If you had to draw up a national championship team on paper, Boston College's 2003-04 team would have been it; very few losses to graduation, a great goaltender coming back, and a legendary coach shopping for another season of Beanpot glory and a NCAA tournament run.
Well, you win on ice, not paper, but BC did finish first in the Hockey East, win the Beanpot, and advance to the Frozen Four for the fifth time in seven years. An A- would be a fair grade. Now on to next year's chances of high marks.
First, the players that are leaving BC. Leading scorer Tony Voce (29 goals) and defensive anchor JD Forrest are both graduating in May. Also trading in helmets and pads for caps and gowns are captain Ben Eaves, forwards Ty Hennes and Justin Dziama, and defenseman Brett Peterson.
Voce's departure leaves a massive gap in BC's offensive firepower, which struggled down the stretch. Looking to pick up the slack will be Ryan Shannon and Patrick Eaves, the other lone Eagles to reach double figures in goals this year, with 15 and 18, respectfully.
No one will be more affected by actions off the ice next season than Eaves. Having been drafted by the Ottawa Senators, he has the talent to go pro next season, but if he does, he may find that he has no team. The NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is set to expire after the playoffs, and many experts anticipate a lockout, putting the chance of seeing any NHL team in an arena next year at slim to none. One of the issues facing the NHL is overexpansion, and the natural solution being proposed is contraction. Two of the league's teams have already skated within a blue line of bankruptcy, and one of them is Ottawa. Should that happen, Eaves could find himself without a contract as a free agent, and a stellar 2004-05 season at BC could make him a very sought-after player after graduation.
Last offseason, BC had no major gaps to fill to graduation, but still came up winners in the recruiting wars by nabbing 6'7" defenseman Brian Boyle, who was drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Kings. This year, the Eagles have spread their talent more evenly. Eight players have been identified as targets, and thus far two have already signed national letters of intent. Mike Brennan, 5'11", from Smithtown, NY, and 6'3" Todd Perry from Ingleside, Ontario and the Canadian Junior Hockey League, look to form BC's defensive tandem of the future.
Among those not yet signed are goalie Corey Schneider (Phillips Andover), forwards Matt Greene (BC High), Benn Ferriero (Governor Dummer), Dan Bertram (Calgary), and Nathan Gerbe, a 5'6" dynamo from Oxford, Michigan, as well as defensemen Bret Motherwell (St. Charles, IL), and Anthony Aiello (Thayer Academy).
Hockey East has sent at least one team to the national championship game in the past eight seasons, so BC's chances of reaching Columbus, Ohio (home of the 2005 Frozen Four) will be determined by their success in the league.
At the bottom of this year's standings was one team with a long-term lease on Hockey East's basement (Northeastern) and one crabby tenant more accustomed to the life of luxury in the penthouse suite (BU). The Huskies return the majority of their team, so they might move up to respectability. With no major recruits to give them a sudden jolt of offensive power, however, they still remain likely to finish no higher than seventh.
The only thing more enjoyable for a SuperFan than seeing the Eagles in the NCAA tournament would be seeing BU out of it, a possibility lessened by the stellar play of goalie Sean Fields. Fields became a household name or subject of profanity during the Beanpot, and kept BU's worst season in years from being an absolute train wreck. Unfortunately for the Terriers, Fields is graduating, departing with defenseman Ryan Whitney, who led the team in points. No matter how much their underclassmen develop, those gaps are too big to fill in just one season, so look for the Terriers to continue the rebuilding process next year.
Merrimack (seventh of nine in 2003-04) displayed some grit this past season, but with only two of its top five scorers returning, undue pressure will be placed on young goalies Jim Healey and Casey Guenther.
UMass-Lowell (No. 6) will look to rebound from a season which involved nine forfeited games, after it was revealed a transfer from Maine was ineligible. Their record without forfeits would have put them in the top half of Hockey East, rather than their disappointing finish. They obviously have the talent to make some noise in the conference, but distractions can not occur next season.
Providence (No. 5) will be a developing team next season. Not rebuilding, but developing, for although it loses some offense to graduation, most of its returning scoring punch will only be sophomores. The Friars return their entire goaltending crew as well. Their inexperience will probably prevent them from reaching the top, but look for the Friars to finish around No. 4 and get better as the season goes on, making them an early pick for the proverbial Team No One Wants To Play In the Conference Tournament.
New Hampshire (No. 3) will be a player again next season, thanks to eight of its top 10 scorers lacing up for next season's campaign. The graduation of backup goaltender Mike Ayers, however, will elevate rising junior Jeff Pietrasiak to the primary slot. He allowed one fewer goal per game than Ayers but played in less than a third as many games. Pietrasiak's response to the daily mental stress will determine if UNH is merely a good team, or a great one.
Maine (No. 2) is a paper tiger, but this cat might be emotionally shaken up after such a draining finish in the NCAA title game against Denver, when the Black Bears failed to score on a 6-on-3 advantage with a minute left. There are no seminars, tapes, or classes that teach players how to get over that kind of letdown. Returning is goaltender Jim Howard, who broke the NCAA career goals-against-average mark in a 1-0 loss, which might be the cruelest of ironies from the Record Book gods. Imagine if Wilt had lost his 100-point game by one, and you have an inkling of what Howard felt like after Denver began celebrating.
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