BC men’s hockey lost today in the semifinals of the Frozen Four. Quinnipiac, ranked #1 nationally for most of the season, scored two early goals and then hung on for a 3-2 victory.
The Eagles finish with a record of 28-8-5. Quinnipiac will play the winner of the North Dakota-Denver game, which takes place today, on Saturday.
Aw, no game watch. :(
UPDATES
— BC finished #3/#4 in the US in the final polls. Denver and BC flipped positions in each poll. National champion North Dakota and runner-up Quinnipiac were #1 and #2.
— Goalie Thatcher Demko was among the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, presented to the best male player in college hockey. Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey won the award. Demko won the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s best college goalie.
— Steve Santina, Miles Wood, and Adam Gilmour signed NHL contracts shortly after season’s end. Demko, a junior and first-round NHL draft choice, has not announced his intentions.
BC alumni and friends at Eagle Rock, Warner Springs. L-R: Mike Ross ’09, Marissa Robles, Rebecca Scease Reid ’96, Lissa Herrick Tsu ’00, Brian Tsu ’00, Margot Tsu, Ray Berube ’78, Mary Farrell Berube ’80, Janet Rodriguez, Kevin Smosky ’00, Bill McDonald ’68.
There is a natural rock formation in Warner Springs, about 90 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, that looks a little like an eagle. Actually, as you can see above, the rather large natural rock formation looks like nothing else than a big eagle.
On Saturday, 10 alumni and friends (and a young daughter) made the trek to Eagle Rock, which is located on the Pacific Crest Trail. In a pretty weird connection, we accessed the area where Eagle Rock is located from Camino San Ignacio in Warner Springs. That’s “St. Ignatius Road.” !?
And a few miles down the road on State Route 79 is a street with another Jesuit-related name (see photo at right). Anyone know about any Jesuit presence in northeast San Diego County?
We also went further initially than Warner Springs, over the mountainsides to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Desert flowers are somewhat past peak (earlier and briefer than expected in this El Niño year), but there is still some color not seen the rest of the year.
Our flower guide was Christina St. John from the Anza-Borrego Foundation. About to pursue a master’s degree in botany, Christina was an invaluable guide to the desert flora, as well as a friendly companion. With her guidance, we visited Glorietta Canyon, one of the most accessible areas of the Park (though over a couple of miles of dirt road) and location of many flowering plants in the spring.
It was pretty much a day-long excursion, also including lunch in Borrego Springs, and a visit to a rather unusual piece of “public art.” Below is a short (<5 minutes) video of the day, including the desert flowers, etc. You’ll see that we were able to visit Eagle Rock and park our cars inside the gate that warns “No Trespassing.” That’s because we had received official permission from the Vista Irrigation District to do so, after filling out various waivers, and were on the property for only about a half-hour. We had some unexpected companions on our visit to Eagle Rock, examples of the “wildlife” in the area . . . but that’s for you to see. (Click on “BCSD @ Eagle Rock” at upper left of graphic below to watch on YouTube. Much better viewing.)
San Diego’s Thatcher Demko celebrates the Eagles’ win.
BC’s hockey team is in the Frozen Four!
The Eagles beat Minnesota-Duluth, 3-2, Saturday to advance to the final four of the NCAA hockey tournament in Tampa, Fla. BC plays overall #1 seed Quinnipiac in the early semifinal game, 2 pm PT, Thursday, April 7.
A gamewatch during a workday afternoon is not feasible, so we will await the Eagles’ potential appearance in the national final Saturday, April 9, 5 pm PT.
BC went out to a 3-0 lead over Minnesota-Duluth and then held on for the 3-2 final score. The Bulldogs scored twice in the latter part of the final period and had a great opportunity for the tying goal. Photo below shows BC goalie Thatcher Demko and forward Austin Cangelosi eyeing the puck, before Cangelosi swept it from the goal line with his stick.
The Eagles will play in the national semifinals for the 25th time, the most of any college hockey team. This will also be the 12th time in the last 19 years that a BC team coached by Jerry York will be in the Frozen Four. BC has been in the championship game 8 times over that span, and has won 4 championships (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012).
