Eagles Ready to Go at Frozen Four

The Boston College women's hockey team arrived in the St. Louis area on Wednesday for the 2017 Frozen Four, and got down to business of finalizing preparation for the National Semifinals on Thursday morning.

BC drew the first ice of the day at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., taking to the recently-laid surface at 10 a.m. CT for the one-hour skate. Friday's semifinal foe, Wisconsin, followed the Eagles, with both Minnesota and Clarkson set to take the ice in the afternoon.

After the quick practice that included small-sided drills, a mini-game in the neutral zone and some offense-defense situations, the team had a 10 minutes to just relax and have fun on the ice. Some players learned how to prop their sticks in their skate boots, and other tried their hands at puck-whacking into a bucket, the Eagles just kicked back and enjoyed some free ice.

Following the session, head coach Katie Crowley, junior Megan Keller and Makenna Newkirk took to the podium for the formal Frozen Four press conference.

Crowley, whose team advanced to its first-ever National Championship game in 2016, noted some of the unseen qualities that's helped this team – a group that many nationally said wouldn't be able to live up to expectations –return to the Frozen Four.

"We lost a lot of great forwards and D last year to this year," Crowley said. "But the way this team stepped up. We've had some injuries and people leave the team and everybody has stepped up in different ways.

"And that is one of the things that is special about this team is that when their number is called, they give everything they have and they have succeeded at that in everything that we've asked them to do in any situation they have been great for us. Whether that is a freshman stepping into a position that she doesn't know or a player who has logged a lot of minutes and needs to log more. They have been bounced around all lines or bounced around everywhere. I like how we handle that pressure."

Newkirk, who scored the Eagles' lone goal in the championship game last year, echoed her coach's statement.

"I think that we've faced a lot of adversity this season," she said. "We've come through our ups and downs, and I think that we are starting to hit our stride right now. It's not easy to win those overtime games, and for us to be able to pull those out and play with heart and really come together as a team, I think that's what we need this weekend and that's what it is going to take."

Keller, who was the first defenseman to win Hockey East's Player of the Year award, added that being in St. Charles with this group makes it easy to focus on the lone goal at hand: winning the program's first-ever national championship.

"(There isn't) Not much (distraction) when I'm around 23 of my best friends. You just have to enjoy the moment and we're trying to win a National Championship. That is what we're here for, and I'm really excited for this team and this journey," Keller said.

Newkirk added, "I think we're excited to be here. Stepping foot in this arena for the first time is a special experience, especially for the freshman. I think that we're all excited to be here, and it doesn't matter where we're playing because we're ready to go.

"This team has the most heart of any team I've ever played on. We're fighting for each other, our coaches and for our alumni," she continued.

The Eagles will participate in tonight's Frozen Four Celebration on host Lindenwood University's campus. Then Friday morning, it's all about Wisconsin and earning a chance to play for the National Championship on Sunday.

Tomorrow's game against top-seeded Wisconsin will be streamed live on ncaa.com.

Players Mentioned

Megan Keller

Makenna Newkirk

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