Boston College Athletics
Boston College's Big Night In Pittsburgh
June 10, 2009 | Boston College Athletics
June 10, 2009
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Despite being 570 miles apart, it seemed Boston College and the city of Pittsburgh were one and the same last night. A few hours after catcher Tony Sanchez became the fourth overall pick of the MLB Draft to the Pirates, three former Eagle hockey players were instrumental in the Penguins' 2-1 win against Detroit to force game seven in the Stanley Cup final.
At 6:39 p.m., Sanchez made Boston College history when the Pirates made him the highest baseball player ever picked in the draft out of Chestnut Hill. In fact, the only other Eagle in any sport to be drafted higher overall than Sanchez was Matt Ryan when he was chosen third by the Atlanta Falcons on April 26, 2008.
"It's a premium position," Pirates scouting director Greg Smith said according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He's got above-average defensive skills behind the plate [and] a solid offensive package to complement that. With the leadership, the character, we really think it gives us a great guy to bring on board as a Pittsburgh Pirate."
A couple other Eagles were taken with the fourth overall pick in their respective drafts. Quarterback Don Allard was drafted fourth by Washington back in 1959 while basketball's Terry Driscoll was selected in the same spot by Detroit in 1969.
"I just felt that they were attracted to my work ethic and how much I invest in my team, the fact that I'm going to work harder for my teammates than for myself," Sanchez said. "At BC, we were a losing program. My teammates and I took a mentality that we wanted to turn that around. I hope to do the same thing getting into the system with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I want to help turn that franchise into a winning franchise."
Later on in the evening at Mellon Arena in game six of the Stanley Cup final, former BC hockey stars Bill Guerin, Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi took the ice for the Penguins while facing elimination from the Red Wings.
The trio all spent more than 14 minutes on the ice with Orpik and Scuderi both skating more than 20 minutes. Scuderi made the biggest impact of the night, assisting on the Penguins' first goal by Jordan Staal early in the second period for the game's first score.
But it was Scuderi's defensive effort in the final moments that sealed the win for the Penguins to force a game seven Friday night at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Michael Farber of SI.com describes Scuderi's efforts in the following:
Scuderi stopped what appeared to be two shots in the blue paint, once with a shin guard, another with his toe, with the Red Wings looking like they were going to go all Penn State on the Penguins and run in the tying goal.
"I'm more of a standup goalie, not a butterflyer," said Scuderi, who is marvelously self-deprecating. "They're outnumbering us in front of the net and it's kinda tough to take one man. I just tried to go down, and I guess it hit me. I'm pretty fortunate there. Like I said, just glad to help out any way I can."
Scuderi blocked a total of four shots in the game while Orpik stifled a half-dozen before they reached Marc-Andre Fleury in the blue paint. Guerin contributed with six shots in his 14:17 of ice time.
