By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk
BOSTON – Here in Boston, we have the Duke vs Carolina rivalry of College Ice Hockey as the Hockey East finals brought No. 2 ranked Boston University and No. 1 ranked Boston College together for the fourth time this season. Itâs tagged âThe Green Lineâ rivalry and noted for the six-mile stretch of Commonwealth Avenue that separates the schools.
Itâs not the 8-miles from Durham to Chapel Hill but rather a Driver and a couple three woods from Agannis Arena to Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill. BU kids vote for the Mayor of Boston, while the BC kids call the City of Newton home.
Heading into the Saturday night Hockey East finale, BC held a 2-1 edge in the 2023-24 ice hockey season, but the one BU win came in the annual Beanpot Tournament (won by Northeastern University as theyâve gone back-to-back with Beanpot wins twice in the last six years).
This year?
Boston College took the Hockey East title, as BC took a 2-0 lead into the second period. But, BU cut that lead in half with a gorgeous wrist shot goal by defenseman Gavin McCarthy, a freshman from Clarence Center, N.Y. (Population 3,337).
BC extended its lead to 3-1, on a goal by Cutter Gauthier, BCâs third power play goal of the game which came at 18:46 of the 2nd period.
Eaglesâ freshman Will Smith scored his third goal of the night to make it 4-1, BC, at the 6:46 mark of the third period. Smith has 22 goals and 44 assists on the season.
BCâs key goal of the game made it 5-1, as Boston College freshman Gabe Perreaultscored on the power play, BCâs fourth power play goal of the night. All three players – Perreault, Gauthier and Smith – player on the USA Developmental team for USA Hockey.
BU tightened the score on a power play to make it 5-2. A BC empty-netter made it 6-2 for the final before the fisticuffs broke out to close out the game.
BC freshman goalkeeper, Jacob Fowler, recorded the win.
The NCAA Menâs Ice Hockey Championship begins next week (March 28-29) and concludes at the Frozen Four, scheduled for April 11-13 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Note: The Bulldog Edition of WWYI was held for 30 minutes to see the final result of the Hockey East championship game from TD Garden in Boston.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: March Madness did not fail to entertain this week, as noteworthy upsets included No. 13 Yale defeating No. 4 in heavily favored Auburn in the first round, while No. 14 Oakland upended No. 3 Kentucky. In the second round, Oakland lost to streaking N.C. State, 79-73 in OT. N.C. State qualified for the NCAAs by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament (upset over North Carolina) and with the win over Oakland, the Wolfpack move on to the Southâs Sweet 16 in Dallas.
TO WIN JUST ONCE? – As the NCAA hoops tournament progresses, this column reflects to what might have been for the St. Johnâs Red Storm in last weekâs BIG EAST Conferencde tournament. The Johnnies defeated a tough Seton Hall team in the No. 4 (Hall) vs. No. 5 (Johnnies) match-up on Thursday (Quarterfinals). As winner of the No. 4 vs No. 5, the reward was a match-up vs No. 1 UConn in the Friday night semis. You know that story.
Everyone left Madison Square Garden assured St. Johnâs secured a tournament bid and the speculation was whether Seton Hall and/or Providence would be âinâ as well. When the Sunday Selection Show played out, all three teams were left out in the cold, as the likes of N.C. State – by winning the ACC – stole a berth, and the BIG EAST was left with only three clubs – UConn, Marquette and Creighton.
Rightfully so.
Seton Hall was closest, but their loss to St. Johnâs hurt the chances of grabbing a spot. St. Johnâs while hot during the home stretch (six game winning streak, including a big won over Creighton at MSG), did not have the overall resume as a tournament team. Losses to Michigan, Dayton and Boston College crushed St. Johnâs early, and two losses to each of the likes of UConn, Marquette and The Hall during the regular season was too much to overcome when the NCAA basketball committee met in Indianapolis to decide between NCAA and NIT bids.
The Johnnies quickly turned down the NIT bid, but Seton Hall (the No. 1 seed) has flourished. Guessing the Johnnies were focused on hitting the transfer portal or the seniors had enough.
Go figure, but has anyone noticed that the âRed Stormâ nickname is useless, jinxed, terrible, confusing and not well liked?
Itâs rebuilding time for coach Rick Pitino – make that a total renovation.
TID-BITS: In the NCAAâs, thereâs plenty of Huskies, Bulldogs and other assorted animal mascots, but here, we have the two maniacs.
NATIONAL PUPPY DAY: How can we let âNational Puppy Dayâ go by without mention of our TWO pups, the nearing âAdult Dog,â Penny (Lane) and the seven month old Max. ⊠Penny joined us on Thanksgiving Weekend, 2020, right smack in the middle of the global pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus. In many ways, she got us through the âdog daysâ of that terrible year. National Puppy Day was celebrated March 23 and its founding doctrine states, “Established in 2006, National Puppy Day is a paw-some day for all dog enthusiasts to celebrate unconditional love and fawn over the undeniably cute fur balls that bring so much happiness into this world.” ⊠True story. ⊠Itâs been a quick three and a half years that weâve enjoyed having Penny bark and chase and play and only five months since we adopted the seven-month old âMighty Max.â ⊠Penny (Lane) has the obvious connection to The Beatles while Max was named as a âSilver Hammerâ kinda guy, but we met his (human) parents on Springsteen Road in Albany, NY, so there was an immediate bond with âMightyâ MaxWeinberg of the E Street Band. Weinberg, born and bred in New Jersey, learned to play the drums with the influence of The Beatlesâ Ringo Starr, like so many who grew up in the British Invasion era. ⊠In the dual-meaning of names, Penny (Lane), played by Kate Hudson in the motion picture âAlmost Famousâ clocks in as No. 3 of my all-time favorite movies, locked in behind âCasablancaâ and âThe Sting.â ⊠Happy Puppy Day to all who partake. Penny and Max have enriched all of our lives (four in the family) and theyâve made friends with all of our neighbors. Itâs just GREAT.