2014-15 Boston College Hockey: First Half in Review
By Joe Micik
Apr 10, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Boston College Eagles defenseman Steve Santini (6) celebrates his goal with his teammates against the Union Dutchmen during the second period in the semifinals of the Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
The 2014-15 Boston College hockey team is probably glad for the 2014 portion of their season to be over.
More from Hockey
- This Weekend’s BC Eagles Hockey Rooting Interests
- Does Boston College Hockey Have to Win Out?
- NCAA Hockey Bracketology: Boston College Out, But By How Much?
- Boston College 2 – Merrimack 1: Rapid, Uncut Reactions
- Why Boston College Wins (or Loses): Game 24, Merrimack Hockey
In the same light, the Eagles will hope that the uncertainty of the first half will not follow them into 2015.
It was a turbulent open to the season for Boston College men’s hockey (as opposed to the women, who have had the complete opposite of it in that they have not lost through 18 games). Having lost the best line in program history with Johnny Gaudreau, Kevin Hayes, and Bill Arnold, in addition to the last-second decommit by Sonny Milano, and everyone wondered where the offense would come from this year. Those issues are still to be determined.
2014-15 Boston College hockey opened with a sound 5-2 defeat at UMass-Lowell, a team that replaced much of its own talent but have found ways to succeed so far. After that, it was the best stretch of hockey the Eagles have played to date with four wins in a row: at RIT, home wins against Colorado College and UMass, and a road win at Denver. Only one of those games, Denver, was close.
Boston College lost key defenseman Steve Santini to injury after the UMass game, and the Eagles are hoping to have him back after the World Juniors wrap up in early January.
Following that first win in Denver, the road got rocky. The Eagles lost the finale to the Pioneers, then got shut out by UConn in an embarrassing defeat, followed by blowing a game with some cheap third-period goals against Boston University and finally, another embarrassing loss, this time to Harvard. This four game losing streak was the Eagles’ longest in a decade, dropping them under .500.
Then, the roller coaster went back up. The Eagles answered that with three wins in a row, beating Michigan State, UMass, and Maine before Thanksgiving to get back to 7-5-0, but Boston College was outclassed by Minnesota in a 6-2 loss and Providence stood them on their heads in a 1-0 shutout.
At 7-7-0, BC needed to find some quick momentum before the break. The best they could do was a 1-0-1 weekend against New Hampshire and a big win over Michigan to close the first half at 9-7-1.