SBNation.com User Blog: SoaringtoGlory

2010 NCAA Hockey Tournament Preview: Boston College vs. Alaska

SoaringtoGlory — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:41:47 -0000

On Saturday afternoon, 1:30pm at the DCU Center, the Eagles' climb to the top of college hockey will officially begin against the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. This game will be the first time the Eagles and Nanooks have met in a hockey game.

The Eagles (#2; 25-10-3) enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country, having won the Hockey East Tournament last week and going undefeated in the month of March. On a broader scale, Boston College have not lost any of their last nine games, and are 13-2-1 in their last sixteen. Alaska (#13; 18-11-9), on the other hand, finished in 5th place in a tough CCHA, winning their first round tournament matchup and doing enough to qualify for an at-large bid.

This is Alaska-Fairbanks' first ever NCAA Hockey Tournament berth as a Division 1 team. The last time Boston College made it here, they hoisted the trophy.

Nearly across the board, Boston College is a better team than Alaska. As I shared yesterday on Soaring to Glory, the Eagles lead the Nanooks in a number of different statistical categories. Alaska gives up slightly fewer goals, but the Eagles, riding the third-best offensive attack in the country, score far more. Though Alaska's goaltending, one of their key strengths, is 9th-best in the nation, Boston College's is eleventh, barely lagging behind.

The Eagles are 7th in the nation on the power play, converting 21.4% of the time. Alaska is 19th with a 19.3% conversion rate. Killing other teams' penalties is another strength for the Eagles, as they are 11th (85%); Alaska, however, isn't far behind at 18th (83.8%). Boston College has scored five short-handed goals this season, whereas Alaska has only managed one. Goalie Scott Greenham for the Nanooks, on the other hand, allowed no short-handed goals at all this year, while BC goalies have allowed three. Speaking of Greenham, Alaska will go as far as he takes them, and he will have to have a big game against this dangerous BC offense if the Nanooks are to have a chance.

There is no such thing as an easy tournament game. Alaska is a good team with solid goaltending, and they are not to be taken lightly. It is obvious, however, that Boston College is a better team in several key areas. If the Eagles are able to figure Greenham out, they should be able to win, provided John Muse holds up his end of the bargain. I do expect the Eagles to win and advance to face the winner of North Dakota/Yale.

BC baseball wins home opener

SoaringtoGlory — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:54:38 -0000

BC baseball wins home opener

In a make-up game played at Commander Shea Field this afternoon, the Boston College Eagles won their 2010 home opener by defeating Holy Cross, 7-4. The Eagles scored 6 runs in the fifth inning to take the lead for good. BC is now 8-12 (1-5) on the season.

Boston College in the NCAA Hockey Tournament: The Draw

SoaringtoGlory — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:41:58 -0000

As expected, the Eagles of Boston College have claimed a one-seed in the 2010 NCAA Hockey Tournament, sitting atop the Northeast Region. Those regional games will be played at the DCU Center in Worcester beginning on Saturday, March 27. Their region, as one might also expect, is not going to be easy to clear.

The #4 Eagles' (25-10-3) first game will be against fourth-seeded Alaska-Fairbanks (18-11-9), who are ranked #17 in the nation by the USA Today poll, and #18 by the USCHO poll. Most recently, the Nanooks advanced to the quarterfinals of the CCHA Tournament, but were defeated in their best-of-three series by Northern Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines, placed in the Midwest Region, eventually won that tournament. Back to Alaska: the Nanooks featured the eighth-best scoring offense in their conference, but had the fourth-best defense and were third on power play conversions. There will be much more to follow on this particular game later this week.

Should Boston College win that game, they would face the winner of the Yale-North Dakota game for a chance to go to the Frozen Four. If the Eagles emerge from the Northeast Region, they will play the winner of the Midwest Region: it could be Miami-Ohio, Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji State, or Michigan. In the national championship game, should BC be fortunate enough to get there, they would play the winner of the West-East game.

The Hockey East conference overall did fairly well on Hockey Selection Sunday, getting three of its teams in the tournament. Aside from the auto-bid Eagles, the New Hampshire Wildcats and Vermont Catamounts will both play on. New Hampshire is in the East Region while Vermont is in the West and the only time BC could face either one would be in the national championship game.

The Boston College-Alaska game has been scheduled for Saturday at 1:30pm Eastern. If the Eagles play in the second game, that would be Sunday at 5:30pm Eastern.

During the selection show this morning, neither ESPN analyst in-studio picked the Eagles to make the Frozen Four, believing that North Dakota would dismiss Boston College in the second round. What say you, BCI enthusiasts?

Boston College: Your 2010 Hockey East Champions

SoaringtoGlory — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:57:10 -0000

For the fourth time in six seasons, Boston College owns the Lamoriello Trophy. The Eagles defeated Maine, 7-6 in overtime, to win the Hockey East Tournament championship and clinch an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Hockey Tournament.

This wild match between the Eagles and Black Bears began with Boston College jumping out to a 1-0 lead on a Carl Sneep goal with 8:16 to play in the first period. Maine hit right back with a Gustav Nyquist goal 24 seconds later to even the score at 1-1. With 4:41 to play in the first, the Eagles again went ahead, this time on a Matt Lombardi goal, but 36 seconds later, Maine tied the game again on a Joey Diamond score. The game went into the first intermission tied, 2-2.

Less than two minutes into the second, Boston College took a 3-2 lead thanks to Joe Whitney's power play goal. Four minutes later, Matt Lombardi scored his second goal of the night, giving BC a 4-2 edge. With 4:56 to play in the second, however, Maine got back to within a goal thanks to a power play goal of their own, and at the second intermission, the score was 4-3 Eagles. Through the second period, both teams had been called for a combined sixteen penalties.

The third period saw five total goals scored. Jimmy Hayes put Boston College further ahead at 5-3 with 14:44 to go in regulation, but then Maine hit back three minutes later to make it 5-4, again on the power play. Boston College pushed the advantage back to two, 6-4, thanks to Barry Almeida with 5:37 to play, but very shortly thereafter, the Black Bears scored again, trimming the margin to 6-5. Finally, within thirty seconds of the end of regulation, Maine scored the equalizer to make it a 6-6 game and eventually send it to overtime.

The overtime period only lasted five minutes, 25 seconds, as Matt Lombardi scored his third goal of the game to give Boston College the title. It was Lombardi's first hat trick and first multi-goal game as a BC Eagle.

Offensively, #4 Boston College (25-10-3) put forth a superb effort. The top offense in Hockey East lived up to its rank by putting seven goals on the scoreboard. On defense, however, the Eagles were concerning. John Muse and the defense in front of him let Maine, though a good offense themselves, score six times. Three of those goals happened only moments after BC had scored themselves.

Nevertheless, the Eagles will advance to the NCAA Tournament and get a favorable draw as they look to work their way to the Frozen Four and beyond. For Maine, their season has likely come to an end. Check for more to follow on BCI regarding Boston College's tournament draw and upcoming schedule.

Joe is the author of Soaring to Glory, a Boston College blog.

Hockey East Tournament Championship: 2 Boston College vs. 4 Maine

SoaringtoGlory — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:49:34 -0000

On Friday evening at the TD Garden, Boston College punched their tickets to the Hockey East title game behind a shutout from junior goalie John Muse. Eighth-seeded Vermont fell behind early in the first period on a Chris Kreider goal but held tough for most of the second, only to see the Eagles double their lead on a Ben Smith goal with eight seconds to go in said period. Boston College tacked on an insurance goal from Jimmy Hayes in the third to create the eventual final score, 3-0. Muse stopped all thirty Catamount shots on goal.

#4 Boston College (24-10-3) remains red hot, having only lost two of their last fifteen games, and none of their previous eight. Also staying hot was the freshman Kreider, notching his tenth goal in fourteen games. Vermont (17-14-7), who came into the semifinals ranked #14 in the country, will now have their remaining postseason hopes at the mercy of the Selection Committee.

The last team standing in the way of the Eagles' fourth Hockey East title in six seasons will be fourth-seeded Maine, whom Boston College will face Saturday night at 7pm Eastern. The Black Bears (19-16-3) won their way into the matchup by beating the three seed, Boston University, 5-2 in the Friday late game.

This will be the sixth time that Boston College will meet Maine in the Hockey East Tournament championship game. The Eagles were victorious in 1987, 1990, and 1998, while the Black Bears won the title in 1989 and 2000. This will be Maine's thirteenth title game appearance, while it will be Boston College's fourteenth. Overall, Boston College's last Hockey East title and championship game appearance was 2008; Maine's came in 2004.

During the season, the Eagles and Black Bears met three times, with Boston College having a 2-0-1 record in those games. The Eagles went 1-0-1 in Orono in November, while the Eagles beat the Black Bears by five goals in Chestnut Hill in January. Boston College and Massachusetts were the only Hockey East teams Maine did not defeat during the regular season. Maine was one of four teams, however, to whom Boston College did not lose this year, with the other three being Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Providence.

Though Maine played well in their semifinal matchup against the Terriers, Boston College is a dangerous team that has the weapons to score at nearly any time. Making matters worse for Maine is that the best scoring offense in Hockey East, belonging to BC, will face goaltending that was ranked ninth of ten in the conference this season, allowing 3.33 goals per game. When Maine is on the power play, however, it will pit the conference's best team at power play conversions against the best penalty-killing unit.

Should Boston College win on Saturday night, it is highly likely that they will take a one-seed in the NCAA Hockey Tournament. Even if they are not victorious, it is all but assured that the Eagles will be playing beyond Saturday.

Joe is the author of Soaring to Glory, a Boston College blog.

Hockey East Semifinals: 2 Boston College vs. 8 Vermont

SoaringtoGlory — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:34:24 -0000

The Boston College Eagles mens' hockey team, now ranked fourth in the country and in hot pursuit of a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament, continue their quest to take the Hockey East Tournament crown on Friday night at the TD Garden. The Eagles, the highest seed remaining in the tournament, will face the lowest-seeded Vermont Catamounts for the right to play in Saturday's championship game. All remaining games in the Hockey East Tournament will be broadcast on the New England Sports Network (NESN). BC and Vermont will play in Friday's 5pm game, while other contenders Boston University and Maine have the 8pm time slot.

Boston College made it to the semifinals by sweeping the best-of-three series with Massachusetts; the Eagles were the only victorious quarterfinals team to have done so. BC, with a record of 23-10-3, are undefeated in their previous seven games, and are 11-2-1 in their last fourteen. Their last loss was at Northeastern nearly one month ago on February 19. Freshman Parker Milner got a number of those starts in goal for the Eagles, but junior John Muse notched the series-clinching win in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

Vermont, the last team in the Hockey East Tournament, came back from being a game down in their best-of-three series with New Hampshire to win, two games to one. Both Catamount victories were 1-0 wins; senior Jay Anctil scored an overtime goal in the decisive third game to put Vermont in the semifinals. UVM, a Frozen Four entry last season, sits at 17-13-7 on the season and are 4-2-1 in their last seven.

Head-to-head, Vermont won two out of three against the Eagles this season. Those games, however, were played in October and November, and these teams have not seen each other in over four months. BC is 19-7-2 since the last BC/Vermont game on November 15.

In Hockey East Tournament history, Boston College and Vermont have met three times: two were quarterfinal games, and one was the 2008 title game. Boston College won all three of those matchups against the Catamounts. In order to win, Vermont must also overcome the fact that no #8 seed has ever advanced to the finals in this tournament.

No team in Hockey East is hotter than the Eagles at present, and there are few teams in the country I would take over them. They have a potent offensive attack, the best in the Hockey East, led by two of the conference's point leaders: Cam Atkinson and Brian Gibbons. Chris Kreider has also come on very strongly for the Eagles since the World Juniors, scoring goals in a number of the games he has played since. Not only do the Eagles have the top scoring offense in the conference, they also have the best scoring defense, as their goaltending only allows 2.26 goals per game, which is well ahead of the second-best team. To win this game, BC will have to forget about their early-season losses to the Catamounts and play with the same intensity that they've carried throughout this prolonged hot streak. They can ride this group of players all the way to the Frozen Four. BC is without a doubt the best team in this conference, and I expect them to advance to the finals against either Maine or Boston University.

Keep checking BCI for some of the best Boston College sports coverage around, and for more analysis of Boston College hockey's climb to the top.

The author, Joe, writes for Soaring to Glory, a Boston College blog.