If I don’t make a whole lot of sense, you’ll have to excuse me – I’m still trying to figure out what exactly happened over Spring Break. Strangely enough, my delusion hasn’t been induced by a few too many drinks in Mexico or a few too many hours in the sun. No, it’s the Boston University sports world that’s caused me to question the boundary between fantasy and reality.

First there’s the utter disappointment that took place on the basketball court. As we headed into the America East Tournament, BU men’s basketball was on fire. How could we lose to Stony Brook? I couldn’t believe it. The women fared a little better – they at least made it to the championship game. Of course if they had stayed home, their shooting percentage would have been a little bit better.

But the team that everyone is talking about once again is the Icedogs. And for the first time since Midnight Mania, people are saying positive things about this team.

I was at all four games over Spring Break, and the entire experience was more than just a little surreal. Two and a half minutes from going home for the year, David Van der Gulik extended the season another week. And then came the mother of all playoff series. BU over BC, two out of three in the playoffs? Are you kidding me? It doesn’t get any better than that.

I’m still kind of in shock that we beat BC twice to take the series. I mean, we were 0-4 against them going into the series. Sure, it’s not exactly beating the Soviets, but it was a pretty monumental upset.

If there was any team in the history of organized sports that was going to barely make the tournament and then upset the No. 1 seed and arguably the best team in the country, it’s this Terrier team. This is a team that loves to make you think one thing and then do the complete opposite. This is an enigma, a paradox that the almighty Jack Parker can’t even figure out.

The more you analyze this team, the less sense it makes. A power play unit where one defenseman has more goals than the three forwards combined? A walk-on playing on a first line centered by someone who’s barely big enough to ride all the rides at Six Flags? Welcome to the wild, wild world of BU hockey.

And that’s exactly why I love this particular hockey team so much. If you’ve followed my columns at all, you know that I’ve held out hope for the Terriers all season long. But as frustrating as this team has been, I’ve grown to love it.

If you’re a BC fan, you come to each game expecting to win, and win big, usually. After a while, winning must get old. Sure, it’s fun being on top of the world – No. 1 in the country and better than everyone (at least I’m assuming it is). But when you expect it, when, as Bill Simmons says, your fear of losing overrides the joys of winning, I just don’t think it’s as fun, or at least as interesting.

With this BU team, you never know what to expect. How many teams can get blown out 8-4 one night only to come back and post a 1-0 shutout the next? This team has seen it all. They’ve won games they should have lost, lost games they should have won and had more overtime games (and ties) than any team should. It’s insane, it’s ridiculous, it’s frustrating – but it’s fun. It’s not an easy team to love, but it’s certainly helped to expose the true fans of BU hockey.

As I stood in Conte Forum, watching Ben Eaves and company salute their home fans for the last time while the Terriers celebrated in front of the so-called “Superfans,” the band playing behind me and I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel. Obviously I was as happy as Rosie O’Donnell at an all-you-can-eat roast beef dinner, but there was just something kind of strange about the whole scene. BU fans celebrating in Conte Forum, the “Superfans” looking like they had just seen Michael Jackson in his birthday suit. I wasn’t totally surprised. Wins like these were something that this team has been capable of all year. After months of waiting, I was more shocked that it finally happened.

And now, 37 games into the season, we’ve finally figured out what kind of team the 2003-04 Icedogs are. They’re a never-give-up, never-say-die bunch. They’ll play hurt and lay it all on the line. Relatively devoid of superstars, you never know who’s going to be the hero. You can guess, but just when you think you know, Eric Thomassian makes you think otherwise. So as the weekend rolls around and the Icedogs try to get past Maine and capture their first Hockey East Championship since 1997, one thing’s for sure: Don’t try to predict anything. Just sit back, relax and expect the unexpected.

Joe Rouse, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a weekly sports columnist for The Daily Free Press.