The Eagles ice hockey team finished 2009 on a high note, dispatching Providence 3-1 on Saturday night to move to 10-3-2 (7-3-2 Hockey East). Cam Atkinson, Pat Mullane and Tommy Cross each scored, while goalie John Muse made 28 saves in the victory. This was the Eagles' 5th straight win. BC extends its unbeaten streak to 7 games, a streak that goes back to November 15. The Eagles are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and are one of the hottest teams in college hockey going into the break.
The Eagles continue to climb in the national rankings, placing 5th in this week's USCHO.com Division I Men's poll and 6th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
Freshman Firepower. One of the reasons behind the Eagles recent success has been the play of York's freshmen. The Eagles have been getting more than their share of production out of this year's group of freshmen. Pat Mullane leads all rookies with 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) while Steven Whitney earned this week's Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors for assisting on 3 of the Eagles 6 goals this past week. This season, York's talented freshmen have tallied 14.5 percent of the Eagles goals, 33.7 percent of total assists and 26.2 percent of points.
Next Stop: Denver. The Eagles are now off for the holidays until they travel to Colorado to take on St. Lawrence and Denver in the Denver Cup on January 1-2. St. Lawrence is 8-7-2 on the year, while Denver is ranked No. 2 nationally and sits at 11-5-2. Unlike last year's exhibitions up at New Brunswick, these games will count towards the Eagles' postseason resume. Hopefully this tournament will allow the Eagles to keep things rolling going into 2010.