Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Brody Hannon
January 30, 2024 | Men's Hockey, #ForBoston Files
BC is alone atop both the statistical and voted-on polls as the Beanpot weekend looms.
Saturday night's return bout between No. 2 Boston College and No. 1 Boston University drew off its intense storylines in the pregame hours leading up to its opening puck drop. The Eagles' decisive 4-1 win at home on Friday night meant BC supplanted its longtime nemesis as the top team in college hockey, but a shift to Agganis Arena meant a permeation of a home ice advantage that led BU to an undefeated record since its only loss rang through an overtime game against North Dakota back in October.
Plenty of meat remained on the bone, and most of it hinged on the Terriers' ability to respond to what amounted to a one-goal loss one night earlier. The overall feeling leaving Conte Forum centered on BU's inability to play up to a standard imposed by the hungrier underdogs, and the failures on the ice flipped the script after two empty net goals sent BC's fans into a frenzied state of celebratory wonder.
BU needed something more, but costly penalties led to two first-period goals by BC after the Terriers bombed goalie Jacob Fowler for the better part of the first five minutes. They eventually rallied with a late-period power play goal and an even strength goal in the second, but the message had been left plain and clear that the Eagles were ready to step into a first place tie while solidifying their claim to the top slot in the nation with a 4-3 win and a six-point weekend sweep.
"Any time you're in a game like that against a very good opponent, you gain little confidence knowing you can have success in those situations," said head coach Greg Brown. "It only gets more tight and harder here on out the rest of the season, so when you have success in situations like that, you know it can be done. Instead of going in fragile, you go [into future games] with awesome confidence, and that is important for a young team when you have that."
Beating BU to start the weekend carried the national implication for a BC team situated one spot behind the Terriers in the statistical Pairwise Rankings, but the additional weight from Saturday allowed the Eagles to elevate to the top of both national polls on Monday afternoon. On USCHO.com, 47 different voters installed BC atop the poll and made the team a near-unanimous choice outside of two votes allotted to North Dakota and one given to Maine (author's note: I voted for BC as the No. 1 team).
It gave BC the No. 1 spot for the first time since BU flipped into first place with 32 first place votes on January 15 and displaced the Eagles' month-long stay at No. 1. The two wins also crowned BC for the fourth time this year and the first time since the third reign began on December 1, but the number of first place votes dwarfed the 34 votes given to BC in the pre-Christmas era.
The impact could be felt throughout college hockey by opening a door for both North Dakota and Maine, and the Fighting Hawks jumped BU by sweeping Denver and gaining the No. 2 spot in both polls. The Black Bears, meanwhile, watched BC tie BU atop Hockey East, but a nine-point deficit left Maine in fourth in the Pairwise Rankings and sixth in the voters' poll despite three games in hand against both of the top teams.
All of that fallout sets the stage for a wild week ahead, and this weekend's lone game against UMass-Lowell feels more like parking lot tacks than a speed bump en route to next week's Beanpot semifinal rematch. In previous years, games leading up to the Beanpot have been disappointing, and last year's shootout loss at Lowell preceded a semifinal loss in overtime to Harvard. The next weekend, a loss to Maine preceded the consolation game win over BU.Â
The last pre-Covid year in 2020 saw BC drop a 3-2 decision at home before a 7-2 win over Harvard in the consolation game, and the 2019 Beanpot ended with the Eagles losing to Northeastern in the championship after a 3-0 loss at Tsongas Arena. BC's last win in the intersession week came the year prior when it beat Lowell, 3-2, but it also came between two legs of a fourth place finish at TD Garden.
That week between Beanpot games has been particularly prickly for a team that hasn't won the tournament since 2016, but that was the last time college hockey saw the Eagles win both legs of games in the weekends before Beanpot games. Even under those circumstances, it's become a learning tradition for BC to understand that the Beanpot doesn't sit alone.
"I thought the fans [this weekend] were outstanding," Brown said, "and the guys feel that energy. It gives us practice for the Beanpot and understanding the emotions of the game and the electricity of the crowd [while not] letting it distort from what you have to do."
BC returns to the ice this weekend when it plays UMass-Lowell at the Tsongas Center on Friday night at 7:15 p.m.Â
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Plenty of meat remained on the bone, and most of it hinged on the Terriers' ability to respond to what amounted to a one-goal loss one night earlier. The overall feeling leaving Conte Forum centered on BU's inability to play up to a standard imposed by the hungrier underdogs, and the failures on the ice flipped the script after two empty net goals sent BC's fans into a frenzied state of celebratory wonder.
BU needed something more, but costly penalties led to two first-period goals by BC after the Terriers bombed goalie Jacob Fowler for the better part of the first five minutes. They eventually rallied with a late-period power play goal and an even strength goal in the second, but the message had been left plain and clear that the Eagles were ready to step into a first place tie while solidifying their claim to the top slot in the nation with a 4-3 win and a six-point weekend sweep.
"Any time you're in a game like that against a very good opponent, you gain little confidence knowing you can have success in those situations," said head coach Greg Brown. "It only gets more tight and harder here on out the rest of the season, so when you have success in situations like that, you know it can be done. Instead of going in fragile, you go [into future games] with awesome confidence, and that is important for a young team when you have that."
Beating BU to start the weekend carried the national implication for a BC team situated one spot behind the Terriers in the statistical Pairwise Rankings, but the additional weight from Saturday allowed the Eagles to elevate to the top of both national polls on Monday afternoon. On USCHO.com, 47 different voters installed BC atop the poll and made the team a near-unanimous choice outside of two votes allotted to North Dakota and one given to Maine (author's note: I voted for BC as the No. 1 team).
It gave BC the No. 1 spot for the first time since BU flipped into first place with 32 first place votes on January 15 and displaced the Eagles' month-long stay at No. 1. The two wins also crowned BC for the fourth time this year and the first time since the third reign began on December 1, but the number of first place votes dwarfed the 34 votes given to BC in the pre-Christmas era.
The impact could be felt throughout college hockey by opening a door for both North Dakota and Maine, and the Fighting Hawks jumped BU by sweeping Denver and gaining the No. 2 spot in both polls. The Black Bears, meanwhile, watched BC tie BU atop Hockey East, but a nine-point deficit left Maine in fourth in the Pairwise Rankings and sixth in the voters' poll despite three games in hand against both of the top teams.
All of that fallout sets the stage for a wild week ahead, and this weekend's lone game against UMass-Lowell feels more like parking lot tacks than a speed bump en route to next week's Beanpot semifinal rematch. In previous years, games leading up to the Beanpot have been disappointing, and last year's shootout loss at Lowell preceded a semifinal loss in overtime to Harvard. The next weekend, a loss to Maine preceded the consolation game win over BU.Â
The last pre-Covid year in 2020 saw BC drop a 3-2 decision at home before a 7-2 win over Harvard in the consolation game, and the 2019 Beanpot ended with the Eagles losing to Northeastern in the championship after a 3-0 loss at Tsongas Arena. BC's last win in the intersession week came the year prior when it beat Lowell, 3-2, but it also came between two legs of a fourth place finish at TD Garden.
That week between Beanpot games has been particularly prickly for a team that hasn't won the tournament since 2016, but that was the last time college hockey saw the Eagles win both legs of games in the weekends before Beanpot games. Even under those circumstances, it's become a learning tradition for BC to understand that the Beanpot doesn't sit alone.
"I thought the fans [this weekend] were outstanding," Brown said, "and the guys feel that energy. It gives us practice for the Beanpot and understanding the emotions of the game and the electricity of the crowd [while not] letting it distort from what you have to do."
BC returns to the ice this weekend when it plays UMass-Lowell at the Tsongas Center on Friday night at 7:15 p.m.Â
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's HockeySunday, October 25
Sunday, October 25
Saturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
