Well, the long wait over the holiday break is finally over. After waiting almost a month after defeating Notre Dame in a sweep, the Boston College Eagles return back to the ice against Vermont Saturday afternoon.

Oh, not for nothing, BC has a whole lot going for them right now.

After a long stretch of middling hockey the past few years, the Eagles enter the second half of the season in great shape. Denver’s victory over UMass Friday night edged the Pioneers past the Eagles in the Pairwise standings, so the Eagles will go in to their game as, effectively, the strongest two seed in the NCAA Tournament if the season were to end.

In any event, the Eagles have a whole lot going for them, and a strong start to the second half is key. So let’s break down the game.

Breaking Down the Game

1. Completing the Season Sweep: The Eagles played the Catamounts twice in mid-November in Burlington, and the Eagles won two games, albeit in different styles. The Eagles dominated most of the first game, while the second game the Eagles held even with the Catamounts for much of the game before the Eagles turned it on late in the second. The Catamounts have been pretty abysmal all year, so a strong start for the Eagles should take the air out of Catamounts.
2. Take Advantage of the Power Play: We’ll skip over the fact that BC has the seventh best power play this season for a second. In the first game against Vermont, BC had a strong Corsi advantage (57-44) but the two teams were a lot more even at even strength. The difference was even more pronounced the second game. Vermont actually led in even-strength corsi 42-40 even though BC led overall Corsi. Vermont has about a middle of the road penalty kill, so the Eagles should take advantage of the clear mismatch.
3. Continuing the Momentum: BC was playing its best hockey in a long, long time going into the break. We’ll see how well they keep up the momentum going into the new year.

Random, Possibly Incorrect Fact from Vermont’s Wikipedia Page

The student newspaper is called The Cynic.

Barley and Hops Based Alcoholic Beverage of the Game

Double Nickel Vienna Lager

I had this again during my time at home for the break. It’s awesome. 10/10 would recommend.

Predictions

The Eagles are going to face a lot of tests this upcoming half of the year, as they will play some really good teams. This will not be one of those tests. Give me BC 4-1.