Holy Crap!

Anyone who says they predicted a blowout is a down-right liar. BC played their best game so far this year and it has showed with a big time arse whuppin of #1 Miami. I would call this a statement game for the Eagles. They came into Detroit completely under the radar, despite winning 10 of 11 games just a year removed from a national championship. They didn't have the stars Wisconsin had or the story Miami and RIT had, but they showed everyone in the building they are a legit threat to hoist the trophy Saturday night.

I said in the preview that BC had to play their game and Miami would not be able to keep up. I also said Muse had to play the way we all know he can, and, for the most part, both of those things happened. They will need to do the same thing Saturday in order to beat Wisconsin.

Not for nothin here, but Wisconsin beat the crap out of what was ultimately a 15 seed. BC just beat the beejeezus out of the #1 team in the nation...just sayin.

Congrats to the Eagles, but the work is not done yet. Time to avenge 2006 and knock off Wisconsin. Go BC!!

Miami Preview

The Frozen Four has arrived (finally)! BC draws the late game this go-round, playing top seed Miami (OH) at 8pm on Thursday. Here is a look at the Redhawks:

How they got here:

- CCHA regular season champs

- Overall #1 seed

- Defeated Alabama-Huntsville in first round, then beat CCHA rival Michigan in double OT to advance to Frozen Four

Scouting Report:

- Puck-possession offense

- Deep offensively, can roll four effective lines

- Strong on back end: Two top-notch goalies and tough blueliners

- Not great on the power play for the year, have been better in tourney

- Like to force their will on opponents, make them play their game

- Can struggle at times with speedier opponents (like BC)

Players to watch:

- Jarod Plamer (F) leads the team in goals with 18. So, you can see they don’t score a lot, but they don’t have to because…

- Cody Reichard/Conor Knapp (G) whoever plays in nets, they will be tough to score on

- Chris Wideman (D) top offensive D man from a year ago. Only a sophomore, but can get the job done in his end.

Miami has been playing inspired hockey following the death of their team manager, Brendan Burke. This team surprised many when they advanced all the way to the championship game a year ago, but this year they are no longer a surprise. BC has handled Miami the last three times they have faced each other, but the scores are getting closer (4-3 OT win by BC last time). Is it a matchup problem? Can Miami handle BC’s team speed or was BC just flat out better every time they played? We’ll have to wait and see. Bottom line: BC’s fate lies with goalie John Muse. If Moose plays like he did in 2008 or even the Hockey East finals against UVM, then BC will have a great chance to advance. If he plays like he did against Maine or Yale, no way Jose. I don’t think Miami plays a style of hockey that is conducive to going back and forth and scoring 6-7 goals (they only played in one barn-burner, a 5-5 tie with North Dakota), so I’m pretty sure we won’t have to worry about that. But who knows? This is always an interesting time of year for BC hockey fans. Hopefully the next post has me breaking down another opponent....

Prediction:

BC 4 Miami 2

NCAA Northeast Regional Preview

The time is here! We've been waiting all week for the tournament to start, especially after last Saturday's thrilling win. The Eagles will play Alaska in the first round Saturday afternoon, and if they can get by the Nanooks they will have a matchup with either North Dakota or Yale for a chance to advance to the Frozen Four. Here's a look at all the other teams in the region, starting with BC's first opponent, Alaska-Fairbanks.

Alaska Nanooks (CCHA) Season record: 18-11-9

The Nanooks are playing in their first NCAA tournament, 4000 miles from home in about the furthest place possible, Massachusetts. To top it off they are grouped with two of the hottest teams in the nation, one of which is playing at home. So, can UAF get to the Frozen Four? Anything is possible, as evidenced just a few hours ago when #15 overall seed RIT knocked Denver out of the tournament in the opening game. Alaska relies on tough, aggressive defense to slow down their opponents and keep the shot counts low. They are not a big goal scoring team, as their leading point scorer Dion Knelsen has only scored 19 goals on the year. Alaska also has the CCHA Rookie of the Year, Alex Taranto, who could give the Eagle defense fits as well. Underdogs have a much better chance in this tournament than in basketball, and hopefully for the Nanooks they can slow down BC's fast, open game. If they don't, goalie Scott Greenham will have a lot of work to do. The same goes for any potential matchup with North Dakota or Yale. There may be too much happy to be here mentality for Alaska to advance, but I've been wrong before.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WCHA) Season Record: 25-12-5

There may be no hotter team other than BC in this whole tournament than the Sioux. North Dakota ripped off three straight wins in as many nights to take home the WCHA tournament title yet again. It always seems like the Sioux are standing in the Eagles' way, and this is year is no different. The Sioux's run the last few weeks may be a bad thing for ND, however, as this young inexperienced team is bound to be tired after a long weekend followed by a flight east. ND is lead by senior Chris Vandevelde, who leads the team in points, but the bulk of their offensive firepower comes from their underclassmen, such as Evan Trupp and Jason Gregoire. In nets the Sioux rely on soph Brad Eidsness, who posted a 2.00 GAA in the WCHA Final Five last weekend. ND will come at you fast and hit you hard, and BC will think they are looking in a mirror if they take to the ice against the Sioux this weekend. These guys are the favorites to win this regional, and I can see why. BC will have their hands full with this team.

Yale Bulldogs (ECACHL) Season Record: 20-9-3

Yale comes into this tournament with the nation's top scoring offense. The Bulldogs will be looking to outscore any opponent they play, as their goaltending has been shaky at best. Yale will look to senior Brian Blase most likely in the nets, where he will have the unenviable task of trying to stop North Dakota's offensive onslaughts. Yale is also playing shorthanded,as they are missing their star Sean Backman, but there are plenty of scorers that could step up to replace him. Yale, like Alaska, could be a bit rusty after getting booted by Brown in the first round of the ECACHL tournament, so they may need to survive the first period of game one in order to get their legs back. The good news they don't have far to travel, the bad news is that they have two of the hottest teams in the country on thew potential horizon, as well as a tight defense-oriented Cinderella that could slow down their offense. Make no mistake, however, Yale CAN beat ND. If they can get a decent amount of shots on ND's young goalie, there is no reason why they could not pull this one off.

Predictions:
Game 1: BC 3 Alaska 1
Game 2: ND 6 Yale 4
Final: BC 4 ND 2

Hockey East Champs!!

The Lamoriello Trophy is back where it belongs, in the trophy case at Conte Forum. A great back and forth game, you had to believe that it was going to be a nailbiter. In the end, BC came out victorious. Matt Lombardi was named tourney MVP on the heels of a career-first hat trick. Now, we watch the selection show to see where BC will end up, expect it to be Worcester for the Northeast Regional. I will have initial bracket reaction after they are announced.

One win away...

From bringing the Hockey East Championship back where it belongs, Chestnut Hill, MA!


Maine is a tough out, as they have the best power play unit in the nation. They also beat the beejeezus out of BU last night. Score notwithstanding, that was a dominating performance by the Black Bears. I will expect the same from Maine tonight against the Eagles. BC is going to have to play smart and be tough on D to get this one done, but it is TOTALLY winnable. Let's Go Eagles!

Hockey East Final Four Preview

Hockey East has made it to the Garden. After months of games, it comes down to four teams: BC, BU, Maine, and UVM. With the exception of Maine, these are the teams many picked to be here when the dust settled on the regular season. They just didn’t expect the seeding to be what they are. Top remaining seed BC comes into the weekend on an offensive tear, one that did not slow down despite the trapping efforts of UMass in the quarterfinals. BU has to be a favorite as well, as they always save their best hockey for the Garden ice. Let’s take a look at each match-up:

#2 BC vs. #8 Vermont

BC, as mentioned, has been an offensive juggernaut in the latter half of this season, averaging 3.8 goals a game. Vermont, on the other hand, turned it on late in the year to grab the 8 seed and then shocked Hockey East with a series upset over top seed UNH last weekend. UVM won the season series with BC, but all of those games were played before BC caught fire. In a way, this is a completely different Eagle team the Catamounts will be playing Friday evening. Vermont can score, too, however. They average 3 goals a game and their defense, lead by goalie Rob Madore (who lead the Cats to the Frozen Four last year), can shut opponents down. If they trap BC and shut down their open style offense, Madore could do just enough to steal a win here. BC has a goalie controversy, as Junior John Muse has been able to pick up consecutive wins while rookie Parker Milner has been 0-1-1 in his last few after being the hot hand down the stretch. Look for BC to go with the veteran in Muse, who posted great numbers at the Garden a month ago en route to a Beanpot MVP. In the end, I think BC’s firepower will be too much for Cinderella and the ride ends here for UVM.

Prediction: BC 5 UVM 3

#3 BU vs. Maine

An old rivalry is renewed on the Garden ice when BU takes on Maine in the nightcap Friday. No Kariyas or Drurys will be on the ice, but the excitement will be there nonetheless. BU comes into this game as hot as BC, having rebounded from a dismal start to grab a top-four spot in the league and dodging an upset minded Merrimack team in round one. The Terriers have been lead all year by their upperclassmen, namely Nick Bonino and a squad of experienced defensemen such as Colby Cohen and Kevin Shattenkirk. Kieran Milan has been shaky in net at times, but he always seems to step up for the big games. Maine, on the other hand, struggled in the late going of the regular season after gaining a huge amount of momentum mid-way. But, its all about how you finish in this game, and Maine has struggled since they suspended their starting goalie, Scott Darling. Senior Dave Wilson has stepped in and done well in a comeback series win over Lowell, and Maine is looking to rely on the veteran to get them back to the Promised Land, the NCAAs. Look for Maine to run their offense through Hobey Baker candidate Gustav Nyquist who has scored 59 points on the year. The Black Bears have the top power play unit in the nation, so they will be trying to draw penalties on an aggressive Terrier team. I like Maine to convert on at least 50% of those extra-man situations and put the Terriers out of the postseason in an exciting, OT thriller.

Prediction: Maine 3 BU 2 (OT)

In the final, I like BC to continue riding good solid defense and a relentless offensive attack to their 9^th Hockey East Tournament crown, making it all maroon and gold in the rafters at the Garden.

Prediction: BC 4 Maine 2

Bracket Prediction: Pre-Conference Tournament Edition

With this weekend’s conference tournaments coming up, I thought I would take a look at who would play who and where if the season ended today. The games themselves could completely screw this up, but here goes.

Rankings come from PWR. The top 16 looks like this:

1 Denver

2 Miami

3 Wisconsin

4t Boston College

4t North Dakota

4t St. Cloud State

7 Bemidji State

8t Ferris State

8t Cornell

10 Yale

11t Minnesota-Duluth

11t Northern Michigan

13 Alaska

14 Vermont

15 New Hampshire

16 Michigan

17 Michigan State

Bemidji was upset last week in the CHA championships, which makes the lame duck league a two-bid conference. Atlantic Hockey also sends their champ. Since neither of these guys are in the top 16, Michigan and UNH are out, leaving inactive UNH as the last one out (They could get back in if teams ahead of them, like Vermont, were to lose early in their tourneys). If we add the lower auto-bids to the fold we get this for a seeding:

1 Denver

2 Miami

3 Wisconsin

4 Boston College

5 North Dakota

6 St. Cloud State

7 Bemidji State

8 Ferris State

9 Cornell

10 Yale

11 Minnesota-Duluth

12 Northern Michigan

13 Alaska

14 Vermont

15 Alabama-Huntsville (CHA champ)

16 RIT (projected AHA champ)

Matching these guys up and putting teams closest to home to ensure attendance, we get this bracket:

Northeast Region (Worcester)

1. BC
2. North Dakota
3. Yale
4. Alaska

East Region (Albany)

1. Wisconsin
2. Bemidji State
3. Cornell
4. RIT

Midwest Region (Fort Wayne)

1. Miami
2. Ferris State
3. Northern Michigan
4. Vermont

West Region (Minneapolis)

1. Denver
2. St. Cloud State
3. Minnesota- Duluth
4. Alabama-Huntsville

This is what I THINK the bracket should be. This would cut down on travel for everybody and keep all of the seeds intact. It would not, however, ensure a 1-16, 2-15 deal, but this is better for the fans. Alaska is the only team that gets screwed here, but they are used to traveling all the time anyway. This weekend could knock this thing silly, especially if an unranked team like Maine or BU wins Hockey East. Then they would get an auto bid and BC would be the sole at large from the league. There is also a scenario that if BC beats UVM, they could be the only HE school in the tourney. This would be music to the ears of people out West, but the Worcester regional wouldn’t be the same without another HE team. We’ll see how it plays out.

Up later, a preview of Hockey East final four.