Columnists, Ice Hockey, Sports

HAYES: Approaches to hockey at BU, BC diverging

Before the puck dropped in St. Louis last Friday for an NCAA Tournament west regional semifinal, Boston College appeared prepared to walk away with a win. The top-ranked Eagles were facing fourth-ranked Colorado College, who were likely to fall to the Hockey East giants.

But after the puck slid between the Eagles’ own pipes eight times in the next 60 minutes of play and starting goaltender John Muse sat on the bench as if he were a mere back-up, it became obvious that Friday was not the Eagles’ day.

BC’s offense beat Tigers goalie Joe Howe four times, but that was obviously not enough for victory.

The Eagles played an uncharacteristically bad game. The loss was shocking for a team with a 30-7-1 record and dreams of repeating as national champions still floating in their heads.

The loss marked the final game for Muse and two other seniors, Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney. Despite the loss, the trio leaves BC with few regrets, having captured three Hockey East titles, three Beanpots and two national championships.

Junior forwards Cam Atkinson and Jimmy Hayes (no known relation, thankfully) also both announced their departures from Chestnut Hill. The duo, along with Gibbons, were the Eagles top scorers this season, putting the puck between the posts a combined 68 times.

All of their departures will be felt by the Eagles. The biggest hit to BC coach Jerry York’s program will be the loss of Atkinson, who scored 31 goals this season and 58 in the past two years. Of the 153 goals scored by BC this winter, Atkinson was responsible for one-in-five. There is a reason why he is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey’s MVP.

Gibbons provided the most assists to the Eagles, helping on 32 of the team’s goals. The four skaters leaving made a combined 89 assists, a third of the team total.

Closer to downtown Boston, a few players are also cleaning out their lockers here at Boston University.

The lone graduating senior, Joe Pereira, has departed. He played a single game last week for the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League before signing a tryout contract with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The only junior to leave Agganis Arena early so far is David Warsofsky, who signed with the Boston Bruins last week, and began playing for their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

The losses suffered by the Terriers will not hurt them as much as the Eagles in the long run, however. At the most basic level, BU has lost just two players to BC’s five. And the holes on the Jack Parker Rink can be plugged much more easily than those at the Conte Forum. Among those returning is sophomore wing Alex Chiasson, who was the Terriers second-highest goal-scorer behind Pereira, with 14 goals. But the sophomore played five fewer games than the senior, and likely would have taken the team scoring crown if he had played a complete season.

And if none of the current players can step up to the plate, finding a replacement won’t be too challenging for Jack Parker. BU has two forwards and one defenseman joining the team next season – a small recruiting class, but one which complements this young team well.

Incoming forward Evan Rodrigues had 21 goals and 33 assists in 37 games for the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Defenseman Alexx Privitera had 22 assists and 10 goals in 53 games for the United States Hockey League’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. And forward Cason Hohmann scored 22 goals and provided assistance on 30 more through 49 games with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, also of the USHL.

York, working to fill the crater left on his roster by the departures, has pulled out all the stops bringing in players, signing five freshmen. Most notable is Michael Sit, a forward who scored 14 goals and made 26 assists in 30 games for Edina (Minnesota) High School. He will be joined by two goalies, Brad Barone and Brian Billett, two defensemen and two additional forwards.

Clearly, to ensure the future success of the program, BC needs to make up for its losses. The strong freshman class, while not as polished as the players whose skates they will try to fill, will make a difference.

Ultimately, the mentality of the two programs is what will decide the path going forward. BC will still be an older team; provided no one else decides to play professionally, they’ll have six seniors to BU’s five (which includes two goalies). Next year’s seniors and juniors will still know what it’s like to win a national championship, something a mere five members of the 2011-2012 BU squad can claim.

That experience is something of value. As SB Nation’s Ryan Durling wrote last month after the Beanpot, the concept at BC is, “At any cost, just win.” Nothing less is acceptable. That’s the mindset that has worked twice in the past four years for BC, and it probably would have worked this year, if not for a surprising loss. “In York We Trust” is a popular saying on campus, and BC students should trust York. He leads a program whose dedicated goal is to win championships.

Back at BU, a similar goal is at least stated. But the program lacks the mindset it had when it won seven tournament championships, including the NCAA tournament, just two years ago. “Burn the Boats” was the phrase back then, a reference to Cortez’s conquest of the Americas. There was no looking back; only a goal to improve, to get better, and to win. Today, that ideal seems to be lacking.

If you have to describe the goals in the bowels of The Greek right now, it would probably be simply “Win.” The coaching staff is smart enough to how to win and run a successful program. There are five national championship banners in the rafters, one from just two years ago. Something obviously worked. Today, however the staff as a whole seems reluctant to give their players the extra push necessary to win titles.

The boats have been burned, but they have not yet been rebuilt.

This post has been updated to reflect the fact that BC’s Cam Atkinson had 31 goals this season, not 30 points.

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2 Comments

  1. I believe you meant to say that Atkinson had 30 goals this season not points.

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