The #1 Boston College Sports Moment of the 2010s is Johnny Gaudreau’s Goal To Clinch The 2012 NCAA Title

We hope you’ve enjoyed our decade-ending series of the Top Ten Boston College Sports Moments of the 2010s! There’s been a nice mix of sports in here, showing that even though there have been a few dry years here and there, there’s usually something to celebrate at the Heights. If you’d like to check out the full list of top ten moments of the decade (plus some honorable mentions), click here.

And so, here on the last day of the 2010s, we have reached the number one moment of the decade. And could there be any doubt? Our top Boston College moment of the last ten years is Johnny Gaudreau’s goal to seal the 2012 NCAA Men’s Hockey championship.

Part of what made this moment so exceptional was the way the game had gone. BC was riding high on an 18 game winning streak, and who did we get in the NCAA championship game? Ferris State?? That’s not even a real state! The Eagles were expected to roll!

But roll they did not. BC scored in the opening few minutes and things looked pretty good, but the Bulldogs scored just two minutes later to tie it up. Steven Whitney re-took the lead a few minutes later... and then things just sort of went stagnant.

Neither team scored for the rest of the first period, and neither team scored in the second (though BC took plenty of penalties), and so it started to feel like 2007, when Michigan State hung around long enough to take the game late. So the tension was crazy-thick, and just built with each passing minute. And then, man oh man... you will only see a few moments of pure individual brilliance like this a few times in your lifetime.

Let’s watch it again, just for a few more of those good feels.

I mean damn.

Stephen Whitney would put a topper on the game with an empty netter in the final minute, but until Gaudreau took over with three minutes to play, the game was on a razor’s edge.

It’ll be hard to top this moment in the next decade of Boston College sports — it’s won our GIF of the Year tournament’s “Best of the Best” matchup every year since its inception for a reason — but there will be plenty of opportunities for all of BC’s teams to take their shot. When, not if, Boston College reaches the top again, the moment will have some good company in our memories.

Happy New Year to all you Eagles! Here’s to some great moments next year and beyond on the Heights.