The Boston College Eagle Log

.

2009-11-09T06:35:00.002-05:00

Reason #14552 why I'm dying for the Bruins to sweep the Habs

2009-04-21T14:01:00.001-04:00

I've been busy with work, but once the next week or so is over, I'll be back to blogging about BC baseball and softball.

NHL playoff time

2009-04-16T09:36:00.002-04:00

Last night, both teams starring BC alums won their playoff openers. Pittsburgh (Andrew Orpik, Rob Scuderi, and Bill Guerin) thumped Philadelphia, 4-1 - and Bill Guerin dropped the gloves and won a convincing fight in the final seconds.

Meanwhile, the BC-heavy Devils bounced back from their late-season slump to down Carolina, 4-1.

The Bruins begin their quest tonight and I'm hoping for a long playoff run here in Boston.

Missed opportunity for softball

2009-04-08T19:30:00.002-04:00

BC softball (14-21) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 6th to force extra innings with #17 ranked UMass (21-6), but the Minutemen clubbed a solo homer in the 9th inning to top the Eagles, 4-3.

It was part of an up-and-down day in BC athletics.

The baseball team bounced back from last night's Beanpot disappointment to throttle Rhode Island, 10-0. Mickey Wiswall hit a 2-run homer and six Eagles pitchers combined to four-hit URI.

Meanwhile, the women's lacrosse team was downed by BU, 13-6.

I'm working on a feature story on new hockey recruit Patrick Wey for EagleInsider.com. I'll post a link as soon as it's up.

A Palm Sunday miracle

2009-04-06T14:39:00.002-04:00

I passed by Shea Field in the 4th inning of yesterday's rubber game between the Eagles and the NC State Wolfpack, and saw that it was 10-2, 'Pack.

I went off and did other things for a few hours, expecting the game to be long over by the time I got back to Edmond's Hall. As I walked toward my room, I heard PA announcements coming from Shea. I joked that maybe the Eagles were in the midst of a miraculous comeback which prolonged the game.

Sure enough, that was the case. After trailing 10-2 in the 6th inning, BC scored nine runs in three innings to go up 11-10. Mike Belfiore came in and closed the door on NC State in the 9th, handing BC what was quite possibly their biggest and most exciting home win since joining the ACC.

The Eagles are now 19-10 overall and a very respectable 7-6 in ACC play. Something's brewin' at Shea Field.

BC's next game is tomorrow night against UMass in the Baseball Beanpot semifinals, to be held in Brockton's Campanelli Stadium.

Happy UConn Elimination Day

2009-04-04T23:53:00.002-04:00

It's always a good day.

Hopefully the UConn women are next.

Hey, at least the 20% of UConn players who actually graduate still have something to look forward to...

Pack win game 1

2009-04-04T14:46:00.004-04:00

NC State just put the finishing touches on an 8-4 victory over BC baseball at Shea Field in game 1 of today's doubleheader (yesterday's game was postponed to this morning due to rain).

The Eagles and the Wolfpack are starting game 2 as we speak.

The football team just finished up their first scrimmage - I'll link to my story on EagleInsider.com once it's posted.

EDIT:

-LINK to EagleInsider football story

(must be a subscriber)

-BC baseball won game 2 of the doubleheader, 8-6, setting up a crucial rubber game tomorrow at 1 PM.

Two seasons - baseball, and admissions...

2009-04-03T03:31:00.002-04:00

Hockey season's over, basketball season's over... but there are two seasons that are about to get red-hot - baseball season, and admissions season.

The BC baseball team had a successful work week, knocking off both Northeastern and UConn; they look to parlay that into ACC success this weekend against the NC State Wolfpack. But the weather is looking sketchy:

Boston, MA Weather Forecast

So it remains to be seen whether or not tomorrow's game (scheduled for 2:30 PM) actually gets played.

The other big season, admissions season, just got underway as acceptance letters are out to the BC class of 2013. In honor of that, as well as my impending journey through senior year, I have signed up to blog for BC's Student Admissions Program, giving my take on day-to-day life at BC.

You can read my contributions to the BC A&S Liberal Arts blog here.

No banners this year

2009-04-01T23:02:00.003-04:00

And so, just like that, it's ovah. South Florida upends BC, 82-65 (although the game was much closer than that score would indicate).

Year one of the Sylvia Crawley era in BC women's basketball has come to an end, and it's safe to say that the future is bright.

We saw, this year, a young, exciting, developing team - a team with much better physical and mental toughness than they had one year ago, more scoring threats than they had one year ago, and certainly more fun to watch than they were one year ago.

Next year's starting lineup could look a lot like this year's, with one more year of vital experience - Thoman, Picco, Brown, Murphy, Swords. Of course, it could include freshman Jasmine Gill, who really came to life during the NIT - or one of Crawley's highly-touted new recruits. Thus, I feel pretty confident that next year, the Eagles will be playing in the 'other' tournament.

Still, it's disappointing to see this year's run come to an end. They were right there with South Florida for most of the game, and in fact led by 6 when it all started to come unglued with about 11 minutes to go. SF turned a 6 point deficit to a 10 point lead in the blink of an eye, with some deadly 3 point shooting combined with spotty BC foul shooting and just a few minutes of getting the Eagles off of their game. BC successfully pounded it inside to Swords early in the game, with a good mix of outside shots keeping the Bulls honest. But in the 2nd, SF was able to lock down on Swords. SF did a great job limiting Murphy, as well, holding her to 3 points, and the outside shooting was never quite enough to get them back into it.

I'm really sad to see Corey Rusin's career end. She truly is one of my favorite BC athletes, a hard worker, and a great person. I wish they could have made it to the final for her and Brittany Johnson and Victoria Jones.

But the season was what it was - a stepping stone. Get used to seeing BC playing in late March and maybe even early April. This program is on the rise.

WNIT: BC vs. USF preview

2009-04-01T13:48:00.001-04:00

Read my interview with head coach Sylvia Crawley previewing tonight's WBB game between BC and South Florida here.

Baseball cruises to win

2009-04-01T00:56:00.002-04:00

The Eagles beat up on the Northeastern Huskies 12-2 on a chilly afternoon at Shea Field to improve to 16-9 on the season.

Mike Belfiore and Tony Sanchez each hit homers for BC, while sophomore Pat Dean pitched six scoreless innings to get the win. Dean also wriggled out of a bases loaded, 0 out jam in the second inning.

BC looks to complete the Husky 1-2 punch tomorrow afternoon when they travel to Storrs Correctional Facility to take on the Other Huskies, before hosting NC State this weekend in ACC play.

Afternoon at the ballpark

2009-03-31T14:55:00.002-04:00

It's time for another BC baseball game, this time against Northeastern. And just like on Saturday, we're pretty blessed to have some decent weather for this one after a day of cold and rain yesterday. The start time has been moved to 3:30 to give the field some extra time to dry out.

The Eagles came back for a 6-5, 12-inning win over the Huskies at NU on March 17.

Pat Dean (2-1, 4.88 ERA) will get the start for the Eagles, who come into the game with a 15-9 record (5-5 ACC).

Revere fail

2009-03-29T23:54:00.006-04:00

It's generally my policy to never write anything negative about an individual on this blog, only good or bad comments about teams in general... but AGH, Jerry Pollastrone, you are so on my crap list right now, even if you are from Reveahh.

How do you throw the puck into your own net with the Frozen Four on the line? Absolutely unbelievable.

UNH comes up with new and creative ways to fail miserably. It really is remarkable.

The worst part is that the miserable Wildcats somehow managed to outplay BU during the 3rd period. They had much better chances than BU did, including one JVR bid that Millan stopped with a stunning high glove save. And to make matters worse for the future Flyer, it was JVR's moronic penalty with under two minutes to play, along with Pollastrone's WTF?! moment, that put an end to BU's 12 year Frozen Four drought.

Also to blame: UNH's "power play," which went something like 1-for-60 during the last month of the season. They generated absolutely nothing during their one power play chance in the 3rd.

So, it's on to the least sexy Frozen Four ever:

(1) Boston University (HEA)

(3) University of Vermont (HEA)

(4) Bemidji State (CHA)

(4) Miami University (CCHA)

I'm thinking BU rolls through DC like British solders during the War of 1812, but Vermont did beat them 2-of-3 this year.

Tonight's good news comes from the women's basketball team, which dropped Georgetown 65-56 to advance to the WNIT Final Four. (I had no idea they called it the "Final Four," which sounds preposterous to me; I'm just going to call it the WNIT semifinal.)

BC will host South Florida on Wednesday night at 7 PM to battle for a spot in the title game.

WNIT + Men's hockey tournament = MASSIVE

2009-03-29T10:54:00.005-04:00

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!

The SJU road block

2009-03-26T09:25:00.001-04:00

After getting past BU in round 2 of the WNIT, the Eagles head to New York City tonight to take on the St. John's Red Storm in what has become a problematic matchup for the Eagles. SJU bounced BC from the NIT in this round last year, and topped the Eagles at home back in December in the St. John's holiday tournament.

Two friends and I will be driving down for the game, seeing as this is probably our last chance for a random road trip this semester.

If the Eagles win, they will be at home over the weekend for the NIT quarterfinals.

In hockey news, according to San Jose Sharks sources, the Nick Petrecki era at BC is over. Best wishes Nick, and bring the pain to the NHL.

We really need another defenseman or two to commit for next season.

Women's NIT Monday night

2009-03-23T02:36:00.006-04:00

The task of keeping alive the BC revenue sports season is heaped upon the women's basketball team tonight, as they take on BU at Conte Forum in the 2nd round of the women's NIT.

In a way, this makes it almost good that the Eagles got snubbed from the NCAA tournament. Conte Forum is not dormant for the summer just yet, and the Eagles are more than capable of keeping their season going for another two weeks, straight through the NIT final.

They have a pretty decent chance of winning the whole thing and bringing home some hardware. Another trophy in the case could take off some of the sting off of what's been a very disappointing year in BC athletics. We've been trophy-deprived this season, so I'll take anything - even the WNIT.

The Terriers are coming off an outstanding season in which they went undefeated in conference play before pulling a Patriots, losing the America East final to Vermont (please, dear God, let that happen to UConn women's basketball in the NCAAs). They easily brushed aside Central Connecticut last week to punch their ticket to round 2.

Gametime is 7:05 PM.

Two other events at Conte this week: on Tuesday, the women's hockey team hosts a charity sled hockey event to raise money for the Massachusetts Hospital School. And on Wednesday, the event you've all been waiting for - my intramural hockey team, Cool Runnings, takes on Mug for the league title. Ohhhh, yeah.

NCAA Hockey tournament predictions

2009-03-22T19:53:00.000-04:00

BU 6
Ohio State 0

North Dakota 4
New Hampshire 2

North Dakota 2
BU 3

---

Michigan 2
Air Force 3

Yale 2
Vermont 1

YALE 3
Air Force 0

---

Notre Dame 4
Bemidji State 0

Northeastern 2
Cornell 1

Notre Dame 2
Northeastern 0

---

Denver 4
Miami 0

Minnesota Duluth 2
Princeton 1

Denver 3
Minnesota-Duluth 2

----

BU 10
Yale 0

Denver 3
Notre Dame 1

---

Denver 2
BU 1
OT

An abrupt ending

2009-03-21T12:01:00.003-04:00

That was quick.

In a span of a few hours, the men's hockey and basketball seasons both came tumbling down to abrupt and disappointing conclusions, with the b-ball team slammed by USC and the hockey team upended by BU 3-2 at the Garden.

The Eagles were 9 minutes away from pulling off the upset in Boston, leading BU 1-0 on a brilliant goal by Ben Smith, when the Terriers put up 3 goals in a dizzying 44-second span. Joe Whitney got one back with 5 minutes to play, but BC couldn't get it done and BU now moves on to face UMass-Lowell in the league championship game. BU will probably beat them like a mule; the talent differential from game 1 to game 2 was striking.

BU really came out and shelled BC in the first period and the Eagles were lucky to survive. But from the second period on, BC began to control the tempo a little more, ultimately resulting in Smith's goal, which he batted out of the air and into the net on a breakaway [reminiscent of a few of BC's goals against UNH last year].

The Eagles killed two penalties early in the 3rd period and spirits were high as we approached the final minutes of the game looking to hang on. But it all caved in so quickly... and that was that.

I'll probably be going to the Manchester regional next week but it certainly won't be the same without BC.

This senior class has nothing to be ashamed of despite this season. 3 national championship games, 1 national title, 2 Hockey East championships... this class leaves the Heights with a lot of good memories. Thanks to all of them and best of luck in the future.

*

All we've got left to carry the winter sports flame is the WNIT. The Eagles host BU on Monday night in their NIT opener after the Terriers defeated Central Connecticut.

Looking for a threepeat

2009-03-18T23:56:00.000-04:00

Hoping to see this scene again this weekend:

Wow

2009-03-15T00:32:00.005-04:00

It was a surprise, and yet it wasn't a surprise, all at the same time.

When Middlemarch tickets went on sale, the date - March 21 - gave me pause, as I knew it was the night of Hockey East finals. I thought, however, that there was no way BC would be at the Garden (but I was still going to skip the dance to go see the final, regardless of who was in it).

How silly of me.

BC is back at the Garden again after a fantastic 60 minute all-around performance tonight at UNH, topping the Wildcats 1-0 on an early Matt Price goal.

John Muse was simply brilliant in net, bailing BC out on a few scrums during UNH power plays, making two big stops in the final minute, and making some high glove saves, too. If Muse gets back going the way he did in the tournament last year, then we could be on the verge of a serious run.

I liked BC's toughness, responding quickly and swiftly to UNH players running Muse, throwing some good hits, and being defensively stout when they had to be.

With the results of tonight's games (Lowell sweeps UVM, NU and BU are both sent to Game 3s with UMass and Maine, respectively), BC just needs one upset tomorrow night to avoid the Red Menace on the semifinals.

Scenarios -

BU and Northeastern advance:

BU vs BC - 5 PM
UML vs Northeastern - 8 PM

BU wins, NU loses

BU vs UMass - 5 PM
UML vs BC - 8 PM

BU loses, NU wins

NU vs Maine - 5 PM
UML vs BC - 8 PM

BU loses, NU loses

UML vs Maine - 5 PM
BC vs UMass - 8 PM

The traveling fan support for BC was incredible tonight. There weren't many of us but we were all loud and into the game - and having the BC pep band in the house made a huge difference. Kudos to every BC fan who came out - I'm very proud to be an Eagle tonight.

The women's hockey team's season came to an end this afternoon in Minnesota but the lady Eagles can hold their heads up high after a 4-3 loss to the Gophers. BC fell behind 3-0 and 4-1 early but battled back to make it close, and BC fans in attendance have described it as BC's best effort ever. I buy it, from the parts I saw on video. Sadly, without Stack or Schaus it could be a rough transition next year, but the pieces are in place for BC to become a powerful program in women's hockey.

Does anyone have a watch?

2009-03-13T23:22:00.002-04:00

Mine says "crunch time" and around this time of year, UNH's says "choke time." It's not over yet - UNH will surely come out firing tomorrow night - but tonight's reappearance of playoff-intensity BC was fun to watch.

The Eagles came out and absolutely blitzed the Wildcats off of their home ice and silenced the crowd with early leads of 4-o and 5-1.

UNH scored two shorthanded goals to claw back to 5-3, but that was all they'd get.

Really fantastic effort, and a great night all around, as BC fans were pretty loud from start to finish.

I'm hoping there's no need for a Game 3.

Glimmers

2009-03-08T09:39:00.003-04:00

Last year, in the regular season's final weekend, BC lost to Northeastern in overtime on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, they stampeded the Huskies en route to a victory in the finale.

This season, BC did the exact same - following up an OT loss to Northeastern in the season's penultimate game with a complete, outstanding performance on Senior Night to cap off the regular season, beating NU 4-1.

The Eagles head to Durham, NH this weekend to take on UNH in the Hockey East quarterfinals. It's going to be an amazing series.

The women's hockey team plays for a championship today, playing UNH in the Hockey East championship, also in Durham; the game is at 12:30 and will be on NESN at 4:00 PM.

And hey, how about Rakim Sanders? The man has no fear.

Renewed faith

2009-03-01T02:00:00.006-05:00

My closest hockey-watching friends, aside from my small group at BC, all go to Northeastern, and the DogHouse gang has adopted a motto for this year - "Now is the time!"

All year long, I've been saying "BC's motto is: Later is the time!"

But I've been waiting and waiting, and it was beginning to look like Later wouldn't come this year. While it's going to take a miracle to go on the kind of run that we've seen the last 3 years in a row, there's now a glimmer of hope, as the Eagles fought hard to come back from an 0-3 deficit to beat Providence 4-3 at Schneider Arena, picking up their first weekend sweep since the Maine series which seems like forever ago.

There are always times when, as a fan, you wonder if all the worry and the stress and the expense for something you can't control is worth anything, but nights like these make it rewarding: a fun, exciting road win, on the road with good friends... adversity, hope, belief - all of the intangible stuff that makes this all worthwhile. I left Schneider with the buzz that you can't possibly feel leaving a movie or a concert or a show, no matter how good it is. That's what keeps me coming back.

Really, they should have never been behind 3-0. BC came out strong and outshot and outplayed Providence in the first two frames, but they had bad bounces or missed open nets at least 5 or 6 times. Meanwhile it seemed like every time Providence ambled into the attacking zone, they scored. They even scored a 4th goal in the 2nd period, which was correctly waved off due to goaltender interference; I hoped that would be a turning point, and it was.

In retrospect I'm glad they didn't jump out to an early lead. I'm glad they had to do something tonight that they hadn't done in a while - really show fire and determination. They had to Want It. And there can be no doubt that they Wanted It tonight, as they played with the kind of confidence and fire we saw in the tournament last season.

It's only Providence, but with the way things have been going this season, I'll take it. They've given us reason to hope, and that's all we can really ask for.

2 down, 10 to go? ;)

You just never know...

Hanging on to hope

2009-02-28T00:56:00.001-05:00

1 down, 11 to go?

BC hockey looked as impressive as they have in a long time, destroying Providence 5-1 and lighting the lamp 7 times (two goals were disallowed... one correctly, one incorrectly).

Petrecki had a monster game. I would have named him as one of the 3 stars. Absolutely destroying people all night, but never took himself out of the play. He even made a few hits that directly led to transition opportunities on offense.

I still think the rest of the defensive corps is shaky (see: PC's 2-on-0) and the PP needs work, but the forwards looked GOOD tonight. Lit the lamp 7 times even though only 6 were goals and only 5 counted. Crisp, clean passes. Strong on the puck, getting it in deep, making things happen.

I LOVE seeing Almeida and Atkinson on the same line. They did that against Maine and burned them all weekend. Hope to see them stay together the rest of the year, don't care who the 3rd guy is.

Whitney had his best game in a while. One play that really stands out in my memory - Whitney was in the corner, Providence was skating the puck out of their defensive zone, and Whit chased him down and knocked the puck off his stick and hummed it back in deep. Good strong play. He's playing with a fire that wasn't there before.

And how can you not love Kucharski? What a story, the guy's a beast. Does my neighbors in Saugus proud and makes up for the fact that that hack Lawrence is from there.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the trip.

Burnt out

2009-02-22T02:56:00.008-05:00

UNH 4, BC 2

Keeping it short and sweet: they turned it on late, but fell just short. I feel that may be the story of the season, too.

I'm encouraged by the good play in the final 15 minutes, but disappointed that it took them that long to seem to be interested in the game.

Giving up a goal with 4 seconds left in the first period came back to bite them.

BC women's hockey 1, Providence 1 (PC wins shootout, 1-0)

I hate senior days. They're a reminder that I'm getting old. I'm really going to miss this senior class, as they provided a lot of the memories that I've treasured during my time at the Heights.

(Photo credit: Melissa Wade, USCHO.com + Hockeyphotography.com)

I'm going to be taking a blogging hiatus for a week, as I feel like I need to take a week-long sports hiatus as well. I'm experiencing a little burnout, and things just aren't as fun for me as they usually are [even with the teams that are winning]. I feel half-detatched from every game I'm at and feel like I need a break. I'd try to do a Lent-like break, except the big tournaments are coming up... but I'll probably do a long one at some point this summer.

But for now, coinciding with a week in which I have 3 midterm exams, I'll be taking a hiatus until Friday night's game against Providence [except for my EagleInsider stories... I do not need a break from making money]. No games, and no incessant checking of the blogs and of scores 'til then.

Women's hockey clinches first-round bye

2009-02-21T10:12:00.003-05:00

BC earns the #2 seed in the Hockey East tournament with an impressive 5-1 win at Providence. Allie Thunstrom scored two, with one goal each by Mary Restuccia, Kelli Stack, and Maggie Taverna.

Thunstrom was absolutely electric, playing perhaps her best game since her one-person rally last year in Minnesota. She scored just 14 seconds into the game, batting in a rebound off a shot by Stack.

Later in the period, with the score 2-0, she scored a brilliant goal, breaking in down the right side on a 2-on-1 with Restuccia. Restuccia was well-covered. Allie faked a pass to her, getting the goalie to decommit from the shot slightly, then ripped a quick wrister past her.

Providence's Schneider Arena

The Hockey East quarterfinals will be next weekend and the Eagles will be able to sit home and watch, along with #1 seed UNH. The semifinals and finals will be the weekend of March 7-8 at UNH.

BC hosts PC today in the regular season finale - still a meaningful game in terms of national rankings.

The men's hockey team picked up another loss in Durham last night... make it stop?

In better news, the baseball team started the year with an 8-7 win at Stetson.

Cry UNCle

2009-02-20T14:27:00.002-05:00

UNC 92, BC WBB 68.

I actually knew the game was lost pretty early on, even when BC jumped out to a good-sized early lead.

The Eagles were off to a furious start, leading 18-6 a few minutes into the game. But even while BC was dominating, forcing turnover after turnover and playing lockdown defense, the Eagles' shooting was ice cold. Swords didn't record her first point until halfway through the first frame, and the usually dead-on Mickel Picco, after swishing a 3 on the opening possession, kept clanging shot after shot, and even airballed one.

BC had a chance to really bury UNC early, and they didn't take full advantage of it.

Then, UNC went on an itty-bitty 84-50 run the rest of the way.

The Eagles are still in decent shape to make the NCAA tournament, but they're absolutely going to have to beat both Virginia and NC State, while making a respectable showing on the road against Maryland. Then they must win their first ACC tournament game. Anything less will leave BC on the wrong side of the bubble.

BC travels to UVA on Sunday at 5 PM.

It's Thursday already...

2009-02-19T13:56:00.003-05:00

and the women's basketball team takes on UNC tonight. To read about the women's basketball team, check out the EagleInsider women's hoops notes column by my colleage Diana Nearhos (BC '11).

My hockey weekend preview is up at EI as the men battle UNH this weekend in a home-and-home.

Grant has posted part 2 of what will be a long series of retrospective videos from last year's national championship team. Here, he presents highlights from the best game I've ever attended in person - BC's 5-4, 3 OT win over UNH in last year's Hockey East semifinals.

Baseball??

2009-02-18T14:17:00.003-05:00

It's kind of a slow week in BC athletics, but this weekend makes up for it with three truckloads of action. One of this weekend's events: the start of BC baseball season.

Yes, baseball. It's freezing outside, but it's nice and warm in Deland, Florida, where the baseball team heads this weekend for a 4-game set with Stetson University.

If you're interested in BC baseball, read EagleInsider.com on Friday for my season preview interview with catcher Tony Sanchez.

Photo credit: BCEagles.com

Women's basketball notches win #18

2009-02-17T10:53:00.006-05:00

It took a few weeks, but the women's basketball team picked up their 18th win of the season last night, beating Miami 71-64 on the road in Coral Gables. They're now 18-7 and 6-4 in the ACC.

Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy dominated again for BC, both notching double-doubles. Swords had 24 points to lead BC, while Corey Rusin continued her senior-year resurgence with 13 points off the bench.

Although the women don't have the two elite wins that the men have, they're actually in better shape as far as the NCAA bubble goes, as they sit in the mid-30s in RPI. This is most likely due to the fact that they don't have a Harvard or a St. Louis-type loss on their resume.

They can really do wonders for their prospects on Thursday night when they host UNC at Conte Forum in the "Think Pink" Breast Cancer Awareness game. All fans wearing something pink receive free admission. BC will be asking for optional donations to breast cancer research at the door.

Of course, all students receive free admission to every game anyway. So if you're a BC student and you're not doing anything on Thursday, be there.

BC finally bests Duke

2009-02-16T01:01:00.005-05:00

...wow. Every now and then, it feels like we're at a legitimate big time athletics school. Those moments are fleeting, but my God, they sure are gratifying.

The Eagles have now defeated every team in the ACC since joining the league.

I don't hate Duke the way some (most?) people do, but I still hate that weasel Paulus from his tussle with Hinnant in the 2006 ACC championship game. To see him suck it up on the court at Conte was great.

The refs were characteristically bad, but that's to be expected against Duke. Really not surprising at all.

Joe Trapani was a monster tonight. And how can you not love Reggie Jackson? His 3 with about 8 minutes left was one of the top 5 key plays of the game.

Storming the court was fun, and it was especially good to see Gene DeFilippo personally clearing people out of the courtside seats and moving chairs out of the way to give students a lane to run onto the court. A few mouthbreathers from TeamOps tried to hold students back, which really only made things more dangerous as they were getting trampled from all sides.

Women's hockey team one win from first-round bye in Hockey East tournament

2009-02-15T12:28:00.002-05:00

While the men's hockey team's slide continued with a 4-4 tie at UMass-Lowell, the women brightened Saturday with an exciting 4-3 shootout win over Boston University.

With the win, BC now just needs to split its final series against Providence next weekend to lock down the #2 seed in the Hockey East playoffs. 6 teams make the tournament, and the top 2 receive byes into the semifinals, which will be held at UNH's Whittemore Center on March 7-8.

BC controlled much of the game, but a few defensive breakdowns let BU back in it. Then the Eagles seemed to really hit a wall late in the 3rd and in OT, and barely crawled into the shootout. Once they did, BC was able to hand BU its first shootout loss of the year.

GWG animation:

W...T...F

2009-02-14T10:46:00.002-05:00

In moments of hyperbole, I've often described games as the 'best ever' or the 'worst ever.' But I can't honestly begin to think of something that could possibly be more painful, more embarrassing, and more depressing that could happen in a sporting event than watching BC hockey lose to UMass-Lowell 6-0.

The Northeastern game was one thing. This was another matter entirely. Crucial Hockey East points were on the line against a team with maybe one player who could even crack BC's roster. And we got annihalated.

Add that to sitting in the dismal worst atmosphere in major D-1 college hockey [even before the game started to suck], and you have a recipe for a long and miserable night.

The only good news from yesterday was that I acquired DVDs of all of last year's Beanpot, Hockey East and NCAA games. I may or may not have pounded alcohol and watched the UNH 3-ot game at my friend's apartment last night. Good times...

The best part about this acquisition is that our big moments can now go on Youtube. Enjoy reliving the title game - and especially enjoy 5:59 :)

PHOTOS: The women's Beanpot game-winning goal

2009-02-11T02:07:00.005-05:00

Thunstrom breaks down the right side...

Finding an open Kelli Stack...

Who sees the light...

And buries it!

The end result:

Photos by Mike Lee

BC women win 3rd Beanpot in 4 years

2009-02-11T01:38:00.006-05:00

PHOTOS BY:

Melissa Wade [uscho.com, hockeyphotography.com]

BC 1, Harvard 0

SOG Harvard 40, BC 23

Those two stats tell a lot of the story, but not all of it. This was an intense, fun, thrilling game from start to finish, and each and every BC player should be incredibly proud of her effort tonight.

Molly Schaus has to be in the discussion for best goalie in the NCAA. 40 saves - including a number of highway robberies. She made one impossible sprawling save in the 3rd period to preserve the lead.

Defense played hard and did a good job weathering the Harvard storm. The first period was basically like a giant BC penalty kill. The Eagles did a good job winning races to the puck, dumping it out when necessary, and preventing rebound opportunities.

The Crimson, who for whatever reason elect to roll 2 lines despite having a full roster, began to wear themselves out in the 2nd and early in the 3rd, especially since they were on the PK a lot - tons of dumb penalties. Their chances got weaker and the shot disparity closed.

On a BC penalty kill with 9 minutes left, Allie Thunstrom picked off a D-to-D pass and broke in two-on-one w/ Kelli Stack. Stack slowed down and stayed a few feet behind the play, and right when Thunstrom was coming up to the goal line, she slid it over to Stack to her left. They had the goalie moving left-to-right and Stack ripped it inside the far post for the only goal.

Just awesome.

We flew back as quickly as possible and were able to catch the last 9 minutes of the basketball game - i.e., we were just in time for the late-game meltdown. My goodness, we need people who can rebound.

CONGRATS EAGLES!

BU takes back Beanpot; BC snags 3rd

2009-02-10T09:10:00.003-05:00

Benn Ferriero scored two goals, including one with 40 seconds left, to lift BC to a 4-3 win over Harvard in the Beanpot consolation game, sending BC fans into a state of........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It was a particularly lackluster edition of a game that is designed for lacklusteriness.

The Eagles are now 4-1-1 in their last 6. Is a run coming?

BU took back the Beanpot with a 5-2 win over Northeastern, courtesy of three shorthanded goals. I infiltrated the NU DogHouse during this game, and experienced first-hand a real student section experience for the first time in my collegiate life. It was nice, but it would have been nicer if NU had won.

As it were, failure continues to dominate the NU Beanpot experience. I have a feeling that they are about to have an epic meltdown and lose their perch from the top of Hockey East.

Women's Beanpot final tonight - BC vs. Harvard. Bring it home, Eagles!

Hockey teams grind out wins

2009-02-08T00:20:00.003-05:00

It's all about the two points.

The men's hockey team defeated UMass on Friday night in a dry, defensive struggle that saw both teams play the trap fairly often. Benn Ferriero hummed in a power play goal less than five minutes into the game; from there, BC went on the defensive and grinded out a conference win.

The penalty kill stood strong in the second period, when BC picked up 6 straight minutes of penalties including a large chunk of 5-on-3.

Paul Carey went from healthy scratch to a crucial part of the power play. Only BC hockey.

It was great to see John Muse pick up a shutout after his misadventures on Monday. Hopefully, this helps restore his confidence.

5 PM Monday... see ya there.

As for the women -

They beat Maine 2-0 at Conte. The first two periods were awful. BC just about constantly had the puck, but did nothing with it, mostly pouring in their shots from the perimeter. They found another gear in the third and picked up two goals to slip away with a victory.

A win's a win, but the Eagles continue to play down to bad competition, which could bite them if they're not careful. Also, BC's transition game can be painful to watch sometimes. They often force plays that aren't there, driving it into traffic up the middle when there are lanes available up the boards.

UMaine's goalie, Genevieve Turgeon, deserves a lot of credit. BC could have easily poured in 4 or 5 goals in the 3rd period, but Turgeon made a number of great sprawling saves to keep the Eagles out. BC also hit a post and a crossbar in pursuit of the elusive winning goal, which didn't come until the halfway mark in the 3rd period.

For all the grousing, if the season ended today, the men and women would both be in NCAAs. For that, I am grateful.

Rough night for WBB

2009-02-05T23:41:00.002-05:00

The women's basketball team lost to #15 FSU 64-53 - and in the process, they may have lost Carolyn Swords for a time. Swords was injured by a blow to the face during a scrum for a rebound and fell to the floor bleeding. She is undergoing x-rays to determine whether or not she broke her nose. Yeeesh...

Mickel Picco extended her 3-pointer streak to 30 games, but she struggled on the night as she is recovering from a bad illness that hospitalized her two nights ago.

Let's hope they can rest up as they have a big game on Monday night against Maryland.

BC is now 17-6 (5-3 ACC).

All Hail Melissa Wade

2009-02-05T08:41:00.004-05:00

Melissa Wade, whose unreal hockey photos grace HockeyPhotography.com and USCHO.com, took another gem at Tuesday night's women's Beanpot.

Last night's men's basketball win was an important one, as it's now the type of game that BC "should" win. If the Eagles win all the rest of the games that they "should" win now, based on their record, they'll be dancing in March.

Tonight, the women's basketball team hunts for their 18th win in a huge game against Florida State. I'll be covering the action for EagleInsider.com and will post a link to my story when it's up.

Two days on

2009-02-04T19:51:00.002-05:00

Monday night was, plain and simple, an NU tidal wave. In the stands, on the ice - Boston College was blown out of the water, and I was ashamed. It was the worst loss for BC at the Garden during York's tenure. It seems like this team has serious problems, extending beyond the normal slump.

I'll post lots of photos and pics after the final & consolation game.

The women's team won their Beanpot game against NU, 3-1.

The men's basketball team is off to a great start against UVA, up 42-22 at halftime - wow.

Reason to be excited.

2009-02-02T11:04:00.002-05:00

The men's basketball team is relevant again, after an outstanding, thrilling win on Saturday thanks to a sick put-back by Rakim Sanders with 0.4 to play.

The women's basketball team plays @ Duke tonight with a chance to make a real statement. The Eagles are 17-4 and knocking on the door of national prominence. A win over Duke would go a long way.

And tonight is one of the best nights of the entire year - Beanpot Monday #1. Satan vs. Harvard at 5 PM, BC vs. Northeastern at 8 PM. Get fired up!

Story of the weekend:

2009-01-30T23:07:00.003-05:00

UNH 5, BC 2. Lame.

Molly Schaus got pulled for, I believe, the first time in her career, after BC fell behind 4-1. Backup goalie Keira Kingston did a solid job and BC played hard in front of her, but were unable to pull themselves back into it. Meghan Fardelmann and Danielle Welch scored for BC; Kelly Paton potted three for UNH.

Meanwhile, the men somehow tied awful, awful Providence. Not a good night.

Huge home basketball game tomorrow night in front of what will probably be a packed house. It's a big chance for them to make a splash and regain the 'fan momentum' they lost right after the UNC game. I hear people talking hoops around campus again for the first time in two years. A win tomorrow, and that will only intensify.

UNH women's hockey drops BC 4-2

2009-01-30T01:47:00.000-05:00

The Whitt hex continues. If I have time I'll recap tomorrow.

Good Lord

2009-01-26T00:44:00.001-05:00

3rd Period Penalty Summary

Team ME 2.Too Many Players 04:06 PP

Dimmen, Jeff ME 2.Tripping 04:09 PP

Dimmen, Jeff ME 2.Roughing 09:26

Brock Bradford BC 2.Roughing 09:26

Orsini, Keif ME 2.Roughing 09:26

Benn Ferriero BC 2.Roughing 09:26

Benn Ferriero BC 2.Cross-Checking 09:26 PP

Benn Ferriero BC 2.Grasping The Facem 09:26 PP

Hahn, Chris ME 5.Hitting From Behind 09:41

Hahn, Chris ME 10.Game Misconduct 09:41

Nick Petrecki BC 5.Head-Butting 18:06

Nick Petrecki BC 10.Disqualification 18:06

Orsini, Keif ME 5.High Sticking 18:06

Nick Petrecki BC 2.Roughing 18:06 PP

"They have beaten them, and tonight, they have beaten them up!"

2009-01-25T18:48:00.004-05:00

I'm glad to see that Maine has successfully devolved from talented hacks to no-talent hacks a la Merrimack or Canisius.

All of Maine's hackery stemmed from two things - their continued failure, and Brian Gibbons' very clean and very awesome open ice hit with about ten minutes left in the game. That hit from behind on Hayes was absolutely awful and deserved a game DQ.

BC was doing a very good job taking the high road, but I'm actually glad Petrecki messed that guy up. It wasn't necessarily the smartest way to do it, as he's sure to get suspended, but whatever... the Zidane-like headbutt was legendary.

SWEEP! I hope Maine enjoys the long ride home.

Oh... and BC women's hockey dropped Vermont 5-0 - meaning BC athletics went 9-0 this week. Nice.

"They have beaten them, and tonight, they have beaten them up!"

2009-01-25T18:48:00.000-05:00

BC 6 Maine 3 - That was fun!

2009-01-25T04:00:00.001-05:00

Yeah, it was just one win, and it was just Maine, but that was a really fun night -

Fun to finally get a win in Conte for the first time since November.

Fun to see:
-Lyles play and contribute;
-Petrecki play quite possibly his best game of the year - he destroyed a few people at very opportune times and was great carrying the puck;
-Whitney and Ferriero get it going;
-Fast, aggressive, high-flying BC hockey;
-Lombardi score a goal - who works harder than that guy?
-A pretty energetic and full student section;
-Good special teams play.

A few little letups right after goals kept Maine in it, but beyond that BC controlled the game. I thought the 3rd period was particularly masterful. They came out and got their goal to go up 6-3, then played a sound defensive game the rest of the way and never really let Maine get any good chances in the final frame.

Solid B+/A- performance [defense needs a little tightening, but I'm NOT complaining about the overall team effort tonight at all!] - gotta get the sweep this afternoon.

AND - with basketball's win over NC State and women's hockey's 5-0 win @ Vermont, BC athletics moves to 7-0 this week. Men's & Women's Hockey can make us 9-0 tomorrow.

RIP Kay Yow

2009-01-24T12:40:00.002-05:00

Best wishes to the NC State community as WBB head coach Kay Yow has passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. Her inspiration has led to thousands if not millions of dollars raised for breast cancer awareness and her legacy will live on in the ACC family.

Donate

Fired up

2009-01-23T23:27:00.002-05:00

BC's win over NJIT on Wednesday was nothing to write home about, but a 20 point blowout win over Clemson is. Brittany Johnson and Jaclyn Thoman were assist machines, while Carolyn Swords looked completely unstoppable on the inside, netting 29 points. BC is now 16-4 (4-1 ACC).

I realize blogging here as been pretty spotty lately. I've been busy getting into the groove of the new semester. Plus, I've been doing a lot of writing for EagleInsider.com, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to balance that with the blogging. Once I get further into the semester, I'll post more pictures, previews, rankings, etc.

Big day tomorrow - men's basketball + hockey at home, while women's hockey plays at Vermont.

3-0 on the week?!?!

2009-01-21T21:03:00.002-05:00

Suddenly, BC athletics is having a very good week. At 15-4, the exciting, up-tempo women's basketball team appears on the road to an NCAA tournament berth.

BC women's basketball throttled NJIT tonight, 78-50. The game was close at halftime - 29-26 BC - but the Eagles exploded in the 2nd half to blow out an inferior opponent. Basically, they did what they're supposed to do.

BC's up-tempo offense was effective right 'til the very end, and Crawley emptied the bench, allowing Pratt (8 points) and Rusin (7) to shine. The freshmen also got substantial playing time.

Picco extended her 3-pointer streak to 28 games, scoring 13 on the night. Murphy (15 pts) was 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line.

The drought ends

2009-01-21T00:39:00.003-05:00

Although I certainly wish BC hadn't turned it into a heart attack game, tonight's OT victory over Georgia Tech for men's basketball was Chicken Soup for the BC Fan's Soul.

Finally, the long drought is over. A win at home over a mediocre NC State team, and suddenly we're 3-3 in the ACC.

The best thing about tonight's win was the heart and effort displayed in pulling it out. Three guys fouled out, and BC blew a big lead late; last year, they would have folded the tent. But tonight, they stood tall. Well done, BC.

Does the drought end tonight?

2009-01-20T18:52:00.002-05:00

January 4. That's the last time the BC men's basketball or hockey team won a game. The Conte drought is even longer - back to Dec. 31. The hockey team's drought goes all the way back to November 30, with the last Conte win coming on November 28.

Simply put the marquee BC athletic programs need to put some wins together, and it has to start with a win tonight for the basketball team @ Georgia Tech. Let's hope...

I feel like I should go to jail

2009-01-18T00:43:00.003-05:00

...because I just witnessed a violent crime and didn't report it to the police. Nobody cried for help, either.

BC was just absolutely bludgeoned by BU. The final score was 5-2, but that does not adequately describe BU's complete domination of the game.

Ouch.

What else is there to say?

Ouch.

The hits just keep on coming

2009-01-16T23:42:00.004-05:00

There are not a lot of good things to say about tonight's pile of dung at Conte Forum, but I'll try to name them all:

-Nobody got hurt.

-Kyle Kucharski and Andrew Orpik continue to be outstanding

-Brock Bradford is also still a serious Hobey candidate; he scored his 15th goal of the season tonight

-There was no fog.

But that's about it.

That game was all sorts of awful. It had to be one of the most boring events in Conte Forum history, for starters; no small feat for a building that's hosted freshman convocations, Church in the 21st Century lectures, scholarship dinners, and Al Skinner's flex offense against powerhouse non-conference foes like Bryant and SC-Upstate.

BC continues to play uninspired, undisciplined hockey. I'd get pissed off and worried about it, but the last three years obviously lead me to believe that BC can and will turn it around before the season is over.

But this gives me two thoughts, neither of them particularly good:

1) Why should we even bother buying tickets for games prior to mid-February if they're just glorified practice sessions? is it worth the emotional investment? and;

2) will there eventually come a time when they try to 'turn on the switch' and it just doesn't go on? Can they really do this every year?

Tomorrow, BC heads into Agganis for about as tough as game as they could possibly have at this point in the season. In '07, a road game at Agganis after a long slump helped provide the spark that fueled BC's late run to the Frozen Four; can they find some Agganis magic again?

I sure hope so, or else it won't be much fun to be in the stands tomorrow night.

Slumping BC @ red-hot BU, in front of 6,000 frenzied fans. Knowing BC hockey, it could well be a recipe for success.

Pics from the Cathedral of College Hockey

2009-01-16T03:31:00.003-05:00

First, WHEA standings update:

1. BC [8-3-1, 17 pts.]

2. UConn [7-4-0, 14 pts.]

---first round bye---

3. Providence [6-2-1, 13 pts.]

4. UNH [5-2-3, 13 pts.]

--home ice in quarterfinals--

5. BU [6-4-0, 12 pts.]

6. NU [5-4-0, 10 pts.]

---in the conference tournament---

7. Vermont [2-7-0, 4 pts.]

8. Maine [1-7-1, 3 pts.]

Stack beats Schelling - 1-0 BC

Restuccia makes it 2-0

Molly Schaus

PENALTY SHOT!!!!

Thunstrom puts the game away, 4-2:

Photos courtesy of Mike Lee.

A few non-hockey notes

2009-01-16T00:49:00.002-05:00

Between the women's team's season sweep of Northeastern and the men's team's huge upcoming weekend vs. Lowell and BU, there's a lot of hockey to discuss... but there were some noteworthy events off the ice on Thursday.

Paul Gersterberger of the men's soccer team was selected by the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew in the 2nd round of the MLS SuperDraft; as far as I know, he will be the only BC alum in MLS. He was a great defender and a very good free kick taker during his time at BC and I enjoyed the chances I got to watch him play.

In bad news, the women's basketball team dropped a tough one on the road to a good Wake Forest team, 52-48. It was there for the taking for BC, but 26 (!) turnovers did them in - a bad repeat of some of the team's woes from last year. They also shot just 28.8%. The loss drops BC to 13-4 (2-1 ACC). They return to action on Sunday when they host Clemson at Conte Forum.

Swiss cheese

2009-01-15T23:30:00.003-05:00

Boston College women's hockey downed Northeastern and their Swiss sensation goalie, Florence Schelling, 4-2 tonight at Matthews Arena. Restuccia potted two goals for BC while Thunstrom and Stack each had one.

Game review:

Restuccia = Player of the game in my book. Wow, she was awesome today - she had one of the best games by any BC player all year. She reminds me of David Krejci from the Bruins, the way she always comes away with the puck and makes such smart passes. She might have the highest hockey IQ of anyone on the team. Can't say enough about her effort.

The defense was suspect for a stretch in the 2nd in which NU scored their goals. A few really bad breakdowns, but that's to be expected - there's going to be an adjustment period as Johnson and Baskin work their way back from pretty tough injuries. It's amazing to see Johnson back out there -- I guess that means she's way tougher than Tom Brady.

Really unfortunate to see Fardelmann get thrown out, but it was the right call. No malicious intent, but certainly a hit from behind that deserved the major.

Both teams got away with lots of hits and stickwork, as is often the case w/ Doiron - as long as you expect it and it's fair for both teams, no big deal.

Northeastern needs to stick with Sulyma in big games. Schelling is obviously a good goalie, but every time I've seen Sulyma against BC she's been absolutely unbelievable. Schelling let in two softies today and almost had another trickle thru her pads and in on a dump in from the blue line. Luckily for her, it hit the post. Would have been Toskala-esque.

It was not nearly as inspiring as the SLU game, of course, but it's all about going on the road and getting results. At this point of the season, style points matter even less.

Random question

2009-01-15T02:17:00.002-05:00

Anyone know when/if we're actually ever getting a new baseball stadium?

I thought of this when reading a French assignment that mentioned 'jouer au baseball.'

Yeah, my mind is weird.

Anyone have any information on that?

No real complaints...

2009-01-15T00:28:00.002-05:00

...about the show put on in the 2nd half by BC. At the start of the half I turned to my friends and said I don't expect BC to win, and I don't really care - I just want to see them give the people here a reason to want to come back next game. I think they did that in the 2nd half. Good hustle, good D, and Biko Paris provided a nice spark off the bench [WHY wasn't he playing in the first?].

At 16:30 of the 2nd I was pretty much ready to take off, but by the end of the game I was hopeful for some entertaining games in the future. Wake's a very talented team and there's no shame in losing to them, I just wish BC played as well in the first half.

The offense is predictable and boring, but that's not really the team's fault.

The fans were great when the team's effort gave them reason to be - pretty much every part of the crowd except for the diehard handsitters in the DBS area on the ticket office side. Fun to see some energy tonight. Let's hope we see it for 40 next time.

A couple winnable games here on the road... 3-3 would be nice going into the NC State home game.

Smitten

2009-01-14T01:06:00.004-05:00

Spaz is the man, you all know that because I wrote about it on EagleInsider. Read all about it in posts by people smarter than me.

Now for an off topic posting of joy:

Seriously, I am just completely ecstatic right now because the Boston Bruins are amazing, and they just punk'd the Montreal Canadiens again. It was an incredible game and a thrilling 3-1 victory for the black and gold against the world's most loathsome professonal sports franchise.

VIDEO DUMP!

Watch here as Tim Thomas drops Andrei Kostitsyn like the bag of sh*t that he is after Kostitsyn cheap shots Aaron Ward - who appeared to be a bit shaken up and skating slowly on that shift BEFORE Kostitsyn decided to deliver an illegal blow. Kostitsyn got 5 minutes in the box, which later resulted in a B's power play which Zdeno Chara scored on. Thomas got 2 minutes, well worth it.

Now enjoy a fine example of "rough stuff" from the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs usually do their damage in cheap little wussy 5th grade schoolyard maneuvers, but sometimes they actually do face up and drop the gloves. Then, we learn why they generally resort to the little girl tactics: they usually embarrass themselves pretty badly in fights. Mike Komisarek, who is often praised for his 'toughness' and willingness to drop the gloves, had his face rearranged by Milan Lucic earlier this year and I love the excuse to re-post it:

Tonight, Chipchura decided to drop the gloves against Mark Stuart. Blake Wheeler flattened a Hab player with an admittedly questionable hit [although D'Agostino helped it along with a nice little belly flop] and Chipchura came to his teammate's defense... by fighting wearing a visor. What a tough guy! Stuart pounds on him anyway, and eventually succeeds in popping the helmet off. Then, watch what happens to the tough Mr. Chipchura. Literally seconds after the helmet comes off, he burrows into the glass and turns away from Stuart, and toward the linesman for assistance. It's almost as if I made this stuff up in my mind, how stereotypical Hab wuss it is. Fight with a visor on, then duck and cover as soon as it comes off. Amazing.

EPIC.

I need to find videos of the goals as soon as they're posted... a thunderbolt by Chara and a sweet Ryder-to-Krejci beauty were the highlights.

Bruins - Kessel - Sturm - Bergeron - Lucic - Fernandez > Canadiens... and the rest of the East in general.

Loving this team right now, which is very welcome since BC winter sports are a bit disappointing at the moment.

Poll day is a good one for BC women

2009-01-12T20:42:00.002-05:00

The polls today are pretty depressing for the flagship programs, as men's hockey slipped out of the top 10 for the first time (#12) and the men's basketball team's quick stay in the top 25 is over.

There was good news, however: the women's basketball team is 'also receiving votes' for the second time this year after a strong 2-0 start in ACC play, and the women's hockey team passed UNH to move into 6th in the USCHO poll.

According to this website's projection, the women's hockey team sits 5th in RPI - the primary component of the Pairwise Rankings that elect the NCAA tournament field. This is critical, as the 6th, 7th and 8th place teams are likely to earn flights out west to face one of Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Minnesota-Duluth, the standard bearers of women's college hockey.

Women's hockey earns split @ SLU

2009-01-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

Story at EagleInsider.com

We also saw the St. Lawrence men absolutely roll Clarkson, 5-1. It was pretty disappointing, as I was expecting a great game.

Nap time.

...and the men tie Vermont, 3-3

2009-01-09T22:10:00.002-05:00

A tie on the road at #12 Vermont isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but the way BC let the win out of their grasp makes this crappy week even worse. The Eagles led 3-2 late, but Brian Gibbons took a tripping penalty with a minute left and UVM capitalized, scoring the game-tying goal with 1.1 seconds remaining.

Game two of the series is tomorrow night.

Locke, St. Lawrence top BC 4-2

2009-01-09T21:59:00.003-05:00

Urgh. #7 BC women's hockey loses 4-2 in a tight, hard fought game with #5 St. Lawrence.

The first half of the game was a track meet, and BC showed their superior speed, with Fardelmann and Thunstrom scoring great breakaway goals. Then the game started getting physical and chippy, and BC couldn't quite make the adjustment.

Marianne Locke, the #1 star, took over the game for SLU. On a power play with 8 mins. left in the second, Locke got a rebound and roofed it over Schaus's right shoulder, the prettiest goal on a night full of very good goals. She then scored the winner on another power play in the 3rd, a rifled wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.

The game started to get VERY chippy in the third and I expect it will be a very physical rematch tomorrow. Should be interesting.

I really like SLU's Appleton Arena. At first I thought the wooden benches looked kind of dinky, but it has a very unique and intimate feel while not feeling old or rickety. It's a nice little place and it seems like it would get very loud when full - I'm looking forward to tomorrow's SLU-Clarkson men's game.

We're pretty fortunate in that we'll be watching three of the best rivalries in college hockey in three consecutive weeks: Maine-UNH last week, St. Lawrence-Clarkson this week, and BC-BU next week. Plus BC women square off against UNH the week after that. Hockey season has begun in earnest.

New Brunswick Photos, Batch 2

2009-01-09T17:15:00.003-05:00

The joys of bilingualism

Fredericton

Fredericton, again

Lyles!

Almeida

Orpik with the move

Ceremonial puck drop

Game on

Arrived in Canton, NY

2009-01-09T17:11:00.002-05:00

This has to be one of the crummiest places I've ever been to, and I've seen quite a few crummy places. It's also something like 9 degrees out.

Hopefully the three games I see this weekend will be good - BC vs. St. Lawrence women (x2), and St. Lawrence vs. Clarkson men, one of the best rivalries in the game.

New Brunswick photos, batch 1

2009-01-08T11:53:00.003-05:00

Entering Canada.

Great scenery.

The intros

Underway.

Faceoff

A BC attack

Goal!

Meeting THE Jerry York.

There's only one thing to say at a time like this...

2009-01-08T11:52:00.001-05:00

...thank God hockey re-starts tomorrow.

The men are in Vermont this weekend for a series at the Gutt, always a tricky place to play.

The #7 women's team travels to #3 St. Lawrence for a huge top-ten battle. I'll be in Canton, NY for those two games, as well as the St. Lawrence vs. Clarkson men's game - one of the best rivalries in the sport.

The BC basketball bandwagon quickly derails

2009-01-07T22:41:00.005-05:00

BC students and alums who don't like hockey probably should develop an affinity for it pretty soon, because it sadly appears that our two other major sports really are only good for occasional teases, followed by heartbreak and agony.

Remember the oft-ridiculed "It's called Bruins..." ad campaign? It led to many jokes with a punchline similar to "failure...it's called Bruins." I'm beginning to think that soul-sucking defeat is synonymous with BC instead of the B's. If it weren't for Jerry York we'd probably never do anything special.

Is it bad that I'm feeling this pessimistic today? I love BC fully and 9 times out of 10 I'm an optimist... but this awful day in BC history has me wondering if we truly are fated to watch our two revenue teams continue to torture us forever.

BC basketball's very brief splash of national relevance is over and it looks like the basketball team will now join the football team as the subject of jokes from bitter local BC haters. And who can blame them?

A loss to Harvard is simply embarrassing and unacceptable. There can be no excuses. I've already heard some fans blame the refs [whine, whine] and, astonishingly, the fans [as if it's the job of the fans to make the players have a little pride in themselves and actually show up to play every game].

They came out flat but unlike many teams that come out flat. they never recovered. It took Rice a very long time to get going. The rebounding was poor and the foul shooting was even worse.

Say what you will about Al Skinner's program building, his game management SUCKS. His flat style is suited to letdowns like this, and we didn't start pressing until WAY, WAY too late, against a team we are far more athletic than.

I just want to put my hand through the wall right now. I'll post some New Brunswick pictures and videos tomorrow... anything to forget about football and basketball.

I leave the country and the BC sports world turns upside down

2009-01-05T01:44:00.004-05:00

At around 6 PM this evening, I thought the most interesting thing I'd have to blog about today would be being present at UNH's exciting 5-4 victory over Maine at Alfond Arena, in which UNH scored four goals in the third period to top the Black Bears.

Then, over the next few hours, the entire BC sports landscape changed right before our eyes.

The UNC win legitimately is a program-changer; it was probably the best regular season win in team history. It instantly gives the program the national respect and attention that it has lacked since the end of the Sean Williams era. There's a very good chance that BC vaults right into the top 20.

While it's too early to call this a sure sign of things to come, it's hard not to get excited when Rakim Sanders and Reggie Jackson help Tyrese carry the load and bring home a victory in Tobbaco Road. The guys should be very proud.

Of course, there is also the Jags news; according to very reliable sources, he's gone. Absolutely stunning. I feel almost personally hurt and decieved, as I truly believed Jags was here for the long haul. There's no way he actually gets the Jets job... so this is all just very odd.

I'll be perfectly honest here: any way you look at it, this is going to be an EPIC FAIL for BC, perception-wise, and perception really is one of the most important things here. This is going to be viewed one of three ways:

1] BC got rid of a very good football coach [very true, in perception and reality]

2] BC overreacted to Jags' natural desire for an NFL job, the pinnacle of his profession.

3] BC got played by a slick-talker who professed his loyalty then screwed.

This is also going to reinforce the image of BC as a stepping-stone job. But let's be frank - what isn't a stepping stone job? Nick Saban says hello. Coaches are always looking out for the next offer, that's just the way it is. While I salute GDF for his courage here and hope the program can grow from this moving forward, this is going to make BC look VERY bad and will hurt recruiting unless Gene makes a huge splash with the next hire.

With that said, I'm rooting for Spaz to get the head coaching job. I feel like that's highly unlikely, though.

I'll have pictures and stories from New Brunswick and Maine either later tonight or tomorrow... for now, I'm trying to take this all in.

More from UNB

2009-01-04T09:36:00.004-05:00

Last night, the #7 women's hockey team defeated Yale 1-0 in overtime on a Danielle Welch goal. This is a pretty solid win on the road and it gave the Eagles a four point weekend after beating Colgate on Friday.

The men's basketball team travels to UNC today. Let's hope for a miracle and/or Hansbrough going pro by 6 PM.

BC wins game, loses Challenge Cup in shootout

2009-01-04T00:25:00.004-05:00

EPIC HOCKEY. In addition to the BC-UNB game, we watched the Bruins, two World Junior games, and the Oilers in various bars around Fredericton; sharing in this city/country's passion for the game has been so much fun.

Boston College came back strong tonight to beat the University of New Brunswick, 4-2. Tommy Atkinson scored a goal in his first BC appearance; Malcolm Lyles also impressed in his first start on defense. Kremer and Venti got in on the action as well, playing in the 2nd and 3rd periods, respectively.

UNB won the shootout, 2-0, to break the tie and win the Pete Kelley Challenge Cup.

I'll have more to post about the game tomorrow, but for now, I'm off to bed...

Fredericton is an awesome little city and a great place to spend a weekend, and take a hockey pilgramage. Watching the epic Canada-Russia World Juniors game in a Canadian bar was a blast. Canada scored with 5 seconds left to tie the game, then won in a shootout.

The warmth and the generosity of the people here has been amazing; they're so glad to have BC in town. I'm the proud owner of a UNB Varsity Reds game worn jersey, given to me by a UNB fan; I will be mailing him an Eagles jersey.

New Brunswick 5, BC 3

2009-01-02T22:15:00.002-05:00

Ick. New Brunswick's Varsity Reds came to play today and it took BC a while to match their intensity. They were throwing their weight around from the beginning.

If BC's intention was to run PK drills they did a good job.. lots of penalties on both teams tonight. The PP never really got into a rhythm, they kept up with the dump-around-the-boards play, NB did a good job defending it, and BC never really adjusted [no need to... it's an exhibition].

Muse was definitely rusty as he gave up two quick goals. Petrecki got thrown out on a boarding major, which was kind of the lowpoint of the game.

Atkinson was flying around like he had something to prove. Definitely one of the best BC players, along with Matt Lombardi, who was named BC player of the game.

On a side note, we absolutely love it up here. Great people, beautiful little city, lots of nice bars and restaurants, and the UNB rink was sweet. Coach York was nice enough to invite our traveling party to dinner with the team postgame, which was cool.

I'll have lots of great pictures to share once I get them uploaded. Looking forward to game two.

By the way, if BC wins tomorrow, the Pete Kelley Challenge Cup will be determined by a shootout.

Live from Fredericton, NB

2009-01-02T15:20:00.003-05:00

We've safely arrived at the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel in Fredericton. It's gorgeous [and very, very cold] up here. It turns out that the team is staying here as well, and we ran into Jerry York in the hallway; as usual, he was very classy and welcoming. I was told that the team got in yesterday and spent the day being feted by the mayor of Fredericton.

You may have heard rumors about how big World Juniors are up here. Let me tell you: the rumors don't go far enough... you'd think it was some combination of the World Cup, the Super Bowl, and the return of Jesus Christ. It's on the front page of every major paper, aired in every bar, and discussed on every channel. They were just showing a re-run of the US-Canada game from the other day, and the crowd was as electric as any I've ever heard. Canada really does live for this.

We're getting set to check out the town now before heading to the rink for game one. Go Eagles!

A dubious list while I head into Canada

2009-01-02T07:55:00.003-05:00

I'm in Falmouth, Maine this morning, getting set to drive into New Brunswick for the exhibition series between the Eagles and the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds. Being on the road has helped me avoid any discussion of the Game That Never Happened, but I've still been steaming over it internally, which led me to think of the following list: The Top 6 losses that made me sick during my time as a BC student. These aren't the most depressing or heartbreaking losses [i.e. National Championship game, ACC title games, etc.], but rather the losses that left me with a sick feeling because of how awful the loss and/or opponent was.

Enjoy:

1. Football - Music City Bowl vs. Vanderbilt - 2008

Yep, this one is the worst; it continued to stain the ACC's already horrible reputation, it broke our one small source of pride, the bowl streak, and it created some big fears about the future of our offense. I respect Vanderbilt as one of the few classy programs in the SEC, but losing to them stinks - especially in a bowl game. This one is tough to stomach.

2. Men's Hockey - vs. Northeastern, March 2008

Senior Night at Conte Forum was the penultimate game of the regular season and the start of a home-and-home with NU. The Eagles needed to step up and win at least one in order to secure home ice for the Hockey East playoffs, but they came in reeling after an 0-1-1 weekend against previously ice-cold Providence.

BC scored just nine seconds into the game, but the rest of it was miserable as Northeastern outhustled BC to every puck and won every battle along the boards. A late Mike Brennan rocket tied the game, but Northeastern dominated and broke through in overtime. After this game, I further adjusted my already low expectations - I just wanted to make it to the Garden for the Hockey East semifinals. How little I knew...

3. Men's Basketball - vs. Duquesne, December 2006

The 2005-06 basketball team should have gone to the Final Four - I maintain that to this very day - and I held out hope that the '06-'07 team could make a similar run. But the loss against an awful Duquesne team at home really put a damper on that. I do recall Duquesne coming back from a late double-digit deficit, and Sean Williams [who?] picking up a very dumb technical foul in overtime to help gift-wrap the game.

4. Football - vs. Georgia Tech, September 2008

We don't lose home games, for the most part; for all the talk about our crappy home field advantage, BC football has dominated at Alumni Stadium over the past five seasons or so. The Class of 2012 was not as lucky as '10 or '11 as their first home game was a bitterly disappointing loss to a team we expected to beat. Chris Crane's struggles poured cold water all over my theory that Crane's mobility and the return of Raji and Toal would make the '08 squad better than their '07 counterpart.

5. Women's Hockey - vs. Northeastern, December 2007

In hindsight, realizing how good Leah Sulyma is in net makes this one easier to swallow, but at the time a loss to Northeastern was very, very tough to take; it was the official sign that the '07-'08 version of the Eagles had something missing, and that the rest of the season would be difficult to watch.

6. Men's Hockey - vs. BU, December 2008

We were lucky enough to go the entire year in '07-'08 without seeing BC lose to BU, so I was able to forget how sickening it is to see a loss in a huge rivalry game. Coming on the heels of the ACC championship loss earlier that afternoon, watching BU fans celebrate all over Conte left me with a sick feeling that lingered for days. Making matters worse: the team hasn't played yet since then.

New lowpoint

2008-12-31T19:12:00.001-05:00

Wow, not much else to say other than this game makes me sick more than any BC game in a long, long time.

The defense gave up a grand total of 9 points today - 3 set up by an INT and 3 set up by a terrible 'roughing the passer' [bullshit] call. Our defense is amazing. But it ain't enough with offense like that.

I won't say anything bad about any of the guys because they try their hardest and nobody's getting paid here. But the coaches better make sure that through recruiting, game planning, and practicing, the offense is never as absolutely pitiful as it was this season.

I'm beginning to think of Steve Logan as bizzaro Dana Bible. Is there an offensive coordinator out there who believes in both running and passing, depending on the situation? Or do they all have to be so stubborn?

Bowling

2008-12-31T11:21:00.002-05:00

Although it doesn't really feel like it, the Eagles take the field in four hours in a bowl game, looking for 9 straight. The last time BC played in the Music City Bowl, it was a pretty big deal - it was the start of BC's bowl win streak, and it was a matchup with ranked Georgia.

This game doesn't get much hype as Vanderbilt is 6-6 and the Eagles are heavily favored to dispatch them, even in front of 50,000+ Vandy fans. There doesn't seem to be much excitement as fans seem to be a little more disappointed about the ACCCG loss this year, a little less enthusiastic about recruiting, and quite a bit less enthusiastic about the bowl opponent. I know that I've sort of already mentally shifted into hockey mode [with a good dose of hoops, too - the men and the women are both off to good starts, although neither has done much against top competition].

But no matter what the situation, when BC football takes the field, it's a big deal - so I'm starting to get excited to watch these guys one more time. I know that when the final whistle sounds, I'll be greatly looking forward to next fall.

There are plenty of reasons to care about the game today:

-A win gives us 10 on the year for the third straight season

-A loss would be a major black eye. Not really a reason to get excited, but a reason to care.

-A win improves the ACC's bowl record to 4-3; it's been a disappointing bowl season so far, but it can be salvaged if BC, GT, Clemson and VT win.

Go Eagles!

Oh snap...

2008-12-27T13:20:00.004-05:00

In the Meineke Car Care Bowl, UNC just pulled a Brady-to-Moss-esque juggling touchdown bomb of about 70 yards to tie WVU 7-7.

It's a big day for ACC football - UNC is currently playing West Virginia, FSU has Wisconsin at 4:30 in the Champs Sports Bowl, and Miami plays Cal in the Emerald Bowl at 8.

EDIT: Wow, Alric Arnett and WVU just gave it right back to the Heels with a 44 yard TD laser... 14-7 'Eers.

BC Christmas list

2008-12-25T13:23:00.002-05:00

Santa's been pretty good to BC this year, so I'm going to be modest in what I ask for under the tree:

-A victory over Vanderbilt to extend the bowl streak.

-Continued improvement by the freshmen and sophomores on BC basketball, and hopefully a shot at a ~.500 record in conference play. If that happens, it could be a fun March.

-A few more recruits with at least some Division 1A offers for the football team.

-New suits and ties from Eastern Clothing for Al Skinner.

-A girlfriend or something for Ted Sarandis.

-A new baseball stadium for BC... let's actually get it started this year!

-A few playoff wins for Matt Ryan's Atlanta Falcons.

-A victory over BU at Agganis Arena on January 17th.

-An NCAA tournament berth for women's basketball & women's hockey.

-BC in DC in April... I've already made my plans to be there, so I hope the Eagles join me. Considering BC hockey's success over the past 11 years, I think this is a pretty modest wish.

-[This one's a secret...shh] A BC acceptance letter for my sister in the spring.

-[Not BC related, but very important] A playoff series victory for the Bruins. Anything more would be gravy, Santa, but let's at least get that...

-Health and happiness to all of my BC friends, and continued good fortune for our beloved school athletically and academically.

Too easy

2008-12-23T18:46:00.004-05:00

The men's basketball team came just shy of breaking 100 today in a 99-61 win over Maine, who must be the worst D1 basketball team I've ever seen in person.

There were maybe 900 people there, which was actually kind of neat, in an intimate, cozy sort of way; if you're a purist, and you like hearing on-court conversations and the directions of the coaches from the bench, then you probably would have had fun at the game.

Corey Raji was feelin' it, with a 26 point, 13 rebound double-double. Rice had 21 points, 9 assists, and one of his best defensive games [albeit against a team of midgets].

Next up: a relatively important game against San Francisco on Monday night.

St. John's beats BC again

2008-12-21T17:27:00.003-05:00

The team that ended women's basketball's season last year foiled them again today, as St. Johns beat BC 72-63 in Queens. Mickel Picco led BC again with 19 points. Murphy had 16.

BC's 20 turnovers were key, compared to 13 for St. John's.

Two escapes

2008-12-21T01:37:00.002-05:00

The men's and women's basketball teams both escaped with solid victories on Saturday afternoon.

The men finally shook off the Providence bugaboo, beating the Friars 81-76 at Conte Forum. They led from start to finish, but very nearly choked it away in the final minutes, letting a fourteen point lead shrink to four points in the last minute. This is an important win against a decent team, and a 9-2 record ain't nothin' to be ashamed of.

The women's basketball team beat a very good Houston team 62-56 on the back of a 27-point second half effort by Mickel Picco. The win came in spite of a woeful first half, after which the Eagles trailed 28-14. The victory put BC into the finals of the St. John's/Chartwell Holiday Tournament; the Eagles will face St. Johns at 3 PM on Sunday.

ACC: 1-0 in bowl season

2008-12-20T13:57:00.003-05:00

It's not a pretty win, but Wake Forest has overcome Navy 29-19 in the EagleBank Bowl, avenging their loss to the Midshipmen earlier this season. Wake overcame an early 13-0 deficit and dominated the 2nd half, somewhat reminiscent of the way they roared to victory over UConn last year.

The next ACC bowl is the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 27 - a good matchup between UNC and West Virginia.

Rivalry hoops

2008-12-20T02:09:00.006-05:00

I dismissed Providence College basketball this year when I heard they'd lost to Northeastern 70-66 in their season opener. But since that point, coach Keno Davis's squad has put together a 7-2 record. I'll grant that the seven wins haven't come against the best competition [their most impressive win is probably over Rhode Island], but BC's wins haven't exactly come against world beaters either.

The fact that the Eagles have lost to the Friars two years in a row has been one of the most annoying storylines in BC athletics during my time as a student. The Friars are, I would argue, our best basketball rivalry, and while many BC fans probably view PC as an inferior program, the Friars hold a 57-45 lead in the all-time series against the Eagles.

Last year, BC lost to PC in overtime at the TD Banknorth Garden in front of a crowd that heavily favored Providence. I expect the crowd to be 50-50 at best this afternoon in Conte, as the Friars will be sending busloads of fans up for the game. It should create a lively, albeit tense atmosphere in the Forum. I'm already sad that I can't make it, as I have prior commitments that I can't get out of. The game is on NESN, so I'll fire up the VCR; hopefully it'll be worth watching in full.

BC All Access has a preview up for the game, including a breakdown of PC's starters and leading scorers. Friars.com has posted PC's game notes.

Tipoff is 4 PM this afternoon.

Scratching the hockey itch...

2008-12-19T16:13:00.006-05:00

I'm finally done with finals [they went pretty well] and on break... and I'm already suffering from BC hockey withdrawals. No games until Jan. 2, no games that count until Jan. 9.

Thankfully, I have the red-hot, first place Boston Bruins to tide me over. Last night, I attended the B's-Leafs game - a wild, 8-5 victory for Boston.

Michael Ryder's goal makes it 7-5:

Adding a college hockey flavor to the night, Phil Kessel (Minnesota) netted two more goals to give him 21 on the year; Mark Stuart (Colorado College; sister attended BC) got into a nice fight in the first period; and Lee Stempniak (Dartmouth) picked up an assist for Toronto. The artist formerly known as "the rink rat," Elliot Olshansky, was in the house supporting Stempniak; I ran into him in the concourse after the second period.

BC vs. Providence hoops tomorrow at 4 PM on NESN... as well as the start of bowl season. Wake Forest is in action against Navy at 11 AM.

WBB beats FIU 93-65; Photos from men's and women's games

2008-12-14T18:58:00.004-05:00

Maybe it's because I had just been watching the Flex for two hours, but watching Sylvia Crawley's up-tempo offensive style is just incredibly entertaining.

It was far from a perfect day for the women's basketball team, but they still managed to score 93 points and run their record to 8-2 - and a perfect 7-0 against unranked opponents.

The game was even more of a blowout than the score would indicate, but FIU was shooting the lights out - particularly their Croatian Sensation, Monika Bosilj, who left the game with 30 points; she got a pretty good ovation from the BC fans as she left, a truly classy response to her great performance.

Mickel Picco got her stroke back today, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing with 23 total points. Carolyn Swords was dominant as usual, racking up a double-double: 19 points and 10 rebounds. She's also developing a little bit of range with her jump shot, which could be very scary for opponents.

Ayla Brown had herself a pretty good game, too, with ten points and four rebounds; she looked really comfortable out there, which seemed to be occasionally lacking last season.

Jaclyn Thoman seems to be struggling a bit this year; she finished with two points and four turnovers in 14 minutes. Perhaps she was better suited to Inglese's system? She's a talented ballhandler and I expect her minutes to rise as the season goes on but right now it looks like Brittany Johnson is the go-to player at point guard. Johnson had nine points in 22 minutes.

The overall team D will have to improve and they'll have to convert some of the easy chances that they missed if they're going to knock off strong ACC teams, but all in all, BC looks like an NCAA tourney contender right now. In year one of the new regime, that's about all you can ask. This team will be fun to watch during ACC play.

Photos

Rice misses a shot

Southern at the line

Reggie Jackson

The starting lineup

Intros

Rusin on D

Swords

Final

BC 67 - SC Upstate 55

2008-12-14T15:15:00.002-05:00

It was about as inspiring as the scoreline would suggest. Nonetheless, the mantra has to be, once again, 'take the win and move on.'

Tyrese Rice went scoreless, although he did have several assists including a very nice pass to Raji late in the game.

However, the team seemed to play much better - and much harder on defense - when Rice was off the court. The game was won in a first half sequence with Rice on the bench. With BC trailing by 5 for most of the first half, Tyler Roche suddenly and unexpectedly went off, banging down four three pointers in six possessions including three in a row which gave BC a lead that they would never relinquish.

Roche ended up leading the way with 17 points including 5 tres. Trapani added 16.

Free throw shooting continues to haunt this team, as they simply could not bury USC-U down the stretch despite getting numerous chances to do so at the line.

Biko Paris needs to be the point guard in the future; he runs the offense far better than Rice does, in my opinion; put Rice back in the 2 where he played when we had Louis Hinnant. Maybe that can be a recipe for success.

I'm heading back to Conte now [microeconomics book in tow...ugh... just one exam to go.] for the women's basketball game; pics later.

We interrupt this study/exam block to scratch our heads...

2008-12-13T17:27:00.003-05:00

...as we learn that UMASS BEAT KANSAS??? whatttt?!!!

So, by transitive property and several other bits of faulty logic, BC is a contender for the national championship!

In all seriousness, this development is very good for BC's RPI should the Eagles somehow get themselves into tournament contention come March. It's also very good for a UMass program that has gotten off to a pretty disastrous start this year. As a Mass. native, I would like to see the Minutemen succeed, despite the fact that they are our " "basketball" "rival" ." [Sort of like how the nail is the hammer's Home Depot product rival.]

Speaking of the hoopsters, they hit the Conte hardwood again tomorrow with yet another marquee non-conference matchup against South Carolina-Upstate. The Spartans enter the game with a robust 0-6 record, including an RPI-boosting loss to perennial powerhouse Duquesne, 79-69. They recovered from that loss to come within just two points of beating Kennesaw State [who I'm pretty sure isn't even D1... they can't be, can they?].

I'm sure the joint will be jumping.

Part two of tomorrow's hoops doubleheader features the women's team taking on Florida International. The Eagles are 6-2, including a 5-0 mark against unranked teams.

FIU is 1-5 on the year, but they did beat NC State over Thanksgiving break, 58-42. In their other ACC clash, they lost to perennial conference doormat Miami 66-49.

I'm guessing the NCSU game was an aberration, but the Eagles better make sure they don't get caught sleeping. BC will need to clean up on these non-conference foes in order to get back into the 'also receiving votes' category.

Back to work for me... I will be at tomorrow's games so I'll have a brief report and pictures to post in the late-afternoon.

BC women's hockey throttles BU, 5-0

2008-12-11T10:12:00.002-05:00

After BC's last game, a loss on Friday night at UConn, I posted that it had been over a month since the Eagles put together a truly convincing performance.

No longer.

Last night at Walter Brown Arena - a place that's been a house of horrors for BC the last three seasons - BC smashed their cross-town rivals, 5-0. Allie Thunstrom scored a hat trick, including a pair of shorthanded goals.

I wasn't there. I wanted to go to both this game (at 5 PM) and the end of last night's basketball game (7 PM), but as circumstances worked out, I couldn't make it to either one. I missed a great one at Walter Brown.

The game broke BU's 7-game home winning streak, including a pair of wins over powerhouse UNH. BU had also not been shut out in 14 games.

BU has been an up-and-down team, but they undoubtedly came into last night's game as top dogs in Hockey East. This is a huge win for the Eagles.

On the hardwood, Boston College (7-2) beat Bryant (1-7), 80-61. Not the most impressive win over a first year D1 team, but a win's a win.

WBB pounds UNH

2008-12-10T02:58:00.003-05:00

BC beat UNH 85-43 last night at Conte Forum, bouncing back from a tough road loss to Minnesota.

I had to leave at halftime to go to work, but in the half that I saw, Carolyn Swords quickly established her dominance. Lower-tier teams simply can't handle her post presence - as evidenced by her double-double (19 points, 14 boards).

While Mickel Picco appears to have cooled off from behind the arc compared to what she was doing last year, her 1-for-5 day extended her three pointer streak to fifteen games. "Threeco" notched 7 points before leaving due to foul trouble.

Jaclyn Thoman has earned back a starting spot and rewarded Coach Crawley with four assists, five boards, and 11 points.

BC (6-2) faces FIU on Sunday afternoon.

Remember these two things about BC hockey

2008-12-10T02:44:00.002-05:00

1. On this date last year, Boston College was 5-4-5 and ranked 14th in the USCHO.com poll. [This year, BC's 9-5-2 and #7.]

2. Last year was supposed to be a 'rebuilding year,' in which BC developed some young players in preparation for an expected monster run in 2008-09. Even without Gerbe, this year's team is much deeper top-to-bottom.

We all remember how last year turned out:

While BU fans should be proud of their team's 3 point weekend, it's far from a be-all end-all. The Eagles are still the champs until they've been knocked out, and there's still a long, long way to go before that can happen.

ACC Bowl Games

2008-12-08T00:37:00.003-05:00

Dec. 20 - Eaglebank - Navy vs. Wake Forest

Dec. 27 - Meineke - UNC vs. West Virginia

Dec. 27 - Champs Sports - Florida State vs. Wisconsin

Dec. 27 - Emerald - Miami vs. Cal

Dec. 29 - Papajohns.com - NC State vs. Rutgers

Dec. 30 - Smurf Turf - Nevada vs. Maryland

Dec. 31 - Gaylord - Vanderbilt vs. Boston College

Dec. 31 - Chick-Fil-A - LSU vs. Georgia Tech

Jan. 1 - Gator - Clemson vs. Nebraska

Jan. 1 - Orange - Virginia Tech vs. Cincinatti

Ten bowl eligible teams. Let's hope for ten wins, eh?

My predictions: W, W, W, L, W, L, W, W, L, W = 7-3 = much better than last year. Cross your fingers.

College Hockey Fan Poll

2008-12-07T18:55:00.003-05:00

It's official: The Eagles are headed to the Music City Bowl against 6-6 Vanderbilt. Um......yay?

Fan poll for this week:

MEN

1. Notre Dame

2. Minnesota

3. Boston University - looked great defensively this weekend, and Millan ain't bad either.

4. Northeastern

5. Denver

6. Boston College

7. Princeton

8. Vermont

9. Minnesota State

10. Air Force - first conference loss of the year this weekend.

11. Miami - rising fast.

12. Cornell

13. Michigan

14. Colorado College - ouch.

15. UNH - swept UML.

HOCKEY EAST: BU - NU - BC - UVM - UNH - UML - UMA - ME - MC - PC

WOMEN

1. Wisconsin - still undefeated.

2. Minnesota

3. St. Lawrence

4. Minnesota-Duluth

5. Dartmouth

6. BU - what an enigma this team is. They lose to Vermont, then beat UNH in a shootout.

7. UNH

8. BC - a little bit of rose-colored glasses here, but whatever

9. Harvard

10. Mercyhurst

HOCKEY EAST: BU - UNH - BC - PC - CONN - NU - UVM - ME

Smile

2008-12-07T12:35:00.004-05:00

Beanpot 2004

BC wins in 2OT vs Maine

The day after

2008-12-07T09:11:00.003-05:00

Three friends of mine from Northeastern joined me at the game last night, and they spent their T ride back ripping on BU fans on the B-line; their points basically boiled down to 1) 1995 and 2) Northeastern's in first place. Good on them. That makes me feel slightly less terrible about the absolute disaster that was yesterday. [Slightly]

Other bits of good news, I guess:

1. BC beat UMass in basketball... yay? Except UMass is painfully mediocre, and it required overtime. But a win's a win, I guess. 6-2 now for the hoopsters.

2. ......

yeah, I got nothin'.

Sucks to be us

2008-12-06T21:57:00.002-05:00

What more can you say? That was about as awful as an awful day can be, sports-wise. Probably the darkest day in BC athletics during my time as a student.

The hockey game was immensely frustrating. BU did a great job of clogging the lanes and BC never really adjusted their passing accordingly; the power play was not so powerful, Conte was fairly dead considering it was a BU game; BU scored on a penalty shot... just a bad night.

Thankfully the basketball team beat UMass 85-81, but a 4 point win over that piece of crap team doesn't really make me feel much better, even if it was at Mullins Zoo.

I'm gonna go throw something now. Bye bye.

Ouch

2008-12-06T16:20:00.002-05:00

Well, that sucked.

It wouldn't have mattered, really, because VT just ate our lunch today, but when we had first-and-goal on the 7 late and called for 3 straight passes by Davis, that was absolutely moronic. That was pretty much game, set, match right there.

We sure better hope that Tuggle is good.

Thanks to Herzy and the BC defense for all the great memories this year, including a number of very entertaining wins. I know the season "isn't over" since we still have some third-rate bowl to "enjoy," but yeah. Great job all year, BC D - best defense I've ever seen following BC.

Hockey season now.

1-1 tie

2008-12-06T08:43:00.004-05:00

I remember next to nothing about the game because I spent most of it trying in vain to block out all of the annoying toolboxes sitting around me. Eff BU. [For the record, these toolboxes weren't just BU fans. The toolbox list included BC fans, ushers, townies, and little kids.]

Go BC x 3 today (football, hockey, hoops).

BU Hatred Week - Part 4 - Pinhead Nation

2008-12-05T09:18:00.002-05:00

The Pinhead Nation blog [RIP] is the greatest source of college hockey humor ever created, with the possible exception of yankeefn01's posting career on USCHO. This was one of their all-time greatest hits:

http://pinheadnation.blogspot.com/2005/01/dreams-dashed-sad-story-of-boston.html

Dreams Dashed, the sad story of the Boston University student

Commonwealth Avenue is generally a very collar-up area. It's beautiful and is home to many wealthy families out in the Newton area and borders America's most beautiful school, Boston College. On the other end, downtown, you have many expensive stores, restaurants, and hotels surrounded by beautiful brownstone buildings on both sides of the tree-lined streets. Both ends of Comm. Ave are places to be for the wealthy, beautiful, and intelligents of Boston, you know people like your superiors at Pinhead Nation.

But somewhere in the middle, something went terribly wrong. In the middle of Commonwealth Ave, you have hobos, burned out cars, and of course, Boston University. It is the polar opposite of the elite parts of Comm Ave. To be honest, when I go there, it reminds me of war-torn Sarajevo or depressed sections of old Leningrad. Considering the pollution, the filth, the lack of English-speaking inhabitants, the rat infestation, and the overabundance of concrete, it's no wonder that BU even makes volunteers in the Peace Corps depressed.

The majority of the students are foreigners who put on their button-down Euro shirts, minus the top three buttons since they never button them anyways, splash on some cheap designer fragrances in lieu of bathing, and spend their time at Landsdown Street listening to techno Euro-trash sound. Finding an actual American at BU is almost as difficult as actually being rejected by their admissions department (read: impossible).

Things are night and day between the Euros and the Americans. Most of the Euros, like most Americans outside of the Boston area, could care less about Boston University. They have no school pride and could care less where they are going to college, just as long as they have access to the clubs on Landsdowne Street and black designer clothes.

Then, there are the American students at BU. Although a rare find, these people really had life swing in the wrong direction when they were seniors in high school. When it was time to choose a college, they had faulty guidance counselors who didn't implore them not to waste their application fee by applying to a legitimate collar-up school like Boston College.

Unfortunately, most followed their pipe-dream until the end. Like most Boston-area students, they applied to Boston University as a safety school. But in the end, their applications to Boston College were used as toilet paper in many of Chestnut Hill's fine campus bathrooms after being laughed at during the BC faculty's annual Christmas party.

Needless to say, their applications to Boston University were accepted almost immediately. Admissions isn't much of an obstacle at BU as their Latin motto translates to "Just send us a check and we'll skip the entire admissions process". Then they waited...and waited...and waited. Sadly, when their got their letter from BC, it started "we regret to inform you...". If you're a BU student or grad, the 'Nation apologies for bringing up these bad memories again. Since most BC rejects never read the entire letter, they probably missed the last line that states "good luck at whatever God-awful institution that is pathetic enough to accept you and thanks for the $50 application fee". Also included in the rejection letter, of course, was a course selection guide for Boston University's upcoming semester.

Most professional therapists point to this moment when things went terribly wrong for the future BU students. Like Tony Montana in "Scarface" or Cameron Frye in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", this was the last straw to push them off the edge. After days of serious depression, they dug themselves out of their "hole" and dusted themselves off for a life far below the one them had dreamed. Then, in a feeling that only "new hatred" brings, they dug through the trash and pulled out their BC rejection letter, which serves as their daily motivation to remind them of their failure, and fuel their bitterness towards Boston College.

Every morning, BU grads wake up and prepare for a day serving BC grads our daily gourmet coffee and espresso, while thinking back of that terrible experience at their mailboxes. BU students, still smarting from the pain of being rejected from a top-tier university, learned to deal with being shipped off to the big city to Boston's second-tier school of higher learning (the pot smoking hippies at BU put the 'high' in higher learning).

As you know from above, all they are left with is thinking about their rejection from BC and the life they could have had. Seeing that beautiful school on the hill, so close, but yet so far, is at times too much to take. Instead of classy gothic buildings, they moved into grimy, disgusting, and roach infested Warren Towers. Then, it's off to dinner at Burger King, where they breath subway fumes while imagining what it would have been like to nibble on caviar while sitting under a nice patch of grass on BC's impeccibly manicured campus.

After a nice dinner of about 800 grams of fat, it's off to the hockey arena since it is the only sport that Boston University participates in. For the BU fan, it's a relief as they think "finally, I can be with my own people". Where else can one gather with others and simultaneously and randomly chant "BC sucks" as therapy to remind them of their rejection? No where else my friends. No where else.

As the great Obi-Wan Kenobi once said, "Boston University...you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy". No truer words were ever said.

Collar Up.

- Mav

In case you ever thought it might be

2008-12-05T05:20:00.002-05:00

The politics behind the potential upgrades to and/or relocation of the Boston College T stop at the end of the B line is not particularly interesting, and I would not recommend choosing it as a paper topic.

Long story short, by the way: nothing's gonna happen. Hooray, the T!