2010-2011 BC Year in Review, Part III: Men’s ice hockey

(Part I: Football)
(Part II: Men’s Basketball)

We’re over half-way home after today’s Part III article regarding the 2010-2011 Boston College Eagles men’s ice hockey team.

The hockey team started their season in October 2010 by raising a national championship banner. As a matter of fact, the 2010-2011 Eagles returned many players from their victorious 2009-2010 squad. This year had all the makings of another successful campaign, until it didn’t.

The Eagles, as has been their modus operandi in recent years, got off to a little bit of a slow start. Note, to a team like Boston College, how a 6-4 record is considered “slow.” BC lost a few clunkers early on, but soon the Eagles blasted their way through such competition as Denver, Maine, and BU. They ended 2010 on a seven-out-of-eight streak. Boston College rode into 2011 with consistent Top-5 national rankings, and made quick work of any of their opponents.

In early February came the annual Beanpot competition at the TD Garden. The first round was a match against Boston University, which admittedly takes some of the fun out of it (facing them in the finals would make for a lot more drama). Boston College gave me a wonderful birthday present, taking down the Terriers by a 3-2 score in overtime. Tommy Cross, who will soon be the captain of the Eagles, scored the game-winner.

A week later, the men had the chance to face Northeastern in the Beanpot finals. The consolation game is usually known as the “Northeastern Invitational,” but not this year, as they whacked Harvard to get there. The fans in attendance on the North End were treated to a very wild contest in which the Eagles and Huskies were tied, 6-6, at the end of regulation. This led to Northeastern engaging in their new “no-tee OT” tradition, one in which I’m glad I will never have to participate (though if anyone would like to get my shirt off, write me at my site e-mail address for a good time. Note: not a valid offer). The Eagles won this contest as well, as Jimmy Hayes buried the game-winning shot to give the Eagles their third Beanpot title in the last four years.

The Eagles weren’t so lucky in their following two games with Northeastern, tying 7-7 and losing 2-1, but otherwise, they hummed along smoothly towards the end of the season. BC had maintained its high national rank and ended up taking the Hockey East’s regular-season crown after winning their last few games against New Hampshire.

With home ice, the Eagles made quick work of the Massachusetts Minutemen in the quarterfinals, notching two relatively easy wins of 4-1 and 4-2, respectively. From there, they drew Northeastern yet again in the Hockey East semifinals at the very same TD Garden where these two teams met in February over the Beanpot title. Boston College won again, and advanced to the Hockey East Championship Game against the resurgent Merrimack Warriors. It was a tough and very spirited contest, but the Eagles came from behind and pulled away from the Warriors, winning 5 to 3 and picking up the team’s third Hockey East title in four seasons. This exceptional senior class had added another notch to their belts, but we all knew where the season was headed: the NCAA Tournament.

Indeed, the Eagles were given a #1 seed in the West Regional out of St. Louis. Their first opponent would be the Tigers of Colorado College. Most BC fans were scoping out the Eagles’ tournament draw and charting a path to the Frozen Four. We were all thinking of how things would have to shake out for BC to successfully defend their national title. The only problem, however, was that the Eagles were woefully unprepared for that first game.

In what certainly seemed like a blindside attack, the Eagles never advanced out of the first round. In fact, not only did they lose that game, but they got blown out in embarrassing fashion. Colorado College defeated Boston College, the defending national champions, by an 8-4 score in a game that seemed over in the 2nd period. BC scored just seconds into the game, but the Tigers hit back hard, toasting goalie John Muse again and again in his final game in an Eagles uniform. It was, by all accounts, an unmitigated disaster for Boston College and a sad way for our very successful senior class to leave.

After the season ended, the losses continued. Brian Gibbons, John Muse, and Joe Whitney, some of the winningest Boston College hockey players ever, were all leaving because their eligibility had run out. Their departures were compounded by the decisions from Cam Atkinson, Jimmy Hayes, and Philip Samuelsson to forego their remaining years on the Heights to pursue professional careers. Luckily for Eagles fans, however, Chris Kreider and Brian Dumoulin elected to stay at BC, somewhat minimizing the impact of dropping six players. Kreider’s status, however, remains a topic of debate amongst Eagles and New York Rangers fans.

It’s hard for me to sit here and tell you all that the 2010-2011 men’s hockey season was a disappointment. This year gave us a lot of things to smile about from beginning to almost the end, and doubtlessly, our sights were set very high (and for good reason). The only problem, however, was the way the season ended. I don’t think anyone saw an 8-4 meltdown coming in the first round, and apparently, the Eagles didn’t, either. Still, it’s important for BC fans to keep things in perspective. We have an elite hockey program that won the Beanpot and the Hockey East championship for the third time in the last four seasons. This group has given us a lot to cheer about, and though things ended in the worst possible way, that doesn’t negate all of the good things they were able to accomplish.

Tomorrow is Part IV, all of the other men’s sports.