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There was some good old fashioned reporting drama on the Twitterbox yesterday, as conflicting reports abounded about whether or not prized offensive defenseman Noah Hanifin will be accelerating to arrive at BC as a 17-year-old next fall. With Mike Matheson likely to be leaving for the greener pastures of the pros after this season, Hanifin would be a huge addition to the blue line. And with rumors swirling that Hanifin may defect to Canada to play juniors instead of playing out his commitment to BC, news of his planned arrival would be very welcome in Chestnut Hill.
Yesterday afternoon, The Kid - who, as we all know, has a pretty incredible track record at nailing these things before the media does, tweeted out:
Noah Hanifin will be arriving at BC next year. That has been confirmed to me by sources. Accelerating one year. Huge.
— BC Hockey Blog (@bchockeyblog1) January 15, 2014
...then followed up his tweet with a post on his blog.
Hanifin Officially Coming Next Season (The Boston College Hockey Blog)
Sources confirmed to me this afternoon that Noah Hanifin will be arriving @ Boston College next fall. Hanifin is without a doubt one of, if not the, best recruits to ever come out of this area and is probably the highest ranked ranked recruit BC has ever landed under Coach York (along with Marty Reasoner).
Given the BC Hockey Blog's track record, I guess you can't really blame College Hockey News for just running with it, but it was kind of funny to see, shortly thereafter:
College Hockey News: BC's Noah Hanifin Will Accelerate to Next Season
Boston College recruit Noah Hanifin will accelerate his studies and begin as a freshman at Boston College next season, a year earlier than originally anticipated.
So, great news right?
But pump the brakes. Chris Peters, he of United States of Hockey blogging fame and a very connected guy in USA Hockey circles, tweeted out:
Per trusted source, Boston College commit and 2015 NHL Draft prospect Noah Hanifin is not accelerating to attend BC next fall.
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) January 15, 2014
And then Andy Johnson of Bucky's 5th Quarter was all like oh no you di-in't:
@chrismpeters Looks like we've got ourselves a good old fashioned source off boys! @bchockeyblog1
— Andy Johnson (@AndyJohnsonB5Q) January 15, 2014
@AndyJohnsonB5Q @bchockeyblog1 A respectful source off, I'm sure. Just heard from a second saying same as well, FWIW.
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) January 15, 2014
And so that was the drama of the day in BC hockey circles. To this point, The Boston College Hockey Blog has not updated or modified its report, nor has College Hockey News. Peters has not provided a further update other than the above tweets. So the will he or won't he drama continues, for now.
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MEN'S HOCKEY: Battle Of The Green Line Set For Friday - Sports - The Heights - Boston College
Back in November, Boston College celebrated head coach Jerry York's just-announced contract extension through 2020 by dismantling rival Boston University on the road, 5-1.
After that game, first-year Terriers boss David Quinn said, "the score was indicative of the game that was played ... I want it to sting ... we need to feel this pain. It was a mismatch." As the rivals prepare to face each other again Friday night in Chestnut Hill, Quinn and his players are feeling more pain than Quinn would probably deem necessary. BU was blown out 7-3 against Maine at Fenway last Saturday, and has lost its past four games.
Wednesday Women: Portents of doom? :: USCHO.com Women's Hockey D1 :: U.S. College Hockey Online
It looks at this point as though the only way a Hockey East team gets in is by winning the Hockey East tournament. There's still some potential wiggle room I guess, but right now, BU is eighth in the PairWise and BC is ninth.
Andre Williams the big highlight of Boston College Eagles' 2013 season (ESPN ACC Blog)
Best moment: Aside from having a Heisman finalist? Beating Virginia Tech. This was the best win of the season for the Eagles, one of just two against teams that finished the year above .500. Nobody gave BC much of a chance to win headed into the contest, but the defense forced four turnovers and Williams ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the 34-27 win.
Florida State Seminoles hold top spot in final 2013 ACC power rankings (ESPN ACC Blog)
10. Boston College (7-6, 4-4; PR: No. 9). Not many expected the Eagles to make a bowl game or finish with a winning record. But maybe even more unbelievable was watching Andre Williams rush for 2,177 yards and finish fourth in Heisman voting. The Eagles had a wonderful turnaround season, but their bowl performance drops them here among the 7-6 teams.
Maryland's Countersuit Envisions a Horrific Nightmare of College Football's Future (Tar Heel Blog)
So keep trying to get out from under your debt, Terps. It will if nothing else make for interesting reading.
Lewis Named To Soccer America All-Freshman Team (BCEagles.com)
Boston College men's soccer freshman Zeiko Lewis has been named to the Soccer America All-Freshman First Team. He and Virginia's Jordan Allen were the only two freshman from the ACC on the 11-man first team. There were five other ACC freshman on the second team.