Holy Cross Hockey Clings To 5-4 Victory Over Boston College

BC had a week to prepare for just one opponent.

BC's opponent was 3-9-0 Holy Cross.

BC had freshman phenom goaltender Thatcher Demko return for his first game between the pipes since his injury.

BC fans expected an angry response to Saturday's rough 5-1 loss to Maine.

And instead, BC was embarrassed on its home ice in for 40 minutes on its way to one of the worst losses in Conte Forum in history. Holy Cross pulled out to a quick lead en route to a 5-4 victory.

It was ugly early and often for BC. Holy Cross scored twice in less than a minute midway through the first period to put BC in a hole it would never recover from.

A Kevin Hayes score later in the first to make it 2-1 would get BC as close as they would get until late, as the second period was all Holy Cross. The Crusaders scored all three goals in the middle frame extending their lead to an ultimately insurmountable 5-1, stunning BC fans and sending Holy Cross fans on Twitter into a trolltastic frenzy.

The third period, finally, was all BC, with the shots 17-3 when all was said and done. Ryan Fitzgerald, Michael Sit, and Kevin Hayes each sent home a really nice goal to make it 5-4, but despite an insane final three minutes featuring a ton of point-blank shots, that was all BC had in their bag of tricks for a comeback.

BC was outplayed absolutely everywhere for the first 40 minutes. In goal, at defense, and at forward. Every single one of BC's passes was off target, and the Eagles could get nothing going whatsoever. It felt like BC and Holy Cross has put on opposite jerseys before the game.

No one showed up until the 3rd period, and by then it was too late.

BC fans shouldn't feel good about the near-comeback. This is very, very bad loss, and at the worst possible time. BC needs to turn around and play a critical two game home-and-home series against New Hampshire next Friday and Saturday after two straight horrible games. One would hope that a quick turnaround is in order.