Rivalry Renewed: BC and BU Get Ready for Weekend Series
By Quinn Kelly
Tonight marks the renewal of the greatest rivalry in college hockey history; not to mention one of the greatest in all of college sports. Tonight the Boston College Eagles will travel down a ways on Commonwealth Avenue and arrive at Agganis arena for a show down with the Boston University Terriers. This will be the 271st meeting between the two schools. In the series, BU holds the advantage of by 130 wins to 122 wins with 18 games ending in a draw. The newest chapter in this near hundred-year-old novel will have a different theme than has been seen before. Yes of course, these are two teams both inside the top 10, but in the previous 270 matchups that has happened plenty of times. This year it will be different, as the overarching theme here will be youth. This, however, is not youth for youth’s sake, nor youth for injury’s sake, nor for a lack of options’ sake. This is youth because these young guns can play. BU brings to the table with it seven competitors in this past World Junior Championships; BC brings five of its own. BC rolls with 10 freshmen, BU rolls with 8 of their own. But, these two teams are no less dangerous for it. The Terriers’ youth, on the back of the top recruiting class in the nation last year, has led BU to a number five ranking. BC has surprised many, coming out strong with less highly touted freshman class that has led them to a number eight ranking in the nation. This will be the first series of the second half for both of these teams, and it will certainly prove a crucial one in their race up the rankings.
This rivalry is as steeped in tradition as it gets. As with any rivalry this old, however, it is wise to look to the recent history for clues to how the next contest will go. And if recent history were to dictate, the Eagles should have an excellent shot at fairing particularly well this weekend. The Eagles are riding a four-game unbeaten streak against the Terriers. Since Jack Parker’s retirement and the start of David Quinn’s tenure, York’s team has only fallen once and has claimed 13 of 16 possible points at the expense of the Terriers. The timing of the coming matchups is favorable as well. The Eagles are just 9 days away from making it 7 years since they have lost a game against BU in either January or February. In that same span they have only lost one game after the winter break: a Hockey East tournament matchup in March 2013. So, yeah, you could say that the Eagles rise up for these late season games against their rival.
But, this rivalry transcends historical bonds as well, and we have to examine the current season to accurately predict results. In this test, the Eagles don’t fair quite as favorably, given that the Terriers are red hot and are winners of their last five. This is not to say that the Eagles aren’t up to the task, though, as they are coming off a big win of their own after defeating Providence 3-1 at Fenway, and are as good as they come when working with a fully healthy lineup (which there seems to be at least some promise of this weekend). The Eagles will have their hands full with some of the savviest young scorers in Hockey East leading the charge for BU, such as Patrick Harper and Clayton Keller, who sit 2nd and 4th amongst freshmen in points in the conference. Joe Woll, coming off a great performance at the World Juniors and a strong win against Providence, should be game to prevent some of his teammates for Team USA from getting the better of the Eags.
Right now, BU looks as though they may be the slightly better team this year. But, the Eagles still have a great chance to walk out of this weekend with some points. As always, it starts with limiting their penalty taking. This seems to be the toughest thing for the Eagles to do, but it’s imperative that they find a way against BU. Then, it comes down to peppering the Terrier tender Jake Oettinger. The Eagles have been doing a great job all season keeping their shot totals up, and the more this team shoots, the more likely it is that they’re going to find the twine behind Oettinger. Friday night, the Eagles will enter into a raucous Agganis Arena, looking to score the first blow of the weekend and in this 3 game season series (if not more with the possibility of a Hockey East Tournament rendez-vous). Then it will be back to Conte Forum to play in front of what is expected to be a packed house on students’ first night back from break. The last time BU won a game in this series it was at Conte, so the Eagles will still have to be on high alert there while trying to take advantage of a friendly crowd.
Let’s take a look at our staff’s picks for the series:
| Game 1: 1/13 @ BU | Game 2: 1/16 @ BC | |
| Quinn Kelly | Tie 2-2 BC has had no problem gaining points at Agganis as of late. They jump out to an early lead but watch it dissipate as the Terriers pick up a pair, including one late, on the power play. Young Eagles falter in the third against their first truly hostile road crowd. Oettinger vs Woll I ends in a draw as both goalies look strong. | BC 5-3 BC has looked fantastic at home this season, only dropping a single game so far, and a packed Conte Forum gets the boys’ juices flowing. A couple tallies for Whitey get the job done here as goals come a bit more easily in round two. Oettinger vs Woll II goes Joey Stone Woll as he makes just a few more key saves. |
| Anthony Iati | Tie 3-3 BU’s only home loss all season was a fluky one against UConn in November. The Eagles haven’t played their best hockey in awhile, but they always seem to rise to the occasion at Agganis. The fierce rivals will skate to a 3-3 draw on Friday night, delaying Comm Ave bragging rights another few days. | BC 3-1 The BC students back on campus will be treated to a huge Eagles win on Monday night. With teams so equally young and talented, the atmosphere at Conte Forum should give the Eagles a slight edge. BC will play a strong defensive game and use an empty-netter to win 3-1. |
| Andrew Kelley | 3-2 BC | 5-2 BC |
| Kyle Maslan | Tie 3-3 BC just got back in their winning ways at Frozen Fenway and they are going to try and get started on the 2nd half of the season hot streak with their best players back from the Juniors Tournament. BU is a tough opponent, and it will be a harsh road enviromnment for a young team, look at them to play well, but may not be able to get both points from this matchup. 3-3 tie. | BC 4-2 This game will occur on the students first day back on campus, thankfully it is not scheduled in the middle of break like it was last year. Conte Forum should be sold out and the crowd should be loud and rowdy. Look for this environment to have a great affect on this young BC team and may rattle the very talented, but also young Terriers squad. 4-2 BC |
| Conor Hawley | 4-3 BC | 7-2 BC |
| Casey Hague | 4-2 BU BU will have Agganis rocking and win round one of the Battle of Comm Ave | 4-3 BC With the full lineup back from World Juniors and injury, BC edges out a tough one at home. |
So many hockey greats have taken the ice in an edition of the Battle of Comm Ave. Names like Drury and Gionta, Pandolfo and Scuderi; names that adorn not only the Stanley Cup, but the history books on this storied rivalry. Budding stars in the NHL like Eichel and Gaudreau once made names for themselves in these contests. Now, a new host of characters, like Keller and White, McAvoy and Fitzgerald, look to etch their names into the lore of this great rivalry before going on to make their names at the next level. Friday night and Monday night these two teams will be playing for national rankings, higher spots in the Pairwise, and a favorable spot in the race for the Hockey East regular season title. But, as is always the case when these two teams meet up, they will be playing for so, so much more than that.