Denver is a special city for Boston College hockey. The Pike's Peak hockey club, BC hockey's booster organization, gets its name from the fact that BC hauled in its first national championship in Denver in 1949. The Eagles repeated the feat in Denver again in 2008. Along the way there have also been memorable encounters between BC and another maroon-and-gold clad powerhouse, the Denver Pioneers. Matchups between the two are often measuring sticks for both teams, and this weekend is no exception.
BC Roster Notes
Life Without Santini begins tonight for BC, so Travis Jeke will slot in to the lineup. The good news is that Chris Calnan is back after a one-game absence.
Projected Lines
Alex Tuch - Adam Gilmour - Chris Calnan
Zach Sanford - Ryan Fitzgerald - Austin Cangelosi
Cam Spiro - Michael Sit - Brendan Silk
Quinn Smith - Destry Straight - Danny Linell
Defensive Pairs
Michael Matheson - Scott Savage
Ian McCoshen - Ted Doherty
Noah Hanifin - Travis Jeke
In Goal
Thatcher Demko
GAME FACTS
Game Time: 9:37 ET tonight, 9:00 tomorrow
TV: ROOT Sports Colorado tonight (check DirecTV/Dish Network listings); DenverPioneers.com tomorrow ($$)
Radio: WEEI 850 AM, BCEagles.com
Record: Boston College 3-1-0, Denver 3-1-0
Goal Differentials:
BC: 18 GF, 10 GA, +8 GD
DU: 11 GF, 8 GA, +3 GD
Last Time Out: Denver split last weekend with Minnesota-Duluth, taking game one 3-1 before being hammered 6-1 in game two.
Common Foes: None
Players to watch: Quentin Shore, coming off a solid 25-point season last year, is the early DU scoring leader (1-4--5) - tied with Trevor Moore, who led the team last year with 42 points. Defenseman Joey LaLaggia put up 25 points last year from the blue line in his junior season.
Blast from the Not-Too-Distant Past
DCU Center, Northeast Regional 2014. Jerry York had consistently started one of the lower lines and had not once started a game with the Gaudreau/Arnold/Hayes super line. And then he did that against Denver. It didn't take them long to score. Early and often. This goal took all of :25.
The Pre-Game Watering Hole
I am going to have to defer on this one as I've never been to Denver. Anyone?
Scoreboard Watching: Out-Of-Town Notes
Lots of big series this weekend. Most eyes in Hockey East will be trained on the BU vs. Providence series, two teams that have defied expectations in different ways. Vermont at Notre Dame is another intriguing series as UVM looks to stay undefeated. If NU is going to snap their season-opening losing streak, they will need to do it against a tough opponent, Quinnipiac, with the Hounds traveling to Hamden for two on Saturday and Sunday.
Predictions
Joe Gravellese:
DU 4 BC 2 in game 1
BC 3 DU 1 in game 2
I'm more optimistic than I was at the beginning of the week about this series - partly because Calnan is healthy, and partly because I think Denver is still a team that is liable to give up 30+ shots to a good team. I still think these will be two tough games but I've talked myself into thinking split rather than just avoiding a sweep.
Brian Favat:
BC 4-3
3-3 tie
"3 point" weekend; a very successful one for the birds. Demko puts the team on his back and wins one on his own.
New "Dan Rubin" Guy:
DU 3-1
DU 2-1
Bummer.
Grant Salzano:
I'm the biggest pessimist of us all but I can't shake the feeling that this will be a good weekend. 5-3 and 4-3 (OT), BC sweeps.
BCI Prediction Standings
AJ was a goal away from being right on the money for both games last weekend, taking BC to beat Colorado College 5-2 and UMass 4-1. Nicely done, sensei.
STANDINGS
AJ 2
Joe Grav 0.33
Enzo 0.33
Beerfart 0.33
How will the Eagles fare on the road this weekend? Can BC get their first win over a top notch opponent? Will Jerry York win #500 as BC head coach? Leave your thoughts below.