While records and rankings might have fallen below expectations for two of Hockey East's finest programs during the first half of the season, all that can be thrown out the window when Boston College and Boston University lace up the skates. In the oft-played rivalry, the two teams have a long history of animosity and on Friday the hitting and fighting were as plentiful as BC goals. But in a game filled with big hits and 50 penalty minutes, it was the playmaker for BC that proved to be the difference.
Nathan Gerbe, the littlest big-man-on-campus, provided the spark BC needed to beat BU - and possibly regain enough momentum for the Eagles to make a second-half push. Playing with fire in their bellies for a full 60 minutes, Gerbe and the Eagles were able to dismantle and derail a BU squad that seemed to have just recently found their form - yet they took one huge step back against the Eagles.
From the opening score to a shorthanded goal two and a half minutes later to put the Eagles up 3-0, it was as if Gerbe put the Eagles upon his back and finally gave the sellout crowd of 7,884 something to smile about. After a month of futility, in which the Eagles had no wins, three ties, and three losses, a game against the Commonwealth Avenue foe might have been exactly what the doctor ordered.
"The team was excited," said Gerbe about playing the Terriers. "It pumps me up, and it was definitely good to get a win."
And while it was the Eagles' highest output since a 7-1 win against Merrimack on Oct. 26, it was not as if BC did not have opportunities to win: They have had six games go to overtime this season, and three of their four losses have been by a single goal. Friday, however, was a night in which everything seemed to go right.
"Sometimes we play smart and not physical, sometimes we play physical and not smart, but I think tonight we had both," said BC head coach Jerry York, who improved to 25-29-5 against BU as head coach of his alma mater.
Gerbe was the first to score a hat trick for BC since Ben Ferriero on Jan. 12 against Merrimack, and was the first BC player with two shorthanded goals since Joe Rooney on March 25, 2005, against BU. He downplayed his performance, however, as a much-needed breakthrough for the Eagles.
2008 Woodie Awards
