Less than three weeks until the start of the Boston College Eagles hockey season! Well, less than two if you count the exhibition game against the University of Toronto, who, by the way, has one of the coolest nicknames in college sports -- the Varsity Blues. The UToronto Athletics Department is named after a HS football movie starring James Van Der Beek? Does it get any better than that?
To get pumped for this season, first go watch this video. I'll wait.
Ok, cool.
Second, whoever pimped out the 2010-11 Boston College Eagles men's hockey page on Wikipedia, nicely done! That is one hell of a Wikipedia page, truly befitting a defending National Champions hockey team.
Season Preview Capsules
The Boston Hockey Blog has been running through their preseason power rankings leading up to the start of the college hockey season. They started at number 10 and have worked their way all the way up to #4 and their own Terriers. Here's a run-down of the current power rankings:
10. Massachusetts
9. UMass Lowell
8. Providence
7. Northeastern
6. Vermont
5. Merrimack
4. Boston University
Not many complaints with the power rankings so far, though I think BU will take a step back this year as they lose a ton of talent. A top four finish seems a bit generous to me. My guess is TBHB's preseason power rankings will wrap up with 3) New Hampshire, 2) Maine and 1) Boston College.
Mike McMahon is also in the season preview business, and has Providence, UMass and Lowell in his bottom three.
Preseason Conference Polls
We have to wait another six days before the Hockey East preseason media polls are released, but the smaller conferences preseason picks are starting to trickle in. Yale was tabbed as the favorite in the ECAC, while RIT was picked to repeat in Atlantic Hockey.
Colgate, BC's first-round opponent in the Ledyard National Bank Classic, was picked by the coaches to finish 5th in the ECAC. BC's second-round opponent will be either Dartmouth, picked to finish 6th in ECAC, or Mercyhurst, who was picked to finish second in Atlantic Hockey behind RIT.
BC doesn't have a scheduled non-conference game with Harvard this season, but could face them in the Beanpot final (it's one of those awkward years where BC and BU meet in the opening round of the tournament). Harvard was picked to finish seventh in the ECAC by the coaches, but only 10th (of 12 teams) by members of the media.