Yesterday, the Boston University Terriers lost a heartbreaker in the finals of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.  Victory was snatched from them in a matter of minutes.  One tiny miscue.  Then one goal.  And it was all over.

I was gutted. Totally and utterly gutted.

I’ve watched this team all season and I can honestly say that I have not seen a group like this in a long time. The ’09 team was an impressive group, to be sure.  But this team – there was an intangible, indescribable “something.”   I could try finding the words to define it but I don’t know if I’d do it any true justice.

The arrival of  Jack Eichel and an impressive group of freshman started the turn around for a team what was abysmal last season.  As the media hype swirled around Eichel, players like Brandon Fortunato, Brandon Hickey,  John MacLeod, Nikolas Olsson, and A.J. Greer wove their way into the fabric of this storied hockey program. Returning forwards like Danny O’Regan, Evan Rodrigues, and Ahti Oksanen put up offensive numbers that name BU the top-scoring team in the nation.  Doyle Somerby become a blue-line force, providing physicality and big hits in equal measure.

There is no dispute that Eichel brought a prestige and a impressive skill set to this storied program.  Yes, he was the best player in the country. Yes, he did win the Hobey Baker. Yes, watching him skate and play was a thing of beauty.

But what he really brought was a belief in himself and his ability which permeated every other other player in that locker room. It extended out and touch every player wearing that scarlet and white sweater.

However, no talented team is complete without goaltending and this year, Matt O’Connor was outstanding.  He became the undisputed starter and stepped into the role with a maturity and a focus.

Yesterday, he made one mistake. But yesterday will not and should not define him nor his hockey career.  My hope is that those 15 or so NHL clubs that showed so much interest in him this season don’t turn away because if they do, they could miss out on something special.

O’Connor is an exceptional student and a class act of a human being.  His coaches and teammates think the world of him.  He answered question after question from the media, still clad in his gear.  He told the story over and over again although I’m sure he would have preferred to be left alone.   The disappointment he and his team must be feeling overwhelms me and I’m sure every member of Terrier Nation.

But that is just what happens when you love and appreciate a team this much.  It has been a true joy to watch them play this season. Any one who knows the true me, knows that my love of hockey is true and deep and real.  And my profound love for BU Hockey is its core.

This Terrier team may have missed out on a National Championship but I do not and cannot believe that it will be their last opportunity. Hockey is infused in every cell of their bodies.  It feeds them and sustains them and it is a hunger that will not be satiated until they hold that trophy in their hands.

While the focus of this blog is primarily the NHL, I like try to mix it up and occasionally espouse the joys of college hockey – it is after all where some of the games best players get their start.

This weekend, the Boston University Terriers began their 2014-2015 season  with a 12-1 drubbing of St. Thomas University (from New Brunswick).

Yes, you read that correctly.  12 to 1. The Terriers scored a dozen goals. Okay, so maybe the St. Thomas University Tommies (natch) were they most stellar of the teams, but still. The only time I’ve ever seen a dozen of anything in a hockey rink is that time Pants and I got fined a dozen donuts for skipping an intramural broomball game.

This weekend also marked the debut of wunderkid Jack Eichel.  Never heard of him?  Well you soon will.  That’s because he is projected to be the #1 draft pick in this year’s NHL Draft.  (Last time #1 pick was a BU kid was Rick Dipietro in 2000 and we all know how that ended.)

Since making his name with the USA Hockey development program and winning gold at last year’s World Junior Championships, hockey pundits and NHL scouts have been touting the 17 year old Jack Eichel as the new face of American hockey.

“He’s the next Patrick Kane,” they say.

“The next Evgeni Malkin,” they say.

“The next Bill S. Preston, Esquire,” I say.

I’m typically not one to buy into all the hype until I’ve actually seen someone play, but after seeing Eichel this weekend, I can totally see that they were talking about.

In his first game in the scarlet and white, Eichel skated on the 1st line and had 5 assists.  Watching him play, you know that the kid has that something, that intangible, undefinable hockey “thing”.

His skill was excellent and his skating explosive.  Two strides and he was past the defender.  Two more strides and he was through the neutral zone, puck on his stick, then a quick dish to his linemate for the score.

At 6’2″ and about 195 lbs, Eichel has the size to be a NHL player.   A couple of years playing in a prestigious program like BU and in what is arguably the most competitive league in the college hockey will situate Eichel to make that jump to the NHL.

But Eichel is just one piece of the puzzle. This weekend, the Terriers dressed 10 freshman.  New coach cleaned house in the off-season to build a team that fit into his coaching style and his ideals of what a student-athlete should be.

The Terriers – and college hockey- is all about potential. It is about the potential that these young men have to fulfill their childhood dreams and make it to the NHL.

Some, like Jack Eichel, will make it. Some will not. Maybe they’ll become coaches.  Or scouts. Or simply return to their hometowns and become beer-league all-stars. Maybe some walk away from the sport all together after their college playing days are over and get married and raise a family. Whatever their path might be, these young men will be better men for having played college hockey.

So I guess the moral of this post is that if you happen live in an area that has college hockey, go and watch some games.    The games are seriously affordable and highly entertaining.  I seriously doubt you’ll be disappointed.

And if you’re lucky, the rink will sell beer like mine does.

This year, Boston University has a corps of nine freshman looking to make their mark on the Terriers and Hockey East.  The five forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders come to Comm Ave. with very high expectations.

No doubt the story of the season will be the two freshman goaltenders – Matt O’Connor and Sean Maguire.  Both are big netminders – O’Connor is Pekka Rinne-sized at 6’5″, 201lbs and Maguire is no slouch either at 6’2″, 202lbs.

They probably could stand to hit up Rhett’s or Cranberry Farms at the Student Union just a little more frequently, but we highly suggest taking advantage of BU’s excellent strength and conditioning program.

We also suggest filming said strength and conditioning workouts and posting them on the interwebs.

You know how we feel about hockey workout videos.

Following s statistical info taken from www.goterriers.com

Matt O’Connor
G • 6-5 • 195 • Toronto, Ont. • Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Spent last two seasons with Youngstown, helping Phantoms reach 2012 USHL Eastern Conference semifinals … Finished 2011-12 season with a record of 28-16-5, a 3.04 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage … Tied for second in the league in wins and was second in saves (1350) … Spent two years in OJHL with Upper Canada Patriots and Burlington Cougars … Posted .903 save percentage in 2009-10 … Was OJHL’s only 16-year-old goalie in 2008-09 for expansion Upper Canada club.

Parker on O’Connor: “Matt’s another goalie with great size. He was the backstop of a pretty good USHL team, but he was the go-to guy for that team. He saw a lot of pucks. He had a real good career there, and despite an injury that kept him back a little bit, he emerged as one of the premier goalies in the league. We’re confident that he and Maguire can give us a one-two punch right off the bat.”

Sean Maguire
G • 6-2 • 202 • Powell River, B.C. • Powell River Kings (BCHL)

Played two seasons with Powell River, posting a record of 27-15-1 with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 52 games … Guided team to BCHL finals this past season and back-to-back Coastal Conference titles … Named a 2012 Second Team All-Star … Backstopped Team Canada West to a gold medal at the World Junior A Challenge in November and was named tournament’s top goaltender … Two-time co-winner of the BCHL’s Wally Forslund Memorial Trophy (lowest combined GAA) … Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round (113th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Parker on Maguire: “Maguire’s a big guy who fills a lot of the net and he’s got a lot of talent. He had a real good junior career in Canada. We’ve known him for a couple of years and really like him. We knew we were coming to this point where we were losing two senior goalies and we were very fortunate to get him.”

And if that wasn’t enough, they are also both celebrity doppelgängers!   

Liam Hemsworth & Chris Evans’ love child

AKA Finn from “Glee”

Seriously.

We love this.

If this alone doesn’t get you the cheer for them…well, then…you’re just dumb.

Follow them on the Twitter:
Matt O’Connor – @MatttOConnor
Sean Maguire – @smag31

With no foreseeable resolution in sight, I have to focus my hockey attention elsewhere…for the sake of my own mental health and for those around me.

Luckily, Sunday was the unofficial start of the Boston University Men’s Hockey season.  Although college hockey will never be the NHL, it is a very welcome and satiating alternative, especially at BU.

You see, BU Hockey is one of the premier college hockey programs in the country.  It has produced countless numbers of NHL stars, Olympic medal winners, and All-Americans.  They won national championships, the most recent in 2009 in what can only be describe as an “epic OT win”.

Three years later and I still get goosebumps every time I see this clip.

Additionally, BU is a member of Hockey East which includes Boston College, Maine, University of New Hampshire, and UMass (Lowell & Massachusetts), who have also produced NHL-caliber talent.  Add in Notre Dame next season and you’d be hard pressed to find a more competitive and prestigious conference in NCAA Hockey.

But the thing I love most about college hockey is the “Before They Were Famous” cache.  You have a chance to watch players grow – not only physically but in their understanding of the game of hockey.

Their passes become sharper, their slapshots more accurate, their hits harder.  And then for the lucky few who do make it into the NHL, you gets to say “I saw them when”.

When they make it to the NHL, you cheer them on, even when they play for your arch rival.

You always write them in on the All-Star ballot, even if they have no chance of making it.

BU had a rough go of it in the off-season with major internal drama and the loss of key players.  The team has 9 freshman, include 2 goalies who will fight for the starting job, but watching them on Sunday, I’m filled with a tentative optimism for the season ahead.

Alot can happen in college hockey. The pendulum can swing from one extreme to another over the course of a season, a game, or even a period.

College hockey might be an imperfect game but it is exciting, entertaining, and passionate.

And right now, it’s the only game I got.