The Hockey East Tournament: Preview and Predictions of Boston College Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Boston University

Dropping Pairwise rankings for two of the NCAA’s historic powers has made Friday afternoon’s Hockey East semifinal game all the more important. For the first time since 2006, Boston College and Boston University will meet in the Hockey East tournament with a chance to end each other’s season.

The Battle for Commonwealth Avenue needs no embellishment: it is a battle between two of college hockey’s biggest powers, and any game between the two teams should garner a college hockey fan’s interest.

Puck luck, or strong skill, it doesn’t matter how this game will be settled. This is a game between two really even teams. As Grant Salzano noted earlier this week, this is an even matchup, with the GRaNT and KRACH rankings disagreeing on who should be the favorite, with BU getting the nod in GRaNT and BC getting the nod in KRACH. And oh yeah, the two teams split the season series.

Into semifinal round we go!

Your experience in watching this game will be unmatched by any other game watching experience this year. Get tickets. Get to the Garden

Own your allegiance.

Net one of the best hockey watching experiences this year.

Let’s break it down.

GAME DETAILS

Who: Boston College Eagles (20-13-3, 18-5-0 HEA) vs.

Boston University Terriers (19-13-4, 12-8-4 HEA)

When: Friday, March 15, 2018

Where: TD Garden, Boston

How to Watch: Fortunately this game will be broadcast throughout New England on NESN, and outside the New England area on WatchESPN. PRAISE BERTAGNA.

How to Listen: WEEI 850 AM or BCEagles.com

How to Follow: @BCHockey, @BCInterruption, @LBerestecki, @Salzano14, @JoeGrav, @ArthurBailin, @Caligraphy15.

Ice Cream of the Game

Many of our other previews feature a beverage of the game, but this year we’ll be picking an ice cream dessert of the game for MIH games. Why, you ask? Because when Jerry York got the BC coaching job, he went out for ice cream sundaes to celebrate.

Rita’s Water Ice

The closest Rita’s Water Ice is in Chelsea.

On a possibly related note, you’re going to hear a lot of “oh BC isn’t in Boston” rhetoric from BU fans. This Ritas just goes to show that great things can sometimes exist just outside of city limits.

...

BC isn’t actually outside Boston city lim.......

Random, Possibly Incorrect Fact about Boston University From Its WIkipedia Page

BU was the 39th best National University in the country according to U.S. World and Report.

BC is 32nd COUGH COUGH SAFETY SCHOOL

Cat Predictions

Every game, we have the cats of the Ellen M. Gifford Cat Shelter (located right across from BC at 30 Undine Road) predict the outcome of the games. The Gifford Cat Shelter is the oldest cageless, no-kill shelter in the USA.

Since I have taken over the hockey Final Thoughts and Predictions, and don’t live with a cat, I offered to utilize the stray cats of Downtown Athens to execute Cat Predictions, but our managing editor shot that idea down due to it being “really bad.”

So anyway, here’s Yorkie Berestecki predicting a BC W, 3-2.

Human Predictions:

Boston College (3) over Boston University (1):

Don’t ask me what I saw from BC last week that convinces me that they could win this game.

This is a statistical tie. I’m picking BC, because why not?

Northeastern (4) over Providence (3) (Eighty Billion Overtimes)

If I know one thing from covering this tournament, when Providence faces another really good team, the game will go at least three overtimes. Fortunately there is popcorn in the press box, because THINK OF THE WRITERS YOU GUYS.

Anyway Northeastern is just a hair better.