Hockey East tournament champions

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.

Sophomore Toni Ann Miano

BC’s women’s hockey team finished the regular season undefeated, 34-0, with a sweep of Providence over the weekend. The nation’s #1 team goes into the Hockey East Tournament Friday with a two-of-three series against Maine.

The #2 men’s hockey team also swept the weekend, beating Vermont twice. The Eagles have two regular season games remaining this weekend, against UMass Lowell. Hockey East Tournament play begins for them March 4-6.

On the other side of the ledger, men’s basketball continued a record run of futility, reaching 0-14 in ACC play. With a matchup again Wake Forest this afternoon, there was talk this would be an excellent chance for BC to grab a conference win. Wake had only won one conference game itself and, earlier in the day, announced that its top player would sit out the game because of a rules violation.

With 7:09 remaining in the first half, Wake Forest had taken a 29-2 lead. With a nearly-halfcourt shot by Eli Carter going in at the buzzer, BC at halftime was behind 41-14. The game concluded Wake Forest 74, BC 48. ESPN Gameday noted earlier this weekend that were BC to fail to win a conference game this season, it would be the first team in a major conference, since the end of World War II, to be winless in conference play in both football and basketball. A distinction of embarrassment. The Eagles have four games remaining on their schedule.

Women’s basketball lost today to Louisville, 55-45. They are 2-12 in the ACC.