Last season’s NCAA tournament runner-up, Boston College, has been tabbed by Hockey East coaches as the preseason favorite to capture the league’s regular season championship. The voting was one of the closest in league history, with four teams receiving first-place votes from the coaches.
On March 19, 1949, Boston College won its first national championship in only the second NCAA hockey tournament. Fifty-one years later, the Eagles entered their title game against North Dakota still looking for number two. When they lost, 4-2, it added one more brick in a wall of agonizing frustrations. "It’s been a long time … Read more
The opportunity remains for the Eagles to remove the “1949” title — referring to the school’s last national championship — thanks to a dramatic third-period comeback on the way to a 4-2 victory over St. Lawrence on Thursday night. That’s the good news for the Eagles. The bad news for the Eagles is their next … Read more
Boston College senior defenseman Mike Mottau was named today as the 20th winner of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to college hockey’s most outstanding player. A three-time All-American, Mottau has led the Eagles to three consecutive appearances in the Frozen Four and will be looking to cap that Saturday with BC’s first national … Read more
Boston College had just defeated St. Lawrence in dramatic fashion to advance to a national championship game against North Dakota. The Eagles were celebrating in the locker room. BC coach Jerry York got everyone’s attention and told them to make sure the door was closed. “This doesn’t leave the locker room,” he said. “You can’t … Read more
Sometimes games come down to Xs and Os. A brilliantly designed faceoff play. A game plan that strikes at an opponent’s Achilles’ heel. A power play that breaks down a penalty kill with the precision of a Swiss watch. Blake Bellefeuille rose to the occasion in the semifinal against St. Lawrence, sending the Eagles to … Read more
Bob Weiss, president of the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, announced today that Boston College senior Mike Mottau has been named the winner of the 48th Walter Brown Award, given annually to New England’s outstanding American-born college hockey player. The award will be presented to Mottau at the New England Hockey Writers’ Dinner on April … Read more
Ink. Press. Publicity. Most of the time, it goes to forwards. They get it when they score a key momentum-turning goal or bury a game-winner late in the third period or in overtime. And when the forwards don’t get it, the goaltenders do for tossing a shutout or making one acrobatic save after another. Defensemen? … Read more
Reggie Jackson earned a reputation as “Mr. October” by always delivering in the postseason for the New York Yankees. When it comes to the Hockey East tournament each March, Blake Bellefeuille has been no less dominant. In his four years at Boston College, he’s totaled 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 15 … Read more
If you heard that a Boston College Eagle netted a hat trick in the Beanpot, there’d be a few likely possibilities. Brian Gionta, Jeff Farkas or Blake Bellefeuille would be the obvious candidates. Or perhaps Mike Lephart, defenseman-turned-forward Marty Hughes or Jeff Giuliano. Maybe even a member of the highly-skilled BC defensive corps. But rather … Read more
Years ago, when someone said the word “rivalry” in Boston, you might immediately have thought of the Bruins and the Canadiens, the Celtics and the Lakers, and most definitely the Red Sox and the Yankees. But as the days of the great sports rivalries in Boston begin to slowly fade thanks to pro sports expansion, … Read more
Perhaps it’s a good thing that no player on the Boston College roster describes himself as a history major in the team’s media guide. In Saturday night’s Hockey East championship game, BC faced its third big overtime game at the FleetCenter in the last two years, and the Eagles had lost the previous two. In … Read more
No Case of Senioritis for UNH Ah, mid-March. That time of year when seniors at most universities go on spring break and then begin to stagger toward the finish line of their collegiate careers. A point at which the work ethic of many top-performing upperclassmen becomes abysmal. It’s called “senioritis.” But somehow the UNH hockey … Read more
There he was, sitting in the stands of the Kiel Center in St. Louis with his family. Marty Reasoner, Jr., had just finished his freshman campaign at Boston College. He was the Hockey East Rookie of the Year, joining the likes of Brian Leetch, Ken Hodge and Ian Moran as the only Eagles to do … Read more
Boston College senior-to-be Marty Reasoner has decided to forego his final year of college eligibility to sign with the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues. Reasoner was the the Blues’ first round (14th overall) selection in the 1996 NHL entry draft. A source at Boston College told the Boston Globe, “Marty had to sign. What … Read more
“I think we can win it.” Win what? Hockey East? Further than that? “Further than that.” — Brian Gionta, Oct. 17, 1997 On the face of it, Gionta’s prediction, made with a grin and a sparkle in the eye after the first game of the season, appeared so outlandish as to be laughable. Win it? … Read more
They’re the little waterbugs that drive an opposing defenseman nuts, darting elusively this way and that, always staying out of arm’s reach, posing the ultimate threat to his dignity. You let that midget beat you? Put a puck on their sticks and you can hear the extra buzz of anticipation in the crowd. Something exciting … Read more
“I told my wife we’d try it for five years, and if nothing came of it I’d get a real job.” JERRY YORK Twenty-five years later, Boston College coach Jerry York has yet to hold a “real job,” but has earned numerous coaching awards, led a team to a national championship, and won 500 games. … Read more
Boston College starting goaltender Greg Taylor broke his glove hand while performing off-ice plyometric drills and will likely miss the next two to three weeks. “The break should heal in five weeks,” said BC coach Jerry York. “Hopefully in two to three weeks he can get some movement so he can play with a cast … Read more
As a kid he dreamed of playing like Gretzky. At prep school they called him the next Craig Janney. Now he’s making a name for himself at Boston College. Marty Reasoner ran away with the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award last year after being named Rookie of the Week nine times and Rookie … Read more