Boston College Wins Beanpot... Again

Part of me was hoping #11 Northeastern would win their first Beanpot in 26 years. It would be refreshing for someone besides BU or BC to win. At the same time, another part of me wanted to see #1 ranked Boston College continue their streak of sheer dominance. BC hasn't lost since November 29th, a 15 game stretch with 14 wins and 1 tie.

BC came out on top, winning the game 4-1, but it was much closer than the final score suggests. It was 1-1 until 14 and a half minutes into the 3rd, when BC's Patrick Brown deflected a puck past Northeastern goalie Clay Witt. Johnny Gaudreau added an empty-netter, his 25th goal of the season. Gaudreau had an assist on BC's first goal, extending his point-streak to an unbelievable 24 games. Brown scored again with 50 seconds left.

However the goalies were the story of the game. In this tournament of Boston hockey, a goalie from California (BC's Thatcher Demko) outdueled one from Florida (NU's Witt). Although Witt might have had the more impressive performance, stopping 36 shots and giving his underdog Huskies (pun intended) a chance to topple the best team in the country. Demko stopped 29 of 30 shots, improving his record to 11-1-2. Demko, a freshman, is poised to be BC's next great goalie.

There's nobody on the BC roster that knows what it's like to lose a Beanpot game. This is their 5th straight title. Also this season they've won the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, beat Notre Dame at Fenway Park, and now have three more objectives in sight:

#1: Win Hockey East's regular season title
#2: Win the Hockey East tournament
#3: Win the National Championship

They're well on their way to the first remaining objective. They have a 7-point lead in the standings with 5 games remaining. If BC beats Vermont twice this weekend, they'll clinch the regular season title.

BC hockey is everything that BC basketball and football have tried and failed to be in the last 5 years.

Photo Credit:
RichImagesPhotography.com

BC Splits Weekend Series With BU

BC coach Jerry York could have tied and broken the all-time wins record for college hockey coaches this weekend. It would have required beating BU twice, and beating BU coach Jack Parker, who is #3 on the all-time wins list. That's a tall order.

BC lost 4-2 on BU's ice Friday night in a chippy, physical game. Saturday night at BC, the Eagles won 5-2 and made sure their coach was able to at least celebrate tying Ron Mason's win record on home ice.

Boston College won thanks to their Power Play. They scored 4 times with a man advantage, and amassed a 4-1 lead after 2 periods. Their 5th goal was the only goal of the game by either team to be scored even-strengthed.

BC's leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau didn't have a point in the 5-2 win. His teammates had to step up on offense and they did. Bill Arnold scored twice. Kevin Whitney had 3 assists. Defensemen Michael Matheson and Teddy Doherty each scored Power Play goals.

Johnny Gaudreau has been driving BC's success this season. But they need offense from other sources to step up when he and his line cool off.

Jerry York will likely break the wins record on the road. The Eagles are in Providence Friday night, then play a tournament in Minnesota.

And despite being 9-2-0 in Hockey East, BC is only 1 point ahead of UNH. And UNH has a game in hand. Those teams meet on January 11th.

Photo:
Rich Gagnon

BC Hockey Grinds Out Win Over Dartmouth

There was an unofficial ECAC/Hockey East challenge over the weekend. Merrimack and Colgate tied 1-1, St. Lawrence beat Northeastern 5-2 then lost to BU 4-0, Quinnipiac and UMass tied 2-2, UMass-Lowell beat Princeton 3-1, Providence crushed Brown 7-0 in the Mayor's Cup, and BC outlasted Dartmouth 6-3. So Hockey East won this interconference challenge 4-1-2.

Boston College and Dartmouth (who were ranked 11th coming into the weekend) played a tight, very physical game. The 6-3 final score doesn't do justice for how close of a contest it was.

It was 3-3 going into the final period. For the first 40 minutes the puck spent most of its time near the boards as BC and Dartmouth jousted for possession. There were a few breakaways, but few clean offensive opportunities. Stringing together more than two passes in the middle of the ice was next to impossible.

BC's firepower won out in the 3rd. Pat Mullane scored his 2nd goal of the game 18 seconds into the period. Then Steven Whitney scored his 7th of the season for insurance. Johnny Gaudreau added an empty-netter. He finished the game with 2 goals and 3 assists.

In 11 games this season Gaudreau has 9 goals, 10 assists, and is +15. He's the biggest reason the Eagles are 10-1-0 and #1 in the country.

The victory was Jerry York's 923rd career win. He is now 1 shy of tying the all-time record for college hockey wins, held by Ron Mason. BC plays at BU on Friday, then hosts BU Saturday night. Both games will be televised nationally on NBC Sports.

Photo Credit:
BC Athletics

BC Hockey Comes Back Against Merrimack

#1 ranked Boston College continued to roll, beating Merrimack 4-3 Friday night. The Eagles fell behind by 3 goals in the 2nd period, but erased that deficit in less than 5 minutes, also in the 2nd period. Then in the 3rd, Steven Whitney's 6th goal of the season gave the Eagles their 8th win, and coach Jerry York's 922nd career victory (the record is 924).

After Merrimack went up 3-0, Whitney started the scoring for BC in the 2nd. So far this season the senior from Reading, Mass. has been BC's secret weapon behind Johnny Gaudreau. Gaudreau assisted both Whitney's scores. Patrick Wey and Danny Linell scored BC's other goals.

The Eagles shot the puck 42 times, and barely missed on a few scoring opportunities in the 1st period. BC didn't figure out Merrimack goalie Sam Marotta until the 2nd.

BC hosts Dartmouth on Saturday in a non-conference game, then it's the annual home-and-home against BU on the 30th and December 1st. Jerry York can tie and break the all-time record for college hockey coaching wins in those rivalry games, which would be quite fitting.