Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Brody Hannon
Eagles Claim Opening Win As Series Shifts To Agganis
January 27, 2024 | Men's Hockey, #ForBoston Files
BC grabbed the first three points, but barking dogs await on Comm Ave.
The glow was nowhere gone from Conte Forum before Boston College head coach Greg Brown forced his Eagles to turn the page to the back-end of their home-and-home with top-ranked Boston University. For the past three hours, his home ice and his team were megastars engaged in a back-and-forth battle with its oldest, most intense rivalry, and the 4-1 win had been well-earned for the gold-clad hockey superstars. For at least one night, a dream had come true, and BC had been rightfully installed atop the nation's most elite teams in a sport that long represented the university's tent pole franchise.
Brown understood the reality, but he also knew that the next 24 hours were almost more key to his team's weekend than the game that had just been won. Conte Forum had been more than a home for BC, and the line of students wrapping around the building for a bulk of the pregame fomented the realization of a week-long hype video. It was also now in the rearview mirror, and BC's reputation as a team hunting BU's top-ranked status transformed into new-found status as the team atop the rankings with the series turning towards the red-and-white edifice situated between the Mass Pike and Comm Ave.
"A lot of guys, it was their first BC-BU rivalry game and nobody was trying to stay invisible," said BC head coach Greg Brown. "Everybody was out there making a difference and that was great."
BC is one of college hockey's most entrenched traditions, but the 30,000-foot view of the program tended to overlook a recent history that failed to live up to those lofty expectations. The one national tournament berth in the last seven years was part of the strange COVID-19 season in 2020-2021, and three other Hockey East regular season championships ended without trips to the tournament. The 2019-2020 season likely would have featured a No. 1 seed if the pandemic's outbreak hadn't canceled the entire postseason, but the greater truth is that because Notre Dame vacated the so-called "COVID tournament" in 2021, BC still hasn't won a postseason game since it advanced to the Frozen Four semifinals in 2016, four years after the Eagles' last trip to the national championship game.
The 2011-2012 season was also the last national championship banner, but a string of underwhelming finishes sent the Eagles into seventh place as other programs experienced their own brand of Hockey East joy. Open discussions burst unfounded conversations into the public view, but the fact remained that BC - the team that supplanted BU atop Hockey East - now watched as the western teams in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference took center stage against UMass, Northeastern, UMass-Lowell and the ECAC-based powers that broke the league's national championship drought that dated back to 1989.
All of that changed at the beginning of this year when the preseason poll installed a previously-unranked BC team near the top of the national top-20, and the Eagles' own lofty expectations broke through a glass ceiling when the Terriers lost their preseason No. 1 ranking. A strong Hockey East showing in the non-conference schedule helped, but the Eagles' sojourn through the first two months grabbed the top spot after a season-opening win over Quinnipiac's defending national champion and continued success against teams like Michigan State and Notre Dame. The statistical Pairwise Rankings agreed, and an impenetrable aura formed over BC and the BU team that struggled defensively in the first month of the season.
The journey felt organic, and Friday night's win encapsulated the rejuvenated energy surrounding both teams' hockey programs. Thousands of fans poured into Conte Forum as early as possible to begin chanting against the Terriers, and the players knew they'd face either fervent hostility or blind adulation. After a tight-packed first period that saw both teams open opportunities, Ryan Leonard's snapper past Mathieu Caron sent the 8,000 white-clad fans into a frenzy with the first donnybreak of the night.
A second goal on a 2-on-1 opportunity likewise blew the roof away, but the energy didn't reach an apex until the Terriers earned their goal in the third period. Emptying the net of Caron in a one-goal game then threw the requisite chum into the water for the BC sharks, and the two empty net goals lit the fuse on a celebration that felt seven years in the making.
"The crowd, the support was incredible," said Brown. "They've been here all year, but they took it to another level, so that was great to see."
The only downer to the night was the realization that it wasn't for a tournament or title crown. It was great, but it was a three-point game that felt its impact more in the Pairwise Rankings, where BC finally stepped over BU for the No. 1 spot. Wisconsin's loss to Michigan allowed Maine to slide into a top-4 spot, and a North Dakota win kept the NCHC present in the No. 3 spot with one month left in the regular season.
This wasn't the Beanpot semifinal, and Brown recognized the need to turn the page quickly after the team finished celebrating on its home ice because Saturday, for all its intensity, wouldn't be in Conte's cozy confines. The benefit of the home ice and the fans had been used, and the home-and-home series was shifting 11 stops down the Green Line's B Branch to the towering building situated between Fenway Park and Boston College. Unlike Conte, Agganis Arena wouldn't have the same maroon-and-gold bunting, and the same number of fans who fell in love with their Eagles would be replaced by angry, vengeful Terriers identified easily by their red-and-white uniforms.
BC landed in the driver's seat on Saturday morning, but the hunter is entering the twilight hours as the hunted team. Two teams that quickly showed the world why they're the two best hockey teams in the country, but the Eagles aren't out of the woods as the certified No. 1 team. The rankings will likely skew its weekly Monday reveal towards Chestnut Hill, but the Brookline area still has its own brand of life. Eagles everywhere are rejoicing, but barking dogs are still ready for their own fight.
No. 2 Boston College and No. 1 Boston University are set to drop the puck on their second game of the weekend at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on regional television via NESN with streaming available through the NESN 360 app for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
Brown understood the reality, but he also knew that the next 24 hours were almost more key to his team's weekend than the game that had just been won. Conte Forum had been more than a home for BC, and the line of students wrapping around the building for a bulk of the pregame fomented the realization of a week-long hype video. It was also now in the rearview mirror, and BC's reputation as a team hunting BU's top-ranked status transformed into new-found status as the team atop the rankings with the series turning towards the red-and-white edifice situated between the Mass Pike and Comm Ave.
"A lot of guys, it was their first BC-BU rivalry game and nobody was trying to stay invisible," said BC head coach Greg Brown. "Everybody was out there making a difference and that was great."
BC is one of college hockey's most entrenched traditions, but the 30,000-foot view of the program tended to overlook a recent history that failed to live up to those lofty expectations. The one national tournament berth in the last seven years was part of the strange COVID-19 season in 2020-2021, and three other Hockey East regular season championships ended without trips to the tournament. The 2019-2020 season likely would have featured a No. 1 seed if the pandemic's outbreak hadn't canceled the entire postseason, but the greater truth is that because Notre Dame vacated the so-called "COVID tournament" in 2021, BC still hasn't won a postseason game since it advanced to the Frozen Four semifinals in 2016, four years after the Eagles' last trip to the national championship game.
The 2011-2012 season was also the last national championship banner, but a string of underwhelming finishes sent the Eagles into seventh place as other programs experienced their own brand of Hockey East joy. Open discussions burst unfounded conversations into the public view, but the fact remained that BC - the team that supplanted BU atop Hockey East - now watched as the western teams in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference took center stage against UMass, Northeastern, UMass-Lowell and the ECAC-based powers that broke the league's national championship drought that dated back to 1989.
All of that changed at the beginning of this year when the preseason poll installed a previously-unranked BC team near the top of the national top-20, and the Eagles' own lofty expectations broke through a glass ceiling when the Terriers lost their preseason No. 1 ranking. A strong Hockey East showing in the non-conference schedule helped, but the Eagles' sojourn through the first two months grabbed the top spot after a season-opening win over Quinnipiac's defending national champion and continued success against teams like Michigan State and Notre Dame. The statistical Pairwise Rankings agreed, and an impenetrable aura formed over BC and the BU team that struggled defensively in the first month of the season.
The journey felt organic, and Friday night's win encapsulated the rejuvenated energy surrounding both teams' hockey programs. Thousands of fans poured into Conte Forum as early as possible to begin chanting against the Terriers, and the players knew they'd face either fervent hostility or blind adulation. After a tight-packed first period that saw both teams open opportunities, Ryan Leonard's snapper past Mathieu Caron sent the 8,000 white-clad fans into a frenzy with the first donnybreak of the night.
A second goal on a 2-on-1 opportunity likewise blew the roof away, but the energy didn't reach an apex until the Terriers earned their goal in the third period. Emptying the net of Caron in a one-goal game then threw the requisite chum into the water for the BC sharks, and the two empty net goals lit the fuse on a celebration that felt seven years in the making.
"The crowd, the support was incredible," said Brown. "They've been here all year, but they took it to another level, so that was great to see."
The only downer to the night was the realization that it wasn't for a tournament or title crown. It was great, but it was a three-point game that felt its impact more in the Pairwise Rankings, where BC finally stepped over BU for the No. 1 spot. Wisconsin's loss to Michigan allowed Maine to slide into a top-4 spot, and a North Dakota win kept the NCHC present in the No. 3 spot with one month left in the regular season.
This wasn't the Beanpot semifinal, and Brown recognized the need to turn the page quickly after the team finished celebrating on its home ice because Saturday, for all its intensity, wouldn't be in Conte's cozy confines. The benefit of the home ice and the fans had been used, and the home-and-home series was shifting 11 stops down the Green Line's B Branch to the towering building situated between Fenway Park and Boston College. Unlike Conte, Agganis Arena wouldn't have the same maroon-and-gold bunting, and the same number of fans who fell in love with their Eagles would be replaced by angry, vengeful Terriers identified easily by their red-and-white uniforms.
BC landed in the driver's seat on Saturday morning, but the hunter is entering the twilight hours as the hunted team. Two teams that quickly showed the world why they're the two best hockey teams in the country, but the Eagles aren't out of the woods as the certified No. 1 team. The rankings will likely skew its weekly Monday reveal towards Chestnut Hill, but the Brookline area still has its own brand of life. Eagles everywhere are rejoicing, but barking dogs are still ready for their own fight.
No. 2 Boston College and No. 1 Boston University are set to drop the puck on their second game of the weekend at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on regional television via NESN with streaming available through the NESN 360 app for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
Players Mentioned
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