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Underdogs stage a surprise party
Terriers shock the Eagles in Hockey East tournament
By Brian Fitzgerald
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Hockey head coach Jack Parker rallies the Terriers during a timeout at the end of the final game in the best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series against BC. Photo by Phoebe Sexton (COM'06) |
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Just call the hockey Terriers' latest assignment “mission improbable.”
In a season of ups and downs (mostly downs), BU (12-16-9), the eighth-seeded team in the Hockey East tournament, had to get past top-seeded Boston College (27-8-4) in the opening round of the best-of-three series, which began March 12. BC was ranked number one in the nation two weeks ago, and the high-flying Eagles had beaten BU in all four of their meetings this season. We're talking about a team that produced 12- and 14-game unbeaten streaks during the regular season, while BU couldn't put together two wins in a row.
The Terriers surprised BC in the first game, however, winning 3-2, and giving their 59-year-old coach the birthday present he wanted. But after being shellacked 4-0 in Conte Forum the following night, it seemed that BU, all but written off as a team that has been running on empty all year, was finally out of gas. It appeared unlikely that the scarlet and white could possibly pull off another upset on the road. The Terriers' task was formidable, and coach Jack Parker challenged his players to “show the BC team and the BC fans the BU team they haven't seen all year.”
Mission accomplished. BU busted loose from a 1-1 tie in the second period with three unanswered goals, and held on for a 4-2 victory, leaving the Eagles visibly stunned at the final buzzer. Parker likened the contest to “game seven of the World Series.”
This wasn't the first time the Terriers' tumultuous season could have come to an end. Their backs were to the wall during the final game of the regular season on March 4, when they had to have a road victory over New Hampshire, a team ranked 10th in the nation. Knotted 3-3 at the end of regulation, BU needed someone to rise to the occasion, because a tie would have kept the team out of the Hockey East tournament for the first time since the conference's inception in 1985. Then forward David Van der Gulik (CAS'06) scored 2:30 into overtime to vault BU into the postseason.
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Sean Fields (CAS'04) makes one of 35 saves in the crucial third game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series against BC. Fields' play in goal helped the Terriers clip the wings of the Eagles — he stopped 100 of 108 shots on goal and was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. Photo by Phoebe Sexton (COM'06) |
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Neither Van der Gulik nor Sean Sullivan (CAS'07), injured in the opening game, was expected to suit up in the rubber match against BC. But there they were, on the ice against their archenemies. They didn't figure in the scoring, but their grit undoubtedly was an inspiration to their teammates. “We had to put that fear of BC behind us,” says Van der Gulik of an Eagle team that had outscored BU, 21-6, in their six previous games.
Forward Brad Zancanaro (CGS'04) drew first blood with a power play goal in the opening stanza. “Eight minutes into the first period, obviously we weren't uptight,” says Parker. BC tied it in the second, but then BU scored three goals in a five-minute stretch. Lighting the lamp were Kenny Roche (CAS'07), Bryan Miller (CAS'05), and Eric Thomassian (CAS'07). The Eagles cut the lead in half 10 seconds later, but the clock became a factor in their attempt at a comeback. BU's defense, along with goaltender Sean Fields (CAS'04) (35 saves, 100 in the series) was able to preserve the lead. With three minutes left, a vicious cross-check across the back of the head of Jekabs Redlihs (SED'06) earned frustrated Eagle Tony Voce a five-minute major penalty, sealing BC's doom.
On Friday, March 19, BU faces Maine, ranked second in the nation, in the conference semifinal at 5 p.m. at the FleetCenter. The victor will play the winner of the 8 p.m. semifinal between New Hampshire and UMass-Amherst. If the Terriers win Friday night, they face formidable opponents: New Hampshire holds onto its ranking of number 10 in the country, and UMass-Amherst has been in and out of the top 15 all season. Then again, BU, with only two losses in the last nine games, has been saving its best hockey for the end of the year. “We're fighting for our lives now,” says Sullivan, “and we'll do anything to keep the season going.”
For those who can't get a ticket to the next chapter in BU's Lazarus act, the Hockey East semifinals, along with the final, on Saturday, March 20, at 7 p.m., will be televised on NESN.
19
March 2004
Boston University
Office of University Relations