Boston College Hockey at Merrimack: We Get Another Shot!

In one of the climactic scenes of Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Robin’s arrow is “split in twain” by the evil Sherriff of Rottingham’s henchman at the archery contest. Robin then says “wait a minute, I’m not supposed to lose,” and then he pulls out the movie script. He then realizes that he gets another shot and is intended to win the contest after all.

Boston College hockey is being afforded a similar gift: having lost a game and first place to the Merrimack Warriors last week, the Eagles get another chance to win and take back what was once theirs.

The Eagles are just that team that doesn’t expect to lose games like this, especially in late February. Yet is first place rightfully theirs, as it was for the brave hero? Not in sports, it isn’t. Nothing is given and all is earned, but one would think BC hockey comprehends that after having won three championships in the past five seasons and working hard for every bit of what they have. This weekend’s matchup will be no different.

When these teams last met a week ago, Boston College played a sub-standard game. Merrimack was granted eight power plays and the Eagles’ offense looked stymied and ineffective all night. Warriors goalie Sam Marotta stood BC on their heads, totaling 39 saves in the win. As it turns out, Parker Milner had 40 saves in a hard-luck loss, so his defeat surely wasn’t for lack of trying. In sum, BC put pressure on Marotta but could not convert, and the Eagles made too many mistakes, such as taking ten minor penalties.

In BC’s subsequent tie with New Hampshire a few days later, the Eagles took seven more penalties. As a result, BC is quickly moving up the penalty minutes per game chart in Hockey East, now sitting at fifth. Boston College’s penalty kill is rather good in general, but if one keeps giving the other team opportunities on the man-advantage, they’re eventually going to convert. If the Eagles plan to win this time, they need to stay out of the box and continue to put pucks on Marotta.

The puck drops at approximately 4pm on Sunday; the game will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network.