BC 6, North Dakota 2: Eagles Win Heavyweight Fight

It didn’t look like it at the beginning, but the Boston College/North Dakota hockey game in Grand Forks, ND turned out to be pretty easy. The #5 Eagles beat the #3 Fighting Sioux by a 6-2 score on Saturday night, improving their record to 2-0-0 on the young season and giving them their third Ice Breaker Tournament title.

Boston College got their six goals from some usual suspects, but also some new characters. Pat Mullane led the charge with two scores, while Chris Kreider and Bill Arnold dented the scoreboard, and freshman star recruit John Gaudreau scored his first NCAA goal. BC fell behind 2-1 in the second but then scored four times in that period to go ahead for good. Steven Whitney made it 6-2 Eagles late in the third period for the final score.

North Dakota had an early advantage with shots on goal and lit the lamp in the first on a shorthanded try, but the Eagles otherwise played good defense and were their usual quick selves, getting to the puck, flying up and down the ice, and creating/taking good shots. With a guy like Gaudreau getting in on the act as well as some of the veterans, you can see that despite the youth here, this BC hockey team is deep and, in beating the #3 team in the nation on their home ice, is clearly very, very good.

Speaking of rankings, let’s think about where the Eagles will land in the new poll. #1 Miami split their weekend series, as did #2 Notre Dame and, obviously, #3 North Dakota also has a loss. #4 Denver hasn’t played yet, and then you have #5 Boston College sitting at 2-0-0 with a Top 5 road win under their belts. Do not be surprised if Boston College is #1 in the country next week.

It was a very fun game to watch if you’re a Boston College fan, and a display of this team’s strength early on in the season. There is much hockey left to be played, but they’re already looking like a strong contender.