revenge after last season's embarrassing 6-3 loss to Terriers in the Hockey East semifinals, one in which BC had a 2-0 lead midway through the second period. Only to give up five unanswered goals. That was last year however as the Eagles are a faster, more physical, and deeper team this time around while the Terriers have been limping out of the gate with a 4-4 record so far. All four of those wins have come at Agganis Arena.

Thus far, BU has been led by their highly talented defensemen such as Ahti Oksansen (9 points) and senior captain Garrett Noonan (8 points). Up front, the Terriers have some pretty quick forwards such as Danny O'Regan (6 points) and Cason Hohmann (7 points). Here is thing, up front, we have a big advantage. Outside of those two guys, BC is a faster, more skilled team and once they get over the red line, they should be able to create a lot of odd man rushes. The one thing they need to do is keep these defensemen on their heels. In the two losses last season, we allowed these guys to get too involved with the play and they capitalized. Oksanen, Grzeylck and Noonan can skate and are highly potent offensive weapons but they are liabilities in the defensive end. I want to see BC be aggressive on the forecheck. Don't give them anything for free. Be physical and create turnovers. Much like Saturday.

If you have watched BC vs BU for as long as I have, you'd notice that just about the winner of each game is the team that comes out on top in the power play battle. Historically, both teams have had great power plays. I don't know about their new system under Quinn but I do know that so far this season, BC's power play has been a non-factor. The good news is that BU's penalty kill has struggled so far this season as they rank 34th in the nation. Hopefully the Eagles can take advantage of that and pounce on any chances they have on the man up.

On paper, BC is the better team but as you know, when it comes to this rivalry, paper means zip. Both teams are young and there may be a bit of a feeling out period at the start of the game. There have been a handful of times where BU just hasn't been ready to play vs BC @ Agganis. If that happens with their young, inexperienced forward group tomorrow night, look for BC to get it going early and often.

Keys for BC- 

1. BC has allowed 10 goals in the first period this year. More than any other team in Hockey East. they can't keep pulling off these miracles late in the third period. It'd be nice to be up a goal or two heading into the final stanza tomorrow.

2. Stay out of the box. When it comes to 5 on 5. I think the Eagles have a substantial advantage. If they take penalties, BU will have a great chance to win.

3. Make it a run and gun game. BU will have a shot if it's a low scoring, defensive game. If BC can get out in space, score early and often, then I think they should be able to bring it home. Demko has played well this year when he has a lead. BC is the superior skating team. They gotta show it.


Scouting BU- 

Record/Rank- 4-4...ranked 17th in the USCHO poll.

Top line- Rodrigues-O'Regan-Baillargeon

Leading Scorer- Ahti Oksanen

Best Win- Vs Providence

Worst Loss- @ Michigan State

Notes- 

1. BC is 5-1 in it's last 6 games @ BU

2. Coach York is 37-38-7 vs BU

3. It's a 7:30 game.

Projected Lineup- 

Check Wednesday's post.

GO EAGLES !!

BREAKING: Coach York Extends Contract Through 2020

Coach York, in accordance with BC athletic director Brad Bates, has announced that he will remain in Chestnut Hill until the end of the 2020 hockey season, or at least that is when he latest contract will run up. Obviously, this is big news for the program but more importantly, it sends a message to recruits that the man who recruited them will be around for their time at BC. Of course, Coach York probably doesn't want anyone talking about this announcement....he'd rather talk about tomorrow nights war with the Terriers. Preview will be up later. 

Congrats Coach and Go Eagles. 

Lineup Questions

In case you haven't noticed, we have a pretty familiar team on the docket for Friday night. Boston University ? Yea, you may have heard of them. Another thing you probably did notice was how many lineup changes the staff made on Saturday night. They sat Savage, who I thought played pretty solid on Friday night but obviously they didn't. Also, they took out speedster Cam Spiro and replaced him with Destry Straight and to top it off, they removed freshman Evan Richardson, another speedster, and reinserted Brendan Silk, who actually played pretty well. Here is the lineup you should expect on Friday night.

Johnny G-Arnold-Cangelosi

Fitzgerald-Hayes-Calnan

Smith-Brown-Gilmour

Straight-Sit-Silk

Savage-Santini

McCoshen-Linell

Matheson-Macleod

Demko


First of all, I think they wanted to give Savage a look from the stands on Saturday because he wasn't bad on Friday. They tend to do that a lot with younger guys as they believe that if they watch the game from up above, they will learn and adjust quicker. I think it's a good idea but I don't know if it was the right move to sit a guy that has been playing lights out, especially in the offensive end. As I said on Sunday, I think the staff was somewhat pleased with the way Teddy Doherty played and I would expect him to play on Sunday versus Army in place of either Savage or Macleod. I've gotten a lot of emails over the past few days asking why the staff continues to put Linell on the blue line. It's a bit of a head scratcher, especially considering that he  and Macleod have the worst +/- of any player on the team through seven games (-3). At first, I was extremely skeptical of the move but I think that Danny has gotten better week in and week out. He wasn't very good on Saturday but he played exceptionally well on Friday night. Expect them to keep going with him on the blue line.

Up front, the only real question I have is why isn't Cam Spiro starting ? I mean, if the team had a skating contest around the ice, I think Spiro would finish in the top four, maybe even win. For some reason, the staff just doesn't give him enough time to show what he is made of. I'm not saying Destry Straight has been bad because this year has been an improvement thus far but seriously, Cam Spiro should be playing at least every other game. He would compliment a defensive guy like Mike Sit real well.

The worst thing about writing a blog like this is criticizing players once and a while. I try to never do it but as you probably see, I fail....a lot. One guy who I think really needs to step up is Chris Calnan. BU's third line isn't a real quick one and they don't play on one of those giant sheets like Minnesota so I think if Chris were to have a breakout game, this would be it. Against bigger more physical teams like RPI and Wisconsin, Chris has played well. BU is a lot like them. Besides Hohmann and maybe O'Regan, they don't have a lot of forwards that will jump out at you with their speed. Look for him to be a factor on Friday.

The last thing that needs to be addressed  is the power play. Right now, it's ranked 36th in the whole country....out of 59 teams. That's horrible. We have the talent to have two really potent units but for some reason, the staff doesn't put them together. I keep asking myself why Johnny G, Kevin Hayes, Billy Arnold, Mike Matheson, and Ian McCoshen are not all out there for at least one minute of every power play. They are some of the most skilled guys in college hockey, at least give them a chance to showcase it on the power play. The problem however, is not the set up. It's the entrance. When the guys are able to get set up in the zone, they can be magic. Unfortunately, they waste three quarters of the power play fiddling around with it in their own zone. I like the play where they send it to the wing, have Johnny drop to the middle, have him enter with it, and then get it set up. Force the opposing forwards to get lower in the zone allowing more room at the points and shots at a closer proximity for Matheson and McCoshen, two guys that can really shoot the puck.

I don't need to tell you how big a week this is. There are a lot of people that care a lot about this game on Friday night. These freshmen think they may have some idea about the rivalry but I think once they hit the ice, it will be a whole new feeling. Then again, how the heck would I know. I'm the blogger....not the player.

Go Eagles. Beat BU.

Stunned

Gilmour celebrates his game winner. Photo from Dave Arnold

Guys were bouncing off the walls, girls were screaming at the top of their lungs, and every single person draped in black and red was standing on their feet screaming the words "Billett, Billett, you suck !", followed by the "BC sucks" and "overrated" chants. Operation "Blackout BC" was a success.

Nope. 

Thanks to an overtime game winner from freshman Adam Gilmour, the Boston College Eagles completed a sweep of crosstown foe, Northeastern, while moving into a tie for first place with BU and UMass-Lowell in the process. You may have noticed I was a bit displeased with the way the team played last night. Apparently, so was the staff as they inserted Teddy Doherty (for Savage), Brendan Silk (for Richardson), and Destry Straight (for Spiro) into the lineup tonight. Like Coach York says after each game in October and early November, right now it's about the process and I thought BC played much better tonight they did last night. They didn't have as many breakdowns defensively as they had on Friday and they created a bunch of grade A chances on goalie Clay Whitt. 

On the offensive side of things, I thought BC's third line of Patrick Brown, Quinn Smith, and Adam Gilmour was sensational. To compete in Hockey East, you need to have three quality scoring lines. We didn't have that last year. Now we do and not only are they scoring goals, they're scoring BIG goals. All three guys were +2 tonight. The staff doesn't need them to be as dominant as the first two lines are but they need to be productive not only in the offensive end, but also in their own end. Smith and Brown are, in my opinion, the two best defensive forwards on the team and Gilmour is getting better as each game goes by. As for the big guns, it was more of the same as Arnold, Johnny G, and Kevin Hayes were buzzing all over the ice, getting quality scoring chances on the NU net. If it wasn't for some spectacular saves, BC could have ran away with that game. One guy that I thought played five times better than he did last night was Ryan Fitzgerald. He tallied his second goal in as many nights and his third of the season. Also loved the way he battled on the penalty kill. Great overall game. 

As for the guys on the blue line, I'd give them a B, maybe a B-. I thought Matheson and Santini were phenomenal once again, I mean Santini was +3 tonight and is now a team leading +9 on the year. Don't forget he is often matched up against the opponent's top line. He and Matheson teamed up to hold Kevin Roy to just one point on the weekend. I was pleased with Teddy Doherty's play as he had a great assist on Johnny G's goal and was +1 on the night. The sour part of the evening was BC's third pairing of Isaac Macleod and Danny Linell. They were a combined -4 and were the culprits for multiple BC turnovers, one of which resulted in a goal, NU's third. You have to watch the highlights. It wasn't pretty...at all. 

I always get ridiculed by the twitter world when I say that there aren't two better forwards in Hockey East than Kevin Hayes and Johnny G. I thought NU did an excellent job (well, as good as you can do) vs Johnny G tonight but they gave him about three feet of room midway through third period. Of course, he scored and tied the game. While he was a bit of a non-factor in the third period, I thought Kevin Hayes was by far and away the best player on the ice for the first forty minutes. He wins player of the weekend in my mind. 

Positives- 

1. Great play from the third line. Nice to see them get rewarded with an OT winner.

2. The new top D pair of Matheson-Santini was a combined +4 and kept Roy in check for most of the night....besides that horrendous turnover (which wasn't there fault). 

3.G and Hayes dominated. Nothing unexpected. 

Negatives- 

1. Power play. I've run out of things to say except it stinks right now. 

2. Poor turnovers in the third. NU put BC back on their heels in the early portion of the third period and were rewarded with a couple gifts. Guys just can't turn the puck over in their own zone, especially late in games. 

Player(s) of the game- Patrick Brown/Adam Gilmour/ Quinn Smith/Steven Santini 

Next Up- I shouldn't have to tell you. 

Go Eagles !

Eagles Squeak By Huskies

Photo from The Heights

Thanks to two points from each of the big three of Johnny G, Kevin Hayes, and Mike Matheson, the Boston College Eagles extended their home winning streak to five games dating back to last season as they defeated rival Northeastern by a 4-2 score. First off, I'm pleased with the win. As Coach York noted after the game, there are only 20 league games this season due to the addition of Notre Dame so every point is extremely valuable. They're not Michigan or Minnesota but that is a solid Northeastern team we beat tonight. If it wasn't for so many missed shots from the Huskies, we might have had a different result.

On the offensive side of things, the dynamic duo of Kevin Hayes and Johnny G were the two main reasons BC won. Both guys were all over the ice, at times attracting two or three black jerseys in the offensive end. I don't have to tell you how good these guys are because like I said earlier this year, there are not two other forwards in this league I would rather have then #12 and #13. They're special hockey players. Other then those two however, no one really jumped out to me. I thought Pat Brown played exceptionally well in both ends. The staff rewarded him with lots of minutes on the power play. Certainly well deserving for a guy that has been solid each game this year. On the other hand, guys like Austin Cangelosi and Ryan Fitzgerald (even though he had a goal) need to be better. BC isn't going to win a National Championship because of three, maybe four guys. I'm not concerned, I mean they weren't bad, I just think they need to have more of an impact out there, especially in the offensive end.

Defensively, I think the staff has to be pleased with the way the group is progressing. The three freshmen, Savage, McCoshen, and Santini were exceptional in my mind. Of the three, I think Steven Santini has been the most impressive so far. They had him out there vs Roy pretty much the whole game and he, along with Matheson, kept him off the score sheet completely. That's a real big positive for this D core. Linell and Macleod were both much better than they were vs the Gophers, as they were a combined +1.

I thought Demko played exceptionally well tonight. You can look at save percentage, goals against, all the numbers you want but the bottom line is, BC is 2-0-1 with him in goal. That has to count for something. After the game, Coach York stated that he was going to start Brian Billett in net tomorrow night @ Northeastern. He wants to keep a rotation going.

All in all, two points is two points but the execution has to be better. The team needs to create more grade A chances, especially on the power play, for which I have no answers as to why it continues to be down in the dumps. The staff went with three different units tonight instead of having two distinct ones. I liked the all freshmen second unit (along with Linell) and they high powered first unit with all the big guns. Not once did they put Hayes, Arnold, and Johnny G out there together during a power play.


Positives- 

1. Demko was great. I've been really impressed with him thus far. Just remember, he is 17 years old.

2. Hayes and "G" were off the charts. They're just too good. Plain and simple.

3. I thought Steven Santini and Scott Savage played well. Combined +1. Also, they shut down Roy.

Negatives- 

1. A lot of guys have got to step their games up a notch. Not everyone played at their highest level tonight.


Notes- 

Hayes was a little banged up after the game. Should be OK for tomorrow.

Go Eagles.

Lineup Vs Northeastern

Here is tonight's lineup vs the Huskies. Some notable changes.

Johnny G- Arnold-Cangelosi

Fitzgerald-Hayes-Gilmour

Smith-Brown-Calnan

Spiro-Sit-Richardson

Matheson-Santini

Savage-Macleod

McCoshen-Linell

Demko

Eagles Land Highly Touted 98' Recruit

Boston College received it's first commitment in quite some time on Thursday evening as Graham McPhee, a 1998 birthday out of high school hockey power house, Shattcuk St Mary's (MN), announced his intentions to play here starting in the fall of 2017. McPhee is the son of Washington Capitals GM George McPhee who played under Coach York at Bowling Green. McPhee, a 5'10 forward, recorded a solid 89 points with Shattuck last season. He has 20 points in 14 games so far this season. Congrats to Graham and his family.

Go Eagles.