Boston College Men’s Hockey vs BU: Preview & Predictions

Boston College is hailing the return of senior forward Jack McBain from the Olympics just in time to face their archrival Boston University this weekend. BU is ranked 13th in the nation while BC hasn’t sniffed the rankings for months now, so the Eagles will be attempting an upset bid as the 2021-22 season begins to close out.

WHO:

Boston College Eagles (11-16-5) vs. Boston University Terriers (17-10-3)

WHEN:

Friday February 25th @ 7:00pm

Saturday February 26th @ 6:30pm

WHERE:

Friday’s game: Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Saturday’s game: Agganis Arena in Boston, MA

FOLLOW ALONG:

@bcinterruption and @bchockey on Twitter

Preview:

To put it simply, Boston University has been on a roll as of late. They haven’t lost a game in regulation since November 27th against Cornell, making that 15 contests with 13 wins, 1 tie, and 1 OT loss. All of this has earned the Terriers a 2022 Beanpot championship, a national rank of 13, and a slot lined up in the NCAA tournament so long as they don’t collapse. Boston College, on the other hand, has been the exact opposite story. In their last 15 contest (since Dec 31st), they have 2 wins, 2 ties, and 11 losses. They finally found their footing against Northeastern last Friday to get their first win in almost 2 months, but proceeded to fall to the Huskies in their Saturday match-up. So these teams could not be in much different places heading into this series.

One bright spot for Boston College is the return of their Olympians, especially Jack McBain. Drew Helleson and Marc McLaughlin returned from Team USA last Friday to help lift the Eagles to that win, and now senior captain Jack McBain is expected to return to the lineup this weekend for BC as he arrives from Beijing after playing with Team Canada. McBain hasn’t played at all during this terrible losing streak, as he was also out for an extended period before the Olympics due to injury. The last time he played, the Eagles had hope. Maybe he can restore that hope once again in one of the most important games of the year?

These teams have already faced one time this year, a thriller at Agganis that saw Boston College comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the 3rd period to eventually win the game in a shootout (or tie, for official purposes). If there was any time to recapture that magic, it would be this weekend with a team re-energized by the return of their leaders.

Prediction:

Roll Eags. Beat BU.

Friday: BC 4 BU 3

Saturday: BC 5 BU 4 (OT)