I've been meaning to post since Thursday night, but I haven't really had the time... so this is going to be a bit of a mega-post.
On Thursday, three of us trekked down to St. John's University in New York City to watch the Eagles take home the win in the 3rd round of the WNIT.
It was one of those stupid, random trips that turned out to be one of the best trips of the year. While St. Johns' campus is pretty much a dump, Carnesecca Arena is gorgeous. Every time I go to a hockey- or basketball-specific arena, I am reminded of how woeful 'multi-purpose' facilities are.
And the game itself was fantastic, with the Eagles surviving a brilliant second-half surge by the Red Storm to win, 68-64. Stefanie Murphy went off, scoring 23 points to lock down the victory and boost BC into the quarterfinals, to be held this evening at 5 PM against Georgetown in Conte Forum.
While I'm sure everyone wishes the Eagles made the NCAA tournament, this winning experience could be great for the freshmen and sophomores. And raising a banner to the rafters is always nice, even if it is the NIT. So GO EAGLES - three more wins!
But the event that gripped me all weekend was the men's college hockey tournament. Despite the absence of Boston College, this has arguably been the greatest tournament I've ever seen.
Just unbelievable drama from all 4 regionals: Last-second goals (literally) by UNH over North Dakota and Minn.-Duluth over Princeton forced overtime and allowed each to advance. Northeastern caved in to allow two goals in the final 3 minutes to lose 3-2 against Cornell. Vermont and Air Force battled into double overtime, with the Catamounts advancing to the Frozen Four. #4 seed Bemidji State stunned Notre Dame, 4-1, and fellow #4 seed Miami has punched its ticket to DC with romps over Denver and Duluth.
Just way too much action to jam into two days.
There really are no words, just enjoy these videos.
The only bad news about all of these upsets is that it looks like BU has a clear path to the national championship. Who's going to stop them? Miami?
But the way this tournament is going, you never know. I'm pulling hard for UNH today - not just because they're playing BU, but because Revere's Jerry Pollastrone powered their miracle against North Dakota, and because I really do feel bad for their fans' suffering.
Two good things, no matter what happens:
-Hockey East will have two Frozen Four teams... and the WCHA will have a big fat zero
-I will definitely have someone to root hard for in the national championship game in DC: either UNH or UVM, or whoever plays against BU. ;)
Unfortunately, it's all kind of downhill from here. After 4 games on Friday and 6 crazy games yesterday, we just get 2 tonight (BU vs. UNH at 5, Cornell vs. Bemidji State at 8), 2 on Frozen Four Thursday, and the national title game. Sad. I could watch this stuff for weeks on end - the drama, action, and passion is simply unmatched. Every day, I feel like kissing the ground and thanking the Lord that I was one of the fortunate few college students who enrolled in a school that has Division I hockey. While I often wish BC fans were more passionate and involved, I'm lucky enough to be at a school that's allowed me to deepen my attachment to this great sport, and that's given me some awesome memories in conference and national tournaments.
WNIT photos from St. John's:
The "beautiful" SJU campus-
Carnesecca arena lobby
The arena itself (pretty sweet)
The game
Victory
BC-GTown at 5 PM today at Conte. Go Eagles!
Carnesecca arena lobby
The arena itself (pretty sweet)
The game
Victory
BC-GTown at 5 PM today at Conte. Go Eagles!
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