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Eagles airborne or Terriers on terra firma?
BU-BC Beanpot matchup freighted with emotions and remembrance of games past

By Brian Fitzgerald

Is it safe to assume that the hockey Terriers, after defeating 2001 national champion Boston College in back-to-back games on January 18 and 20, will get a pep talk from BU coach Jack Parker before their February 4 faceoff against the Eagles in the opening round of the Beanpot Tournament?

When BU and BC square off in the Beanpot Tournament, a few feathers are bound to be ruffled. Photo by Vernon Doucette

Not necessarily. In fact, it may be a case of the less said, the better. Boston College is also the defending Beanpot champion, last year having broken the Terriers' six-year stranglehold on the title. So it's no secret that BU is already fired up for this game. Parker doesn't want to throw gasoline on the flames. The backdraft might just scorch them.

"I don't have to tell them anything," says Parker. "The guys are so geared up, the trick is not getting them too geared up. Some teams get so excited for the Beanpot that they make emotional mistakes on the ice. We want to make sure it doesn't happen to us, and I think we've been successful at that over the years."

Successful is an understatement. For six straight years, a Beanpot streak dating back to the old Boston Garden, the Terriers ruled the roost. Having won the title 23 times, BU is the most successful team in the history of the 50-year-old tournament, which pits four Boston-area teams, BU, BC, Harvard, and Northeastern, in one of college hockey's most storied tourneys. But BC, ranked number one in the country a year ago, took a 3-0 lead in last year's Beanpot final, and thwarted a Terrier comeback, winning 5-3.

The Eagles, however, are no longer ranked among the nation's top 15 teams, and BU is ranked 10th. With the Terriers' 2-1 victory in Conte Forum and 3-1 victory in Walter Brown Arena, BU won the season series, taking two of the three games against their Commonwealth Avenue rivals, a feat not accomplished since the 1996-97 season.

"To win on the road anywhere in Hockey East, but especially at BC, is nice," says Parker. "They played well, and we played well. Those were two great college hockey games that could have gone either way. We were poised, opened up a 2-0 lead in each game, gave up a goal, but didn't let them score the tying goal." Both BU leads shrunk to one goal, but the Terriers added an empty-netter at the end of the third period in the second game of the weekend series to secure the win.

What is the BU game plan against a team that last year won not only the Beanpot and the Hockey East regular season title, but also the national championship? The Eagles lost their two top goal scorers, forward Brian Gianta to graduation and forward Chuck Kobasew to the NHL's Calgary Flames, but they still have plenty of talent. "Our strategy is to play harder than they do, because there isn't much difference in the skill level of both teams," says Parker. "The team that is more focused and more determined will be the one that prevails."

With forward Justin Maiser (CGS'03) injured, Parker may again put defenseman Bryan Miller (CAS'05) on the front line -- a move that produced two goals against Boston College on January 18. Miller fed forward Brian McConnell (CGS'03) for BU's first goal and got credit for an assist on a goal by linemate Mike Pandolfo (MET'02). "I believe that he's better as a defenseman for us in the long run, but we really could use some help offensively," says Parker. "He's such an offensive force, so we've been using him as a stopgap measure up front, and he's doing a great job."

	Sean Fields (ENG'04) was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week after stopping 57 of 59 shots during BU's 2-1 and 3-1 victories over Boston College January 18 and 20. Photo by Rob Klein

Parker also credits goaltender Sean Fields (ENG'04), the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week, with helping ground the Eagles' attack. Fields stopped 28 of 29 shots in the first game, and 29 of 30 in the second. "Fields has been playing great," Parker says. "I don't think we have been as dominant as we should have been in our zone. We've given up too many shots, and he's bailed us out a few times."

BU could also do a better job clearing the puck in its own end, especially when trying to hold onto a lead. Attempting to wrap up their 2-1 victory on January 18, the Terriers were called for icing three times in the final minute. Fortunately for BU, McConnell was able to win the resulting faceoffs in front of Fields. "We made a couple of stupid icing plays," says Parker. "This gave them the opportunity to have the puck in our end and tie it up. We should have taken the puck to the red line and dumped it in [BC's zone] instead of taking the icing call. That's much better than relying on winning the faceoffs every time."

BU may have regained its confidence in this celebrated rivalry, after having lost four in a row to the maroon and gold. But this turnaround won't necessarily make things any easier for the Terriers in the Beanpot. If self-assurance turns into cockiness, Parker says, his team will be in trouble. Boston College's second loss to BU extended its winless streak to four games, but it's dangerous to underestimate a team that's down. "That's something that we've got to make sure we don't do," he says. "We can't just think, we beat them two times, and it will be easier this time. I think that it will be more difficult."

1 February 2002
Boston University
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