Get well soon, Charlie Davies

Get well soon, Charlie Davies

Friday, October 31, 2008

BC 4, UVM 1

The Boston College women's hockey team remained undefeated (5-0-2) this afternoon, defeating the Vermont Catamounts 4-1 at Conte Forum.

This wasn't like the Quinnipiac game, where BC showed up, glided around the ice for 60 minutes, and had 4 pucks go in the net; BC dropped the hammer when necessary in this game, and flew around like a top-5 time. The Eagles probably had about six or seven extremely good chances to really put the game out of reach; as it were, they had control from start to finish, and laid the wood to UVM.

Shea picked up the game's first two goals, and the first two goals of her career - congrats to her.

Shea knocked in this rebound to put BC on top 1-0.

Maggie Taverna made it 3-1 with a power play snipe in the second period. Right off the draw, she blasted a low slapper - right along the ice - that skimmed past Olychuk's right pad and into the corner of the net.

Welch plowed herself and the puck into the net for goal #4. Mike has the photographic evidence indicating that the puck crossed before the net came off the moorings. The ref got it right, and BC went up 4-1, which would be the final.
Puck going in...

Welch following...
Yup, it's a goal

She didn't score a goal today, but the best Eagle was, in my mind, Becky Zavisza. She was flying out there, always involved in the play, and making a number of great moves to burn Vermont defenders and set up scoring bids. She also uncorked back to back blistering wrist shots halfway through the second period, including one that rung the inside of the post; it may have been the hardest shot I've ever seen any Eagle take.
PING! Almost...

Fardelmann was also en fuego out there, speeding past Vermont like the ole' days in '06-'07; it looks like she has the edge back to her game that seemed to be missing from time to time last year.
 

Once again, you can't take too much from a game against one of the lower teams in HE, but it was another example of the improvement of BC from last year. They played like a top 8 team today, and should feel proud of themselves. But not for too long --- they've got a huge game tomorrow @ Northeastern. That'll be a good test for both teams. I really the game was any time but tomorrow afternoon.

FREE PETRECKI! and thoughts on the freshmen...

This has been discussed on EagleAction and USCHO, but I feel the need to point it out here. Nick Petrecki is already a flight risk after this season because he is a freakish talent and has an NHL-ready body [although he probably needs polishing before he has an NHL-ready game]. 

But the amount of absolute garbage calls against Petrecki called mostly due to the fact that he's stronger than everyone else make him even more of a flight risk. If I were him, I'd want to leave right now.

It happened again last night. He clocked a Merrimack player with a clean open-ice hit. Needless to say, the Merrimack victim was flattened due to Petrecki's beastly checking ability; this attracted the attention of Tim Benadetto and landed Petrecki in the box. This seems to happen once every game, and I'm getting pretty fed up; you know that if it were happening to one of Jack Parker's players, he would have broken a Jack Daniels bottle over Joe Bertagna's head by now.

*

We heard a lot of good things about BC's freshman class, but they seem to be even better than advertised thus far. It should genuinely frighten our competition that on a given night, we have the flexibility to scratch a guy like Cam Atkinson, who seems to have the potential to become the best goalscorer of the bunch.

I think it's safe to say that this is the deepest BC team since the 1998-2001 run. 

Much has been made about BC's lack of depth at defense in 2009, and this is a fair concern - but with Tommy Cross and Jimmy Hayes to quarterback from the point for the next few years, we shouldn't be too concerned - unless one or both leave early. Both of these players are just incredibly impressive so far. 

Cross's dangling and puck possession directly led to Paul Carey's power play goal against Vermont last week, and his two-way game has been outstanding.

Hayes is a big guy, but he isn't quite as thick as Brian Boyle was; of course, he also isn't as thick in the head. Boyle, God love him, was prone to idiotic penalties [his middle name my freshman year should have been 'Contact to the Head'] and poor turnovers. Hayes, on the other hand, is a smooth player, and now that he has two goals under his belt, he should put the puck on net with more confidence.

Carey was the #1 star of the game last week and for good reason. It's exciting to have a player with Carey's size and skill, since our go-to goal scorers tend to be diminuitive (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course). Atkinson and Almeida seem to be in the typical BC mold, shorter, quicker guys with nice moves and great hockey sense.

Again, it's absolutely frightening that on any given night, we can scratch one or more of these guys and still put out a grade-A lineup. It's all a testament to the great work done by Coach York. After the mistake I made last year, I'll never stress out about mid-season results again; I'm ready to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Although there's no guarantee this one will end in a national title, I'm quite confident that this year's ride will be smoother than the last two.

Tonight:
Women's Hockey vs. UVM, 2 PM
Men's Hockey @ Merrimack, 7 PM
Men's Soccer vs. Clemson, 7 PM

Three undefeateds

There are three remaining undefeated teams in women's NCAA hockey (not counting the Ivy powers, Harvard and Dartmouth, who start their seasons this weekend). One of them comes as no surprise - (#1) Wisconsin. The other two are quite surprising:  (#4) Boston College and (#11) Northeastern.

This weekend, Wisconsin squares off twice against defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth, and BC takes on Northeastern at Matthews. When the smoke clears on Monday, there could be just one undefeated team remaining - and it may well be BC.

Food for thought on a Friday afternoon.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Goodnight, Warriors

BC 4, Merrimack 1

Jimmy Hayes scored the game's first two goals, the first two of his collegiate career. One was a nasty shot from the point; the other was a weird goal that was thrown in from the area of the right faceoff dot. 

BC had 13 shots on goal before Merrimack registered their first; the 'Mack got one back with one of their first five shots of the game, late in the frame. A hit from behind gave BC a five minute power play, which Brock Bradford capitalized on with less than one minute to play in the period, giving BC a 3-1 lead after one.

After that, pretty much nothing happened until the third, when BC scored two seconds into a power play; Ben Smith won the faceoff and knocked it toward the front of the net, where Gibbons received it, dangled, and ripped it past Canata. 4-1 BC, final.

The Eagles seemed to pretty much not try after the first period, and they didn't really have to.

Abbreviated College Hockey Weekend Preview

I had very little time to blog this week, and the time I did have, I mostly used to compose the epic tribute to March 11, 2007 (see the next post below). Thus, I never got around to working on a college hockey weekend preview, and I have fifteen minutes until I take my place in Conte for BC-Merrimack.

Thus, it'll be a very quick version - big games & one-sentence summary:

MEN-

BC vs. Merrimack Thurs.; BC @ Merrimack Fri
-BC is awesome, Merrimack sucks. BC sweeps.

Colorado College @ Denver / Denver @ CC - Fri/Sun
-One of the best rivalries in the sport. I'm ashamed to admit that I like both of these teams; I know that probably should be against the law. Impossible to handicap this series, but Bachmann (CC's soph. goalie) always gives the Tigers the edge in any game.

Ohio State @ Michigan (x2)
-Much like football, a one-sided rivalry - but this one favors Big Blue

Notre Dame @ Northern Michigan (x2)
-I'm convinced ND is overrated, still, and I think NMU clips 'em.

Northeastern @ UNH; UNH @ Northeastern Fri/Sat
-GO HUSKIES! I predict a home and home split in this battle of top 10 teams (?!?!?!)

Minnesota vs. Minnesota State (x2)
-Gophs are for real. 2 more wins.

Wisconsin vs. North Dakota (x2)
-Who gets back on track first? I say North Dakota

WOMEN-

BC vs. Vermont - Friday
-Vermont sucks, BC is awesome. BC wins.

BC @ Northeastern - Saturday
-This'll be a goaltenders' duel. It'll go to a shootout.

Minn-Duluth @ Wisco (x2)
-I predict UMD bounces back with at least one win, but Wisco's too good to lose twice at home and are #1 for a reason

BU @ UNH (TONIGHT)
-UNH will gain revenge for last week and thrash BU.

PC @ BU (Saturday)
-PC is another team in need of a jolt, but BU looks to be the superior team right now.

Next week, I promise not to half-ass this.


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Wow

Men's soccer lost to Holy Cross, 1-0.

Remember when BC was pre-season #2?

Monday, October 27, 2008

A beautiful sight.

http://www.uscho.com/rankings/
BC men are #2, BC women are #4. Congrats to both!

TOP 5:

Men-
Colorado College
Boston College
Boston University
Denver University
Minnesota

Women-
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Harvard
Boston College
New Hampshire

How epic would a BC, BU, DU, CC Frozen Four be?

Good news

Per Saturday's Raycom football broadcast, ACC Select will provide free streaming coverage of the ACC field hockey & soccer tournaments.

The field hockey team's Senior Day is on Saturday afternoon against Wake Forest. The #20 men's soccer team takes on Holy Cross tomorrow and Clemson on Friday night in their final two home games. And the #15 women's team [they will probably move up a few spots in today's poll after a 2-0 week] will conclude their home slate on Sunday afternoon against Clemson.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

My college hockey fan polls

EDIT: Uh... some surprising results came in after I made this poll. That's what I get for assuming. Appropriate edits made.

Ladies first:

1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Harvard
4. Boston College
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. New Hampshire
7. Boston University
8. Dartmouth
9. St. Lawrence
10. Northeastern

Men:

1. Boston College
2. Colorado College
3. Boston University
4. Denver
5. Minnesota
6. Princeton
7. Minnesota State
8. New Hampshire
9. Northeastern
10. Michigan
11. Miami
12. Notre Dame
13. Michigan State
14. UMass-Lowell
15. Air Force 

BC women's hockey 4, Quinnipiac 0

Not much to say about that one. It was a bit like watching grass grow for a while. Nice to get a convincing win, and even nicer to get playing time for both Keira Kingston and Amanda Rothschild (each played a period in net). Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you want to look at it, neither goalie was tested, as Quinnipiac never really threatened to score.

It wasn't a high-octane beatdown, but BC did what they had to do to turn aside a vastly inferior opponent. 

Goalscorers were Stack (x2), Fardelmann, and Thunstrom.

I'll be checking the rankings page on USCHO often tomorrow, anxiously awaiting the sight of both BC hockey teams in the Top 5.

GET OFF THE FREAKING LEDGE.

I don't make too many posts about football, since I'm hardly a football expert, and there are plenty of other BC bloggers out there who have far more insightful things to say about the sport than I do.

But everyone on Planet Maroon & Gold who's lining up to jump off the Tobin this morning - you all know who you are - needs to get a grip

One week, we beat Virginia Tech, and everyone's booking their tickets to the Orange Bowl; now people are asking if we're going to win another game all year. 

Let me remind you of a few scores this year:

UVA lost to UConn, 45-10 & lost to Duke, 31-1
UVA beat Maryland, 31-0, & beat UNC 16-13

Wake Forest won @ FSU, 12-3
Wake Forest lost to Maryland, 26-0

Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee, and beat Clemson



I really don't think I need to go any further. The ACC is a volatile league this year. There is lots of parity and on any given week, any league team can beat any other league team. Period. Anyone who thought BC was going to run the table after VT was taking too many hits from the bong.

It was also BC's first game without Brian Toal, who is pretty important, last I checked; that's obviously going to be an adjustment for the defense.

And anyone who thinks Davis (or, for that matter, Matt Ryan) would have won us yesterday's game really ought to email me and share whatever it is you're smoking.

If you're looking to 'assign blame,' let's ask why Logan is asking Crane to throw the ball 40 times a game, often into traffic and double coverage, when we all know that Crane is woefully inconsistent and prone to interceptions. 

This is our situation, currently: we are a good team, with very good run defense and an inconsistent but occasionally good offense. Neither of our quarterbacks are good, but Chris Crane is clearly the starter. Davis should get some snaps. BC will very likely win a few more big games this year; we'll also very likely lose a few. At the end of the year, we'll be solid. Now get off the ledge.


Saturday, October 25, 2008

BC 3, Providence 1 (Final)

The #7 women's hockey team beat Hockey East rival Providence 3-1 this afternoon at Schneider Arena. Meghan Fardelmann and Lauren Wiedmeier scored two goals in less than a minute to give BC a 2-1 lead in the 3rd, then Tracy Johnson added an empty-net, shorthanded goal to ice it.

If BC stays focused and hammers Quinnipiac tomorrow the way they should, we could be looking at a top 5 ranking on Monday.

Women's hockey game broadcast live online

Trying to forget about the football game. Women's hockey currently trails @ Providence, 1-0, in the 2nd period.

One of those days

Welcome to the volatile world of ACC football in 2008. There's just no way of predicting what's going to happen each week.

This loss is not devastating. Wake's already lost to Miami, and if FSU loses to VT today, then today is pretty much a wash.

What is painful is how poorly the team played all-around today. We didn't just get beat, we got spanked. There will be a lot of people in the blogosphere crying out for Chris Crane's head, but the problems today went a lot deeper than Chris Crane. Anyone who thinks we would have won this game with Davis playing is on drugs.

Not much to say right now, other than Go Hokies.

Uh oh

Before I went out to watch this game, I was about to post a cheery prediction, something along the lines of "31-10 BC."

It's not looking good right now. Chris Crane's 3 interceptions are only part of the story - we've been losing the field position battle all night, we can't get a consistent running game going with Haden or Harris, and our secondary is getting exploited by Sexton.

It's not over yet, though. Let's see how this fourth quarter goes.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Sluggish two points

I don't think there has ever been a hockey game involving Vermont that could not be described as "sluggish." Tonight was no exception. BC dominated Vermont through two periods, then lost control of the game in the third before hanging on to win 3-2 at Conte Forum.

Andrew Orpik's bullet from the right faceoff dot on a breakout with under three minutes to go gave BC a 3-1 lead and essentially iced the game. Vermont got one back with around 1:10 left to make it interesting, but never really threatened to tie it.

Paul Carey opened the scoring with his first collegiate goal, and Ben Smith added BC's second on a tip-in of a point blast by Joe Whitney.

Out of town, Northeastern absolutely destroyed Maine, 5-0; UNH tied UMass, 1-1; and UML downed Providence, 4-1.

More detailed thoughts coming later. It's good to get the first conference win under our belt.

Weekend hockey preview

Men
#3 BOSTON COLLEGE vs. #11 Vermont, 7:00 PM Friday, ESPNU

Disclaimer, before I go any further: I'm wrong almost all the time.

With that said - I really think Vermont is vastly overrated at #11. I highly doubt they even have a chance to get home ice in the Hockey East playoffs.

I attribute their 3rd place finish in the regular season standings last year to 101 factors:
1-99. Goaltender Joe Fallon
100. BC and BU having awful stretches during the regular season
101. General mediocrity in Hockey East

They are a disciplined team, and they employ the kind of trap-grab-dump system that often frustrates the bejesus out of BC. So I'm not predicting an easy victory tonight for BC, not by any stretch of the imagination. I just don't think this is that marquee of a matchup, really. Vermont returned most of their team from last year, but they did not return Fallon.

Let's crunch the numbers, briefly:

Vermont scored 67 goals last year in conference play - 7th in the league, with one more goal scored than Providence.

Vermont's goal differential last year was -11 - 67 scored, 78 allowed. That was good for 8th in the league, besting only Maine and Merrimack. 

Vermont was an abysmal 4-6-2 out of conference.

The Catamounts scraped by a pretty mediocre BU team last year, then got completely steamrolled by BC for the Hockey East title. Keep in mind, BC was coming off a triple-overtime game against one of the best teams in the country, and Vermont needed that game far more than BC did, in order to make it to the NCAA Tournament.

All of this leads to my conclusion that Vermont is just not that good of a team, despite what the pollsters seem to think.

With all that said: it's a regular season BC hockey game, so there's no way to really predict what's going to happen. But BC will be there at the end of the year, and Vermont won't. I think you can take that to the bank.

Prediction: BC 3, UVM 1

Elsewhere in Hockey East: Providence takes on UMass-Lowell at the Tsongas on Friday night in the 'battle of the teams that it's impossible to get a good read of right now.' I think UML is the better team and should win the game handily. The Friars should bounce back the next night when they play Holy Cross. 

The Northeastern Huskies come off their national championship last week... oops, I mean their win in one regular season game... with a two game set at Alfond Arena; Maine sucks right now, but that place is difficult on opposing teams; I'll say Northeastern takes 3 of 4 points.

UMass visits UNH in a game that I predict ends in vicious pain for the Minutemen, something like 5-0 to the 'Cats. UNH then has a quick turnaround, traveling up to the Canadian border for a matchup with St. Lawrence on Sunday afternoon; it'll be tough, but UNH should pull that one out.

And of course, our friends at BU have a huge non-conference matchup with Michigan on Saturday night at Agganis Arena that promises to be a real barometer game for the Terriers; I think Michigan is the better team, but the joint will be jumping and BU will give them a great game, and it will end in something like a 2-2 tie.

Out west, the big series this weekend is Minnesota vs. Wisconsin; as an honorary Gopher fan, I predict a Minnesota sweep. Wisco's vaunted defense hasn't impressed thus far, yielding 23 goals in 4 games. OUCH!

Women
#7 BOSTON COLLEGE @ Providence, Saturday, 2 PM
#7 BOSTON COLLEGE vs. Quinnipiac, Sunday, 3 PM

It's really hard to judge where the women's team stands so far this season. Hockey East has incredible parity right now amongst its top six teams. BC's shootout loss at UNH looked mighty impressive, until the 'Cats lost league games to both UConn and BU. UConn was flying high until they were derailed by Northeastern, 3-0. And Providence is expected to contend for the league crown, but they have started the season 2-4-0.

I want to be excited about this team. A 2-0-2 start is certainly something to be proud of, especially against four quality teams. And the Eagles have risen through the polls, sort of by default, as the parity bug has ravaged teams above them in the rankings; taking care of business this weekend could well vault BC into the top 5 for the first time ever, as UNH is poised to fall a few rungs in next week's poll.

However, I have yet to see BC play a complete, inspiring 60-minute game, the kind of game that would convince me that they are a team in the hunt for a national championship. They have occasionally fallen victim to the disorganization and lack of discipline that doomed them last season. 

This is a very talented BC team, but so was last year's; I've yet to be completely convinced that they've turned the corner from last season, but I want to be convinced very badly. Beating Providence tomorrow would be a good start.

Right now, BC is certainly a contender for the Hockey East crown. But I have faith that the Eagles can achieve loftier goals this year - i.e., reaching Agganis Arena and playing for the big trophy. Perhaps I am letting my faith get the better of me. We shall see.

PREDICTIONS:
BC 2, Providence 2; BC wins shootout
BC 5, Quinnipiac 1

Out of town: Minnesota plays two games at Wisconsin in the battle for the national #1 ranking. Wisco's women's team is much more formidable than their men's team; I foresee them taking three points at home. 

It's a quiet weekend in Hockey East; outside of BC-PC, the biggest matchups are probably UConn @ Princeton and Maine @ BU.

When this weekend ends, we could see the following poll, if all goes as I hope/expect: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Harvard, Mercyhurst, BC, Dartmouth, UMD, BU, UNH, St. Lawrence - with NU and UConn knocking on the door. Hockey East is rising.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Midterms ahoy

Sorry for the lack of blogging this week. Like most BC students, you can find me under a me-shaped pile of books for the next week or so.

I have made time, meanwhile, to pace and swear and sweat while watching the Bruins' early regular season games, and to prepare for yet another exciting weekend in the world of BC athletics.

The women's hockey team has two games this weekend, a key conference matchup with Providence on Saturday and a not-so-marquee non-conference game sunday against Quinnipiac. The men are in action Friday night, hosting #11 Vermont on a nationally-televised game on ESPNU. 

Women's soccer hosts Maryland tomorrow night in yet another measuring stick game for the Eagles. Field Hockey is at Harvard tonight. And the men's soccer team takes on national champion Wake Forest on Saturday night in Winston Salem.

Also, there is a football game.

Predictions for everything + previews of the hockey games forthcoming.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Food for thought

Last year: BC vs. Wake. Home opener. First play of the game, Matt Ryan throws a pick-6. On BC's next possession, they fumble, and Wake scores on the ensuing possession. 14-0, within 3 minutes.

BC fought back, though, aided by a critical touchdown drive in the last two minutes of the first half.

Last night: BC vs. V-Tech. BC is down 10-0 before most of the Whalepants were even in the stadium, thanks to a pick-6 and a fumble.

But BC fights back, aided by a touchdown drive in the last two minutes of the first half.

Does anyone - ANYONE - think we win either of those games with Tom O'Brien at the helm?

Whoo!!!

Did we really just storm the field? That's kinda lame. But whatever, it was fun. 

That was about as charged up an atmosphere as we've ever had for a BC game. Anyone who had been doubting the fact that the fan culture at BC is changing for the better should be convinced now.

That was a pretty good end to an otherwise crappy week on Planet Joe.

Chris Crane is just fine, kids. He's not the best QB in the ACC by any stretch, but he's pretty good, and we should be hearing no more "We Want Davis" chants from ignoramuses in the student section or otherwise. 

And the defense? 0 offensive touchdowns allowed.

All hail Jags.

The hockey team lost to Northeastern, but whatever - it meant a lot more to them than it did to us. Congrats to their team. I only listened to a little bit of the game and didn't see any of it, but I have to assume they outworked us.

Yeah Eagles! :)

Friday, October 17, 2008

We're 2-0

BC 5, Bowling Green 3.

Initial reactions:

I wasn't my usual self tonight. I have been having some pretty crappy personal problems all week, so I didn't get into the game as much as I usually do. Thus, my memories of the game are pretty foggy. But from what I can recall:

-I'm still very wary of using 5 forwards on the power play. We gave up two shorthanded goals tonight. That's unacceptable.

-We are absolutely lethal on odd-man rushes. It's borderline insane how good we are at those. BC's first goal was a filthy snipe by Brock Bradford into a vacant side of the net to cap off a 2-on-1. 

-Speaking of Bradford, it's great to see him score two more goals. Looks like he's 100% and ready to roll.

-Also tallying goals tonight: Kyle Kucharski and Carl Sneep. Kucharski's goal was particularly pretty, a waist-high tip in on a high shot from the point late in the third period.

-Through two games, our student section is much improved. I'd go so far to say as it's quite good.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Stop the presses: Men's soccer wins a game

As you can see by the headlines in the blogroll I added on the right-hand side of the page, the men's soccer team beat Yale last night, 2-1 in New Haven. The Eagles are now 6-4-2 with 5 games left in the regular season, and are going to have to go on a pretty impressive run if they are to even come close to living up to their preseason expectations.

Fri 10/17 vs. Virginia
Sat 10/25 @ Wake Forest
Tue 10/28 vs. Holy Cross
Fri 10/31 vs. Clemson
Fri 11/7 @ Virginia Tech

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

An interview with Mary Restuccia, women's hockey Class of 2012

In four games so far with the Eagles, Pennsylvania native Mary Restuccia has already made a splash. She picked up her first two collegiate goals on Sunday against RPI, and sits 4th on the team in scoring with three points. Restuccia figures to be a major contributor in the Eagles' push to return to the NCAA tournament.


In the first ever Eagle Log interview, Mary was kind enough to spare a few minutes to discuss hockey, academics, NAHA, recruitment, and life at Boston College. Enjoy!

What’s it like adjusting to playing against Division I competition game in and game out?

A lot of the girls are a lot stronger and smarter with the puck, and you realize that everything is more structured. There’s more to think about in the offensive zone, more emphasis on forechecking, and there’s a lot more to defensive coverage in your own zone. It’s a little overwhelming, but you get used to it after a couple of games.

A big part of producing on the ice is cohesion with your linemates and your teammates. How’s the process been for you so far?

We’ve actually been switching the lines up a lot, and it’s good, because we’re getting used to playing with other people. Our team tends to, uh, get more penalties than others [laughs]. And in general, the rules have changed a little bit, leading to more power plays – so you need to play with even more people because you need to get used to playing with others on the power play and on the penalty kill.

Since there are 7 new freshmen, we’ve learned more and more about other people and how they play on the ice, and where they’re going to be.

The rule changes and emphasis changes have greatly impacted both the men’s and the women’s game this year. Can you talk about how some of the rule changes have affected games this year?

There’s the rule about icing the puck, where if your team ices it, you can’t make a line change. That’s supposed to give the advantage to the team that didn’t ice the puck, making the defensive team tired. That’s a lot different, because if you’re tired, your first instinct is to ice the puck, but you can’t do that anymore.

There are some teams in Hockey East who made a strategy out of doing just that for an entire game.

Yeah, it’s good to an extent. But there are times when you get a little tired.

As far as penalties go, there are a lot more calls on lifted sticks this year – I think it would be really difficult to be a defenseman now, since in girls hockey, you can’t use the body the way they do in the men’s game. Your last resort was to use the stick, but now you can’t do that, so defensemen need to find alternate ways to move people out or get the puck away from the attacking player.

Discuss your first collegiate goal [Sunday against RPI].

Playing with Fards [Meghan Fardelmann] and [Andrea] Green, they’re both completely different players. I think Green and I are similar players, but Fards is always go go go, and she pretty much got to the puck and got it out of the zone, since she’s really fast and can beat anyone to any puck. She got the puck to me and Green was going hard to the net. I figured if I shot it, she’d get the rebound, or if not, [the goalie] would cover it up. But luckily it went in.

Describe your playing style. What do you expect to contribute to the team?

I don’t tend to shoot the puck that much. If I’m playing with players who can put the puck in the net, I’d always move the puck instead of shooting it. But our team is having trouble with getting shots on the board, so shooting is something we need to do more of. Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute by playing good defense.

Also, if I’m playing with someone like Fards, she’s really aggressive and likes to go down low, so I’ll stay back and watch how that develops… you need to know who you’re playing with, and the way they play, so you can fill your role on the ice.

Hopefully I can give something to the team in different ways than just offense.

Who are some of the vocal leaders on the team? And who leads by example?

Our leaders are Tracy Johnson, Maggie Taverna, and Colleen Harris. They’re all really great people – they’re definitely leaders in many ways, especially for freshmen. The whole team is really welcoming, but you can tell those three are the leaders on the ice and off.

Our team gets along really, really well. Usually on teams there are issues where someone doesn’t like someone else, or maybe they think ‘oh, I don’t like her, she scores too much,’ but it’s not like that on our team. It’s been a welcoming atmosphere from the beginning. Everyone knows their role and gets along well.

Getting adjusted to school in general is often as hard as getting adjusted on the ice. How has that been for you so far?

It’s been kind of difficult. I feel like the professors expect a lot from you – some don’t understand that you take 4 other classes aside from theirs. But we do have 6 hours of study hall per week, and we tend to get our work done.

To me, the big thing that you have to learn how to do is approach things differently [than you did in high school]. In high school, it’s memorize this, memorize that. Here, they try to make you think about things. You need to get over the way you did things in high school, which is basically trying to memorize everything to get ready for a test. Here they’re going to ask you questions where they want you to think about something from your own perspective.

Do you have a major yet?

No, I’m just testing the waters right now.

You mentioned the six hours of study hall. Talk a little bit about what BC does to help student-athletes in the classroom, and how much of an impact do you think that has?

It’s great. We have the student-athlete center, and each team has its own student advisor. We have Mariette, who is the advisor for women’s hockey, men’s hockey, soccer, field hockey, and maybe one other sport. We meet with her once a week and tell her how our classes are going, what we got on our tests. She helps us out a lot.

With the six hours of study hall, between Sunday and Thursday you need to log in your time in study hall and spend at least six hours. It’s good because there are other athletes there who might be in your classes, so they can help you out.

How is training and strength & conditioning different here than in high school?

In high school I went away to prep school for half a year, where we did a lot of training, so it’s pretty similar. But our trainers like you to do things their way  - all trainers are different in the way they approach things. They really help us out, though. If they tell us we’re doing something wrong, it’s so we get better, it’s not to pick on you. I feel like they really like our team and want us to improve.

Few people outside of the hockey community know much about the North American Hockey Academy [NAHA]. For those not familiar, talk a little bit about their program and what it does to help hockey players prepare for college.

NAHA is in Stowe, Vermont, which is kind of its own little world. It’s a pretty neat situation. The head coach of the team, Bill Driscoll, is a great guy. He made this academy to encourage girls to play hockey. It started off pretty slow, but it’s been around for over ten years now.

Basically, it’s a school that you attend for either a full year or a half year. You can do a full year, like a normal prep school, or you can go from October to March, which is what I did. You go to your school at home from September to October, and March to June, and spend October to March at NAHA.

You bring your curriculum from home. You email your teachers at home and stay up with what books they’re reading, what chapter they’re on in math, stuff like that.

During the day we’ll have school from 7:45-12, then have lunch, then go to practice 3-4 days a week, depending on our game situation. Nobody ever came to play in Stowe – we were always traveling. We were in a league last year with teams from Calgary. It’s really busy, we play in different tournaments all over the country. Last year we played 86 games in a season.

It’s all girls – there’s 40 girls split on two teams. The red team is the younger girls, and they want to play for the white team, which is where the older girls are. It’s a really great program – living with all those girls, they become like family.

When did BC first contact you?

Back a couple of years ago, I was at a National Development team camp, and Courtney [Kennedy] was one of my coaches. I really liked her, and knew she would be an assistant coach here, which helped.

Kinger [head coach Katie King] contacted me by email and got in touch with my coach at NAHA and said she was interested. I came to visit and I really liked the campus, and knowing that I could come here for hockey while getting a great education was a deciding factor. I didn’t just want to come for hockey. When I graduate, I want people to say, “oh, she went to BC, and she was a student-athlete. Maybe I should hire her.” [laughs]

How did you start playing as a kid? Did it run in the family?

I have two brothers, one who’s two years older and another who’s five years younger. My brother Mike, the older one, started to play, and of course I always wanted to do everything that he did, so I decided to play and follow in his footsteps.

Finally, in 4 years when you graduate from BC and look back on your time here, what do you want to have accomplished?

I want to be able to say that I made a lot of friends, and made the most of my opportunities here. I want to have given 100% to hockey and to school, and I want to make sure I don’t sell myself short of what I could have gotten out of my time at BC.


Monday, October 13, 2008

Coming soon: Interviews!

In an effort to start taking this site more seriously, I'm going to conduct interviews with BC athletes. I've already set up a few and hope to have some posted in the next couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Off-topic: BREAKING NEWS!

Don't believe the tricks your mind is playing on you. The Boston Red Sox have never, ever, ever, in the entire history of the franchise, come from behind in an American League playoff series - especially from such a daunting deficit as 2-1 [shudder]. And particularly against such an experienced, fearsome opponent as the Tampa Bay Rays. Might as well cancel the rest of the games now.

Also, if the Red Sox get bounced from the playoffs (or should I say WHEN, since there's no way they could EVER possibly come back from a 2-1 deficit... EVER), fans should jump off the Tobin Bridge, since we have never seen this team (or any other Boston team, for that matter) win a championship. 

Commence mass suicide!

[Hopefully the moronic "YAHH DOOD, LET'S GO DOWN TO BEEAH WORKS GET PLASTEHD AN CHANT YANKEES SUCK" crow
d gets this message and takes it seriously; that would significantly improve the Red Sox fanbase.]

For those who are reasonable, a reminder:


Sunday, October 12, 2008

BC field hockey raises $1300 for MS

I just got back from the Newton Campus field where BC field hockey just raised $1,300 in donations in honor of senior forward Kathleen Murphy, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2007. The Eagles also earned their second consecutive win today, beating Dartmouth 2-1 on a pair of goals by Bob Dirks.

Congratulations to the field hockey team for their win and their work for MS research.

College Hockey weekend wrap

Week one is done - and what a week it was for Hockey East.

UNH beat Wisconsin 5-1, which initially worried me until I convinced myself that BC probably just wore Wisco down on Friday night. :) It's quite the impressive start for UNH in the post-Regan era. Hockey East Player of the Year candidate James Van Riemsdyk got on the board in the first period for his first tally of the season.

BU topped two western foes, North Dakota and Michigan State, indicating that they may well be for real this year. UMass made Hockey East 3-for-4 at the IceBreaker by downing North Dakota. And the Northeastern Huskies went 1-0-1 against Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage.

Could the East be up this year?

My fan poll after week 1:

1. CC
2. BC
3. Michigan
4. Denver
5. UNH
6. SCSU
7. Minnesota
8. Miami
9. BU
10. Princeton
11. Clarkson
12. Notre Dame
13. Wisconsin
14. Minnesota State-Mankato
15. North Dakota

Freshmen power BC women's hockey past RPI, 5-2


Two goals and an assist for Mary Restuccia. A goal and an assist for Danielle Welch. A goal for Andrea Green. 

If we keep seeing results like that from the Class of 2012, look out - BC may become a fixture in the top ten this season.

Welch's second career goal came on a pinpoint pass from the point by Maggie Taverna; Welch was wide open at the far post and stuffed it past Van der Bliek for the goal:


Mary Restuccia's first collegiate goal came four minutes into the third period; she broke in 2-on-1 with Meghan Fardelmann and made the wise decision to hang on to the puck, blasting it through Van der Bliek to give BC a 4-1 lead at the time. She later iced the game with an empty netter from just past the BC blue line, making it a 5-2 final.

The student section (all 5 of us...ha) chanted "Ma-ry, Ma-ry," to the delight of the team on the bench, who gave their freshman star well-deserved pats on the back for a very well-played game.

And don't forget about the Class of 2010 - Kelli Stack opened the scoring for BC, putting in a rebound after Allie Thunstrom had a near-miss:



I don't want to go too overboard just yet, but BC sits at 2-0-2 after 4 games against quality opposition. Not bad at all. The Eagles are likely to be #9 in Monday's USCHO poll.

My fan poll:
1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Harvard
4. Minn-Duluth
5. UNH
6. Dartmouth
7. Mercyhurst
8. BC
9. St. Lawrence
10. UConn

Saturday, October 11, 2008

BC starts off strong

As I mentioned last night, that was probably the best regular season home game we've had here during my time as a student. The amped up crowd, the re-appearance of Nate Gerbe, the outstanding WCHA opponent, and the wild, wide-open game all made it a thrilling night at Conte.

Coming into the season, I thought Wisconsin was a bit overrated, but now I think they're probably rated right where they should be, somewhere around 11th-12th. They are a BIG, BIG team - they had 6 or 7 players who towered over just about every BC player aside from Jimmy Hayes. 

Their freshman defensemen really impressed me, especially Ryan Little, who was very highly touted coming in and backed it up on the ice. He made two game-saving plays to bail out Shane "Sieve" Connelly. Late in the 3rd, a BC shot bounced off Connelly's shoulder pad and was floating toward the net, but Little appeared out of nowhere to glove it and knock it away from goal; he also made a nice breakup on a BC 2-on-1 bid. 

They are a team with holes, however. BC's speed dreadfully exposed them on several occasions, and Connelly seems like a bit of a mental case; he had "The Zatkoff Face" going after just about every BC goal and seemed a bit too bothered by the crowd behind him, turning around to give a smug grin to the student section whenever Wisconsin scored [if he can't handle us, what's he going to do in WCHA games where they have 3x the number of fans?].

It's been said that BC excels against WCHA teams in NCAA play because they play the kind of wide-open game that the Eagles thrive in, allowing them to use their speed and skill, whereas Hockey East teams often employ the stifling trap and play a defensive-minded game that bogs down the Eagle attack. Last night's game lent more credence to that theory. Whether it was due to the loud crowd, the marquee opponent, or the style of play, there was none of that malaise that we often saw on the ice during home games last season.

"Wham Bam Cam" Atkinson is a keeper. His breakaway goal to win the game was absolutely sick - he was hooked down from behind and a penalty was going to be called, but he scored while sliding on his rear end to give BC the 5-4 lead. I was also impressed with Hayes' size and strength - he fills the #10 role quite nicely in the absence of Boyle.

The new #9, Barry Almeida, demonstrated some great wheels out there, although he missed a chance to pot a goal on a breakaway late in the game. He's also going to be an outstanding player here.

My pre-season pick to really step up the scoring in absence of Gerbe was Brian Gibbons and he made me look like a genius last night, putting in two pretty goals. Gibby for Hobey?

What can you say about the Eagles' special teams? 2 PP goals, 2 SHG, and a stifling PK that left Wisco 0-for-6 on the night.

All in all, a solid start. Next up: Bowling Green.

Banner Night photos

ctsy. of Grant. Not the best photos due to the lighting, but they'll do.







BC 5 WISCO 4

WHAT A GAME.

That was one of the most exciting home games since I've ebeen a student.

My initial impression is that atkinson is awesome. More complete impressions coming tomorrow. GO BC!!!!!

Friday, October 10, 2008

TONIGHT IS BANNER NIGHT

...finally!

Tonight in Boston may also be the greatest concentration of college hockey talent in a single city ever during the regular season - BC vs. Wisconsin at Conte, and BU/North Dakota - UMass/Michigan State at the IceBreaker down the street at Agganis.

Tonight's College Hockey Schedule of Note

Men:
Michigan State @ UMass, 4:30
USAF @ Sacred Heart, 7:05
Miami @ Ohio State, 7:05
Wisconsin @ BC, 7:05
North Dakota @ BU, 7:35
Northeastern @ Alaska, 11:00 PM

Women:
Mercyhurst @ BU, 7
St. Lawrence @ Providence, 7
Wisconsin @ Ohio State, 8:00
Minnesota @ Minn. Duluth, 8:30

Photos from the Whit

Last night, the women's soccer team fought UNC tooth and nail but fell 3-2 on an 82nd minute goal. Not a bad performance against the #3 team in the country.

Here are some photos from Wednesday night's women's hockey game, courtesy of Mike:

Danielle Welch picks up a first period goal.





Thursday, October 9, 2008

BC women's hockey takes UNH to a shootout, but loses

BC took a 2-1 lead after the first period, but a disputed late goal gave UNH the tie. In the first shootout in women's Hockey East history, UNH topped BC 1-0 in five rounds on a Kacey Bellamy backhander. My take, on USCHO:

"Well, when I said that I hated the idea of shootouts in college hockey, this wasEXACTLY the scenario I had in mind: a tough, hard-fought draw on the road against the best team in the league. Instead of leaving with a good feeling, we left feeling disappointed. In the big picture, it counts as a tie in the PWR - but it's hard to think that in the heat of the moment.

The game never should have made it to overtime; UNH's 2nd goal was clearly illegal, the net was knocked off the moorings before the puck crossed the line. 

But them is the breaks - sometimes they go for you, sometimes they go against you - and it's undeniable that UNH was the better team on the day. BC spent too much time sitting in the shell in the 2nd + 3rd periods and if you do that you're bound to give up goals.

There's a lot of good for BC to take from this game and it's an effort they should be proud of. The team defense was solid, they took fewer penalties (but not enough fewer penalties), and both goals were pretty sweet. UNH's first goal simply came off a broken play - a stupid turnover at the blue line on the PP. Outside of that BC played really well. I cannot wait until Jan. 30 when we get UNH at home - I am confident that BC will win that game.

Today's Alexei Kovalev star of the game award goes to Paton for "Best Imitation of the Montreal Canadiens," for falling down as a result of a Maggie Taverna putting one hand on her shoulder. I had no idea it was possible to become a Division I athlete and not be able to keep your balance when someone puts a hand on your shoulder, but I guess that shows how much I know.

On a side note, I'm glad that this year's version of the Litterbox - "Lean and Mean," presumably to match this year's team theme - dropped any pretense of class and stopped acting like they weren't going to make classless signs or chants about the Mutch situation. I remember at one point some of the 'Box denizens pretended to be classy, so I'm glad that there's no longer any confusion.

I can only assume that these immature chants were a result of one of two things - either fear that UNH was actually being pushed for once at home, or the ringleader's attempts to warm up for making jokes about Cho Seung-Hui on EagleInsider in advance of next week's BC-Virginia Tech football game.

I hate analyzing shootout strategy, as it gives legitimacy to a garbage way to settle a game, but why did two straight BC shooters rip it right at Herman's pads, as if they were trying to Zdeno Chara it into the net? Make her move, eh? Oh well - lesson learned for next time.

Well played Eagles - I'm proud of the effort and am excited for the rest of the season. Now let's hope they can get over any hangover effect from this one and get ready for a solid RPI team on Saturday."

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

State of BC soccer

Here's a quick overview of the current status of BC's soccer teams as the season reaches the halfway point:

WOMEN

The women are more well-positioned than the men at the moment. At 8-2-2, they sit in 13th place in the latest SoccerTimes.com poll and are on an impressive 2-0-1 streak against ACC foes. They face their toughest test tomorrow night, traveling to Chapel Hill to take on UNC. If they can win that game, we can start talking national championship; otherwise, for now, let's just hope they hang in there against the #3 team in the country.

After that, they head over to Raleigh for a matchup with NC State on Sunday. 

MEN

The men have been snakebit this season and need to start finishing their chances. 

They've fallen out of the top 25 with a 4-4-1 start but have two winnable non-conference games this week - a game at Fairfield tonight and a matchup with Iona on Saturday afternoon. BC has outshot their opponent in almost every game this year, but finishing has been a major problem. If they are to live up to their lofty pre-season expectations, the turnaround is going to have to begin tonight.

Women's hockey opening weekend pictures

Courtesy of Mike.
Thunstrom


Stack on the doorstep for BC's first goal


Stack with the deke

Kurth holding strong in the defensive end

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Women's Hockey has epic meltdown vs. Clarkson

After 1 period, the BC women's hockey team was up 4-0 on Clarkson after playing their best period in my three years of closely following the team.

Then, they pulled a complete 180 and folded like the French army, taking seven more penalties and giving up 2 goals in each of the 2nd and 3rd periods.

Wow... The coaching for BC is just awful right now. The Eagles have no set plays on offense, they look completely disorganized, they take a ludicrous amount of penalties (17 in 2 games), and Coach King watched her team melt down over two periods and never utilized her timeout.

The game-tying goal came with around 5 minutes to go on a Clarkson 5-on-3. Going into that 5-on-3 situation, BC's top PK unit was gassed from killing off two previous third period penalties. It would have been wise to call timeout, rest them, and send them back out... but nope. Clarkson scores, 4-4, end of story.

After the 4-4 tie, BC had a power play opportunity... and yeah, Stack and Thunstrom couldn't start it because they were gassed from penalty killing. No timeout there either.

No timeout after giving up two goals in one minute in the second period, letting their lead slip...

What the hell?

Pics from Women's Hockey Opener

Make room for one more banner...





More to come...

Saturday, October 4, 2008

FANTASTICO!

Not long after Chris Crane rolled into the end zone to give BC a 38-31 win at NC State, the BC women's hockey team killed off a parade of four third period penalties to beat Clarkson 2-0 in the season opener at Conte.

My partner in crime, Grant, came up with a great idea: we set up a TV w/ an antenna in the stands at Conte [with an extension cord running to the press box] in order to watch the football game. We had about 8 or 9 of us up in the balcony watching both games and we were treated to two fun wins.

During pregame warmups I mentioned that BC freshman Danielle Welch reminded me a bit of Blake Wheeler, former Minnesota men's player and the Bruins' shiny new toy. Good size, hands, presence.

All three of those things came into play on her goal, which was a nice tip-in in front of the net to make it 2-0. And it was nice to see Stack start it out with the Eagles' first goal. Taverna could have easily made it 3-0 as she had a wide-open chance on a nice pass from Stack (?) but the puck came in on edge and she fanned. I think Mike has a nice pic of that play.

I was very disappointed to see the Eagles take 9(?) penalties. It was a very physical game, but they need to be more disciplined. At least 5 of those penalties were really dumb and unnecessary.

The defense was sold, a far cry from the disorganization of last year. Kurth is Kurth, Taverna's stepped up her defensive game, and Regan was good enough to make me see a #6 not named Stuart and not be sad about it. Johnson was very good aside from her penalty in the 3rd [again 
].

It wasn't a fantastic game, but let's not forget that Clarkson is no pushover. They should have made the tournament last year and are knocking on the door of the top 10.

Well done Eagles - time to make it 2 in a row tomorrow against the Knights.

On a side note, I am going straight to Hell; those at the game know full well why. :D

As for the football game, well... Chris Crane - who saw that coming? I am a pretty big Crane backer (which in recent weeks means I've been saying 'he sucks' as opposed to 'kick him off the team') but even I didn't think he had that in him. He very well could be ACC offensive player of the week.

Shame to see Purvis get hurt - that would be a big blow, so we'll have to keep our eyes riveted on the injury report over the next two weeks. 

LiveBlog: Conte Forum

1:41 PM: CLARKSON BROUGHT A PEP BAND. TO BC. FOR WOMEN'S HOCKEY. CLARKSON IS LIKE 8 HOURS AWAY.

1:39 PM: At halftime, 21-17 BC... horrendously deceiving. It was easily our best offensive half, and our defense wasn't all that bad either. However, special teams and turnovers again killed us. Hopefully we can turn that around in the 2nd.

The teams came out for their first round of warmups and Allie Thunstrom roofed a few nice shots over the shoulders of goalies Molly Schaus and Amanda Rothschild. Newcomer #17 Danielle Welch has Blake Wheeler-like size and presence. 

1:01 PM: Well, that quarter changes our trend of being boring to watch this year. The end of the quarter sucked (a 102 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Graham), but all in all I can't be too upset after Chris Crane scored three touchdowns in one quarter. What???

The teams should be on the ice in about 15 minutes for warmups... huzzah.

12:47 PM: Wait, who are you and what have you done with the Chris Crane of games 1-4? Also: I LOVE YOU. 14-7 good guys late in the first and TOB must be stunned as Crane has over 120 passing yards. Bizzaro world.

Weeee!

Earlier tonight, I was extremely ticked off about BC soccer's disappointing 1-0 OT loss to Duke despite dominating possession and shots on goal. But the combo euphoria of the Sox' game 2 victory over the Angels and the fact that it's the first HOCKEY GAMEDAY of the year make me not so upset anymore.

I'll be checking in this afternoon with some kind of epic live gameday thread chronicling the football game and the women's hockey game. Go BC!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Women's soccer back in action tomorrow night

After an outstanding weekend of ACC play which launched BC up to #11 in the SoccerTimes.com coaches poll, ACC co-player of the week Jillian Mastroeini and the rest of the Eagles take the field tomorrow night in Newton against the Miami Hurricanes.

The U is 7-3-2 this season, with an 0-1-1 mark in conference play. Miami tied Virginia Tech in their ACC opener, 1-1, then lost to Virginia last week by a 2-0 score. Last year, Miami finished 5th in the ACC.

Miami is 0-2-1 against ranked opponents, tying #24 SDSU and losing to UCLA and UVA.

Sophomore Brittney Steinbruch has starred for the 'Canes, scoring 8 goals in 11 games this year.

The Trophy Case: BC's honors during my years at school

  • Men's Basketball
  • 2006 - Commonwealth Classic Winner
  • 2008 - Commonwealth Classic Winner
  • Women's Basketball
  • 2008 - Caribbean Challenge Winners
  • 2008 - Blue Sky Classic Winners
  • Sailing:
  • 2008 - ICSA Women's National Champions
  • 2008 - ICSA Co-Ed National Champions
  • Football:
  • 2006 - Meineke Car Care Bowl Winner
  • 2007 - Ireland Trophy
  • 2007 - ACC Atlantic Division Champions
  • 2007 - Champs Sports Bowl Winner
  • 2008 - Ireland Trophy
  • 2008 - ACC Atlantic Division Champions
  • Men's Soccer:
  • 2007 - ACC Regular Season Champions
  • 2007 - ACC Tournament Champions
  • Women's Soccer:
  • 2006 - Sweet Sixteen
  • 2008 - Sweet Sixteen
  • Women's Hockey:
  • 2007 - Beanpot Champions
  • 2007 - Frozen Four
  • 2009 - Beanpot Champions
  • Men's Hockey:
  • 2007 - Hockey East Tournament Champions
  • 2007 - Frozen Four
  • 2007 - Mariucci Classic Champions
  • 2008 - Beanpot Champions
  • 2008 - Hockey East Tournament Champions
  • 2008 - Frozen Four
  • 2008 - National Champions

Games I Attended in '07-'08

  • Overall: 51-30-11 + 12 non BC + spring football = 105 games
  • Home: 40-25-6 + spring game
  • Away: 4-5-5
  • Neutral: 7-0
  • Non-BC NCAA Games: 12
  • Men's Hockey: 13-6-5
  • Women's BBall: 8-2
  • Football: 6-1 + spring game
  • Baseball: 5-1
  • Softball: 4-0
  • Men's BBall: 6-4
  • Women's Hockey: 8-11-5
  • Men's Soccer: 1-2-1
  • Field Hockey: 0-1
  • Women's Soccer: 0-1

Stadiums/Fields Seen 07-08

  • Total: 20
  • Conte Forum [BC] - (49)
  • Alumni Stadium [BC] - (8)
  • TD Banknorth Garden - (7)
  • Shea Field, Baseball [BC] - (6)
  • Newton Soccer Field [BC] - (6)
  • Walter Brown Arena [BU] - (4)
  • Shea Field, Softball [BC] - (4)
  • Matthews Arena [NU] - (3)
  • DCU Center [Worcester] - (3)
  • Schneider Arena [PC] - (2)
  • Ridder Arena [Minnesota] - (2)
  • UConn Hockey Arena [Conn] - (2)
  • Agganis Arena [BU] - (2)
  • Tsongas Arena [UML] - (1)
  • Whittemore Center [UNH] - (1)
  • Mariucci Arena [Minnesota] - (1)
  • Bright Arena [Harvard] - (1)
  • Harvard Stadium [Harvard] - (1)
  • Newton Field Hockey [BC] - (1)
  • Houston Field House [RPI] - (1)

Games I attended in 06-07

  • OVERALL 67-27-3 = 97 games
  • Football 6-0
  • M Hockey 17-6-1
  • M Basketball 14-4
  • W Hockey 13-6-2
  • W Basketball 6-3
  • Softball 3-1
  • W Soccer 3-1
  • M Soccer 3-1
  • Baseball 2-4
  • W Lax 0-1

Best Moments

  • Men's Hockey, 4/12/08 - National Champs.
  • Football, 10/26/07 - BC rallies with two touchdowns in the last 2:11 to win at Virginia Tech and maintain their #2 ranking. Students spill out of the dorms and have an impromptu celebration all over campus. What a night. WOW.
  • Men's Hockey, 3/30/08 - BC scores 3 goals in 1:58 to come from an 0-2 deficit to a 3-2 lead late in the 2nd against Miami in the NCAA regional final.
  • Men's Hockey, 3/30/08 - Joe Whitney's ridiculous diving goal sends BC to the Frozen Four, beating Miami 4-3 in OT.
  • Men's Hockey, 3/21/08 - Benn Ferriero's 3OT goal caps a comeback against UNH in the Hockey East semifinals at the Garden.
  • Men's Hockey, 2/11/08 - Nick Petrecki's OT goal wins the Beanpot for BC!
  • Football, 9/1/07 - BC scores a touchdown to tie the game at 21 right before half time against Wake. BC wins 38-28
  • Men's Hockey, 11/30/07 - BU goalie Karson Gillespie gets sent to the box by Benedetto for a swan dive... piss-your-pants laughter follows
  • Men's Hockey, 3/15/08 - Nate Gerbe's amazing penalty shot goal makes it 4-0 BC over PC in Game 2 of the HE QFs
  • Men's Hockey, 2/4/08 - Gerbe slays BU in overtime
  • Men's Hockey, 3/22/08 - BC cruises to another Hockey East title, beating UVM 4-0
  • Men's Hockey, 3/29/08 - BC gets past the Gophers 5-2 in the NCAA tournament.
  • Men's Hockey, 3/15/08 - BC sweeps the Friars with a pair of 5-1 wins in the HE QFs to advance to the TD Banknorth Garden.
  • Women's Hockey, 2/29/08 - Eagles top PC 4-2 in the season's penultimate game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Stack with the ENG to ice it with 4 seconds left.
  • Women's Hockey, 1/4/07 - BC kills off a 5-on-3, Lindsay Wright aka CANADA scores a sick goal, and BC upsets #4 SLU 5-2
  • Women's Basketball, 1/6/07 - BC stuns NC State with a thrilling 1 point come-from-behind victory
  • Men's Soccer, 11/9/07 - BC clinches ACC reg. season title with a win at home against VT.
  • Women's Hockey, 01/12/08 - MN native Allie Thunstrom's goal with 1:30 to go gives BC a tie @ #4 Minnesota
  • Men's Hockey, 3/14/08 - BC blitzes Providence early and often en route to 5-1 win in Game 1 of HE QFs at BC
  • Men's Basketball, 12/23/07 - Tyrese Rice knocks down a floater with less than 5 seconds to play to give BC the 57-55 win over Northeastern.
  • Men's Hockey, 1/19/08 - Carl Sneep's goal in the 3rd ties BU 2-2; pandemonium in the student section
  • Football, 11/24/07 - BC finally snaps the long losing streak against the U.
  • Women's Hockey, 2/10/08 - BC's Stack scores in the 2nd to tie UNH 1-1. We lost, but that was a great moment.
  • Women's Basketball, 12/31/07 - Picco nails back to back three pointers as BC wins a thriller against NU
  • Baseball, 5/13/08 - BC rallies from big early deficit to beat UConn.
  • Softball, 3/26/08 - Fence Girl crashes into the fence, Thunstrom scores winning run, BC downs HC 4-3
  • Women's Hockey, 11/29/07 - A clutch goal with under a minute remaining by Stack gives BC a much needed point @ UConn
  • Women's Hockey, 3/15/08 - UNH tops St. Lawrence 3-2 in OT to give Hockey East a representative in the Frozen Four.
  • Men's Hockey, 11/30/07 - BC explodes for a 3-0 1st period lead en route to a 6-2 win over BU
  • Football, 10/7/07 - BC scores 31 points in the 2nd quarter against Bowling Green and rolls to 55-24 win - up to #4 in the country!

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