Wood/Matheson/Hanifin updates

Pretty slow week in BC Hockey world. One game this weekend vs Notre Dame (Saturday 4 PM). Here are a few quick notes on recruits, injuries, all that fun stuff.

After his Nobles squad fell to Exeter this evening in the New England Prep School playoffs, Miles Wood is expected to make a decision rather soon on his next school. Over the Boards.net ranked him the #1 uncommitted prospect in the country this afternoon. I'll say it again, the kid is the most dominant player I've seen in the ISL. Ever.

Noah Hanifin's arrival next season is pretty much in the books. He will take summer classes at West Roxbury High School in order to prepare for BC.

Mike Matheson will return this weekend. He missed last week's games due to an upper body injury.

The game vs Notre Dame is huge but the #1 priority right now is somehow finding a way to get Miles Wood to Chestnut Hill as soon as possible. His family advisor is a BU hockey grad so I think we might be fighting an uphill fight but his former classmate Colin White is coming to BC in two years. Anyways, we shall see what happens.

Go Eagles.

Eagles Settle For Frustrating Tie

For the first thirty two games of the season, the most intriguing aspect of this team, to me, was their ability to hold a lead late in hockey games. They play hard in their own zone, get consistent goaltending, and capitalize on their opponents mistakes. Last night, it just didn't happen. Thanks to a two goal third period, the UMass-Lowell River Hawks tied up the #1 Eagles and ended BC's winning streak at eleven games, although the unbeaten streak now sits at 19 games, a streak that ties the record under Coach York. It should be pointed out before we dive into the game analysis that Lowell's crowd was as good as any opposing crowd I have seen on the road this season. There was not one open seat in the whole building and it was certainly a tough environment for the Eagles to play.

Thanks to the suffocating traffic outside of Tsongas Center, I got in the building five minutes into the game but for the most part, I thought BC's first period was solid. There were no goals but BC outshot their opponents by a 14-11 margin, playing the game at their tempo, and generating some quality chances. Lowell was able to gain some momentum late in the period with a power play but BC did, as they have all year, an exceptional job on the penalty kill.

Undoubtedly, the second period was BC's best of the game. They generated a lot of quality scoring chances (18 shots), controlled the play in the neutral zone, and didn't allow the River Hawks much in the offense end. For the first five period this weekend, I don't think Lowell had more than five real quality scoring chances and when they did, Demko was there to make the saves. Lowell did a much better job defending against the big three all night, even though Johnny G stretched his scoring streak to an astonishing 28 games. Just two minutes after G's tally, Isaac Macleod made a sick pass to a streaking Ryan Fitzgerald to give BC the 2-0 advantage over a team that isn't really built to come from behind.

The third period, well, it flat out wasn't good. It was a disaster. For the first two period, I thought the fourth line of Adam Gilmour, Chris Calnan, and Matty Gaudreau was arguably BC's best line. They cycled the puck extremely well, played physical on both ends of the ice, and didn't turn the puck over. Then, about six minutes into the period, those guys were sustaining offensive zone pressure, cycling it behind the Lowell net, generating chances, doing their jobs, and all of the sudden the refs call Chris Calnan for high sticking. To say it was a questionable call would be the understatement of the century. Anyways, credit Lowell for capitalizing on that power play chance, it got to a point where I didn't know if we were ever going to let up another power play goal again. On tape it looks like, for some reason, a Lowell forward was able to camp out in front of Demko and screen him from the shot near the top of the right circle. Our defenseman have to make sure that guy is cleared out, or at least have a body on him. It looked like Isaac Macleod was in a good position to block a shot and he clearly made a great effort to do so but somehow the puck went through him and Demko. The amount of chances BC had to make this a two goal lead once again midway through the third was incredible. Teddy Doherty hit a post, Pat Brown hit a post, Johnny G had a shot sit on the goal line for a good second and a half but somehow none of them went in and with ten minutes to play Lowell tied it up. The second goal wasn't all that different from the first one, a Lowell defenseman fired a one timer at Demko, BC blocked it but since the Eagles had three guys all bunched in front of the freshman netminder, a Lowell forward had all day to gather the rebound and fire it home. It's not really a calculus problem, BC just didn't pick up their assignments in their own end. If you look at it, Billy Arnold did a tremendous job of getting on his knees and attempting to block the shot but the Lowell forward absolutely snipped one by him and Demko.

Overall, it's certainly frustrating to walk out of there with a tie but let's not forget, that's a really good hockey team. For the final twenty minutes of regulation, they were the better team and they certainly deserved at least a point. The problem with winning 11 straight and not losing since Thanksgiving is you are expected to win every game and utterly dominate your opponent. I think when we all settle down and look at the way we played this weekend, our position in the pairwise, the fact that we were missing arguably the best defenseman in college hockey, and played a team desperate for a win, we should all be somewhat pleased with this weekend. We can talk about the Hockey East tournament all we want but the biggest thing left to achieve in the regular season is the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

Positives- 

1. The second and fourth lines. Without a doubt, BC's best lines tonight. The big three didn't play all that well while the third line was just average.

2. Power play is really starting to click. Having a potent power play is a big key this time of year.

Negatives- 

1. BC just didn't have it in the third period. Maybe they ran out of gas, maybe Lowell worked that much harder, but for some reason, the Eagles just didn't have a lot going in the final stanza.

Next up- Senior night vs Notre Dame next Saturday, 4 PM.

Go Eagles !

Eagles Fly By River Hawks

Another game, another tough opponent, another outstanding defensive performance, and yes, another win. Thanks to a 33 save shutout from freshman Thatcher Demko, the #1 Boston College Eagles defeated the #7 UMass Lowell River Hawks by a score of 3-0 Friday night in front of 6,524 fans at Kelley Rink. Although the River Hawks had 33 shots, I would say maybe six or seven of those were really good, quality, grade A chances. BC continues to do an absolutely tremendous job of defending in their own end, back checking to pick up for unaccounted forwards, and keeping their opponents' shots to the outside. Early on, Lowell generated a lot of rebounds off shots from the perimeter but BC's defensemen did a great job of getting stick on stick, winning the small puck battles, and clearing the zone. When you play Lowell, you're not going to generate a ton of great chances mainly because they play so well in their own end and don't give you much. I think, when it's all said and done however, BC generated a significant amount of grade A chances,  and forced Lowell goalie Connor Hellebuyck to make some phenomenal saves, especially in the first period. Although they only had three power plays, the Eagles made the most of their first one as Johnny G scored a goal in which only one player in all of college hockey could score. I'll link the highlights but it appears he has just inches of net to work with and he didn't have all that much room between him and the defender. It's stunning what he can do with the puck. Stunning.

Give credit to Lowell because in the second period, they got the game down to their level. It was a slow paced, lot of neutral zone, penalty infested twenty minutes. Isaac Macleod was whistled for a five minute major halfway through the period for contact to the head. The Lowell forward clearly didn't have the puck so it was without a doubt an interference penalty but if anything, it was a borderline game misconduct. Anyways, the following five minutes were BC's best on the penalty kill all season. The River Hawks only managed to get six shots throughout the five minutes. With Macleod out for the game, Kevin Hayes was forced to play defense on the penalty kill and according to Coach York, it was "Kevin's best 60 minutes of the year". The knock on Kevin has always been his play in his own end because over the course of his first three years, he wasn't a very good two way player. Now, he is beginning to become the type of player that can be an asset to this team, not only in the offensive zone where he has an uncanny ability to make things happen, but in the defensive zone where he can be a physical, yet intelligent defensive forward/defenseman. Over the final ten minutes of the second period, Lowell had almost six and a half minutes of power play but barely got anything going, especially around Demko. Every time a River Hawk defenseman was ready to fire a slap shot, their were white shirts standing right in harms way. Pat Brown, Quinn Smith, Scotty Savage, and Johnny G all took brutal slap shots to the lower body area and continued to stay on the ice until the puck was cleared. A skilled team ? Sure, a tough team ? No doubt.

All the talk in the college hockey world has been how BC is just a three man team and can't win because of their depth. Well, considering Pat Brown, Austin Cangelosi, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Scott Savage are a averaging 20.8 points between all five of them so far this season, I would argue that we've got perhaps the deepest team in Hockey East, if not the country. Everyone is expecting those guys to be like Hayes, Arnold, and G, but that's not what their role is, their role is to play well on both ends, minimize the mistakes, avoid turnovers, and score a goal or two here and there. The better Gilmour, Cangelosi, Calnan, and Fitzgerald play, the deeper this team becomes. Look at the past two National Championship teams we've had, look at how good the third lines were on those teams. It's the largest ingredient in a championship caliber team.

Overall, a crucial victory over a very good hockey team. Obviously, the Eagles have already clinched the #1 seed in Hockey East but the goal of the regular season is not to win a Hockey East regular season title, the goal of the regular season is to put yourself in the best possible spot to win a National Championship. As we saw in 2011, being the #2 overall seed can be difficult because you might have to play a team like North Dakota or Michigan in the first round. I don't know about you but I'd rather be the #1 overall seed and play the Atlantic Hockey champion in the NCAA opener. We'll see what happens tonight up in Lowell

Why BC won- 

1. Demko was really good. Again

2. The penalty kill might be as good as it's ever been. Lowell got nothing on their five minute power play and nothing on the other two penalties.

3. "Secondary scoring". Cangelosi and Gilmour have both played really well as of late.

Negatives- 

I got nothing. Power play looked really good.

Player(s) of the game- This is tough, but I'll go with Gilmour and Demko.

Highlights- Link

Next up- Tonight 7 PM @ Lowell

Go Eagles !

Previewing the UMass Lowell River Hawks

Tonight, The #1 Boston College Eagles will look to extend their unbeaten streak to 19 games as they face off vs the red hot River Hawks of UMass Lowell. The Hawks are currently second in Hockey East and 7th in the pairwise standings, their last loss was just under a month ago vs Providence College. Norm Bazin's team is unbeaten since that setback in Friartown. When we look at Lowell, you don't need to look at their record to know they're a real solid club. They win and lose off of their defense and goaltending. They don't have a lot of real high end skaters but they've got perhaps the deepest lineup in Hockey East. On defense, they got a few high end guys like Kamrass and Suter, both of whom rank among the top defensemen in the league. It remains to be seen whether star forward Scott Wilson, who has not played since January 24th, is in the lineup tonight.

As for BC, I think both of these games will be two really tough contest, especially without Mike Matheson (upper body injury). Look for Steve Santini, Isaac Macleod, and Ian McCoshen to play a ton of minutes. It seemed like McCoshen played the whole third period on Saturday night @ Vermont so it'll be interesting to see if he can keep playing at such a high level while logging so many minutes. Up front, I don't expect any changes, but I'd like to see the Gilmour, Calnan, and Silk line continue to play well. As we saw last weekend, when these guys are scoring, even if it's just a point per game, BC is one of the deeper teams in the country. Lowell, unlike Vermont, has some talent on their bottom two lines so it will be interesting to see how these guys match up.

All in all, I expect it to be a low scoring, defensive hockey game, much like we saw vs Merrimack. If the Eagles can stay out of the box, limit Lowell's transition game, and find a way to break the River Hawks' neutral zone trap, then BC should be able to win this game. Other than that, same old same old. Sorry for the short post, didn't get to it last night.

Keys for BC-

1. Break Lowell's trap

2. Stay out of the box.

3. Put them away early if given the opportunity. Vermont hung around for way to long last week, that can't be the case this time around, Lowell's one of the top teams in the country.

Notes-

1. BC is 58-31-6 all time vs Lowell

2. Eagles are 26-13-2 vs Lowell at Kelley Rink.

3. BC is 41-9-2 vs Lowell under Coach York, 4-2 vs Norm Bazin's Hawks.

MacMaster Not Coming Next Year

Camrose Kodiaks forward Tanner MacMaster is no longer committed to play at Boston College next season. MacMaster will play @ Quinnipiac. Right now the forwards coming in next are Sanford, Tuch, and Milano. With MacMaster no longer coming, there is most likely scholarship money left for Noble and Greenough forward Miles Wood, who decommitted  from Brown yesterday. We shall see what happens. 

Go Eagles. 

Wood Decommits from Brown

Nobles and Greenough forward Miles Wood, by far and away the best player in the Independent School League, has decommitted from Brown University per Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. If you look at the amount of Nobles kids BC has been able to get over the years (Calnan, Gilmour, Arnold, Hayes to name a few), this get would be perhaps the biggest of them all. This kid is absolutely tremendous. I would say he is the best player I have seen in the ISL in a long time, right up there with Hanifin. He is big, has a powerful stride, can shoot the puck as good as anyone, and plays in all situations for the Bulldogs.

Like it usually is, the race for Wood will probably come down to two schools. Boston College and Boston University. According to sources, Wood is looking to accelerate and come next fall, I'm just not sure if BC has the room right now. Anyways, if the staff can land him, it would be one heck of a win.

Wood is a 2013 draft pick of the New Jersey Devils (4th round). 1995 birthday.

Go Eagles.

Trophy #3

BC celebrates their title after the game. Photo from Dave Arnold.

Winning games on the road in Hockey East is no small task especially when you're playing a team that is right on the NCAA tournament bubble, gunning for home ice, and doing everything they can to not let another team celebrate a championship on their home ice. Mix in the facts that BC had played a huge game just five days earlier and had to suffer through the loss of perhaps their most beloved fan, and it was going to be one heck of a challenge. Well, mission accomplished. The #1 Boston College Eagles clinched their third Hockey East regular season title in the past four years with a 5-3 victory over the #14 Vermont Catamounts, extending their unbeaten streak to 17 games. With a goal and an assist, Johnny G extended his point streak to a stunning 26 straight games. The pair of points bumped G's point total to a nation leading 53 points. Kevin Hayes was no slouch himself, potting BC's fourth goal, giving him 50 points on the season.

For the second consecutive night, I thought Vermont was the better team in the first period. They came out hitting every maroon shirt they could find, resulting in a lot of broken up plays for the Eagles. They couldn't get much going for a large majority of the period mainly because UVM was playing physical, mistake-free hockey. The Eagles were rewarded with a power play midway through the opening stanza but did everything but capitalize thanks to some great saves by UVM freshman goalie Michael Santaguida. However, like it has all season, the penalty kill came up big late in the period when Chris Calnan scored the Eagles' 6th shorthanded tally of the season, pouncing on a loose puck at the BC defensive blue line and going end to end before snipping one top shelf. After Billy Arnold's penalty (the one Cal scored on) expired, Arnold went straight to the net and fired home a Isaac Macleod shot that went wide (on purpose) into the back of the net. Really just an intelligent play by perhaps the best two way forward in all of college hockey.

However, once again, BC wasn't able to put UVM away as the Catamounts scored just two minutes into the second. Somehow, BC allowed a UVM forward to dish a pass across the Eagles' defensive end and let a defenseman skate circles around Billett to score the Cats' first goal. It was an even strength goal but for some reason BC had three guys stuck around the net and no one up high covering the right point allowing their defenseman to walk right in. Of course, the Eagles responded just minutes later on the power play when Johnny G redirected an Adam Gilmour shot with his shin past Santaguida for his 27th goal of the year. The Eagles appeared to put the nail in the coffin with just three minutes left in the period when Kevin Hayes made a spectacular move, resulting in his 22nd goal of the year. I thought UVM actually did a pretty good job on BC's top line this weekend but I'm not sure why the had their second line out there vs our top line. What the big three do is they ware you down. One little error, and they're gone the other way and more often then not, it's a goal.

Five minutes into the third, Ian McCoshen (who played a lot of minutes and played very well) took a questionable cross checking penalty and BC finally gave up a power play goal, the first one an opponent has had vs the Eagles since Maine did on January 18th. Unfortunately, the reason McCoshen, Santini, and Macleod played so many minutes was because Mike Matheson left early in the second period with an injury. He went to the locker room and did not return. His status for next week is not known at this time. I thought BC's defense did an admirable job filling in for him as it seemed McCoshen was out there for almost the whole third period. While Matheson would be a huge loss, the only thing that matters is that he is healthy for the NCAA tournament, so there really is no need to rush him back right now. This team is capable of winning any game with their depth at all three positions. After UVM made it a two goal lead with a lot of hockey left to play, Scotty Savage put the cherry on top of the sundae with a bomb from the blue line, resulting in his fourth goal of the season. Give credit to Scott, he kind of needed to show the staff that he deserved to be an every game type of guy and in my opinion, he played well last night. He is always going to be a major threat in the offensive zone, especially with his shot but he has got to find a way to improve in his own end. Like everyone else, I was a bit shocked that the staff decided to start Brian Billett in net. I think it's good to keep him fresh for the stretch run just in case anything happens but it's safe to say that the starting job belongs to Thatcher Demko.

All in all, this was one heck of a weekend. Give Vermont a lot of credit, they played extremely hard for all 120 minutes and even dominated the play for long stretches but when you're playing the Eagles, you've got to play mistake free for the whole game and they just didn't have the talent or the stamina to do that. Of course, we want to win a trophy that's a lot more important than the Joe Bertagna trophy (as Coach York likes to call it) but as of now, we'll take any hardware we can find.

Why BC won-

1. The big three were really good. Like always.

2. With Matheson gone, guys really stepped up on the blue line. I thought Ian McCoshen played an exceptional game, especially when considering the amount of minutes he played.

3. Secondary scoring. Savage had a goal, Calnan had a goal, and Straight had an assist. That's huge for this club.

Negatives- 

1. I didn't think BC covered great in their own end at times. On UVM's third goal, one of our defenseman just bolted out to the blue line and their was a two on one in front of Billett. If he's going to bolt out, someone has to jump down and help cover. No one did.

2. Let's hope Matheson is OK. I don't think it's too serious.

Player of the game- G

Next up- Two game set with Lowell next weekend. Home on Friday, @ Tsongas on Saturday

Go Eagles !!

Billett Starting Game Two vs Vermont

Brian Billett will start tonight vs the University of Vermont, a totally unexpected move by the staff. Scotty Savage will make his return to the lineup tonight as well.

This One Is For DK

We all know Hockey East games in late February/early March are some of the most important games of the season due to Hockey East standings and major pairwise implications. A pair of wins this weekend for Vermont would pretty much cement them a spot in the NCAA tournament and by the way they played last night, they certainly deserve to be in that tournament. But for BC, this wasn't an ordinary late February Hockey East game. No, they were playing for something greater than Hockey East and pairwise points, they were playing for perhaps their most loyal fan who peacefully passed away Friday morning. To honor Dick Kelley, the Eagles had a black sticker on the back of their helmets with the letters "DK" written on them.

As for the game, I thought Vermont came out really hard. They dominated the first ten minutes of the first period and if it wasn't for some key saves from Thatcher Demko early on, UVM could have built up a substantial lead. The Catamounts actually did take a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period when BC lost a clean faceoff in their own end and UVM captain HT Lenz fired one by Demko. After the UVM goal however, I liked the way BC responded. They pressured UVM in their own end, generated some quality scoring chances, kept UVM away from the grade A areas, and were eventually rewarded when Austin Cangelosi pounced on a rebound with about seven minutes to go in the period. It wasn't a great period as the first half of it the guys looked half asleep but once they got going and had a few quality chances on net, they turned the momentum around.

The second period was undoubtedly BC's best of the game. The Eagles were rewarded with a power play late in the first and Johnny G capitalized with his 26th goal of the season, extending his point streak to 25 games. I thought the most disappointing part of the period was BC's inability to extend their lead with a couple more power plays midway through the stanza. The first unit moved it around quiet well like always but the second unit was just a little bit too predictable, too stationary.  Vermont had a huge 5 on 3 for well over a minute with about six minutes left to go in the period. They had one or two really good chances but the puck took a couple lucky bounces and hopped over their forward's sticks in front of the net. Credit to Pat Brown, Bill Arnold, Johnny G, Isaac Macleod, and Steve Santini, they were the five guys that were out there for the majority of the kill. The most important thing about killing a lengthy five on three is the momentum it gives your team. BC has always made it look easy but killing penalties is really tough. You need guys that are willing to sacrifice their bodies, a goalie that makes big saves, and a little puck luck. BC got that last night. For the second time in five days, Pat Brown scored the game winning goal off a beautiful tip with just ten seconds to go in the second period. A huge dagger in the heart of Catamount country.

I thought the third period was a well played twenty minutes of hockey. Neither team had a power play and they scored goals within thirty seven seconds of each other. UVM scored two minutes into the period but Ryan Fitzgerald made a nifty pass to Brown, who put it home to give BC back the two goal lead. BC really did a great job of shutting down Vermont's first line of McCarthy, Bradley, and Puskarich all night, especially in the third period. McCarthy, a former BC commit, is by far and away their biggest threat and for pretty much the whole night, he was kept out of the prime scoring areas. Give a lot of credit to BC's defense, besides the second Vermont goal, they played great all night.

When it's all said and done, the bottom line is that the Eagles are just two points away from clinching a Hockey East regular season title. They have a tremendous opportunity to win another trophy tonight in what is sure to be another hostile environment. Let's see if the streak continues.

Why BC won- 

1. Thatcher Demko made some huge saves, especially in the first period.

2. Pat Brown's line had it's second consecutive big game.

3. The return of Ian McCoshen makes BC's defense a heck of a lot deeper. I would like to see them put Linell back to forward and Savage back on D, however.

4. The PK

Negatives- 

1. Couple of bad breakdowns. The faceoff goal wasn't pretty, I think it's the first time a team has scored off a draw vs BC this season. Also, the UVM second goal was not good. Two guys got beat badly.

Player(s) of the game- Demko and Brown

Go Eagles !

Rest in Peace, Dick Kelley

I remember sitting in the bleachers of Conte Forum the day after Christmas in December 2011. The Eagles hit the ice for the start of their first practice after the Holidays. Like usual, the rink was completely empty. As practice was winding down and I was getting ready to hit the road, two men approached me and called me by name asking if I was indeed the writer of the "BC Hockey Blog". I nodded my head nervously and whispered "yes, I am". Shortly after shaking hands and introducing ourselves, I learned that these men were the Sports Information Directors at Boston College. One of them was Tim Clark, a guy that has helped me tremendously with my progressions as a media member as much as anyone. The other was Dick Kelley. I recall sitting in those bleachers with Tim and Dick for close to 45 minutes, talking all things BC Hockey and BC athletics. After the conversation concluded, we said our goodbyes and moved on. I went back home, telling my parents of the encounter and my dad quickly raised his eyes and told me about how he knew Dick Kelley from his days at BC. He then proceeded to tell me of the disease Mr. Kelley had been victimized by. I was crushed but I immediately searched Dick Kelley's name on the internet and saw stories of hundreds of former/current BC athletes talking about how Dick Kelley made an impact on their lives. Although we only met on one occasion, the conversation I had with Dick Kelley will remain with me throughout my life.

I certainly didn't know Dick Kelley as well as many others did at BC but just by meeting with him, talking with him, and reading about him, I could tell that this man embodied everything that was right not just with Boston College, but with the world. He was a man that loved the people whom were close to him, loved the student athletes he worked with, and perhaps most of all, he loved Boston College.

Rest In Peace Dick Kelley.

Previewing the Vermont Catamounts

It's not too often you have an opportunity to win a pair of trophies in a matter of six days but that's what the Eagles have in front of them this weekend as they travel up to Burlington for a weekend series with the Vermont Catamounts. With two victories, BC would clinch their second Hockey East regular season title in three years. Tomorrow night will be the first meeting between BC and UVM this season. The Eagles were 4-0-1 vs the Cats last season which included a tie and victory at Gutterson Field House.

Although the last two seasons have been a bit of a rough go for Kevin Sneddon's crew, they have righted the ship these past couple of months. Last weekend was perhaps their best of the season as they swept the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Leading the way for UVM is former BC commit Chris McCarthy who currently has fourteen goals and seventeen assist on the season, good for 27th in the country in scoring. Supporting McCarthy have been freshman Mario Puskarich and junior Jacob Fallon. McCarthy centers UVM's top line with Puskarich and fellow freshman Brendan Bradley, the trio combined for eleven points last weekend vs UNH. On defense, the Catamounts are led Michael Palliotta (19 points) and senior Nick Bruneteau (12 points).

If you remember anything about last year's trip to the Gut, you'd know that they were two brutally physical games in which BC was extremely beat up after. I think the biggest difference between last years UVM team and this years is that they've got a lot of guys that can skate. McCarthy, Fallon, Puskarich, and Bradley are all players that have good feet and create a lot of good chances in the offensive end. While solid on offense, the strength of UVM's team throughout the year has been their defense. They're currently third in Hockey East and seventh in the nation in goals allowed per game (2.22) but of course, they've got to go against the best offense in college hockey and no one has yet to stop the big three so if they can stop BC, then give them all the credit in the world.

When it's all said and done, the only thing winning a Beanpot championship can do for this team is give them even more confidence heading into a pair of games where they can clinch yet another trophy. Winning championships is one the toughest things to do in sports but winning championships in another team's barn makes it that much tougher. There is no way UVM is going to let BC come into their rink and walk out with a Hockey East regular season championship. Heck, if those guys get a pair of wins they will be pretty much set for the NCAA tournament so we know they're going to play their absolute best hockey. It's going to be a high octane, physical, down to wire hockey game tomorrow night and based off what we've seen from the Eagles all season, they should be able to get the job done.

Scouting Vermont- 

Pairwise rank- 12th (15-9-3)

Best win- @ Maine

Worst loss- @ Boston University

Leading scorers- Chris McCarthy (14-17-31), Mario Puskarich (13-13-26), Jake Fallon (4-14-18)

Team offense- 2.89 goals per game (28th)

Team defense- 2.22 goals allowed per game (7th)

Power play- 14 % (48th)

Penalty kill- 87.5 % (4th)

Keys for the Eagles- 

1. Stop McCarthy's line. That has to be the number one priority going into this weekend. If McCarthy is stopped, I don't think UVM has a chance. I'd expect the Fitzgerald-Brown-Cangelosi line out there vs him but they could also put out the big three.

2. Need a goal or two from third or fourth lines. Expect Linell to move back up to forward with McCoshen back.

3. Less odd man rushes for the opponent. I thought Northeastern generated way to many 3 on 2's, 4 on 3's, and even a couple 2 on 1's and breakaways. We can't be relying on Demko to make every save.

Notes- 

1. Boston College is 21-6-3 vs UVM since they joined Hockey East in 2006.

2. BC is 4-5-3 in their last twelve games @ Gutterson Field House.

3. BC is 33-12-5 all time vs UVM.

Go Eagles !

McCoshen Returns From Injury

Ian McCoshen practiced this week for the first time since being injured on January 31st @ Providence College. Assuming all goes well from now until Friday night, he will play @ Vermont this weekend.

Go Eagles.

A New Era of Beanpot Dominance

In the Beanpot, Times change. The uniforms change. The players change. The coaches change. The fans change. The food changes. The atmosphere changes. But for a long time, no one ever thought there would a be change in the fact that Boston University won the Beanpot every single solitary year. No one. Then it did. It changed. 

For the fifth consecutive February, the Boston College Eagles returned to Chestnut Hill with the Beanpot trophy in hand after handing the Northeastern Huskies yet another devastating loss in that tournament that has given their program horrors for as long as it had existed. Before I start with the remainder of the post, I'd like to take the time and congratulate NU on a great tournament and a great season up to this point. I wasn't really a believer even after they took us to OT in October but I left last night with a totally different mindset about that Northeastern team, their coaching staff, and their program as a whole. They're a tremendous hockey team with some exceptional players, especially goaltender Clay Witt who played the best game an opposing netminder has played vs BC in a long time. Obviously, it has to be tough for them but they will get their turn. Jim Madigan has them going in the right direction and it's only a matter of time until they get their turn. 

But, how bout this team ? How about this Boston College Hockey team ? Over the course of the past five seasons, BC has become a victim of their own success and thus, have forced some to ponder whether the format of the greatest tournament in the world should change. Why does this tournament mean so much to this program, it's fans, and it's alums ? Because for so many years, so many sensational BC teams, ones that probably had even more talent then this club has, have failed to win that coveted trophy. I mean, the teams we had in the late 80's, late 90's and early 2000's were among some of the best in program history yet they always lost to BU in the Beanpot and it stung, a lot. People on the outside will continue to say it's a meaningless tournament that doesn't mean all that much but judging by the celebrations, pictures, and quotes, I'd say the guys are pretty darn happy to have that trophy sitting in the locker room this afternoon. 

I think one pretty cool part of writing this blog has been the ability to gain a bit of an inside look at some of the players and how they perform away from the Hockey East arenas. This team is a full of a lot of hard workers, in fact, all of them work hard in their own forms but I have to tell you, there are two guys in the four years I've been writing this thing that are always the first guys on the ice and the last ones off it, each and every practice. One of them was Chris Kreider. The other is Patrick Brown. At the end of each Thursday practice, all the centers go to center ice to work on face offs and they work on it for a while, sometimes close to half an hour or forty five minutes and don't get me wrong, each guy puts a lot of work into it and they go real hard. But, there is always one guy that is the last one remaining and looks for whomever else is on the ice to help him with his face 00off work. That would be Pat Brown. I'm surprised he doesn't have a broken back, he's taken so many face offs. In 2012, a National Championship year, Pat played in just 13 games and saw his spot taken by a few up and coming freshmen. For a lot of people, that would be the end of the line. But not Patrick Brown. He stayed at it and what do ya know he was named captain by his teammates this past spring. You don't get elected captain for the amount of goals you score or points you rack up, you get it because of your leadership qualities, your like ability amongst your teammates, and your work ethic. There is not one person on this team that deserved to score that goal (link), in that situation. In this program, you've got to find a way to play at a high level for the biggest games. Pat Brown played his best game of his career on one of the biggest stages he has ever been on. 

As for the game itself, I'm still in the state of shock at how well each goaltender play. Like I said, Clay Witt was tremendous but Thatcher Demko was just a tad better. It's literally like having a brick wall in front of the net. He stops everything he squares up to. I thought BC struggled at times in their own end, I mean the turnover on the Northeastern goal was really bad but once Brown scored with five minutes left, I think NU had maybe one great scoring chance. The first two periods were probably a little bit too up tempo for BC's liking because a lot of the guys on the blue line sometimes struggle with breaking the puck out and generating a rush but once the pace went down just a notch, BC kept NU out of the prime scoring areas and allowed their forwards to get the puck below the Huskie blue line and either start a cycle or generate some quality shots on net. Obviously the first line was tremendous like they always are but the second line of Austin Cangelosi, Brown, and Ryan Fitzgerald played it's best game in a month. Besides the Wisconsin game, this was Cangelosi's best game of the season. He was all over the place, especially in the third period and on the penalty kill. 

During a TV commercial with about ten minutes left in the game, a point where Northeastern was starting to create some havoc for BC in their own end, Coach York huddled the team together for about forty five seconds and told them something that must have really got them going because from that point on, BC looked calm and collected. I mean, I was sitting up in the stands sweating bullets and shaking like a rattlesnake, I can only imagine what was going through their minds before Coach York called them over. You can talk about the goal, or the penalty kills, or the saves as the momentum swinger all you want but to me, when I saw Coach call the team in and give them a big fist pump, I knew it was game, set, match. 

Heck of a win, heck of a team, heck of a tournament. Now, we try and win a Hockey East regular season title this weekend @ Vermont. 

Why BC Won- 

1. Thatcer Demko played his best game of the year. Yes, better than the Providence game. 

2. The first line. They could probably go over and play in Sochi right now. Seriously. 

3. The second line. In my opinion, it was by far their best game since being put together in early December. 

Negatives- 

There is room for improvement, especially in the turnover category. 

MVP- Kevin Hayes

Next Up- @ Vermont for two this weekend. 

GO EAGLES !!

Previewing the Beanpot Championship

It's not everyday when you wake up and you've got a chance to do something that no one, for as long as college hockey is played in this city, will ever forget. It's not everyday where you've got a chance to change the course and outlook on the sport's most popular regional tournament. It's not everyday where you have a chance to win five straight Beanpot championships. But tomorrow night, nineteen guys will take the ice with an opportunity of a lifetime in front of them. Every news station, website, blog, twitter account, etc has been talking about how much the Beanpot means to Northeastern because they haven't won it since 1988. Well, it means everything to this school as well. I don't care if we haven't won the thing in forty years or we are the four time defending champions, tomorrow night is an opportunity for each and every guy wearing maroon and gold to make history. 

Of course, I don't need to sit here and lecture you about the circumstances surrounding tomorrow night's game. Northeastern is going to play their absolute hearts out for a full 60 minutes. Whether it's the fact they haven't won the Beanpot in 26 years, the fact their underdogs, or the fact that a lot of them were not recruited by BC, that team has a lot to be motivated about so we know they are going to play their best hockey. From a pure talent perspective, this is without a doubt the best team Jim Madigan has had since his arrival on Huntington Ave in the summer of 2011. Up front, they're quick, skilled, and can score a lot of goals. We all know about Kevin Roy and what he did in last year's tournament but his supporting cast is much improved thanks to a star recruiting class headed by former Dubuque Fighting Saints Mike Szmatula and John Stevens. 

Although they were the first two Hockey East games of the season, I think both clubs can take a lot out of the series BC ended up sweeping in early October. First of all, we saw that Northeastern can really capitalize on their scoring chances mainly because of their young skill up front, although they do not generate a lot of shots on goal. So far this season, the Huskies rank 9th in Hockey East in terms of shots on goal with 842, averaging 30.07 shots per game. Boston College is 5th in Hockey East, averaging 32.18 shots per game. The biggest issue for NU has been the amount of shots they're allowing. On Friday night vs Massachusetts, the Huskies allowed a whopping 48 shots. That performance was preceded by performances in which they allowed 27 and 33 shots to Harvard and Notre Dame, respectively. The main point of all these numbers is that BC should have a lot of opportunities to get the puck to the net. Supposedly, Northeastern goalie Clay Witt is a potential Hobey Baker candidate and is the main reason for the teams success this season but our offense is a different monster. I'll tell you what, there is no way NU can allow the Eagles to garner more than 38 shots and expect to win the hockey game. 

Over the course of this winning streak, the single component that is separating the Eagles from their opponents is their ability to limit opportunities in the prime scoring areas. With the exception of a few breakdowns last week vs Boston University, the Eagles have cut down on their opponents' chances between the dots and their odd man rushes. BC's coverages in the defensive zone have vastly improved since the Maine and Holy Cross games, both of which were full of horrible defensive breakdowns and blown coverages. If guys stick to the system in place, keep the black jerseys away from the slot area, and don't allow too many odd man rushes, the Beanpot could very well be making it's way down Commonwealth Ave once again. 

When it's all said and done, tomorrow night will be another one of those hockey games that we all remember for a long time. Sure, remembering games for a long time is fine but over time you forget the games that you lost in the Beanpot. You never forget the games in which you won a Beanpot championship. It's the biggest event in college sports and each and every guy that takes the ice tomorrow with the words "Boston College" etched on their jerseys will have an opportunity to do something no BC team has ever done, 

Win a fifth straight Beanpot. 

Scouting Northeastern- 

Pairwise rank- 12th (16-9-3) 

Best win- @ UMass Lowell 

Worst loss- vs UMass 

Leading scorers- Kevin Roy (15-18-33), Michael Szmatula (11-20-31), Braden Pimm (16-11-27) 

Team defense- 2.50 goals allowed per game (19th)

Team offense- 3.25 goals scored per game (12th) 

Power play- 18 % (33rd) 

Penalty kill- 83 % (25th) 

Shots on goal margin per game- -5.39 (49th) 

Keys for BC- 

1. Test this goalie. See if he really is what they say he is. 

2. Be extremely aggressive in the early going. All the pressure in the world is on Northeastern. They haven't won the tournament since 1988 and they're going to have the whole building on their side. A bad start can really deflate a young team. 

3. Attack these defensemen. Northeastern is kind of like BU in the sense they have a very fragile defensive core although the Huskies have some very skilled forwards, unlike the Terriers. Get puck deep, force them to be uncomfortable in their own end, and capitalize on turnovers. 

Notes- 

1. BC is 33-9 all time in the Beanpot vs NU, 3-1 in the finals. 

2. 7:30 PM on NESN. 

Injury report- 

1. Ian McCoshen is OUT 

Go Eagles !

Running Away With It

Adam Gilmour celebrates his power play goal. Photo from The Heights.

For the fifteen plus years I've been paying really close attention to college hockey, particularly Hockey East, I can't ever recall a league race being pretty much decided with a month left in the season. Of course, some epic collapse could take place but around this time of year, that doesn't really happen in Chestnut Hill. Anyways, the #1 Boston College Eagles totally obliterated last place Merrimack tonight by a score of 6-1 in front of 5772 spectators @ Kelley Rink, extending their unbeaten streak to 14 games while prolonging Merrimack's winless drought at Conte Forum to 17 years. We'll do some analyzing but there really isn't much to say about this game except it was one really good hockey team vs a team that struggles mightily just to get a quality scoring chance. You can talk about hard work, coaching, and conditioning all you want but the bottom line is if your talent level is four or five notches above your opponents, you shouldn't ever lose a game.

The first period didn't have much rhythm to it, at all. Merrimack was awarded a power play under a minute into the game but they gave G and Bill Arnold a 2 on 1 and you can guess what took place during that sequence. With just under six minutes left in the period, Arnold tallied his second of the night on a goal that was assisted by G and Kevin Hayes. 

I thought BC was average in the first, not great but not as bad as they were in the first period vs BU. The second period was also really boring and infested with whistles but the Eagles did a great job of transitioning from the defensive end and creating odd man rushes through the middle of the ice. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Merrimack is a terrible hockey team but they really aren't good when they have to come from behind. Once BC jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a Pat Brown goal, the Warriors started sending in a really hard forecheck but BC countered it real well with their speed. There really isn't much to say about the rest of the game except for the fact BC dominated in every facet. 

I don't care if the opponent is Minnesota or Merrimack, if guys are playing like they were in their own end tonight, this team can win every game from here on out. Sure, Providence, BU, and Merrimack aren't the most explosive offenses out there but BC isn't giving teams anything in the grade A scoring areas. One guy who doesn't get nearly as much publicity because he isn't a flashy skater like some of his teammates is Steven Santini. The issue for the Eagles a season ago was they didn't have any great "defensive defensemen". Santini, along with Ian McCoshen and a much improved Isaac Macleod are a great compliment to the other three guys who are more offensively minded. I'm not sure how these guys will perform against more prolific offenses like Northeastern and Vermont but right now, the unit as a whole is playing it's best hockey of the year. 

In the final analysis, everybody has to be thrilled where this team is at right now. Sure, we've got a big one on Monday night but just let this sink in for a moment. We've got a 9 (!!!) point lead in the deepest league in college hockey with just five league games remaining. Thatcher Demko is playing his best hockey, the offense looks unstoppable once again, the defense is shutting down everything that comes at them, and both special team units are contributing immensely.

Now, let's go win #19.

Why BC Won-

1. BC is just a much better hockey team than Merrimack. If this team shows up and plays they way they're capable of, such as they have been as of late, they are the best team in college hockey and it isn't even close.

2. Merrimack got nothing in the prime scoring areas. Demko was also tremendous once again.

3. The power play. It was the best it has looked since the first Providence game in early January. They were 3 for 4 on the night and now rank 8th in the country. Also, the penalty kill hasn't allowed a goal since January 18th.

Negatives- 

I got nothing.

Player of the game- Bill Arnold

Next Up- I don't need to tell you.

Go Eagles

Previewing the Merrimack College Warriors

What were you doing in 1997 ? I don't really remember the year too well. I mean, I was a really young baby and wasn't quiet the die-hard BC Hockey fan I am now but I can tell you that is the year the Merrimack College Warriors last won @ Kelly Rink. In fact, the Boston College Eagles are 24-0-3 in their past 27 games @ Conte vs Merrimack since that upset on Halloween of 1997. Tomorrow night, the last place Warriors will look to snap that vaunted streak when they go up against the #1 Eagles, a team that has not lost a conference home game in over a year.

Merrimack and BC already played one of their two league contest this season just three weeks ago @ Lawler Arena, a solid 4-1 victory for the good guys. When we look at that particular, the first stat that jumps out to us is that BC held Merrimack to just twenty shots in three periods of play, including a astonishing four attempts in the third period. Overall, BC played a really good road game. They stayed out of the box (MC had just two power plays), capitalized when given a chance on the power play, and got out to an early lead. Merrimack is not the type of team that should be able to score more than three even strength goals, in fact, they've only scored three goals or more two times in Hockey East play. For comparisons sake, BC has scored three or more goals in all but five of their league games.

The key to playing Merrimack is breaking through their really boring neutral zone trap. To put it as simple as possible, they pack four guys in the neutral zone and it's usually the most unentertaining 60 minutes we get to watch all year. The Warriors have actually played some pretty good hockey @ BC over the past couple years. They had a 3-0 lead after a period last season before BC stormed back and won the game. They also scored with under a minute left in January of 2012 to salvage a tie with the Eagles. To be perfectly honest, it would take one heck of a meltdown in order for BC to lose tomorrow. It's the perfect trap game however with the biggest game of the season on Monday, playing the last place team at home on a Friday night might not be the most exciting game for the guys to play in. I think the coolest thing about Hockey East is that any team can beat any other team on any given night. Merrimack is going to play really hard tomorrow, they need the points a heck of a lot more than we do. They're playing for their season, and it's never easy to play a team that is playing for their playoff lives.

I know everyone is probably wondering about Ian McCoshen so here is what we got. He will NOT play tomorrow as he remains sideline with an injury. As of right now, he is questionable to play on Monday night vs Northeastern. Here is the lineup for tomorrow.

Johnny G- Bill Arnold- Kevin Hayes 

Ryan Fitzgerald- Pat Brown- Austin Cangelosi 

Quinn Smith- Mike Sit- Brendan Silk 

Destry Straight- Adam Gilmour- Chris Calnan 

Matheson-Doherty 

Savage-Linell 

Macleod-Santini 

Demko

Keys for BC- 

1. Patience. I know it sounds stupid, really stupid but we've got to be patient vs this trap. There are a lot of times when guys won't be able to get through this unique style of defense but in order to break this is to make Merrimack play a north south game. Make them have to send guys in our zone on the forecheck. How do you do that ? You get out to an early lead.

2. No stupid penalties. Merrimack doesn't score a lot of even strength goals. At all.

3. Have to be ready to play. Those guys don't have another game this week so we know they will be licking their chops for two points. Hopefully we aren't looking towards some game on Monday.

Scouting Merrimack -

Pairwise- 45th (7-15-3)

Best win- Quinnipiac

Worst loss- vs UMass

Leading scorers- Mike Collins (8-11-19), Brian Christie (4-7-11), Chris Leblanc (5-5-10)

Team defense- 2.76 goals allowed per game (37th)

Team offense- 1.92 goals scored per game (55th)

Power play- 14 % (44th)

Penalty kill- 84 % (17th)

Notes- 

1. Under Coach York, Boston College is 12-3-2 between Beanpot Monday's. Last loss was 2001 vs PC

2. The last time BC won 20 of it's first 27 games was 2001, they have already done that this season.

3. Minnesota lost tonight so BC's 13 game unbeaten streak is now the longest in the country. BC is also #1 in the pairwise

Halfway There

Fitz celebrates his goal. Photo from Dave Arnold.

Well, it certainly wasn't pretty but the #2 Boston College Eagles held off archrival Boston University 3-1 Monday night in the first round of the 62nd Beanpot Tournament. The Eagles will face Northeastern in the finals for the second consecutive year next week. First of all, I thought Boston University played a tremendous hockey game and had the puck bounced their way a few times in the third period or Thatcher Demko didn't play out of his mind once again, they could have easily won that game. We can talk about all the if's we want but the bottom line is good teams find a way to win even way they don't bring their A game. In fact, that was probably BC's C/C+ game. The Terriers came to play and did something they haven't done much at all this season, garnering 28 shots on goal.

When I look at the first period, obviously it was great to score a power play goal just four minutes into the game on what was an absolute snipe by Ryan Fitzgerald who played his best game in sometime last night. The Eagles continued to keep the pressure on BU's young defense for the majority of the period and could have taken a two goal lead if it wasn't for an outstanding blocker save on an Adam Gilmour one timer by Matt O'Connor. Once BU got settled in and O'Connor made some big stops, the Terriers really took it to BC as it was anything but a miracle that BC got out of the period with a lead.

Much like the first,  BC came out swinging in the second stanza as Kevin Hayes potted home a highlight reel pass from roommate Bill Arnold to give BC a comfortable 2-0 edge. After this goal however, it was all Terriers, all the time. BU defenseman Doyle Somerby violently shoved Kevin into the boards from behind and was rightfully assessed a five minute major but BC did nothing with the man advantage. Not only did we get nothing on the scoreboard, the shorthanded Terriers had a pair of two on ones that would have resulted in goals if it wasn't for some excellent hustle by Teddy Doherty and a big save from Thatcher Demko. Obviously that kill gave BU a enormous amount of momentum and shortly after the major expired, BU was rewarded a power play with just two and half minutes left in the period. The strength of this BC team has been their ability to protect a lead in the third period so getting that kill late in the second and going into the locker room up a pair of goals was huge.

In the early portions of the third period, BU built on the momentum they gained on their power play late in the second but I thought BC did a good job of staying calm and playing smart hockey. The last time we played these guys, we gave them three power plays in the third period and they nearly came back. I've always thought that having big body guys like Adam Gilmour or Chris Calnan not only helps in the physical part of the game but those guys are very good at keeping the puck away and cycling it behind the opponents goal line, killing chunks of time that would otherwise be spent in the BC end. Every line had long periods of time in which they kept working it down low, prevented BU from gaining any odd man rushes created from the defensive zone, and had some high quality scoring chances that could have put the game away. Obviously things got nerve racking when BU made it a one goal game but BC really didn't have to change much. The majority of BU's scoring chances were coming from the perimeter of the ice and when you've got a goalie like Demko, those types of chances are not going to find nylon very often.

When we look at this game, obviously there are a lot of things that need to improve. Number one, that five minute power play in the second period was not very good. That's the exact same thing that happened at Penn State. We're up a goal or two midway through the hockey game and we've got a prolonged man advantage. Those are the times to put teams away. There is no reason that game should have even been close in the third period last night. I'm not really worried about the five on five offense even though BC has only scored two five on five goals in their past two games (not counting G's empty netter). The fact that this team is finding way to win low-scoring games, the type of game that has been a problem in the past, is encouraging.

Lastly, I read an article today on College Hockey News today about how the Beanpot has lost it's luster and it's really not an important hockey tournament to people outside of the four schools. It's amazing how people suddenly turn so negative when one team, the most hated team in the sport, starts dominating a two day tournament. Seeing how excited Northeastern people are about the opportunity to win a Beanpot next week is what makes this tournament so great. It's my favorite tournament in the whole world and I treasure every second I get to watch the Eagles play in it because it means so much to me and so many other people. It's the best event in the world and I know this team is thrilled about a chance to keep the trophy in Chestnut Hill next Monday.

Why BC Won-

1. Thatcher Demko was sensational once again. Copied and pasted.

2. The penalty kill was tremendous. BU didn't get much in the "grade A" scoring range and when they did, either a stick was there to deflect it or Demko made the stop.

3. Johnny G is really good. Kevin Hayes is really good. Billy Arnold was the best of all three last night.

Negatives- 

1. The five minute power play.

2. Being outplayed for large portions of that game. If we get outplayed like that for a large amount of time vs a very good Northeastern team, the trophy is not going to stay in Kelly Rink.

Player(s) of the game- Demko and Billy Arnold....13 was pretty good as well.

Next Up- Merrimack on Friday night @ home.

GO EAGLES !

Previewing the Boston University Terriers

The four time defending champion Boston College Eagles will kick off their Beanpot title defense tonight vs arch nemesis Boston University and first year head coach David Quinn. This will be the third meeting of the year between BC and BU, the Eagles took home the first two contests, a 5-1 victory in November @ the Jack Parker Rink, and a thrilling 6-4 win three weeks ago at Kelly Rink. Amazingly, since 1993 only BC and BU have taken home the Beanpot title, while Harvard and Northeastern have NEVER met in the finals of this soon to be 62 year old war. If BC were to win it's fifth straight Pot' it would match BU's record of five in a row from 1995-2000.

I say this everyday around this time of year and I'll say it again, the Beanpot is the single most important collegiate athletic tournament in the country. Besides a National Title, there is nothing more satisfactory than seeing the maroon and gold skate around the TD Garden with yet another Beanpot. This is the only day of the year when families, friends, and coworkers barely speak to each other solely because the other went to or supports the opposing school. While walking through the halls today every conversation I took place in or overheard was about the Beanpot and it's importance to the city of Boston. Whether you're a die hard or an average kid who couldn't even name the four schools involved, everyone cares about the Beanpot. It's the greatest sporting event in the world.

As for the game itself, let's go ahead and throw the records, rankings, and stats out the window. It's BC-BU in the Beanpot. It's always a close game and tonight will be no different. Sure, we were fortunate to get a couple of victories vs them earlier this season but BU dominated large portions of that second game and were inches away from getting the game tying goal in the final minute of play. The Terriers have been playing much better hockey as of late as they defeated a strong Vermont team last Friday and held a late lead in Amherst this weekend before faltering late and settling for a tie. There is one huge key for this game. BC is going to outshoot BU by a wide margin, I mean, the Terriers have the worst shot differential in the league by quiet a large margin. If BU goalie Matt O'Connor can stand on his head much like Sean Maguire did two weeks ago, I think  BU has a shot but O'Connor has struggled vs BC over the course of his career as he currently has a 1-3 record vs the maroon and gold.

The biggest thing I want to see out of BC is their play below their own blue line. The Eagles did a good job of avoiding turnovers and odd man rushes vs Providence on Friday night but vs BU two weeks ago, the Terriers had an endless amount of odd man rushes, forced turnovers, and power plays. I would be shocked if BU was still in this game if BC stays as disciplined as they were on Friday and avoids turnovers like they have been doing ever since that second game vs the Terriers. BU is playing with house money so BC has got to expect them to bring their A+ game like they always do in this tournament. Any team, no matter how good or how bad they are, can win a hockey game when given a large amount of power plays. If BU gets their share of man advantages tonight, then they've got a shot.


I know you're all wondering about the lineup so here it is.

G-Arnold-Hayes

Fitzgerald-Brown-Cangelosi

Straight-Gilmour-Calnan

Smith-Sit-Silk

Matheson-Doherty

Santini-Macleod

Savage-Linell

Demko

Keys for BC-

1. I honestly don't think BU can win this game if BC stays out of the box for the most part. Let them take the stupid penalties.

2. BU runs out of gas easily. They had a two goals led in Amherst in the third period on Friday night and blew it. They've done that a lot.

3. Attack, attack, attack. These defensemen are clueless in their own end. They will have no idea what to do if BC forchecks aggressively.

There is no need to scout BU. We know them. They know us.

Notes-

1. 8 PM on NESN.

2. BC is 14-27 all time in the Beanpot vs BU but is 4-0 in the last four meetings.

Go Eagles !!



Injury Report

Here is the first injury report of the year. Of course, BC plays archrival Boston University in the Beanpot tomorrow night.

Ian McCoshen- OUT, undisclosed injury.

Kevin Hayes- Questionable, certainly chance he could play.

Go Eagles.

Banged Up Eagles Slip by Friars

On my way down last night I thought about the injury situation this year's club has had compared to last seasons. After the second game @ Schneider Arena a season ago, there had to be four guys limping around with tape all around their legs. Not to mention Pat Wey was cut by an opposing skate, causing a large amount of blood to come together just outside the locker room. Well, last night wasn't as bad but it was still a pretty dirty hockey game played by the home team. Despite losing Kevin Hayes to a hip injury after the first period and playing multiple guys who were at maybe 50 %, the Boston College Eagles extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games Friday night when they defeated the Providence College Friars, 2-0.

First of all, let's talk about the effort displayed by the Eagles last night. I've seen a lot of hockey teams roll over when they lose perhaps their best player but that didn't happen last night. Initially, Providence carried the play for the first half of the second period but once Brendan Silk potted home his second goal of the season, BC really took the momentum back. BC's energy guys, Silk, Quinn Smith, Chris Calnan, and Mike Sit all played really solid once again. Goals from these guys are just icing on top of the cake but when they're playing at the level they were for the second half of that hockey game, BC is a much deeper hockey team. I said earlier this year and I'll say it again, no guy has improved more from day one last year to now than Brendan Silk. He's really starting to find his role on this team.

With Hayes gone to injury, Austin Cangelosi was asked to step up and play with Johnny G and Bill Arnold. It's never going to be as good as when Hayes is there but I thought Austin filled the hole quiet well. That line played a lot of minutes in the third period but instead of running out of gas and letting PC control the pace, they kept the puck below the Friars' blue line and were rewarded when Johnny G extended his point streak to 21 games by beating a PC defenseman one on one, and firing the puck by Jon Gilles. Only a play G could make. After the goal, Providence stepped up their chipiness but I'm sure the staff was pleased about the way BC didn't give into to their opponent's theatrics. Of the three BC penalties, only one was a "bad" penalty. The other two were taken because the opponent was on an odd man rush, again you never want to take penalties but in those situations, you have to.

I think it would be pretty wrong of me to write a recap of this game without mentioning Thatcher Demko. This kid is special. If you think about it, he's had one awful game, the rest have been quality games in which BC was playing a tough opponent. When asked after the game whether or not he thought this was Thatcher's best game, Coach York said he didn't know but he's had a lot of real quality ones. Personally, I thought it was his best game although BC limited Providence to a lot less "grade A" chances than they gave us.

All in all, it's frustrating to play an opponent that is out there purely for the purpose of taking someone's head off but getting two points is really all that matters. As for the injuries, we'll have more on them tomorrow but Hayes is the only real question mark for Monday's game. Two others were banged up and missed practice today but they will play Monday unless something drastic takes place.

Why BC Won-

1. Effort. It was 100% for all 60 minutes. It wasn't a fun game to watch and I'm sure it wasn't a fun game to play in but everyone stayed focused on the task and got it done.

2. Demko was sensational. Best game of the year.

Negatives- 

I got nothing. Injuries I guess.

Player of the game- Thatcher Demko

Next Up- You know who is next.

Go Eagles !