On Fire

BC has turned around from their 3 game slide. That's for sure. With two big wins this week (4-1 over Providence Tuesday and 6-1 over Maine Friday) the Eagles are right back in the hunt for another Hockey East title and a return to their rightful places in the NCAA tournament. Here's a look back at both games:

Tuesday- BC 4 PC 1 Box
The Eagles were reeling when the PC Friars skated into town for a rare Tuesday night Hockey East showdown. Having lost three in a row, including a heart-breaking setback at Fenway Park against BU, BC was looking to right the ship and get re-focused on the Hockey East regular season title. Providence proved to be the right remedy for what ailed BC, as the Eagles came out flying to pepper PC goalie Alex Beaudry with 22 shots in the first period. Two of those shots found the back of the net, as Cam Atkinson and Brian Gibbons scored early on in the first to give BC a 2-0 lead at the break. Most shocking was the fact that the BC defense, which had been roughed up in their 3-2 loss to BU just a few days before, surrendered only one shot on freshman goalie Parker Milner.

PC would get closer and wake up a bit in the second, creeping back in the shot differential and scoring their lone goal on a rush by Matt Bergland. BC kept up the pace on Beaudry, and put two more in the net in the third as Joe Whitney and Matt Lombardi scored to make the final margin 4-1.

In the win, Milner made 15 saves, while Beaudry stopped a whopping 41 in the loss.

Friday- BC 6 UM1 Box
Friday night, BC faced a tougher opponent in Maine. The Black Bears had been hot of late, upsetting Colorado College to win the Florida Classic and posting a 4-2 win over a decent Merrimack team the week before. BC wasted no time in showing Maine that this was not their night, as Barry Almeida scored on the first shift 35 seconds in to give BC a 1-0 lead. Maine held tight, making goalie John Muse work, but could not even the score in the first.

The second period brought more of the same, as BC goals from Ben Smith (on the power play) and two from Cam Atkinson to widen their lead.

A fifth goal from Joe Whitney caused Maine coach Tim Whitehead to pull starter Shawn Sirman early in the third, and it seemed like Maine might find some life when they started to play a bit more chippy and get into BC's heads (for people unfamiliar with UMaine hockey, this is a bigtime M.O. for the Black Bears whenever they play BC). Seeing that the overly physical play was getting to the Eagles, BC coach Jerry York called a time out to settle his troops. The move worked, as BC held tough the rest of the way, adding a Jimmy Hayes tally to finish the game with a 6-1 score.

The three stars Friday night in my opinion: 1. Cam Atkinson (2-1-3) 2. John Muse (25 saves, 1 GA) 3. Joe Whitney (1-1-2)

I can't say enough about this top line. They factored in 6 of BC's ten goals this week. Sounds to me like the sleeping giant has awaken.

Up next, a rematch with BU.... we'll see what happens.