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After splitting last weekend's series with Merrimack College, a squad usually found in the cellar of the standings, the Boston College men's hockey team is realizing the fact that the Hockey East Association is full of parity this season.
In a year when no wins are guaranteed, many weekends are going to be difficult for the Eagles. This weekend is no exception, as BC faces New Hampshire and Northeastern.
"Our commissioner has been talking about so many split series," said head coach Jerry York. "Right now at this stage no one really knows who the best team is, there are a lot of strong teams but until it settles down around Christmas, we won't really know."
The Eagles will travel to Durham to face New Hampshire on Friday and then return to Kelley Rink on Saturday to wrap up the important conference series against Northeastern.
New Hampshire provides an interesting match-up for the Eagles. The Wildcats have struggled in non-conference games this year, posting a record of 0-4-1. Despite their non-conference woes, the Wildcats are actually 2-0-0 in Hockey East play. A large part of their success is due to senior goaltender Brian Foster, who has a save percentage of .900 in conference play games.
BC forward Ben Smith asserted that the Eagles would approach Foster as they would any other experienced goaltender. "We're going to try and get shots on the net, just keep the puck low, and look for as many scoring opportunities as possible," he said. "The way you attack any goalie."
New Hampshire's defense has struggled often this season, and last weekend was especially disastrous when Wisconsin swept it. Not only were the Wildcats outscored 10-2 in both games, but New Hampshire also lost the shots on goal battle by an immense margin of 95-35.
Foster made many saves, but the Badgers were able to capitalize on several rebound goals. If BC can duplicate a similar style of play and generate hard shots on goal, a few are bound to get away from Foster.
"Whatever level you play at, goaltenders are susceptible to second-chance opportunities," York said. "So we have to get shots on the net for that, screens in front, and maybe a few garbage goals around the net."
Although New Hampshire's defense has been weak this season, its offense has kept it in games and should provide an especially tough fight for BC's young blue-liners. For 20 straight seasons, at least one Wildcat has scored 40 points or more.
Defenseman Blake Kessel looks like the player poised to continue the streak. He has just three goals, but with seven assists in seven games he is an excellent distributor. Senior forward Bobby Butler leads the team in goals with four.
Saturday's match-up against Northeastern (2-3-0) provides BC with an excellent chance to boost its dismal power-play performance this season. Until the Eagles netted two last Saturday against Merrimack, they were one for 19 at the special teams attack. The Huskies, however, are a team that has already allowed eight power-play goals in five games.
"We have spent a little more time on our power play," York said. "Special teams is always a key factor. It's the game within the game."
BC will look to its forwards to produce if special teams situations arise. Though the Eagles will be without freshman forward Chris Krieder for at least for Friday's game due to a head injury, junior Brian Gibbons scored a power-play goal last weekend and will look to continue his hot streak. He has four points in his last two games. "He's one of our real bright spots early," York said.
An issue many people believe has caused struggle for the Eagles is their lack of experience. BC has just four seniors on the team, while Northeastern's roster contains seven seniors and many juniors. Playing against a team with such an advantage in experience will require steady leadership from BC's upperclassmen. "Those four seniors are going to have to be huge for us this year," York said.
Despite the many challenges this weekend brings, BC knows this is an important conference series in which it need to play well.
"It's a good series," Smith said. "Two good skating teams, two Hockey East teams, and two games we are very excited about."
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