Christian: I’m back again for your third dose of BC hockey alumni whereabouts (here are installments 1 and 2). Seeing as how last week I had a theme (well, I really chose those guys at random, and they all turned out to be defensemen, so I went with it), I figured I’d follow up this week with another theme: the class of 2004. Why feature the class of 2004? Well, that just so happens to be the same year I graduated. Oh yeah.. and Brian and Jeff may have graduated that year, too.



Brett Peterson D (2000-2004), Florida Everblades

After leaving BC with a National Championship under his belt, Brett went right to the ECHL (the "AA" minors of the NHL) playing for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in the 2004-2005 season. After playing in 56 games with the Bullies, he was traded to the Johnstown Chiefs to finish up the season. The next season he played in all 72 games and scored 24 points for the Chiefs, ranking 2nd in scoring among the team's blueliners. In the following season, Brett switched clubs yet again, this time signing with the Florida Everblades, a Carolina Hurricanes/Albany River Rats affiliate. With one season in the books (and once again showing his durability, playing in 68 games in 06-07), Brett started the 07-08 campaign by attending the River Rats camp (and playing 3 games with them so far this season), but came back to the Everblades as an assistant captain (I'm not 100% positive on this: there's no mention of it on the Everblades' site, but pictures have him wearing the A). While not playing hockey, Brett is also teaching it as an instructor at Iceworks Elite Hockey Training in Fitchburg, MA.

Justin Dziama F (2000-2004), Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees

Before even playing a game for the Eagles, Justin was selected in the 8th round (242nd overall) by the New Jersey Devils in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Following that up with a National Championship win in his freshman season, Dziama had to have been riding high. Unfortunately, his point output was never truly there, scoring only 10 G and 9 A throughout his 4 year career at BC, despite playing in almost every game from his sophomore season on. After BC, the Devils had released him, so Justin played for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the CHL, a team only in its second season in the league in 2004-2005. There, he played for only one year, scoring 3 G and 7 A in 44 games for the Bees.

Ben Eaves C (2000-2004), Espoo Blues (FIN)

With brother Patrick on the Carolina Hurricanes and father Mike as the head coach of the U of Wisconsin men's hockey team, this former two-year BC captain certainly has hockey in his blood. One of the top scorers in every year he played for the Eagles, Ben was drafted by the Penguins in the 4th round (131st overall) in the 2001 draft. Unfortunately his success in college has yet to translate into the professional level, but that's not for lack of skill. Eaves has always been plagued by injury and that's probably why he's not currently on an NHL (or NHL-affiliated) roster. Ben played 48 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but his 05-06 season was cut short with what I'm pretty sure was a knee injury (again I can’t find any documented evidence, but I just tried to piece things together from what I read). Then, in 2006, new Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero decided it was time to clean house. Unfortunately, it was because of his inability to stay healthy that Shero did not offer Ben a new contract. Sitting out the next season (I'm guessing to get back in shape and heal from his injuries), Ben finally decided to make a comeback; but not in North America. Eaves is currently on the Espoo Blues in Finland. Through his first 9 games with the club, he has scored 3 G and 3 A. Shero left the door open for him in Pittsburgh if he is healthy and good enough to return to the team, so let's hope that one day we'll all see him play against his brother in the NHL.

Ty Hennes F (2000-2004), Texas Brahmas

A former assistant captain at BC, Hennes was much more valuable than his stat line would show you (16 G, 26 A for BC). He brought leadership to the team, making his presence felt in the lineup game after game, playing in a total of 155 games out of a possible 162 in his four year career. After BC, Hennes bounced around the ECHL, playing for 3 different teams in the 2004-2005 season. He then moved to the CHL where he played a season for the Fort Worth Brahmas and scored 11 G in 56 games. Next season, Ty only saw action in 5 games with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs before evidently retiring from playing hockey. He began to take classes at Parker College of Chiropractic Medicine in Dallas and also became a head coach for an Alliance hockey 14U Bantam AA team in the 2007-2008 season. With his playing days seemingly over, Ty was asked to come out of retirement to serve as a veteran forward for the CHL's Texas Brahams. Ty seemed to be the spark the team needed as they went on a 4-game win streak as soon as he joined them.

Tony Voce LW (2000-2004), Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams (DEL)

Tony led the Eagles in G each of the last 3 years he played for them, ending with 90 G in his four-year collegiate career. The native of Philly took that success with him to the Philadelphia Phantoms and continued scoring goals. Tony's first year, the 2004-2005 season, saw the Phantoms win their 2nd Calder Cup (the AHL version of the Stanley Cup) as he set the franchise record for goals with 22. In only his second year with the Flyer's affiliate, Tony lead the team in goals (28) and points (55), and was third on the team with 27 assists. Tony also became the first Phantoms player to ever score 4 goals in one game when he accomplished the feat against the Chicago Wolves on February 11, 2006. That season Voce also won the 2005-2006 Phantoms Toyota Cup, which is awarded to the player who accrues the most points via the Three Stars of the Game. Midway through the next season, however, Voce was reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins (Red Wings) after scoring only 8 goals through 41 games with Philly. After that disappointing season, Tony then went join Germany's Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams for the current 2007-2008 season. Through only his first 39 games, Tony has reclaimed his goal-scoring form, once again among team leaders in scoring with 13 G and 13 A, despite playing in 14 less games than the team's leading goal-scorer.

Well, I for one never would have guessed that knowing how to read German or Finnish would have helped me find more info about the Eagles alumni this week. I guess I’ll have to brush up on my Russian for next week.

And no, I didn’t make up the Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams… that’s a real team.