Stepping Out Of The Shadows

Boston College is known across the country for its dominant hockey program. Consistently nationally ranked, BC is a powerhouse out of the Hockey East and has a long tradition of competing for a national title every year.

But what some people on campus might not realize is that BC is actually home to two championship caliber men's hockey teams.

The BC men's club hockey team, which was formed just four years ago, is headed to the ACHA National Championship in Simsbury, Conn., this week as the No. 2 seed in the Northeast region. The team finished the regular season 26-2-3 and went undefeated in its NECHA league play, winning the league and receiving an automatic bid to Nationals.

Even though the team is now one of the best club teams in the country, it was not always that way for BC, as the team is only in its second year of eligibility for Nationals. Michael Greeley, the team's assistant coach and BC '08, started the team along with Andrew Baird during their time at BC. Greeley has seen the incredible rise of the team in a relatively short amount of time, thanks in large part to the 12 seniors on this year's team.

"We're very proud of our guys, especially the class of 2010, who were fresh out of high school hockey when we were starting the team several years ago," Greeley said. "We had mismatched uniforms and no practices then, and they loved hockey and believed in the team so much that they bought into it and stuck with it."

"Freshman year was pretty much the MVPs of intramurals," said senior captain Derek Summerlin. "Now we actually have tryouts. It's probably the biggest change I've ever been a part of. We definitely owe a lot of thanks to the kids that started it, one of our assistant coaches now, Mike Greeley, and Andrew Baird."

Greeley is also joined on the team by his father, Steve, the team's head coach, and his brother Tommy, a senior. Steve coaches the team on a volunteer basis and dedicates a significant amount of time to the job.

"[Steve] hasn't missed a single game," Summerlin said. "He travels with us to each game, whether 10 minutes away or four hours. He also makes it to morning practices at 7 a.m. He's definitely at the heart of this team along with the founders, Mike and Andrew Baird."

The team, which shares ice time at Conte Forum with BC's varsity team and plays its games at the Dexter Prep School in Brookline, takes pride in playing for a respected hockey school like BC.

"BC's reputation as a great hockey school has certainly helped our program along the way," Greeley said. "It helped give us legitimacy when we first started to schedule games against reputable programs a few years ago."

When the team first started to schedule games, some of its opponents didn't realize the club team wasn't BC's varsity.

"Sophomore year we went out to Texas Tech and they actually thought we were the real team, and they thought our coach was Jerry York," said senior captain Chris McNamara. "Some of the teams don't understand that we are the club team, so in that way it's kind of funny."

Even if there is sometimes confusion for opponents, the club and varsity teams share the same goal of winning and have mutual respect for one another.

"They have respect for us in what we do because they know we know there's such a huge gap, and there's no rivalry obviously," Summerlin said. "It's just two completely different things, and they actually support what we're doing as we would support them."

"I was talking to [men's hockey captain] Matt Price the other day, and he said he was going to try to get a bus to bring fans to one of our games at Nationals," McNamara said. "So, definitely, we're friendly with those guys and vice versa."

As the team prepares for Nationals, an important part of the team's success this season has been its low goals-against average. BC led the country in fewest goals allowed, and attributes this to its dominant goalie tandem of seniors Alex Kramer and Derek Missert. Kramer, who started on the club team his freshman year but also spent two years on varsity, has a chance to win national championships at both the varsity and club levels.

"All year, they've been our backbone. The reason we've done so well all year is because we have a very low goals-against average and our team defense," McNamara said. "They give us a chance to be in every single game."

The team, which finished No. 6 overall in the country after going 2-1 at last year's Nationals, is setting its sights high for this year's tournament. BC will play three games in pool play on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and the team with the best record in pool play will move on to the semifinals.

Standing in the way of the semifinals for the Eagles is Davenport University of Michigan, the defending national champions for three straight years. BC saw Davenport play at a showcase earlier in the year, in which Davenport lost to two teams the Eagles defeated, Siena and Florida Gulf Coast. BC will play Davenport in their third game of pool play, which could determine whether the Eagles advance to the semifinals.

"Granted each game is very important, but for us seniors, Davenport is our biggest game no matter what because it's either our final game or the game that gets us to the semifinals," Summerlin said.

For BC's seniors and the rest of the club hockey team, Nationals will be a chance for their hard work to be rewarded. The team understands they have a chance to bring a championship title back to Chestnut Hill.

"It comes down to who wants it more," Summerlin said. "Skill wise, I think all the teams at Nationals are the same level, so it just comes down to who wants it."