Boston College Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Merrimack: Final Thoughts and Predictions

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s around that time where every game matters, a ton.

BC takes on Merrimack Friday night in Game 1 of the Hockey East quarterfinals. The winner of the series goes to the TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals. Loser goes home. Let’s break it down.

GAME DETAILS

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

Merrimack College (12-19-4, 7-15-2 HEA)

When: Friday, March 8, 2018

Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

How to Watch: WatchESPN.

Loljk, it’s on Pack Network which you have to pay for, for some reason.

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.

Edy’s Peanut Butter Cup

I had talenti’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ice cream the other day. I had high hopes for it, because talenti is always solid.

There were peanut butter chunks the size of my wallet in the ice cream. Was that an exaggeration? Perhaps. But they were too big. Peanut butter cup ice cream is a balancing act. It was too much

Edy’s achieves that balance.

Random, Possibly Incorrect Fact about Merrimack From Its WIkipedia Page

Charlie Day is an alumnus. No word if it is always sunny in North Andover.

Thing That Should Never Be Shown Again in Conte Forum

Frequent readers of the site know that I have an objection to this video. It’s not funny. Like it may have been funny the first time I saw it, you know, back when I was a sophomore three years ago, but the joke has grown old. I mean, a manatee not being able to stop and crashes into the glass? That’s the best you can come up with?

And think of the poor manatee. It doesn’t deserve that kind of public humiliation.

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 sweep, 4-3, 3-1.

Yorkie also says “did you know that there will be kittens named after the BC WIH Olympians available for adoption at Gifford on Monday?”

I’m personally concerned about the fact that Laura can hear her cat speak. But no matter.

Human Predictions:

BC in Two:

If this game was in North Andover, there would be a possibility for an upset, since Lawler Rink, in its bandbox state, is just a place where good teams go to die. This game, however, is in Chestnut Hill, and BC is the better team.

Northeastern over UMass in Three:

Northeastern has one of the best offenses in the league, and quite frankly outclasses UMass in every way. But this is one of those series I can see Northeastern blowing a game for no reason, so take UMass.

PC over Maine in Two

BU over UConn in Three

This is one of those times when a weekend off may not serve a team well. UConn was the hottest team in Hockey East going into the tournament, but the time off might have cooled them off That coupled with an underwhelming BU team could have made conditions ripe for an upset. But I just don’t see it now.