The final shotchart infograph from Kelley Rink this season. #BCEagles pic.twitter.com/ayB8gC55vC— BC Hockey (@BCHockey) March 12, 2017
.@quackphoto does it again - sums up Game 1 in two beautiful images #BCEagles pic.twitter.com/nYJlQNjVff— BC Hockey (@BCHockeyNews) March 12, 2016
Game one in the books….EAGLES WIN! See you tomorrow night for game two at Kelley Rink #WeAreBC pic.twitter.com/yZR1snKpIp
— BC Hockey (@BCHockeyNews) March 14, 2015
Congrats to Jerry York and the boys for another great run. BC now has the record for consecutive wins in the Hockey East Tournament. Let's go Eagles and win another National Championship!
The Women's Hockey team wasn't as successful. They lost to Wisconsin 6-2 in the first game of the Frozen Four.
The baseball team lost their series opener to Clemson. They are still winless in ACC play.
The Women's Ice Hockey team are headed to the Frozen Four again. While we are used to the men going every year, this is the first time the women have gone in back to back years. They earned their spot by beating St. Lawrence 6-3 on Saturday.
The Women's Lax team started their ACC schedule with a 17-10 win over Virginia Tech.
The softball team beat Providence 13-1. They will finish their final game of the FAU Embassy Suites Classic on Sunday against Minnesota.
BC started their march towards another Hockey East crown by beating UMass 2-1. But before I get into that, I want to comment on the pregame power failure at Conte Forum. The entire building lost power for several minutes causing a delay in the game as the lights are slow to relight. Supposedly the cause of of the outage was a power station in Newton and impacted other parts of town. Even though the failure wasn't related to one of Conte's issues, why doesn't the building have a generator or two just for times like this? Conte needs a major renovation and BC can't keep delaying the project.
As for the game itself, UMass outplayed BC for most of the night, but Milner kept BC did enough to keep BC on top. BC can wrap up the series with a win Saturday night.
Well two out of three ain't bad. I'll have a lot more about basketball's pathetic conclusion to their season and the women's NIT win later. For now, we celebrate yet another Hockey East Tournament title. BC locked up their 10th title with a 5-3 win over Merrimack.
The game was a back and forth affair for the first two periods. BC pulled away late. The conference named Cam Atkinson's the Hockey East Championship's Bill Flynn Most Valuable Player award for his two goals.
BC has probably locked up a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. The official seed and where they will play will be announced Sunday morning on the Selection Show.
You can also follow my thoughts on Twitter.
The win over UMass gives BC a leg up in the best of three series. BC can close out the series with a win at Conte tonight.
Meanwhile the basketball team is left to wait. Most experts put us out of the tournament after last night. I still have hope. There is enough basketball to play and a few other upsets will happen.
Future Eagle Kevin Noreern keeps racking up the player of the year honors in Minnesota.
BC is one of many schools recruiting 2011 QB Christian Suntrup.
Lenny Walls is still hanging on and playing very well in the CFL. Good for him.
Since this is BC, the game had plenty of drama. When the Black Bears tied it with 30 seconds left, I thought we were doomed. But the guys played well and now add another trophy to Hockey's displays.
Thanks to Benjamin for the photo.
In baseball news, BC ended their recent losing streak by beating Miami in Miami. The key was Pat Dean. He was excellent and struck out nine. Saturday, Miami and BC play a doubleheader. Get to the stadium if you are in south Florida.
1. BC has played well the past two weeks. What is the difference between now and their midseason swoon?
Mook Williams: Goaltending, skating, and offensive philosophy.
John Muse is smelling the postseason, and that raw scent turns him into a monster between the pipes. This guy plays for clutch games, and probably can't even fake it during the middle of the season. Everything about Muse looks better recently, from his positioning to his reflexes. Muse is sharp right now, and of course a sharp goaltender will make a world of difference for any hockey team.
BC is skating like they should be. There is a lot of power in those strides, and they are beating defenders at a much higher rate than during the midseason doldrums. THIS is what we have all come to expect from BC teams, year in and year out. Watching them move up and down the ice last week, oftentimes right past UNH defenders, was a thing of beauty.
And maybe going hand-in-hand with the boost to their skating comes an improved and more practical offensive philosophy. Guys are getting into the slot more, getting in front of the goalie, and not trying to make the fancy play. There appears to be less cycling and more aggressive lines taken straight to the net. Now cycling typically is a trademark of a good Jerry York team, but perhaps this year the coaching staff realized that it wouldn't work with this group of players, and have simplified things. I watched this team generate about seven odd-man rushes in the third period against UNH in Game 1 of that short series. Although they converted none of these rushes, the fact that they kept generating them, and kept focusing on getting to the slot and the net, was very impressive. I'm excited to see this brand of hockey against BU.
2. BC is 0-2-1 against BU this year and only scored 3 goals total in the games. Was there anything positive to take away from the earlier meetings?
MW: There wasn't anything positive, and I mean absolutely ZILCH, to take away from the third game. BU completely dominated BC in every way.
As for the 1-1 tie . . . that outcome could have been a lot worse for BC were it not for the play of John Muse, who had a fantastic game that night. He showed that night that if he's on, he can equalize all that impressive talent and size coming off the BU bench.
The 3-1 BU win on BC ice was capped off with a BU empty net goal, so the game was a lot tighter than some may assume. The game featured tight checking and conservative play, and lots of iron hits by BC. Shot totals were kept low, and the ultimate game winning goal was scored on a penalty shot by Chris Connolly. This game may be the best indicator of what we can expect on Friday night. BC needs to turn the hit posts and crossbars into goals if they want to win, as BU doesn't yield many great scoring opportunities.
3. What is the key to this weekend?
MW: John Muse is the most important player on the ice for BC. BU is so talented, that you KNOW that Muse is going to have to make some great stops to keep BC in the game. In front of Muse, BC's blueliners need to maintain the grit and physicality that they displayed against UNH. I saw a much edgier BC defense corps (Petrecki excluded, that man always lives on the edge out there) against UNH, with guys like Anthony Aiello liberally applying lumber to the Wildcats whenever they got near Muse. This nasty attitude needs to continue, provided that the BC Dmen keep everything between the waist and the shoulders.
And finally, keep the simplified offense going. Drive and cut to the net every chance you have, and get as many pucks on BU goale Kieran Millan as possible. Make him feel the pressure of being in the Hockey East tournament semifinals, a place where Muse has already thrived.
Getting on the board early is always important, but WOW will it do wonders for the Eagles on Friday night if they can get there. Getting the lead on BU will take BU out of its conversative defensive shell, which can often be tough to crack. BU normally gets away with this type of play because they have enough talent up front to get the job done without any gambling.
Something hardcore BC hockey fans are wishing for but will never receive: GET THE FORWARDS OFF THE POINT ON THE POWERPLAY. As a BC hockey observer, I just don't feel comfortable with those guys out there. It opens us up to dangerous shorthanded opportunities (UNH scored 2 shorties in Game 1 last week), and I do not think that the forwards on the point give BC that much more of an advantage then having defensemen play there. But, alas, this adjustment will never happen.
4. What is your prediction?
MW: BU wins 3-2 in OT and ends BC's season. But hey, BC may just be on another magic run right now, so this prediction is not made with much confidence. I think this game will make the Hockey East slogan "Great Hockey, Guaranteed" completely on point. Keep in mind that BC has its whole season to play for (it ends with a loss), but BU already has a #1 NCAA tournament seed locked up. With a BC win, they might be in the tournament even with a loss on Saturday night (although many other games will have to break in a certain way for this to happen). IF BC wins this game and the following one on Saturday night, you can book them for the Frozen Four in Washington DC. No one will be able to stop that kind of momentum. Drop the puck.
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