Today’s Boston Globe features, prominently, a report on the state of athletics at BC. Essentially — the article attests and records in football and basketball show — it’s not good. Attendance is down, recruiting is suffering, management of the overall program is questionable.
Thank goodness for hockey. The women’s team is in the Frozen Four next weekend, the men play Vermont this afternoon and a win sends the Eagles to the Hockey East Tournament semifinals next weekend. (UPDATE: BC won in overtime Sunday and will play Northeastern Friday at 5 pm PT.) The Eagles are already assured a berth in the NCAA tournament.
BC’s women’s hockey team started the NCAA tournament today with a decisive 5-1 win over Northeastern. The undefeated Eagles (39-0) move to the Frozen Four on Friday, March 18, at UNH, Durham, N.H.
The Eagles dominated play, outshooting the Huskies, 38-23. Northeastern’s lone goal came in the last two minutes, on a power play and with an empty goal, giving the Huskies a two-player advantage.
The men’s hockey team, 5-0 winners over Vermont last night, play the second game of the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal series later today.
The BC women’s hockey team shut out BU, 5-0, today to win the Hockey East Tournament championship.
The #1 Eagles raised their record to 38-0 and will enter the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed. BC will play its opening round of the tournament at home next weekend. The women’s Frozen Four will take place March 18 and 20 at the Whittemore Center Arena at UNH in Durham, N.H.
As befits the team’s dominance of the Hockey East conference, four Eagles were named to the six-member first team of conference all-stars. They were forwards Alex Carpenter–also named one of three finalists for the Kazmaier Award presented to the nation’s best women’s hockey player, which Carpenter won last year–and Haley Skarupa, and defensemen Lexi Bender and Megan Keller. Coach Katie Crowley was named Hockey East’s best coach for the fourth straight year.
The men’s hockey team, with a first round bye as Hockey East regular season champion, will play UNH or Vermont at home in a two-of-three series beginning Friday. The Hockey East semifinals will take place Friday, March 18, and the championship game will be on the following day.
End to disappointing men’s basketball regular season
Yesterday’s 66-50 loss to Clemson brought an end to BC men’s basketball’s regular season — a season of note, but not distinction.
BC did not win a regular season game in the ACC. Their 0-18 record, combined with the 0-8 conference record by the football team, made BC the first team in ACC history to be winless in both sports in the same season. The only other major team to have such a record was Texas Christian University in 1976-77.
The Eagles play in the opening round of the ACC Tournament Tuesday, facing Florida State.
