Photo by: Meg Kelly
The Puck Drop: No. 10 Maine
November 21, 2025 | Men's Hockey, #ForBoston Files
No. 15 BC is resurgent, but the Black Bears arrive with something to prove.
Yeah, yeah I know.
It's been a minute since we last talked. My non-Boston College hockey life decided to take a turn into the wonderfully weird and chaotic while my up-and-down world went sideways in more than one area, so I didn't quite have the time to get caught up on the inner workings of this very same men's hockey program.Â
In other words, I'm blaming my wife and children. Heaven forbid I'm at fault for anything.
Early sunsets and late sunrises aside, I'm sure I'll be fine by Christmas, but nobody really wants to hear me complain about daily deep dives into my strange life. Instead, let's talk hockey and the pure wins and losses currently determining the season's success rate of a BC hockey program that requires a bit of a reboot.Â
We last met before the top-ranked preseason ranking took a tumble in the aftermath of three straight losses to Denver and Northeastern. BC wasn't exactly living the high life at the time, and the very real threat of losing a spot in the weekly USCHO.com Top 20 poll stared at the program like a looming death eater in a Harry Potter book.
None of that really oozed positivity, but an overall record under .500 kept BC moving in a direction eerily reminiscent the 2021-2022 season's missive to send the preseason No. 7 team in the nation to No. 6 before the subsequent fall to No. 10, No. 16, No. 19 and No. 20 preceded a drop out of the national polls altogether. A need for stabilization therefore existed, and BC found its receipt in the sweeping wins over Vermont and UMass.
Almost instantaneously, the storylines forecasting BC's doom evaporated into thin air, but the potential huge momentum swing associated with both the national and voted-on polls hasn't quite caught up to the overall performance. Still No. 18 in the USCHO.com poll and sitting at No. 17 in the NPI doesn't move the Eagles to a position of power, but so the pair of show-me games over the upcoming weekend against No. 10 Maine are more likely capable of changing the way that the rest of the season views BC's overall performance.
"I thought our guys were excited to play," said head coach Greg Brown after Friday's victory over then-No. 12 UMass. "We were coming off of a strong weekend in Vermont, and the feeling around the team was good and positive. We played a pretty solid first period [against the Minutemen] but [still] gave up a few odd-man rushes. They were a dangerous team, and even if we still had some good and sustained o-zone time, we still gave up some bad-for-us Grade A chances in the other direction."
Like the rest of the nation, I hadn't quite bit on BC's potential to turn the rest of the season into a second gear. I placed the team eighteenth in the USCHO.com poll and sandwiched BC and UMass against one another while Maine, fresh off its split with UVM, dropped out of my poll altogether (I never had the Black Bears even near the top-10). Crazy at that sounds, it's more of a sign of the parity within college hockey than a knock against either program; I had roughly 17 teams capable of filling one of the remaining 10 spots in my poll.
That said, this is a weekend that likely separates the programs from one another by feeding either into BC's return to glory or Maine's ability to win away from Alfond Arena. Potential separation or further jamming into that clump of teams is essentially the reality of the fork in the road.
Maybe that's why college hockey doesn't truly begin until Thanksgiving.
Here's what to watch when the Black Bears travel to Conte Forum:
****
Weekend Storylines (Casablanca Edition)
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine. -Rick Blaine
Folks conceivably remember when last year's emotional sell-out ended in Ryan Leonard's game-winning goal against the Black Bears, so it's no real surprise to see Maine waltz into Conte Forum at a time when both teams need to find a statement victory. For the Eagles, the oft-mentioned "show me" game lands at a time when the season is gaining traction, and the Black Bears are trying to avoid tumbling down any of the polls after splitting with a lighter-regarded Vermont team that's nowhere near the voted-on or statistically poll's top echelon.
No team totally or unequivocally needs a win in November, but this is a series that potentially goes an exceptionally long way to determining either squad's candidacy for the postseason. Case in point: BC is 6-4-1 after earning its last two victories and is up to No. 17 in the NPI. Its strength of schedule component ranked 33rd out of the 63 teams, and its weighted winning percentage is over 60 percent despite an overall winning percentage really sitting around 53 percent. In other words, beating a team that's expected to gain significant headroom after omissions and statistics are weighted can only benefit the Eagles while avoiding a home loss.
Maine is at No. 36 because its weighted win percentage is under 53 percent because of its strength of schedule. Wins over teams below the Black Bears haven't yet been omitted from their NPI component, but road wins over a better-ranked team would elevate them over teams that are currently scorching hot. Winning comparisons to Providence and Boston University later in the year is assisted if the team holds a head-to-head win over BC, and since the bulk of Hockey East teams are splitting series, avoiding a loss therefore avoids separation from the Eagles.
In terms of the rest of the season, of all the arenas, in all the towns, on all the campuses, in walks the defending Hockey East champions with something to prove.
Here's looking at you, kid. -Rick Blaine
Starting goaltender Albin Boija entered the 2025-2026 season as arguably the best returning netminder in the nation after breaking out to the tune of a .928 save percentage and a 1.82 goals against average last season. He likely would have won the Richter Award if Jacob Fowler hadn't produced a Hobey Baker-worthy campaign for Boston College, and his finish as the Second Team All-America and Second-Team All-Hockey East selection occurred directly because Fowler was the only other goalie in the nation to produce a better season.
Posting those numbers for a second straight season requires Herculean efforts from both the goalie and his back end defensive unit, so it's not surprising to watch Maine undergo a bit of a regression to start this season. Already this year, the goalie that almost never allowed four goals in a single game surrendered two separate four-goal outbursts, and he's been increasingly vulnerable when shot totals pushed out of the teens and well into the 20s and 30s.
None of that is an indictment of the skill associated with Maine's defensive unit, but BC's deepening forwards scored frequently against UMass by utilizing more players in better situations. The Friday win, in particular, saw Dean Letourneau and Will Vote join James Hagens as part of the score threat in the first game, and Jake Sondreal and Paul Davey contributed goals in Saturday's return bout in Amherst.
"We're stacking up those reps," said Letourneau. "[My line] stayed together through the whole preseason, and just getting comfortable with how everyone plays has made us able to know where guys are going to be on the ice. It's allowed us to gain that chemistry."
Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. -Rick Blaine
Letourneau's swift development gives BC flexibility behind the top line punch provided by James Hagens, Teddy Stiga, and a third skater paired alongside their first round talents. His pairing alongside Will Vote is particularly challenging for defenses to contain, and the larger number of teams are now finding themselves in a dogfight on the back end because of the line chart's ability to rotate players onto the ice.
Let me explain and clarify what that point means. Hagens and Stiga are BC's natural top two linemates, but the third skater on their line shifted from Ryan Conmy to Landan Resendes after the Denver game. Part of that was the ongoing line shuffle brought along by Andre Gasseau's injury, but the shift to Resendes moved Conmy into a position where he could skate with Will Moore. Letourneau remained on a line with Jake Sondreal and Will Vote, but Brown was forced to continue moving skaters onto different lines. The only constant remained Brady Berard in a relished role as a primary defensive forward on the fourth line.
Figuring out the correct lineup isn't easy, but BC moved through Vermont and UMass by remaining fluid. Brown kept Letourneau's line together even after Stiga found himself out of Saturday's game at UMass and instead chose to skate Michael Hagens with his brother and Resendes. Letourneau's line then excelled while newer names relied on the veteran leadership of players like Conmy and Berard. In the end, Will Traeger and Paul Davey both scored goals.
*****
Question Box
How tightly will officiating call the game?
Maine's power play succeeds at less than 20 percent while killing off penalties to the tune of 77 percent. Both numbers are in the middle range of a college hockey universe that's vastly improved at both ends of the ice, so the Black Bears need to remain in advantageous situations as much as possible. That sounds rather obvious, but consider that both Vermont and UMass build leads by scoring early power play goals.Â
In Vermont's case, the first period power play goal provided the cushion in a 2-1 win, and in the case of the Minutemen, the two power play goals from their 4-0 victory over Maine built a 2-0 lead through special teams. With BC's two teams averaging nearly five more percentage points in either direction, alarm bells could be ringing if the Eagles gain a foothold.
Does Maine minimize the impact of traveling away from Alfond?
Maine's home ice advantage is legendary within college hockey circles, but moving away from Orono was problematic over the past few seasons. The 2022-2023 team would have been well over .500 if the Black Bears had been even marginally better than their 4-9-4 road record, and the next year's team missed a No. 1 seed in the tournament because of its 10-10 record in true road or neutral site games.
Most of that changed during last year's run to the Hockey East championship, but Maine still battles the perception that it struggles to consistently win games when it's not playing in Hockey East's northernmost outpost. Even during last year's regular season, two games in Chestnut Hill ended in a six-point weekend for BC before the infamous 4-2 loss to Bentley in Portland (also known as a "Rubin Sweep"). Points were lost at Providence, UConn and UMass down the stretch, and the last weekend of the regular season against the Minutemen required a furious rally to avoid a zero point weekend.
*****
Scoreboard Watching
Dartmouth's 6-0-0 start to the season gave college hockey one of its latest unblemished records since the pre-COVID era, and the Big Green's bye week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday ensures that a perfect record approaches the Turkey Day weekend for the first time since Cornell and Harvard went a combined 14-0-0 through the start of the 2019-2020 season. An obvious argument about the Ivy League's late start exists, but wins over Cornell and Colgate preceded a trip to the ever-difficult North Country, and while St. Lawrence steadily backslid through the last couple of years, Clarkson's season start includes wins over Penn State, North Dakota and a nationally-ranked Union team.
Games against Vermont and Merrimack over the Thanksgiving holiday are therefore a good proving ground, and eyeballs on the No. 12 Big Green should logically increase if they advance into December without a loss. The Brown and Yale weekend is shaping up as a potential banana peel, but all four games are at home, so there's a greater-than-zero chance at a challenge to the top of ECAC's power structure.
In the Big Ten, No. 1 Michigan State remained the unanimous selection atop the USCHO poll for a second straight week after splitting first place votes during their ascension, but Sparty's home series against No. 7 Wisconsin is a certified heavyweight battle against a resurgent conference foe. No. 2 Michigan, meanwhile, hosts Ohio State in a rivalry series in Ann Arbor while Penn State heads to Minnesota to play a Gopher team that's badly leaking losses.
The NCHC's schedule is likewise no picnic for nationally-ranked teams, what with No. 3 Denver traveling to Arizona State for the first time as a conference series and No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth heading into the altitude at Colorado College. And speaking of altitude, Air Force comes out of the mountain of Atlantic Hockey America's western destination to play Army West Point in a two-game service academy battle that ranks among one of college hockey's best rivalries.
In Hockey East, meanwhile, No. 18 Boston University draws No. 12 Northeastern as the Huskies look to clear space ahead of them, and No. 11 Connecticut plays New Hampshire with the more difficult road game scheduled for Friday. In ECAC, No. 20 Union plays No. 19 Cornell in the front end of the Cornell-Colgate trip while Atlantic Hockey America's two hottest teams draw one another when RIT heads to Bentley for a single game.
*****
Dan's Non-Hockey Thought of the Week
My daughters are currently going through one of these phases where they eat exactly the same thing on a daily basis. It makes food shopping incredibly easy and infuriating all at the same time because my wife and I just don't understand how a four-year old sustains her life on the same foods over and over before one day inexplicably canceling them in favor of something else.
The end result, of course, is a cabinet resembling a time capsule to two weeks ago. In the pantry cabinet in my house, for example, we have bags upon bags of mini-muffins because my kids refused to eat anything else for breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love a good party cake, but we bought the industrial-sized box at BJ's Wholesale Club because that's all they were willing to eat for breakfast. Then I inexplicably went out for a bagel one morning, and both kids decided to switch to mini-bagels with whipped cream cheese - this is an important detail - with immediate effect.
I've got two bags of mini-bagels now sitting in my freezer and one that's already sitting on top of the toaster. Rather than go food shopping six times in a week, my wife and I decided that at least we'll eat these things on our own when it changes in a week.
*****
Pregame Quote and Final Thoughts
You don't understand, no
The full intent of my plan.
Baby, I wanna be a soul provider, yeah.
Baby, I wanna stay that way for the longest time.
-Michael Bolton, "Soul Provider"
Do not - I repeat, DO NOT - hate on a man for quoting one of the great guilty pleasure music artists of the 1990s. The era is one of the greatest times for the softest rock ever created, and the long-haired crooner once attempting to make it as a hard rock artist in the 1970s achieved the highest peaks by charming everyone with decibel levels better suited for a dentist's office. My parents routinely bought his CDs, at times through a Columbia House membership, which is a statement that you young'ins can never truly appreciate.
I've long believed that a good "show me" game is capable of revealing just how much horsepower exists in college hockey. Maine is an incredible team that's loaded with talent, but I have this feeling that BC is readying itself for an extended run through college hockey. Things are ramping up, and we don't quite understand how the Eagles are starting to slot into their respective roles. That said, the full extent of wanting to stick around the top of Hockey East for a while requires a couple of wins against a Grade-A opponent.
No. 15 Boston College draws No. 10 Maine on both Friday and Saturday nights as part of a doubleheader at Conte Forum. Both games begin at 7 p.m. with television coverage available through the ESPN Plus streaming platform on the network's family of Internet and mobile device apps. Friday's game is additionally televised on NESN with additional streaming through the NESN 360 app for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
It's been a minute since we last talked. My non-Boston College hockey life decided to take a turn into the wonderfully weird and chaotic while my up-and-down world went sideways in more than one area, so I didn't quite have the time to get caught up on the inner workings of this very same men's hockey program.Â
In other words, I'm blaming my wife and children. Heaven forbid I'm at fault for anything.
Early sunsets and late sunrises aside, I'm sure I'll be fine by Christmas, but nobody really wants to hear me complain about daily deep dives into my strange life. Instead, let's talk hockey and the pure wins and losses currently determining the season's success rate of a BC hockey program that requires a bit of a reboot.Â
We last met before the top-ranked preseason ranking took a tumble in the aftermath of three straight losses to Denver and Northeastern. BC wasn't exactly living the high life at the time, and the very real threat of losing a spot in the weekly USCHO.com Top 20 poll stared at the program like a looming death eater in a Harry Potter book.
None of that really oozed positivity, but an overall record under .500 kept BC moving in a direction eerily reminiscent the 2021-2022 season's missive to send the preseason No. 7 team in the nation to No. 6 before the subsequent fall to No. 10, No. 16, No. 19 and No. 20 preceded a drop out of the national polls altogether. A need for stabilization therefore existed, and BC found its receipt in the sweeping wins over Vermont and UMass.
Almost instantaneously, the storylines forecasting BC's doom evaporated into thin air, but the potential huge momentum swing associated with both the national and voted-on polls hasn't quite caught up to the overall performance. Still No. 18 in the USCHO.com poll and sitting at No. 17 in the NPI doesn't move the Eagles to a position of power, but so the pair of show-me games over the upcoming weekend against No. 10 Maine are more likely capable of changing the way that the rest of the season views BC's overall performance.
"I thought our guys were excited to play," said head coach Greg Brown after Friday's victory over then-No. 12 UMass. "We were coming off of a strong weekend in Vermont, and the feeling around the team was good and positive. We played a pretty solid first period [against the Minutemen] but [still] gave up a few odd-man rushes. They were a dangerous team, and even if we still had some good and sustained o-zone time, we still gave up some bad-for-us Grade A chances in the other direction."
Like the rest of the nation, I hadn't quite bit on BC's potential to turn the rest of the season into a second gear. I placed the team eighteenth in the USCHO.com poll and sandwiched BC and UMass against one another while Maine, fresh off its split with UVM, dropped out of my poll altogether (I never had the Black Bears even near the top-10). Crazy at that sounds, it's more of a sign of the parity within college hockey than a knock against either program; I had roughly 17 teams capable of filling one of the remaining 10 spots in my poll.
That said, this is a weekend that likely separates the programs from one another by feeding either into BC's return to glory or Maine's ability to win away from Alfond Arena. Potential separation or further jamming into that clump of teams is essentially the reality of the fork in the road.
Maybe that's why college hockey doesn't truly begin until Thanksgiving.
Here's what to watch when the Black Bears travel to Conte Forum:
****
Weekend Storylines (Casablanca Edition)
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine. -Rick Blaine
Folks conceivably remember when last year's emotional sell-out ended in Ryan Leonard's game-winning goal against the Black Bears, so it's no real surprise to see Maine waltz into Conte Forum at a time when both teams need to find a statement victory. For the Eagles, the oft-mentioned "show me" game lands at a time when the season is gaining traction, and the Black Bears are trying to avoid tumbling down any of the polls after splitting with a lighter-regarded Vermont team that's nowhere near the voted-on or statistically poll's top echelon.
No team totally or unequivocally needs a win in November, but this is a series that potentially goes an exceptionally long way to determining either squad's candidacy for the postseason. Case in point: BC is 6-4-1 after earning its last two victories and is up to No. 17 in the NPI. Its strength of schedule component ranked 33rd out of the 63 teams, and its weighted winning percentage is over 60 percent despite an overall winning percentage really sitting around 53 percent. In other words, beating a team that's expected to gain significant headroom after omissions and statistics are weighted can only benefit the Eagles while avoiding a home loss.
Maine is at No. 36 because its weighted win percentage is under 53 percent because of its strength of schedule. Wins over teams below the Black Bears haven't yet been omitted from their NPI component, but road wins over a better-ranked team would elevate them over teams that are currently scorching hot. Winning comparisons to Providence and Boston University later in the year is assisted if the team holds a head-to-head win over BC, and since the bulk of Hockey East teams are splitting series, avoiding a loss therefore avoids separation from the Eagles.
In terms of the rest of the season, of all the arenas, in all the towns, on all the campuses, in walks the defending Hockey East champions with something to prove.
Here's looking at you, kid. -Rick Blaine
Starting goaltender Albin Boija entered the 2025-2026 season as arguably the best returning netminder in the nation after breaking out to the tune of a .928 save percentage and a 1.82 goals against average last season. He likely would have won the Richter Award if Jacob Fowler hadn't produced a Hobey Baker-worthy campaign for Boston College, and his finish as the Second Team All-America and Second-Team All-Hockey East selection occurred directly because Fowler was the only other goalie in the nation to produce a better season.
Posting those numbers for a second straight season requires Herculean efforts from both the goalie and his back end defensive unit, so it's not surprising to watch Maine undergo a bit of a regression to start this season. Already this year, the goalie that almost never allowed four goals in a single game surrendered two separate four-goal outbursts, and he's been increasingly vulnerable when shot totals pushed out of the teens and well into the 20s and 30s.
None of that is an indictment of the skill associated with Maine's defensive unit, but BC's deepening forwards scored frequently against UMass by utilizing more players in better situations. The Friday win, in particular, saw Dean Letourneau and Will Vote join James Hagens as part of the score threat in the first game, and Jake Sondreal and Paul Davey contributed goals in Saturday's return bout in Amherst.
"We're stacking up those reps," said Letourneau. "[My line] stayed together through the whole preseason, and just getting comfortable with how everyone plays has made us able to know where guys are going to be on the ice. It's allowed us to gain that chemistry."
Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. -Rick Blaine
Letourneau's swift development gives BC flexibility behind the top line punch provided by James Hagens, Teddy Stiga, and a third skater paired alongside their first round talents. His pairing alongside Will Vote is particularly challenging for defenses to contain, and the larger number of teams are now finding themselves in a dogfight on the back end because of the line chart's ability to rotate players onto the ice.
Let me explain and clarify what that point means. Hagens and Stiga are BC's natural top two linemates, but the third skater on their line shifted from Ryan Conmy to Landan Resendes after the Denver game. Part of that was the ongoing line shuffle brought along by Andre Gasseau's injury, but the shift to Resendes moved Conmy into a position where he could skate with Will Moore. Letourneau remained on a line with Jake Sondreal and Will Vote, but Brown was forced to continue moving skaters onto different lines. The only constant remained Brady Berard in a relished role as a primary defensive forward on the fourth line.
Figuring out the correct lineup isn't easy, but BC moved through Vermont and UMass by remaining fluid. Brown kept Letourneau's line together even after Stiga found himself out of Saturday's game at UMass and instead chose to skate Michael Hagens with his brother and Resendes. Letourneau's line then excelled while newer names relied on the veteran leadership of players like Conmy and Berard. In the end, Will Traeger and Paul Davey both scored goals.
*****
Question Box
How tightly will officiating call the game?
Maine's power play succeeds at less than 20 percent while killing off penalties to the tune of 77 percent. Both numbers are in the middle range of a college hockey universe that's vastly improved at both ends of the ice, so the Black Bears need to remain in advantageous situations as much as possible. That sounds rather obvious, but consider that both Vermont and UMass build leads by scoring early power play goals.Â
In Vermont's case, the first period power play goal provided the cushion in a 2-1 win, and in the case of the Minutemen, the two power play goals from their 4-0 victory over Maine built a 2-0 lead through special teams. With BC's two teams averaging nearly five more percentage points in either direction, alarm bells could be ringing if the Eagles gain a foothold.
Does Maine minimize the impact of traveling away from Alfond?
Maine's home ice advantage is legendary within college hockey circles, but moving away from Orono was problematic over the past few seasons. The 2022-2023 team would have been well over .500 if the Black Bears had been even marginally better than their 4-9-4 road record, and the next year's team missed a No. 1 seed in the tournament because of its 10-10 record in true road or neutral site games.
Most of that changed during last year's run to the Hockey East championship, but Maine still battles the perception that it struggles to consistently win games when it's not playing in Hockey East's northernmost outpost. Even during last year's regular season, two games in Chestnut Hill ended in a six-point weekend for BC before the infamous 4-2 loss to Bentley in Portland (also known as a "Rubin Sweep"). Points were lost at Providence, UConn and UMass down the stretch, and the last weekend of the regular season against the Minutemen required a furious rally to avoid a zero point weekend.
*****
Scoreboard Watching
Dartmouth's 6-0-0 start to the season gave college hockey one of its latest unblemished records since the pre-COVID era, and the Big Green's bye week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday ensures that a perfect record approaches the Turkey Day weekend for the first time since Cornell and Harvard went a combined 14-0-0 through the start of the 2019-2020 season. An obvious argument about the Ivy League's late start exists, but wins over Cornell and Colgate preceded a trip to the ever-difficult North Country, and while St. Lawrence steadily backslid through the last couple of years, Clarkson's season start includes wins over Penn State, North Dakota and a nationally-ranked Union team.
Games against Vermont and Merrimack over the Thanksgiving holiday are therefore a good proving ground, and eyeballs on the No. 12 Big Green should logically increase if they advance into December without a loss. The Brown and Yale weekend is shaping up as a potential banana peel, but all four games are at home, so there's a greater-than-zero chance at a challenge to the top of ECAC's power structure.
In the Big Ten, No. 1 Michigan State remained the unanimous selection atop the USCHO poll for a second straight week after splitting first place votes during their ascension, but Sparty's home series against No. 7 Wisconsin is a certified heavyweight battle against a resurgent conference foe. No. 2 Michigan, meanwhile, hosts Ohio State in a rivalry series in Ann Arbor while Penn State heads to Minnesota to play a Gopher team that's badly leaking losses.
The NCHC's schedule is likewise no picnic for nationally-ranked teams, what with No. 3 Denver traveling to Arizona State for the first time as a conference series and No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth heading into the altitude at Colorado College. And speaking of altitude, Air Force comes out of the mountain of Atlantic Hockey America's western destination to play Army West Point in a two-game service academy battle that ranks among one of college hockey's best rivalries.
In Hockey East, meanwhile, No. 18 Boston University draws No. 12 Northeastern as the Huskies look to clear space ahead of them, and No. 11 Connecticut plays New Hampshire with the more difficult road game scheduled for Friday. In ECAC, No. 20 Union plays No. 19 Cornell in the front end of the Cornell-Colgate trip while Atlantic Hockey America's two hottest teams draw one another when RIT heads to Bentley for a single game.
*****
Dan's Non-Hockey Thought of the Week
My daughters are currently going through one of these phases where they eat exactly the same thing on a daily basis. It makes food shopping incredibly easy and infuriating all at the same time because my wife and I just don't understand how a four-year old sustains her life on the same foods over and over before one day inexplicably canceling them in favor of something else.
The end result, of course, is a cabinet resembling a time capsule to two weeks ago. In the pantry cabinet in my house, for example, we have bags upon bags of mini-muffins because my kids refused to eat anything else for breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love a good party cake, but we bought the industrial-sized box at BJ's Wholesale Club because that's all they were willing to eat for breakfast. Then I inexplicably went out for a bagel one morning, and both kids decided to switch to mini-bagels with whipped cream cheese - this is an important detail - with immediate effect.
I've got two bags of mini-bagels now sitting in my freezer and one that's already sitting on top of the toaster. Rather than go food shopping six times in a week, my wife and I decided that at least we'll eat these things on our own when it changes in a week.
*****
Pregame Quote and Final Thoughts
You don't understand, no
The full intent of my plan.
Baby, I wanna be a soul provider, yeah.
Baby, I wanna stay that way for the longest time.
-Michael Bolton, "Soul Provider"
Do not - I repeat, DO NOT - hate on a man for quoting one of the great guilty pleasure music artists of the 1990s. The era is one of the greatest times for the softest rock ever created, and the long-haired crooner once attempting to make it as a hard rock artist in the 1970s achieved the highest peaks by charming everyone with decibel levels better suited for a dentist's office. My parents routinely bought his CDs, at times through a Columbia House membership, which is a statement that you young'ins can never truly appreciate.
I've long believed that a good "show me" game is capable of revealing just how much horsepower exists in college hockey. Maine is an incredible team that's loaded with talent, but I have this feeling that BC is readying itself for an extended run through college hockey. Things are ramping up, and we don't quite understand how the Eagles are starting to slot into their respective roles. That said, the full extent of wanting to stick around the top of Hockey East for a while requires a couple of wins against a Grade-A opponent.
No. 15 Boston College draws No. 10 Maine on both Friday and Saturday nights as part of a doubleheader at Conte Forum. Both games begin at 7 p.m. with television coverage available through the ESPN Plus streaming platform on the network's family of Internet and mobile device apps. Friday's game is additionally televised on NESN with additional streaming through the NESN 360 app for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
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