First-Round Fracas: BC and Harvard Square Off in NCAA Tournament

NORTHEAST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
WHEN	FIRST-ROUND: Friday, March 25 (8 p.m.) // REGIONAL FINAL: Saturday, March 26 (9 p.m.)
WHERE	DCU Center // Worcester, Mass.
HOW TO FOLLOW	ESPN3 // Audio // Stats (coming soon) / BUY TICKETS
GAME NOTES	BC: PDF / WEB /// Harvard: PDF
MEDIA CENTER	ESPNU: P x P: John Buccigross / Color: Barry Melrose / Sidelines: Quint Kessenich
TOURNAMENT INFO	Powered by host Holy Cross

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. HARVARD
Boston College will skate against a cross-town rival in Harvard for the 124th time in program history, but Friday's first-round matchup marks the first of its kind in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles took down Harvard in their lone meeting this season in the semifinal round of the Beanpot, 3-2, on February 1, 2016, at TD Garden. With that victory, the Eagles are 13-9 against the Crimson in Beanpot semifinal contests and 28-13, all-time, in Boston's mid-winter classic. Boston College and Harvard have collided 82 other times outside of the Beanpot as BC owns an overall advantage of 73-45-5 against the Cambridge residents. In recent history, Boston College has dominated Harvard, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings by a combined score of 52-26. Harvard's last victory against BC occurred at Kelley Rink on Nov. 11, 2014. Jerry York is 25-6-2 all-time against Harvard behind the Eagles' bench. Harvard is making its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second-straight after playing in the Midwest Regional last season. Friday's matchup against the Eagles will mark the fourth NCAA Tournament game in Worcester for the Crimson and first since 2003 when it met Boston University in the first round.

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. PROVIDENCE
A potential Hockey East matchup lurks for the Eagles if they can get by Harvard. Providence faces Minnesota-Duluth in the other contest in the Northeast regional. In 2014, Boston College faced UMass Lowell in the NCAA quarterfinals and emerged victoriously, 4-3. Boston College and Providence have never in the NCAA Tournament once, a triple overtime battle in the nation semifinal in which Providence won, 4-3.. The two programs did, however, skate against one another in the Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla. this season as the Friars escaped with a 2-1 victory on Dec. 29. BC and PC ran it back the following weekend in a home-and-home on Jan. 8-9, 2016. The Eagles had their revenge and hung seven goals on Providence, marking a season high for goals given up by the Friars. Providence and BC tied the following night, 4-4, at Schneider Arena. The defending national champions earned their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and make their third-consecutive postseason appearance, 12th in all. The Friars had a 10-game winning streak disrupted by UMass Lowell in double overtime in the Hockey East semifinals on March 18. Boston College and Lowell shared the Hockey East regular-season title this season.

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. MINNESOTA-DULUTH
Minnesota-Duluth is the only team in the Northeast regional the Eagles have faced in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles and Bulldogs have met twice in the NCAA, most recently in the exact same spot the two programs will be playing. BC topped UMD, 4-0, in the Northeast regional on March 25, 2012. Minnesota-Duluth defeated Boston College on March 30, 1985 in the third/fourth place game in overtime, 7-6, in Detroit. In all, the Eagles and Bulldogs have skated against each other 16 times as Boston College holds an 11-4-1 advantage and has outscored UMD, 67-55. The Bulldogs were riding a seven-game winning streak before losing to St. Cloud State, 3-1, in the NCHC tournament championship game. The NCAA Tournament berth is the 10th ever for UMD and marks the first time any Bulldog club has made four national appearances in a six-year stretch.

OFFENSIVE NUGGETS
• The Eagles possess the nation's FOURTH BEST scoring margin of +1.87 -- the Eagles have scored 147 goals this season and only surrendered 76 (3.87 goals for pg / 2.00 goals against pg)

• The 2015-16 Eagle offense has already surpassed last year's offensive output by 40 goals this year -- Boston College scored 107 goals last season while BC has already tallied 147 this season

• Four BC forwards have already surpassed last year's point totals by double digits, including Ryan Fitzgerald (+19), Austin Cangelosi (+15), Matthew Gaudreau (+15), Zach Sanford (+14)

• Miles Wood recorded his 10th multi-point game as an Eagle against Northeastern but his first as a multi-goal game - Wood's two goals stood as his first-career multi-goal game

• Ryan Fitzgerald, Boston College's leading scorer added to his total against Northeastern with an assist to bring his total to an even 22 goals and 22 assists each and inching closer to the 100-career point mark; Fitzgerald is two points away (52-46-98) from the benchmark

DEFENSIVE NUGGETS
• Boston College recorded its 10th shutout of the season against Vermont on March 11 - that is now a new school record, surpassing the old standard of eight set in 2005-06

• As a whole, BC's defensive unit ranks seventh nationally, yielding only 2.00 gpg (one of seven teams under at 2.00 gpg or better) - BC has kept opponents off the board 59-of-104 periods

• Boston College's penalty-killing unit has surrendered only six power play goals in the last 17 games as the Eagles rank fourth in the nation at 88.0 percent (147-of-167)

• When holding a lead heading into the third period, the Eagle defense has been on lockdown, posting a 20-0-2 record with the advantage after two frames

• Boston College blue-chip defenseman notched his fifth multi-point game with a pair of assists against Northeastern on March 18 - the Mahopac, N.Y. native was named Hockey East's Best Defensive Defenseman and has surpassed last year's point total by 14 points

BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The 2016 NCAA Tournament marks the 35th time the Eagles have earned a postseason berth. It is the team's 17th appearance in the last 19 years. Boston College sports a 47-41 all-time record in the national tournament. Head coaches John `Snooks' Kelley and Len Ceglarski both led BC to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, while Jerry York has led the Eagles to 17 NCAA Tournaments in the last 20 seasons. Boston College has skated in the last seven-consecutive NCAA Tournaments, third most in college hockey (NoDak & Denver).

JERRY YORK AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Jerry York has led his teams to 23 NCAA Tournament berths - six at Bowling Green and 17 at Boston College (out of 21 seasons at BC). York has a 39-22-1 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and owns a 34-12 mark at Boston College. York's 39 victories are the highest total in NCAA Division I history. Twelve York-led squads have advanced to the tournament's semifinal/championship round.

CURRENT EAGLES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Fourteen of the 26 current Eagles have skated in an NCAA Tournament game. Ryan Fitzgerald is Boston College's leading point scorer in four NCAA games with three goals while Steve Santini and Ian McCoshen both have a goal in an NCAA game. Teddy Doherty and Adam Gilmour lead in the assists category with two. Thatcher Demko is 2-2 in four NCAA starts.

POSTSEASON PRODUCTION
Since the 1997-98 season, Boston College has won nine Hockey East Tournament titles (1998, '99, 2001, '05,'07, '08, '10, '11 and '12), has advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Frozen Four 11 times (1998, '99, 2000, '01, '04, '06, '07, '08, '10, '12, '14) and has captured four national titles (2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012). During this stretch run, Boston College is 87-26 (.770) in 113 playoff contests.

TOURNEY TIDBITS
• Boston College possesses 35 NCAA Tournament appearances, second most behind Minnesota and Michigan, each with 36

• Boston College's seven-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament is currently the third-longest streak behind North Dakota (14) and Denver (9).

• Boston College is in seach of its sixth national championship which would put the Eagles in a tie for third-most all-time with Wisconsin (Michigan has nine and Denver/NoDak with seven)

...AND NEW
Thatcher Demko surpassed Cory Schneider for the all-time single-season shutouts record holder, notching his ninth of the season against BU in the Beanpot on Feb. 8. Demko added his 10th of the season against Vermont on March 11. Demko is now tied for second all-time in the career shutouts list and two away from the career mark.

NOT JUST AT BC, BUT ALL-TIME...
Thatcher Demko's 10 shutouts is the second most in college hockey history for a season, tying David McKee (Cornell – 2005) and Ryan Miller (Michigan State – 2001). The San Diego native is two shutouts away from matching Greg Gardner's (Niagara) of 12 set in 2000 for the all-time mark in a college hockey season.

RECAPPING THE HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINALS
Following a 5-4 setback to red-hot Northeastern on March 18 in the Hockey East semifinals, the Eagles are now 16-6 in that round of the tournament. The contest started at 10:36 p.m., 2 hours and 36 minutes later than the scheduled start time due to the first Hockey East semifinal extending into triple overtime. Miles Wood scored the contest's first goal 15 seconds into the game, marking BC fastest tally of the season.

CHAMPS ... 14 TIMES OVER
Boston College's 3-1 victory over UMass Lowell on Feb. 26 guaranteed the Eagles the No. 1 seed for the Hockey East playoff and a share of the regular season title. BC lost to the River Hawks the following night in the regular season finale and tied as co-champs with Providence. BC has been champs or co-champs in the regular season 14 times, including the 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16 seasons.

20 / 20
The Eagles skate into the NCAA Tournament with a 26-7-5 mark. Jerry York has now led 23 of his teams to 25 wins or more in a season, including 17 seasons with 20 wins or more behind the Eagles' bench.This is the seventh-consecutive season the Eagles will have won at least 20 games and will be the 75th season in which Boston College has guaranteed more wins than losses.

FITZY ALERT
Ryan Fitzgerald has been on fire for the Eagles and it came to a head on March 13 when he scored the overtime winner against Vermont to clinch a berth in the Hockey East semifinals. With his team-leading 22nd goal, Fitzgerald is rapidly approaching the 100-point mark for his career (52-46-98). His 52 career goals has him outside of Boston College's top 50 for a career by just a pair. Fitzgerald is also one of 15 skaters in college hockey with at least three short-handed goals this season. Five of Fitzgerald's 50 goals at BC have come via short-handed. Fitzgerald has scored 22 goals and registered as 22 assists in his junior season and ranks 17th, nationally, in points per game this season with 1.19 ppg.

WHITE OUT
Colin White, who has registered 12 multi-point performances this season, is currently the 16th most prolific scorer in college hockey and the third-highest scoring freshman with an average of 1.21 points per game. The Hanover, Mass. native is second on the Eagles with 41 points, notching 19 goals and 22 assists along the way. White is the first freshman since Johnny Gaudreau (2011-12) to score 40 points in his rookie campaign.

HEADSTANDS
Demko is currently fifth in the nation in save percentage (.935) and seventh in goals against average (1.87). His 10 shutouts are easily the most in college hockey this season. In league play, Demko's five shutouts are tied for second most in a single-season with UNH's Casey DeSmith (2012-13) and BU's John Curry (2006-07). His .938 save percentage in league play is tied for seventh best in a single season Merrimack's Rasmus Tirronen (2014-15), NU's Clay Witt (2013-14) and none other than his current goaltending coach at BC, Mike Ayers. Ayers was a Second-Team All-American and finished with that number in 2001-02. For a career, the 6-foot-4 backstopper is 60-25-10 (.684) with a 2.08 goals against average and a .927 save percentage (2,541 saves on 2,740 shots).

THATCHER BAKER
Thatcher Demko is among the 10 finalists for the 2016 Hobey Baker Award and one of two goaltenders up for college hockey's most prestigious individual award. Demko looks to become Boston College's fourth Hobey Baker winner, joining David Emma (1991), Mike Mottau (2001) and Johnny Gaudreau (2014). The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on March 31, 2016 and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced Friday, April 8, 2016 from Tampa. Demko is also one of five finalist for the 2016 Mike Richter Award, which honors the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA men's hockey.

QUICK DRAW CANGE
Not only has juniorAustin Cangelosi been the glue to Boston College's offense this season and increased his point total by 15 points so far from last year (currently T-606th in college hockey with 0.92 ppg), but his is the NCAA's best faceoff man hands down. The Estero, Fla. native has won 63.2 percent of his draws, winning 500-of-791.

SHORT-CHANGED
The Eagles have scored 10 short-handed goals this season, which is second in the nation (Penn State - 12). Ryan Fitzgerald leads the team with three while Colin White and Zach Sanford have both scored a pair. It's the most short-handed goals in a season for BC since 2011-12 (12 SHGs). Boston College is also tied for the most successful penalty shot goals (2) with Connecticut as well as delayed penalty goals (2) with Michigan and Wisconsin.

THE DUDE(K) ABIDES
Rookie JD Dudek scored his first-career goal to force the game into overtime at 10:30 of the third period against UVM on March 13. Dudek also assisted on Colin White's goal in the second period for his first-career multi-point performance. For his showing, Dudek was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week on March 14.

THE LEGEND CONTINUES...
Boston College coach Jerry York has reached the 1,000-win mark for his career in his 1,703rd game as a head coach. In all, York's record is 1,010-598-110 (.620) in 44 seasons at the head coach level and 543-263-76 (.659) in his 22nd season at the helm of Boston College. At the collegiate level, York is the 55th head coach to reach 1,000-career victories and the first to do so in college hockey. York remains the winningest coach in the history of the game. In his 1,000-career victories, Jerry York has defeated 69 different programs spread out through his tenures at Clarkson, Bowling Green and Boston College. York also won his ninth Beanpot trophy on Feb. 8, 2016, checking off another record in the BC annals.

BROTHERLY LOVE
Both Ryan and Casey Fitzgerald scored power play goals in the Feb. 13 contest at Merrimack and each assisted on one another's tallies. As a whole this season, Casey or Ryan have assisted on one another's tallies on five occasions and have both scored at least one point in a game on 13 different occassions, including a combined one goal and three assists against Vermont in game three on March 13.

FREAKY FAST
BC has had a penchant for attacking quckly this season. Casey Fitzgerald scored 1:35 into the Beanpot semifinal. It was the fastest goal to start a Beanpot game since Bryan Ewing scored 1:23 into the game on Feb. 6, 2006. Austin Cangelosi scored 12 seconds into the home opener against Wisconsin, marking the fastest goal scored by an Eagle since Matt Price tallied 11 seconds into the game against Northeastern on March 7, 2008. The Estero, Fla., native followed that with a goal 16 seconds into the game on Jan. 29 at Notre Dame. Miles Wood recent scored a quick goal in the Hockey East semifinal, 15 seconds in.

SHORT-HANDED LAY-UP
Austin Cangelosi converted on a penalty shot against BU on Jan. 15, marking the Eagles' first penalty shot goal since Chris Kreider tallied one against Notre Dame on Nov. 18, 2011. It should be noted, Cangelosi's penalty shot occurred when the Eagles were short-handed. Cangelosi also converted a penalty shot against Merrimack and is the only skater in college hockey so far with a pair.

SPECIAL TEAMS TALES
The Eagles' power play ranks 12th in the nation, converting 33-of-157 opportunites at a rate of 21.0 percent. The penalty-killing efforts continue to dominate, ranking first in Hockey East and fourth, nationally (88.0 percent - 147-of-167).

SHOW BIRDS
With the addition of former BC captain Michael Matheson to the Panthers on Feb. 19, the Eagles are now tied with Michigan for having the most alumni (20) in the NHL this season.

START SPREADIN' THE NEWS
Boston College and North Dakota will meet in a new marquee event next season, the College Hockey Showdown, on December 3, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The NCHC will serve as a co-host for the College Hockey Showdown with Madison Square Garden while North Dakota will be designated as the home team. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest College Hockey Showdown at Madison Square Garden information by following the event on Twitter @HkyShowdown_MSG.

PRESEASON PRECEDENT
Boston College was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Hockey East regular-season title as voted on by the league coaches and announced on Sept. 21. The Eagles received 115 overall votes and picked up seven of the league's 12 first-place votes. The Eagles' pick as the preseason favorite marks the seventh time in the last eight seasons and the 14th time in the last 17 occasions that BC has been picked as the preseason favorite, or co-favorite, to win the league title.

POLE POSITION
BC was tabbed the unit to beat as the Eagles earned the No. 1 preseason ranking in both the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine polls unveiled on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, respectively. This marks the seventh time the Eagles have been slotted as the top position in the preseason. The last time Boston College was ranked No. 1 in the country was towards the end of the 2013-14 season when the Eagles ran off a 19-game unbeaten mark, winning 17 games and skating to a pair of draws over the course of the run. Boston College finished No. 13 and No. 14, respectively, in the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine final polls upon conclusion of the 2014-15 season.

First-Round Fracas: BC and Harvard Square Off in NCAA Tournament

Players Mentioned

Austin Cangelosi

Thatcher Demko

Teddy Doherty

JD Dudek

Casey Fitzgerald

Ryan Fitzgerald

Matthew Gaudreau

Adam Gilmour

Michael Matheson

Ian McCoshen

Zach Sanford

Steve Santini

Colin White

Miles Wood

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