Eight days ago, then-No. 1 Boston College men’s hockey headed into its first-round game of the Hockey East tournament against Northeastern in Conte Forum, where the Eagles had lost just two games all season.
To put the odds more in BC’s favor, it had beaten Northeastern 8–2 the last time the teams had faced off—that was in TD Garden for the Beanpot Semifinal.
The odds didn’t matter for the Eagles, though. They lost to Northeastern and were booted from the Hockey East Tournament much earlier than expected.
The criticism of BC after the game had a clear theme: The Eagles can’t handle big moments. A Beanpot loss to rival Boston University, followed by that loss in the conference tournament—in the first round, no less—hasn’t sat well with many fans.
Regardless, as the Eagles sat in the Yawkey Center watching the broadcast on Selection Sunday, they were quickly greeted with the news they wanted to hear: BC was named the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year.
“There’s one last trophy left to go chase, and BC hasn’t won it in a while,” captain Eamon Powell said. “So to be part of a group that can go chase that would be something special.”
There were no whoops, no cheers, and not even any clapping in the room as BC’s seeding was announced. Some people may see that as a problem. After all, confidence can quickly become complacency.
According to BC head coach Greg Brown, that’s not the case for the Eagles.
“We know how hard it is, so it’s not the expectation for us,” Brown said. “Maybe, you know, on the outside. But we know that you have to do so many things right, starting in September, to put yourselves in that position. It takes a lot of work, a lot of preparation behind the scenes, so that you can perform well enough and get those wins throughout the season to get to be a No. 1 seed.”
And it hasn’t been all confidence-building victories for the Eagles over the past year. They’re coming off a shutout loss in the national championship to Denver, who has claimed the trophy two out of the last four years.
But that has helped BC as it heads into this year’s tournament, according to fifth-year defenseman Powell.
“To bring a national championship home to BC is always the goal when you walk in here as a freshman,” Powell said. “Coming so close last year with such a great group of guys, I think it just adds fuel to the fire—makes you want to be back there even more.”
Only time will tell whether the Eagles, who have sat at the top of the rankings for most of the season, will finish off a dominant season with a trophy to show for it. For now, the Eagles look toward Friday, when they’ll open up their national championship campaign with a 2 p.m. game against Atlantic Hockey champion Bentley.
“Come to college hockey to play for those championships, play for your school, and leave trophies behind,” Ryan Leonard said. “You want your team to be remembered.”
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