This year's Senior Night for the Eagles is a little preemptive, as this senior class is far from bidding its final farewell. In last weekend's sweep of UMass-Lowell, Jerry York's squad captured home ice for the Hockey East Playoffs. As the Boston College seniors take the ice against New Hampshire for their final regular season game this Saturday, they will be honored for their accomplishments thus far - but their focus will be squarely on the future.
"It's exciting. It's exciting for the parents, the families. At the same time, we just locked up home ice, so it's technically not our last game. I think that last game of the playoffs [at Conte] will be a little bit more special and emotional," said senior assistant captain Joe Rooney.
Right now though, the UNH Wildcats are the task at hand, and no one on BC's roster will be overlooking them.
"The bottom line is that we have to play our best hockey," said Eagle's captain Brian Boyle. "They're a really solid team, and if we're not disciplined - and by that I mean finishing checks and playing physical in all three zones - then we're going to get exposed."
Boyle and Rooney may be the most noticeable members of the senior class, but there are two other members whose contributions are quite significant. Defensemen Justin Greene and back-up netminder Joe Pearce, also seniors, have helped the team with their hard work and dedication in practice. Although people outside of the Eagles' locker room don't see these contributions, their teammates are certainly aware.
"Pearcey is a top-end goaltender who could be starting at a lot of different schools. It's got to be a tough situation for him, but he's never complained, never been down on himself or anything like that," commented Boyle. "Same thing for Justin, he came in here and just worked hard and he's been a great contributor in practice, playing physical and making it a game-like atmosphere. You're not off-the-hook if you're going against Justin or Joe in practice. If you don't bring it, they're going to make you look silly."
Greene, a Plymouth native who played high school hockey at Massachusetts' powerhouse Boston College High School, has played in nine games during his time at the Heights.
"Bottom line everyone wants to play. But the team sees it that's the big thing. They know what you're doing and that's all that really matters. It doesn't matter what people recognize. The team knows what's going on. And as long as you keep winning that's all that matters," said Greene.
Pearce, who played two years of junior hockey, has played in eight games during his tenure at the Heights.
The New Jersey native garnered MVP honors during two Christmas break tournaments and has been drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The goalie talked about his time at the Heights, commenting, "I came into BC with aspirations of playing and being a real contributor as far as games go. It didn't really work out that way, but you take it in stride. You work as hard as you can in practice and try to make everyone around you better. It's real important to be a good team guy, and I think Justin and I have really embraced that role. I just love being around and I think the guys appreciate our hard work."
Boyle and Rooney's accomplishments on the ice speak for themselves. Boyle is a returning All-American, who despite struggling early on, has become a force to be reckoned with.
Rooney, on the other hand, had not experienced the success offensively that Boyle had, but had always been a good team player, who has met his teammates and coaches expectations this season.
These two will take the ice this weekend against a New Hampshire team that comes in after taking a beating at the hands of the Providence Friars.
The Wildcats, though, have already clinched the Hockey East regular season title and do not have much to play for, which could open the door for the Eagles to take three or four points and jump over the Terriers in the standings.
The Wildcats boast the Hockey East's leading scorer in sophomore forward Trevor Smith, who has 39 points, on 19 goals and 20 assists, leading BC's own Brian Boyle by one point. Smith's 19 goals leads the league and senior forward Mike Radja is tied for second in Hockey East with 18 with the Eagle's own Nathan Gerbe.
Smith isn't the only one who can score for UNH, Junior Matt Fornataro, senior Jacob Micflickier, and junior Mike Radja have all recorded at least 30 points and are all dangerous threats in the offensive end of the rink.
New Hampshire isn't to shabby in their own end of the rink either, as they boast the third best scoring defense in the league, only surrendering 2.25 goals per game.
The backbone of the defense, Kevin Regan, played with Boyle and Rooney at St. Sebastian's, and Rooney commented, "We know what he's [Regan] like. We know what he's good at, we know what he kind of struggles with, so we'll try to spread that among the team and pepper him with as many shots as we can."
It will be a great night for the Eagle's seniors; a win would make it that much sweeter.
Boyle talked about what the moment would mean to him
"Hopefully, Saturday I can stay focused on the games. But it'll be nice to remember all the times that we've had on this ice, especially with my family coming down, the ritual when we give our mothers' the bouquet of flowers. It's just going to be something that's special to me because I get a chance to thank them," said Boyle
And as he and the other seniors thank their families, the BC hockey fans should thank Boyle, Rooney, Greene, and Pearce for the energy, enthusiasm, and memories, that they have given the Heights throughout the past four years.
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