BC '11 Kelli Stack was named Women's Player of the Year by USA Hockey this week. Stack was a legend in her time at the Heights and was likely the best player in team history. Her stats told part of the story -- her 133 career points were not only a BC record, but a Hockey East record as well -- but she was much more than a stat line. Her tremendous skating and stickhandling ability made her one of the most entertaining and electric women's hockey players to ever play the game. Now, she plays professionally for the Boston Blades in the CWHL.

I remember what my friends and I would call "The Stack Play." Set up in the offensive zone but with no shooting lane? Just give it to Stack. Stack would skate literal circles around the other team, skating in a complete loop behind the net and around the offensive zone, by herself, and while opponents made themselves look silly trying to keep up or unglue the puck from her stick, Stack would find the easy lane to the goal or a teammate that would open up and set up the easy goal. It was majestic.

This year, Stack centered what became known as the "Stacksicles" line, with twin sisters Monique Lamoureux-Kolls and Jocelyne Lamoureux (both of the University of North Dakota), for Team USA at the IIHF Women's World Championship. Stack lead the tournament with 8 assists and was 2nd with 14 points overall. Stack also led the Americans to Gold at the 2011 Four Nations Cup this past November in Sweden. Stack has become one of the centerpieces of a strong American team that often alternates who takes home the gold medal with the hated Canadians.

Look for Stack to continue making the rest of the world look foolish and the rest of us Eagles proud over the next several years.

In a rare offseason media appearance, Frank Spaziani joined Jack Arute and Randy Cross on the SiriusXM College Football Playbook on Friday. Arute and Cross asked Spaz what he saw in spring ball that gets him excited about this fall.

"We started a little bit early and you know, we had a lot of young players last year. And what I saw in the spring, we would have liked to have more guys participate. Let me just say that off the top. We had a lot of injuries. A lot of our guys were going through spring practice for the first time. They got that experience. They learned a little bit more about what it takes. Individuals got better. We've got a great attitude. Everybody's adapting to some of our new coaches. We came out of there ready to take the next step in the summer workouts and get ready for the preseason."

Spaz preached continuity as the key to success for the Eagles football program, pointing to fellow ACC member and cross-divisional rival Virginia Tech as a perfect example.

"You look at the successful programs year in and year out, you're going to find a lot of continuity there. Take our conference, for example. Virginia Tech didn't get good overnight. Those guys have been there forever. Frank (Beamer) has been there forever. That's the kind of stuff that breeds success. Yeah, you're always going to have some change, guys are going to move, they got ambition and want to move on, but the core philosophy and the core attitude has to be there. The continuity has to be there."

Spaz also downplayed the notion that Boston is a pro sports town and interest is waning in Eagles football as a result.

"It's seem very logical, but there is a core of people here. There's a niche of people that care and want to make sure that we're putting our best foot forward, we're excelling... you know, the Jesuit philosophy here 'Ever to Excel.' We have a core of fans and core of people that really care. Yes, there is a little diversity here with the professional teams, but that doesn't undermine anything that we're trying to accomplish here. If anything, our people are just as excited and motivated to have a good football program as anywhere in the country."

I don't want to revisit history, but a couple of years ago, we were the #2 in the nation. It was one of the best stories going around. That's not flying under the radar. I mean, it can be done here and it will be done. And that's what we need to do. We're in a great place with a lot of advantages that other schools don't have."

Listen to an excerpt of the interview over at SiriusXM Sports.

This has been assured for a few days now, but the New Jersey Devils just made the names official. With New Jersey's 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, another former Boston College Eagle will have his name etched on Lord Stanley's Cup.

Congrats to the Los Angeles Kings Rob Scuderi and the New Jersey Devils Stephen Gionta and Peter Harrold on reaching the Stanley Cup Finals.

Should the Kings win, Scuderi would Bill Guerin (1995, 2009), Doug Brown (1997, 1998), Kevin Stevens (1991, 1992) and Joe Mullen (1989, 1991, 1992) as the only former Eagles to win the Stanley Cup more than once. Gionta and Harrold would become the 10th and 11th Boston College hockey alum to have their name etched on the cup.

The Giontas, Brian and Stephen, would also become the first pair of BC brothers to win a Stanley Cup. And with the same franchise, no less.

The complete list of former Eagles who have hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup.

1989: Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames
1991: Joe Mullen, Pittsburgh Penguins
1991: Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
1992: Joe Mullen, Pittsburgh Penguins
1992: Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
1994: Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
1995: Bill Guerin, New Jersey Devils
1997: Doug Brown, Detroit Red Wings
1998: Doug Brown, Detroit Red Wings
2003: Brian Gionta, New Jersey Devils
2007: Ryan Shannon, Anaheim Ducks
2009: Rob Scuderi, Pittsburgh Penguins
2009: Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins
2009: Bill Guerin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Go Eagles!

On Wednesday, the AJC's Ken Sugiura sat down with Georgia Tech Athletics Director Dan Radakovich, hitting on topics ranging from the college football playoff format, rumors and speculation swirling around ACC schools possibly jumping to the Big 12 and possible ACC expansion. Of note was Radokovich's comment about the ACC's possible response to the new Big 12-SEC bowl alliance.

"Regarding a possible bowl alliance for the ACC champion, Radakovich said that will be a topic of discussion for a conference call of league athletic directors this week. He said that league associate commissioner Michael Kelly has been working on "trying to set something up similar to what you had seen announced last Friday with the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12."

The conference will likely find out you can't put the genie back in the bottle. Good luck trying to fix the public perception that the ACC got squeezed out of a four-team playoff with the Rose Bowl and Rose Bowl lite serving as de facto National semifinals with this announcement.

The reality, however, is that the ACC is exactly where it was before the Big 12-SEC bowl arrangement was ever announced. Still the fifth best college football conference. Still not playing either a Big 12 or SEC team in the Orange Bowl. Not counting last year's matchup between a future Big 12 member (West Virginia) and another future Big 12 member? (Clemson), the ACC has faced either an SEC or a Big 12 program in the Orange Bowl all of one time over the last 10 games. Will we miss that epic 2007 Orange Bowl matchup between Kansas and Virginia Tech? No, no we will not.

Still, it will be interesting to see what the conference comes up with here as a counter to the Rose Bowl and Champions Bowl -- that's not, say, the Little Kids Table Champions Bowl pitting the ACC champ up against the Big East champ.

And while I wouldn't expect an announcement to be made until next month's announcement as to the finalized college football playoff structure, here's some thoughts on possible matchups and destinations. [Assumes certain bowl cities -- Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans -- and opponents -- Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champs, and probably the SEC #2 and Big 12 #12 -- are already off the board.]

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Brian: Jason Kirk over at SBNation.com took a look at the best and worst case scenarios for each conference as the conference realignment train keeps chugging along at full speed. The ACC's best case scenario includes adding Notre Dame and Rutgers while not losing anyone to go to 16 teams.

The worst case scenario isn't actually specified. Kirk simply leaves a note that says "Just a bunch of, like, Sun Belt teams and FCS call-ups. I mean, I don't think it will get that bad, but the ACC's problem is that it has a bunch of programs that look very enticing to other leagues without being elite enough to tie themselves into a union built to last for good."

But let's say that the ACC does lose Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech to the Big 12, while Notre Dame parks its non-revenue sports in the Big 12 before joining as an all-sports member starting in 2016. The SEC next poaches Virginia Tech and N.C. State.

That leaves Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest left to divide up the $120 million dollars in exit fees they'll collect from our former conference mates.

So what does the ACC do? Add a single team to get back to 10? Add three to get back to 12, two divisions and a really 'meh' football Championship Game played in North Carolina until the end of time? Your thoughts?

Jeff: With the situation exactly how you spelled it out, you add three more teams and keep the conference championship game. You can still easily pull from the Big East if you have those nine teams as the base of the conference and you increase the exit fee to three times what it is now to make new members think that the conference will be stable going forward.

The problem is though, that several members, including Boston College, will take some phone calls from the B1G to see if there is any interest there first. If the ACC has any fewer than nine teams left when this is all finished, the ACC essentially becomes the old Big East. Not the worst thing ever, but it is not what BC had planned for when originally joining the conference.

I would not be at all surprised if things get smoothed over and Florida State and the rest all stay in the ACC. But let's say we lose more than two members. I am certain that we will keep a conference championship game and the conference will likely pick up more northern teams.

There's South Florida who might be interested, but then you come north to the old Big East members of Rutgers and UConn as the likely first teams to get an invite to the ACC. The second tier of likely invitees would be Louisville, Navy, Central Florida and Cincinnati. Either way the ACC is looking at adding three of the Big East's stronger members to get back to 12 programs.

The conference would still have a conference championship game and would be clearly the fifth strongest conference in the land. It would be several rungs of the ladder below the PAC 12, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC but also several rungs above the Big East and everyone else. Right now the conference sits in the exact same position but has slight hope of someday moving up to the big boys level by adding Notre Dame. Once this all plays out however, Notre Dame will be in a conference -- most likely the Big Ten -- and that possibility no longer exists. The ACC will be stuck in fifth place for a long, long time.

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On Tuesday, the United States Hockey League (USHL) conducted its 2012 USHL Entry Draft, with three future Boston College Eagles landing roster sports in the junior hockey league.

Two future Eagles, both from Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, were selected in the top 10 of this year's draft. Adam Gilmour was selected with the second overall pick by the Muskegon Lumberjack, while his linemate, right winger Chris Calnan, went with the No. 10 pick to the Waterloo Blackhawks. Both GIlmour and Calnan are slated to join the Eagles for the 2013-14 season.

BC-bound Noah Hanifin, a 6-foot-3, 185 pound defenseman from Norwood, went to Dubuque at No. 131 in the ninth round. Hanifin is currently projected to join the Eagles for the 2015-16 season.

A total of five future Eagles played in the USHL this past season. Teddy Doherty and Michael Matheson played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints, Matthew Gaudreau for the Omaha Lancers, Sam Piazza for the Sioux City Musketeers and Austin Cangelosi for the Youngstown Phantoms. In addition, a total of four future skaters -- Steven Santini, Scott Savage, Brendan Silk and Frankie Vatrano -- all suited up for the US National Team Development Program in 2011-12.

Go Eagles!

Last weekend's announcement that the SEC and Big 12 would send their conference champions to Rose Bowl Jr. has revived the possibility of a "plus-one" title game after the bowls. Wait, what?

"I'd say before Friday that idea of a plus-one didn't have much traction, but I think the announcement on Friday's a game-changer," [Pac-12 Commissioner Larry] Scott said. "We're pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options, but given the very positive reaction to what the SEC and Big 12 have done, it's possible that (a plus-one) could get some traction."

I'm incredibly mixed on this college football latest development.

On the one hand, a "plus-one" -- a euphemism for the current BCS system, the only difference being the BCS National Championship Game participants are determined after, not before, the bowl games -- would presumably give more opportunities to a program NOT from the Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten or SEC to earn a spot in the "playoff." A 13-0 or 12-1 ACC program that convincingly wins its bowl game could have a shot at this "plus-one." A greater shot than a format where a four-team playoff takes the top four teams, to be sure, and possibly even the four-team conference champion ONLY format.

So you can guess which format ACC Commissioner John Swofford prefers:

"At this point in the process, the discussion and momentum seems to surround a four-team, three-game approach," Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. "As we continue to focus on finding an option that leads to a consensus among the group, we'll have to see if that involves the consideration of other models, including the simplified plus-one."

On the other hand, we seem to be going backwards here. No one likes the current BCS system and a "plus-one" preserves the worst parts of the BCS (computer rankings, reliance on human polls, just two teams) AND the worst part of the current bowl system (the bowls themselves, the selection process, the quasi-illegal ticket guarantees).

At this point, ACC fans should probably be pushing for a four-team playoff in hopes that the sports power brokers realize how much money they are leaving at the table by not being a bit more inclusive with, say, inviting eight teams. But the "plus-one" back from the dead is still an intriguing development, especially if the preferred four-team playoff format doesn't require four conference champions (it won't with Notre Dame having a seat at the table).

So which college football playoff format do you prefer? The four-team playoff? The "plus-one"? Something cool I don't even know about?