2010 NCAA Tournament: 1 Boston College vs. 3 Yale

The Boston College Eagles are one win away from a trip to Motown for the Frozen Four. By defeating the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, BC has earned the right to play the Yale Bulldogs in the Northeast Regional Final late on Sunday afternoon. The game will be at 5:30pm ET on ESPNU.

#2 Boston College (26-10-3) enters into the regional final on a continued hot streak. They have not lost any of their last ten games, including the regular season, Hockey East Tournament, and Saturday’s NCAA Tournament game. Their last seventeen games feature a 14-2-1 stretch, with their last loss having come on February 19.

#8 Yale (21-9-3) defeated #5 North Dakota to reach the regional final, winning that game 3-2. They were an at-large bid from the ECAC. The last time these two teams played one another was January 11, 2005, and Boston College won the game 1-0.

It may or may not surprise you to learn that Yale is the number one offense in college hockey. The Bulldogs average 4.06 goals per game, the only team to average over four in the nation. Not to be outdone, Boston College ranked third with 3.85 goals per game. Full stats can be viewed in the charts attached.

This is not going to be an easy game for the Eagles. Yale played better against North Dakota on Saturday than BC did against Alaska, and no doubt the Bulldogs are fired up by their upset win. It is also clear that this is a far more even matchup on paper than the game against Alaska.  Boston College will have to play a far better game than on Saturday to get by and advance to the Frozen Four. If not, it could be an early exit and a disappointing end to the 2009-2010 season.