If Boston College’s woes on the football field are bringing you down, don’t worry: Hockey is just two weeks away. And now, you can watch the Eagles wherever you are.
Men’s hockey released its 34-game regular-season schedule on Wednesday, the last of BC’s four major winter sports—men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s hockey—to do so. Like women’s hockey, this will be the first season in which every home hockey game will be streamed on WatchESPN.
The Eagles are eyeing a rebound in 2017-18 what many consider may be a rebuilding season. BC finished last season with a share of the Hockey East regular-season title with a 13-6-3 conference record. But, for only the third time in head coach Jerry York’s tenure, the Eagles missed the NCAA Tournament by one spot in the PairWise Rankings with a 21-15-4 record, that also saw their first last-place finish in the Beanpot in over 20 years.
Nevertheless, York has kept his schedule strong, especially out of conference. The Eagles will have 11 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year. They’ll open on Friday, Oct. 6 at Kelley Rink against Quinnipiac, the team that beat them two years ago in the Frozen Four. Other nonconference matchups at home include Wisconsin, last year’s Beanpot and ECAC champion Harvard, and defending national champion Denver. For its road slate, BC will travel to St. Cloud, Minn. to take on St. Cloud State in a two-game series. The Eagles will also participate in the first-ever Ice Vegas Tournament in the New Year’s opening weekend at T-Mobile Arena. They’ll play Michigan Tech, the defending WCHA champion, before taking on either Arizona State or Northern Michigan the next day. BC rounds out its nonconference schedule in the 66th Beanpot Tournament, where it will open against Northeastern in the early 5 p.m. game.
The Eagles’ Hockey East schedule will see a bit of a different look, now that Notre Dame has—to many, thankfully—left the conference to join the Big Ten. This move drops the conference to 11 teams. As a result, BC will play four teams three times apiece, and the remaining six teams twice. In 2017-18, the Eagles will get three games against Providence, Massachusetts Lowell, Connecticut, and Maine—the latter three of those have two games at Kelley Rink, and one on the road. This year’s Battle of Comm. Ave., against rival Boston University, will take place on Friday, Dec. 1 at Kelley Rink, and Saturday, Dec. 2 at Agganis Arena, breaking a three-year stretch in which the games took place on each university’s respective Winter Break.
Featured Image by Lizzy Barrett / Heights Editor
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