There they were, skating on the fresh ice of Kelley Rink one last time, 14 hockey players participating in their own form of group therapy, a pick-up hockey game.
There was a lot of laughing and hollering amongst the Boston College hockey team.
There were neat spin moves by Nathan Gerbe and acrobatic saves by Cory Schneider.
It was Tuesday afternoon, three days after the most devastating loss of the year, a 3-1 defeat in the NCAA Championship game to Michigan State, and for Brian Boyle, it was a loss that ended his career at BC.
Boyle, perhaps experiencing the joy of an end-to-end rush for the last time during the on-ice team get-together, reflected on a time of transition in his hockey career.
For the 2003 first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, the transitions are many; from college senior to professional hockey player, from team leader to rookie, from worrying about a final exam, to worrying about a head-on collision with NHL mammoths such as Zdeno Chara and Chris Pronger.
The senior is now in limbo between the two lives as he continues to stay in playing shape for his future professional career while catching up on missed school work from the team's extended playoff run.
"Right now I'm a little back and forth with the Los Angeles organization; hopefully I'll play in the AHL playoffs with the Manchester Monarchs. It's just a situation where nothing's been finalized yet so I don't know what my immediate plans are. I'm just trying to stay up and catch up with the class work. After the sting wore off, we realized we got some work to do so this week has kind of been catch-up week," said Boyle.
The "sting," Boyle admits, is still there from Saturday night's loss.
Watching an opposing team celebrate the national championship for the second year in a row was probably not what he had in mind when he decided to return to BC for his senior year instead of jumping to the NHL a year early.
Going through that experience twice didn't make it any easier to swallow. There was no dramatic send-off from the captain in the locker room.
"Even if I tried to talk I don't think I could get much out. Guys were just embracing each other. I think that's all you can do, just having a shoulder to cry on," said Boyle.
With some time though, he and the rest of the Eagles may realize all they accomplished this season.
"You don't get opportunities to do something great like that. It was really a special run we had. We went a long way as a team. We went from the middle of the pack in Hockey East to the top. It's tough coming a goal short two years in a row," said Boyle.
Despite the disappointing end, Boyle is content with his decision to return to BC. The senior led the team in points with 19 goals and 34 assists this season, but the statistics don't tell the story of the kind of season Boyle had.
Stripped of his captaincy for missing classes, Boyle earned his "C" back, and concurrently, the Eagles turned a mediocre year into a season to remember.
The team rattled off 13 wins in a row, winning the Hockey East Championship (Boyle's second at BC) and reaching the Frozen Four (Boyle's third).
"As I said at the regional tournament I have no regrets. I became a better person, a better hockey player. The strength of the bond that we had as a team was something else. I'm really so lucky that I had those guys as my teammates," said Boyle.
On Wednesday, head coach Jerry York announced the team captains for the 2007-2008 season, naming Mike Brennan as head captain, and Schneider, Dan Bertram, and Matt Greene as assistants.
As Boyle passes the torch to a new generation of leaders, he believes the Eagles have a chance to contend once again for that elusive national championship.
"I think the kids that we got coming in here are pretty special. You just got to put your head down and get to work again. Even if they didn't have the playoff experience just the talent level they have, they have a chance," said Boyle.
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