Another Frozen Four!

BC did it again. They held off Minnesota-Duluth 3-2 to win their regional and return to the Frozen Four. This is BC's 25th Frozen Four, the most in NCAA history.

Congrats to the team and coaches. This continued excellence is really phenomenal and raises the bar for all athletic programs at BC.

BC now has two weeks to prepare for their trip to Tampa.

Hockey should get into the NCAA Tourney

Without their usual automatic bid, BC is going to have to wait out the last few games. The BCI crew broke down the scenarios and are very confident that BC will get invited. All that matters is getting hot at the right time. That has been a problem this season, but I still believe that York can get these guys going.

[Eds. Note: Joe corrected me on the selection process. It is pretty cut and dry on ranking. Once again as with hockey and other things, I am an idiot.]

Women's Hockey loses in Frozen Four

The best season in BC Women's Hockey is over...without a championship. Rough night.

That’s all folks. BC’s record-breaking season ends with a 2-1 loss to Harvard in the Frozen Four semifinals. pic.twitter.com/xcC47pZM0H
— Tom DeVoto (@DeVotoHeights) March 21, 2015

Women's Hockey to Frozen Four and other links

The Women's Ice Hockey team is one step closer to their championship. They advanced to the Frozen Four with a 5-1 win over Clarkson.

Unfortunately the news for the Men's team wasn't as good. After losing Saturday, they will need Game 3 on Sunday to advance in the Hockey East Tournament.

Eric Hoffses wrote a good recap of the first spring scrimmage.

Lacrosse crushed UConn.

The baseball team lost both ends of a double header with Louisville.

Ohio recruit Luke Farrell is scheduled to visit BC.

Union ends BC's latest run

When you win as often as BC Hockey, anything less than a championship is a disappointment. This year ended without another National Title as BC lost to Union 5-4. It was a frustrating loss too, as BC put together a flurry in the final minutes to make it interesting. But Union is a really good team and took advantage of BC's miscues and put plenty of pressure on Demko. Best of luck to the Dutchmen in the Final.

Immediately after the game the focus shifted to Johnny Gaudreau. BC's leading scorer will soon decide if he will forego his remaining eligibility and turn pro. I am sure York will give him sound advice. While this is not the storybook end, Gaudreau did about as much as he could at the college level.

Frozen Four primer

Thursday night BC takes on Union in the first semi-final of the Frozen Four. To get up to speed on the matchup, I suggest the following:

-- BC's official Media Preview
-- How Union plans to stop our top line
-- USCHO on Jerry York

Burt commits and other links

Jake Burt committed to BC Monday. The Tight End drew comparisons to former Eagle Jon Loyte (another St. John's Prep prospect). He's the fourth player from Massachusetts to verbal to BC this spring.

Another top target, QB Brandon Wimbush, shared his thoughts on BC with 247.

Rich Gunnell took a Head Coach position with a local High School Football team.

The ACC named Sarah Mannelly Player of the Week.

Baseball lost to Dartmouth.

Women headed back to Frozen Four

The Women rallied to beat Harvard 3-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals. It is on to the Frozen Four in Minnesota next week. The Women's Frozen Four begins next Friday.

Missing student found dead and other links

[Note: This isn't sports related but it has been one of the bigger BC stories of the past few months.] The body of missing BC student Franco Garcia was found in the Reservoir. There is still no public explanation of how or why he was there. At this point all you can do is pray for the family.

For those who missed it, BC's rally for the hockey team came off pretty well. BCeagles.com posted a photo gallery of the event. Based on twitter response Gene received some boos anytime he spoke.

California Lineman Sam Murphy plans to attend camp at BC. You would hope that BC would have an inside track with DT recruit Darius Commissiong.

Deadspin posted a great take on the Frozen Four. What I found most interesting was the former Ferris State player's reaction to Gaudreau's goal.

This is not BC-specific, but I thought it was a good read on no huddle and how teams are practicing. Reading things like this makes me feel like BC is very far removed from some of college football's best practices.

Here's NESN's preview of the football team.

Elite basketball recruit Nerlens Noel -- the brother of Jimmy Noel -- will attend Kentucky.

Guys heading to the NHL, wrestling and other links

As expected a few members of the National Championship team have signed with NHL teams. Almeida signed with the Capitals and Paul Carey agreed to terms with Colorado. The Frozen Four and BC also generated interest from the big media outlets. Grantland captured Jerry York's class and focus on winning trophies. Grantland also gave Tampa high marks for their job as host of the event. Most of the BC fans I know loved having the Frozen Four there. The New York Times got into the Frozen Four fever by having The Heights writer Greg Joyce file a piece. Congrats to Greg for the exposure.

Former BC Eagle Kevin Kiley is better known by his ring name Alex Riley. In this article Kevin/Alex shares the story of his rise and similarity between football and wrestling.

This is a pretty good look at next year's basketball team.

With HD on maternity leave there hasn't been much coverage of football on the ACC Blog. However, Matt Fortuna did post today on our rising linebackers.

BC basketball is in the mix for two transfers from Rice. The first is PG Dylan Ennis. The other is G/F Jarelle Reischel.

The Patriot Ledger wrote a long feature on BC Baseball's Anthony Melchionda. He wasn't the only baseball guy getting positive press. The Globe wrote about Kyle Prohovich being part of three generations of college baseball.

Latest Championship puts York in elite company

Photo courtesy of The Heights.

We like to chant "We are BC!" at sporting events and attribute any athletic success as an inevitability considering the school's motto is "Ever to Excel." But BC's 4-1 win in the National Championship wasn't really about the team effort, or the school or even the guys on the ice. All of those were factors, but our third National Title in five years and fifth overall was really about the guy behind the bench: Jerry York. York's fifth title (fourth at BC) rewrote history. He is no longer just a great hockey coach. He is a transcendent college coach who should be mentioned alongside the likes of John Wooden, Bear Bryant, Anson Dorrance, Pat Summitt and Dan Gable. Michigan's Victor Heyliger is the only college hockey coach who won more National Title's than York, but he did it in an entirely different era and he never won championships at two schools.

Like the other coaches mentioned, York has been an innovator in the sport. His focus on offense, speed and skill has changed the face of college hockey. Like other greats, he also has a great eye for talent and has managed to find small scorers and untested goalies as the backbones of multiple national championships. But what I hope people appreciate most is that York has done this all while being a class act. You'll never find anyone who has a bad thing to say about Jerry. The warmth, humor and confidence you see in front of the cameras is real.

As for the game, hats off to Ferris State. Considering the circumstances, they gave BC a tough fight. It was a tight affair until Johnny Gaudreau's beautiful goal in the 3rd.

I'll have more on the celebration in the following days. For now be proud to be an Eagle fan and be thankful for Jerry York!

Will students come back for the Game and other links

Despite what the Herald writes, I think the campus will be a little subdued on Saturday night because so many students are away for the Easter holiday.

Milner can join the other BC goalie greats with a big performance Saturday.

Defense is the key to victory on Saturday night.

Mark Hartsell is now coaching young football players.

One step closer to another championship

Minnesota is a good hockey team. Their most lopsided loss on the whole season was a 6-2 defeat to North Dakota in January. Tonight BC beat them 6-1 to advance to the National Championship Game on Saturday. Minnesota played well and pressured BC but we made up for it with quality shots on net. Watch enough highlights on Friday and you're sure to see multiple BC goals. Paul Carey led the team with two goals.

We will take on Ferris State Saturday. BC has to be considered a major favorite. Let's keep it up. As we all know, this might be the most fun related to BC sports for some time.

Game Watches: Frozen Four

It's been a rough year for BC sports, but Jerry York and crew can start to change all of that tonight. Enjoy the Frozen Four with your fellow fans. If I missed any, post them in the comments. And for those in Florida, check out the pregame in Tampa.

Atlanta Game Watch
5600 Roswell Rd
Atlanta

Austin Game Watch
Third Base Sports Bar
1717 West 6th Street

Boston Game Watch
Jerry Remy's Seaport
250 Northern Avenue
Boston

Chicago
Benchmark
1510 N. Wells
Chicago

Connecticut Game Watch
Bobby V's
225 Main Street
Stamford, CT 06901

New York Game Watch
Thunder Jackson's
169 Bleecker St.
New York

New Jersey Game Watch
O'Hara's Downtown
172 First Street
Jersey City

Philadelphia Game Watch
Fox & Hound
1501 Spruce Street
Philadelphia

Pittsburgh Game Watch
Damon's Grill and Sports Bar
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh

San Francisco Game Watch
Shanghai Kelly’s
Polk at Broadway

Seattle Game Watch
Buckley's In Belltown
2331 2nd Ave
Seattle

Tampa PREGAME EVENT
MacDinton's Irish Pub
405 South Howard Avenue
Tampa

Washington, D.C. Game Watch
Cleveland Park Bar & Grill
3421 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.

Prepping for the Frozen Four and other links

The big news of the week will be the Frozen Four. Obviously check all your regular BC outlets. USCHO.com will probably have the best and broadest coverage of the event.

Women's lacrosse fell to UVA and now stands at just 1-3 in ACC play.

Here is a recap of BC's softball series with Maryland.

The investigation and prayers continue for missing BC student Franco Garcia.

Austin Game Watch and Tampa Host Bar

If you are in Austin and want to watch the game with some other Eagles go to the Frozen Four Game Watch.

Austin Game Watch
Third Base Sports Bar
1717 West 6th Street
7:00pm CST

For those in Tampa, your fellow BC fans are meeting up in a Tampa bar prior to the game. There will be shuttle service from the bar to the Arena.

MacDinton's Irish Pub
405 South Howard Avenue
Tampa , Florida 33606

Frozen Four bound again

BC put up the above image shortly after BC wrapped up its 4-0 win over Minnesota Duluth. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by their well-timed marketing as we are becoming old pros at the Frozen Four. This is our 10th Frozen Four in 15 years. We obviously want and expect to win it all, but I think we need to pause for a moment and recognized Jerry York's greatness. Despite the roster turnover, despite replacing incredible goalies, York produces the sports best team's every year.

As for this game, BC controlled the pace early. We didn't score but had some good opportunities. After BC scored in the second, the game got a little chippy. But BC's power play and penalty kill were both very good. Coming off this run, I would think BC is the heavy favorite to win it all. Let's go Eagles!

BC takes on Minnesota in the late game Thursday.

Cornell upsets Michigan reminder for BC-Air Force

Friday night Cornell -- a 4 seed -- upset Michigan in overtime. In a survive and advance formula everything is heightened. I hope Jerry York reminded his guys of that as BC gets ready to take on another plucky 4 seed in Air Force.

The other higher seed to fall was Miami of Ohio. They were knocked out by UMass Lowell. BC starts its run at 4 PM on Saturday. The game is on ESPN U.

Missouri Meltdown

This year's predestined run to the Frozen Four ended before it even got started. It's been an hour and I am still not sure what happened in BC's 8-4 loss to Colorado College. I am far from an astute or well schooled college hockey expert, but it was easy to see that CC out BCed BC. They were faster. They were putting more shots on goal. They were better penalty killers. Their goalie was locked in. It was like the team's switched uniforms before the start of the game. The finality of it all still hasn't sunk in. This is supposed to be the weekend when all of us bandwagon hockey fans start paying attention.

While there is a lot of disappointment, this year's team still won the Beanpot and the Hockey East. Not much solace, but I am trying to look on the bright side. Also thanks to John Muse. I tweeted that he should be pulled (and he didn't have a great night) but the guy still helped BC win two National Championships. That shouldn't be overlooked.

Now it is the offseason for most BC sports. I will have my thoughts on the Skinner article this weekend and promise to get to some of my overdue football and hoops stuff.

Ho-hum Hockey and other links

I spent most of my weekend thinking about basketball and once again ignored BC hockey. Both the men and women had impressive weekends and are skating towards championships. I guess we are all so spoiled by hockey's success, we and I take it for granted.

The women had the big news. They beat Minnesota 4-1 to advance to the Frozen Four. They take on Wisconsin on Friday in Erie, PA. If you are in eastern Ohio or western PA, you might want to head over to the game.

Jerry York's crew swept UMass as expected and earned the right to face Northeastern in the Hockey East semis. Friday's game is a double-header at the Garden.

One of the silver linings of the NIT is it is a chance for Biko Paris to play in his home state.

Former BC assistant and current Fairfield coach Ed Cooley is a leading candidate for the Providence opening. It would be a great fit and I wish Cooley luck.

Kenpom gives us a 75% chance at victory on Tuesday.