Stacking Up: ’11-12 BC Hockey On Track for Big Things

We have reached the “odiously unmanageable,” in the words of YES Network commentator Michael Kay, part of the Boston College hockey season where we must go weeks before the next game. Indeed, the Eagles take on Michigan in their next contest, but that’s still thirteen days away. During this lull in the action, it might be a worthwhile endeavor to see what this team has accomplished so far and how it compares to previous seasons.

BC hockey fans know that there was turnover in the offseason; not basketball-level turnover, but it existed nevertheless. Guys like Cam Atkinson, Brian Gibbons, John Muse, and Jimmy Hayes have been replaced with freshmen such as John Gaudreau, Destry Straight, Brian Billett, and Danny Linell. As such, a lot of experience and firepower left Boston College in 2011, but how is this team doing compared to the last several?

Very well, in fact.

Aside from the power play, which hasn’t been as potent so far this season, the Eagles have still found ways to score goals, kill penalties, and most importantly, win hockey games. In recent years, Boston College hockey has been a model of consistency, and that is evident in what we’ve seen in the results.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results, but one can make the case that this hockey team is exactly where they ought to be at this point in the season. Even though some of the key players on the last several teams have been lost, there is no reason why the Eagles can’t make a second-half run and keep themselves in the conversation as a national contender this season.

Will they make that run? Who knows, but this team is quite literally in about the same spot as the last two Eagles hockey teams that did big things. Not bad for a young team I’d say.