<p>Congrats to the BC men’s hockey team. I was at the game last night. The Wisconsin fans far outnumbered the BC fans, and they made a lot of noise. But they got really quiet in the third period when the BC machine shifted into high gear.</p>
<p>Dear Schmaltz : When BC opened the offensive attack with the nine goals against Yale, you could see the defense get sloppy and you knew that Jerry York and the team would tighten up for the Frozen Four. In the semifinals and finals, you could see that BC’s skating, puck handling, and passing (particularly the passing) more than made up for the size disadvantage against Miami and Wisconsin. On the heals of last year’s collapse in the national final against BU, you have to feel a bit for Miami, but BC’s win last night against Wisconsin was good “payback” for the 2006 game. </p>
<p>You could certainly hear the pepband’s “For Boston” rendition after each goal. One note of class by the band was after the third goal when the injured Wisconsin player was on the ice behind the net, the music immediately stopped. Good news is that he was able to skate off the rink.</p>
<p>Congratulations to Boston College on adding another National Championship!</p>
<p>"BC’s win last night against Wisconsin was good “payback” for the 2006 game. "</p>
<p>Exactly…in the 3rd period my daughter kept saying she felt sorry for the [hapless and frustrated] Wisconsin team, & I had to keep reminding her of the 2006 game.</p>
<p>^“hapless”???</p>
<p>They were brutes and just got out-skated by SPEED. Just an awesome and fun game. BC’s defense was superb. The Badgers had few really good looks at the net, as the D consistently blocked all of the shooting lanes. </p>
<p>“Frustrated” heck yeah, they had not seen such speed all year. (And that is not something you can practice for/against.)</p>
<p>cam atkinson is the best hockey player ive seen in some time. im shocked he didnt win the MVP honors</p>
<p>Dear eemmzz10 : Nathan Gerbe was more dominant in the finals for BC in 2008 than Cam Atkinson was for BC in the 2010 finals. That said, we are splitting hairs. The real story about this year’s team has been John Muse who did not seem to mishandle a puck in the entire Frozen Four competition.</p>
<p>Something else to think about : in their last three games, BC scored four or more goals in the third period in each match. This clearly demonstrates that Jerry York’s philosophy on speed and skating skills - both of which are based on superior conditioning - were the winning factors for Boston College. Take nothing away from Wisconsin getting to the finals, but when frustrated players meet speed, the clutch and grab game leads to penalties, short tempers, and a loss of focus. You saw those three things throughout the latter stages of the second and certainly throughout the third period with Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Ah BC/BU becoming the Duke/UNC of hawkey? They shuah ah.</p>
<p>One def. of “hapless”: pitiable. They kept shooting the puck acrosss the crease, to no avail. they kept getting in scrums in front of the net with no goals.</p>
<p>scottj;</p>
<p>yes, Muse was awesome, but I think a larger point is that the Defense in front of him “stayed home”. In yesterday’s game, Wisconsin only had a couple of great looks at the net. Because the defenders were in perfect position all game, the shooters had to alter their shots, forcing many off target.</p>
<p>Schmatlz: hard to have pity for Geoffrion, who was a one-man wrecking crew, or at least he tried to physically punish every Eagle that came near him.</p>
<p>Scottj - you are absolutely right. The conditioning coach for BC just does an awesome job getting the players ready to play. That speed is simply amazing and their ability to handle the puck - Wow! They are just so scrappy and tenacious - a team that is a real pleasure to watch. H and I get to a couple of games each year and we are always surprised (and shouldn’t be) by the job that York does.<br>
Quick question for you Scottj - H and I can’t believe how few students go to the regular season games. Are they still using the lottery system for tickets? When my D was a freshman, you still needed to camp out to get your seats and I can’t help but think that guaranteed that the real fans would come to the games vs those who simply signed up on line and don’t really care about the sport. Thoughts?
Also - Kudos to the BC band. I also noticed how they immediately stopped playing when the Wisconsin player went down.<br>
H and I thought the Hobey Baker winner looked like a poor sport, but I’m sure it was just sheer frustration - being beaten by a team that didn’t have an all-american or superstar. Oh well - they sure worked well together to get that championship.
Go Eagles!</p>
<p>Dear Dogwood : The students still enter a lottery system for hockey tickets although there was excess capacity this year for sure. Both of my children at Boston College get the football and hockey ticket packages. What is interesting is that selling off the excess to other students is never a problem. The football season is the “thing to do in the fall season” and the hockey season is just very long which to some extent dilutes the immediate excitement. </p>
<p>My view is that the student involvement increases for the Hockey East Tournament and, of course, the Beanpot games. The point about being “an event” is important. Look at the 36,000 who turned out at Fenway for Boston College vs. Boston University.</p>
<p>Regarding Blake Geoffrion (Hobey Award Winner), frustration was clearly the order of the day. Let’s face it, Wisconsin’s top rated offense really did not deliver the goods last night, a testament to two factors : an outstanding performance from Muse/defensive units and offensive players from Wisconsin who were not crashing the net when needed.</p>