You won't meet a group of people that disagree on more things in this world than BC people and BU people. It's like Republicans and Democrats. The two groups just absolutely hate each other and I know hate is as strong a word as there is but when it comes to college hockey, these two fan bases literally hate each other. If you play hockey in this area you are immediately forced to pick a side from a young age. You either support the maroon and gold or the evil scarlet and white. It's as much a rivalry of two totally different universities as it is a rivalry between two great hockey programs.
I think that one thing, perhaps the only thing, that BC and BU fans agree on is that this is the greatest rivalry this sport has to offer. Minnesota vs North Dakota, Michigan vs Michigan State, UNH vs Maine, they're all great but all those universities are extremely similar places that are located far away from each other and are rivals only because they play each other so often. Try being located three miles down the road from one another and competing in an annual tournament every February that even the modest college hockey fans pay attention to.
If you read this blog on a consistent basis, you know how much fun I like to have with this rivalry. I think it is the best, most intense, most important aspect of our hockey program. Of course, we want to win National Titles, send kids to the NHL, have high graduation rates, but the most important aspect of being a BC Hockey player is beating that other school down the street. I don't care if BC went 4-25-0 for a whole season. If those four victories came against BU and included a Beanpot victory, I think everyone would be somewhat pleased.
Here are my top five moments from the rivalry.
5. Ryan Murphy's overtime game winner in the 2004 Beanpot final. BU goalie had made like 200 saves that evening and it seemed that history would just repeat itself and the Terriers would walk away with the victory but thanks to a shot from the point by Ryan Murphy, the Eagles delivered the Beanpot back to the good side of Comm Ave.
4. BC spolis Olympic night @ Agganis Arena in 2009. BU, the defending National Champions, had one of the largest crowds in their history just a few months after they won the National Championship and were about to introduce the four Terriers on the 1980 Olympic team. The crowd erupted when BU scored early in the game and carried the momentum late in the second period before Carl Sneep put home a power play tally late in the period. After the Olympians were introduced in the second intermission, the Eagles answered with three unanswered goals including the only goal of Edwin Shea's carrer and won the game.
3. Ben Smith/Nathan Gerbe combine for four goals and three assist as BC defeated BU @ the Jack Parker Rink in December of 2008 to complete a weekend sweep of the Terriers. If I remember correctly, Gerbe made a couple of Terrier defensemen look like chickens with their heads cut off in that game. It was fun to watch. Like always.
2. Billy Arnold's overtime winner in the 2012 Beanpot title. This goal, no doubt, signified a change in the guard of the Beanpot as BC won it's third in a row while the Terriers couldn't really recover from the loss and barely made into the NCAA tournament before getting smoked by the Golden Gophers. BC, of course, won the National Title that year. I've never jumped higher in my life after this goal and I'll never forget being yelled at in the press box for cheering. Worth it, no doubt.
1. 5-0 win over BU in the 2006 Northeast Regional final. You can talk about the win over North Dakota in 2001, the four other National Championships, the Beanpots, and the Hockey East all you want. You won't ever convince me this wasn't the best win in the history of Boston College hockey. They had beaten us all year in overtime. The Beanpot, the regular season, and in the Hockey East final. Then it changed. Nothing in the world beats seeing those fans walk out of the rink with tears in their eyes over a hockey game. Greatest. Win. Ever.
Go Eagles. Beat BU.
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