By: WZBC Sports Staff
As the regular season winds down, the Boston College Eagles (21-4-5, 12-1-5 HEA) find themselves in second place in Hockey East, one point behind Notre Dame. The Eagles can also stake claim to the No. 2 ranking in the national USCHO poll. Sticking with the “two” theme, BC takes a page out of Ernie Banks’s book and will play two this weekend against the Vermont Catamounts (12-16-3, 6-9-3 HEA). Our WZBC Sports broadcasters make their picks below for the Eagles’ penultimate weekend of the 2015-16 regular season. Below each name is the broadcaster’s record in our game picks series.
Projected goaltending matchup: BC junior Thatcher Demko (20-4-4, 1.80 GAA, .935 save percentage) vs. Vermont freshman Packy Munson (8-6-1, 2.20 GAA, .921 save percentage).
| Broadcaster | Friday | Saturday | Comments |
| Kevin Fritz Senior, 3-0 |  5-2 | 3-2 | Vermont is very much a middle-of-the-road Hockey East team this year, as is typically the case, which means that they have the potential to play spoiler to a tough Boston College squad that is jockeying for position atop the Hockey East standings. That being said, Jerry York and his veteran players still very much remember last year’s disappointment in the Hockey East Tournament at the hands of the Catamounts, and will have no issues finding the motivation to keep Vermont from slowing their season down this year. Vermont has struggled in the confines of Gutterson Fieldhouse this year, as they are only 1-6-2 in conference play at home. Additionally, they lead Hockey East in penalty minutes this season, and that is not a good sign going up against BC’s top-ranked power play unit. BC will win easily on Friday, but will be pushed on Senior Day in Burlington during Saturday’s game. Ultimately though, the Eagles will prevail on Saturday as well, on the heels of a late game-winner. |
| Scott Geyman Junior, 3-0 |
4-2 | 5-2 | The Eagles will come away with a sweep this weekend, widening the margin on Saturday night after figuring out the Catamounts’ system on Friday. |
| Casey Hague Junior, 2-0 | 2-1 | 5-4 | Last year Vermont came into Conte and sent the Eagles back to their dorms for an early exit from the Hockey East Tournament. Jerry York will be sure to use this as motivation for his veterans when they win both games against the Cats at Gutterson Fieldhouse this weekend. |
| Anthony Iati Junior, 3-0 | 5-2 | TIE 3-3 | Boston College will remain unbeaten in the calendar year, but the Catamounts will be no cakewalk. Vermont eliminated BC from Hockey East Tournament play last spring behind goaltender Mike Santaguida. This year, freshman Packy Munson has the unenviable task of facing the Eagles’ 3rd-ranked scoring offense. He has played well of late and will help Vermont salvage a tie, as BC again grabs 3 of a possible 4 points. |
| Andrew Kelley Junior, 3-0 | 4-3 | 5-1 | Vermont has struggled against good teams this year. The Catamounts will keep it close on Friday, but the Eagles’ superiority will show on Saturday. |
| Quinn Kelly Soph., 3-0 | 5-2 | 4-3 | This weekend, the Eagles face a double duty weekend for the seventh time this season. BC has collected at least 3 points in each of these weekends, not dropping a single contest. While early in the season they notched a pair of wins against Colorado College in the Rocky Mountain State and against Maine here on the Heights, their last 4 back-to-backs have been 3-point efforts, collecting a win and a tie against Northeastern, Providence, BU, and Merrimack. In the latter three, the Eags took one at home before working draws on the traveling end of the home-and-homes. Being that both games are in Burlington this weekend, the back-to-back is set to pose a challenge for BC. After rising to number 2 in the latest USCHO poll, the Eagles will rise to the test in VT. They will take the first game decisively against a lesser opponent in the Catamounts. Though the current trend the team as on would have me call for a draw in the second matchup, I’m going against instincts and taking a second W. The Eagles have too much to play for in this series. For one, Vermont knocked them out of the Hockey East Tourney last year before they could reach the Garden. Secondly, its Pairwise-watching time, and sitting as the last #1 seed at No. 4, the Eagles are going to want to move up to get that Worcester regional placement in front of a friendly crowd. |
| Steve McAlee Soph., 3-0 | 4-1 | 3-1 | Friday: This season has been just too good for the Eagles not to finish first in the Hockey East regular season. As of now, they sit in 2nd place behind Notre Dame because of their five ties in conference play. This weekend at Vermont is the time to get those games back, especially since the Irish are at #5 Providence. BC comes out hot as usual, puts in 3 goals during the first period, and takes game one. Saturday: UMass Lowell is a sizable challenge for the Eagles next weekend at home, so a sweep at Vermont would be a good cushion. Thatcher Demko knows this and stands on his head, as the Eagles head back south with two Ws. He isn’t here just to get some games in before taking over for Ryan Miller in Vancouver. He won a Beanpot, and he now wants a Hockey East regular season trophy, a Hockey East tournament trophy, and a national championship. The momentum for these goals starts now. |
| Ryan Poor Senior, 3-0 | 4-1 | TIE 3-3 | BC is superior to Vermont in offense, defense, and both special teams units. While I do think BC may lose a game before the Hockey East playoffs (they’re currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak), I don’t think Vermont will be the team to beat them. However, given BC’s tendency to tie one of the two games in these back-to-back sets (they’ve done it four times this year – against Merrimack, BU, Providence, and Northeastern), I think the trend continues here, and Vermont pulls out a tie on Saturday. |
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