BC Women’s Hockey vs. Boston University: Final Thoughts & Predictions

It’s rivalry weekend for BC women’s hockey!

Who’s ready to drink some good, old-fashioned haterade?

Boston College (6-2-2, 5-1-0 WHEA)
vs. Boston University (3-3-1, 2-3-0 WHEA)

Friday, 7pm @ BC
Video: BCEagles.tv ($$$)

Saturday, 3pm @ BU
video: goterriers.com/terriertv (FREE)

Last Week:

BC easily dispatched the UConn Huskies with 3-0 and 5-1 wins, despite being without the services of top defenseman Megan Keller, who is away with Team USA at the Four Nations tournament.

BU got swept pretty convincingly by Northeastern lolllllllllll

Looking At The Rankings:

The Eagles are ranked #4 in the SB Nation, USCHO, and USA Today polls. But they have some ground to make up with the computers, sitting at 9th in KRACH and 11th in the Pairwise — where it counts.

Boston University lost what few votes they had in the polls after getting swept by Northeastern last weekend. They sit at 22nd in both the KRACH and the Pairwise (yikes).

Storylines:

For BC, it’s about continuing to climb back into the NCAA tournament picture after the disastrous loss to bottom feeder Maine last month when they were without the services of top forward Andie Anastos. Had the Eagles won, they would be sitting in 6th in KRACH and 5th in the Pairwise, well inside the NCAA tournament bubble.

But that’s neither here nor there. BC will have a pair of much tougher games against BU this weekend, and will be missing one of the best defensemen in the world, Megan Keller, for both games. The Eagles did very well in their first pair of games without her against UConn, but the Terriers should be a tougher test.

For BU, they need to stop the bleeding. We’re a quarter of the way into the season already, and BU is sitting halfway down the Pairwise rankings. They are already looking to be a pretty big long shot to make the NCAA tournament. Getting swept by BC would probably realistically force them into needing to win the Hockey East tournament to get into NCAAs — and the calendar’s just ticked over to November.

Random Observation From Boston University’s Wikipedia Page:

There is no mention of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship. Weird.

Game Day Beverage:

As the final pair of BC women’s hockey games to be played, ever, I would recommend something that will help you forget that the end is near.

Predictions:

BU appears to be less good than even I expected them to be. So with Andie Anastos back to full speed, BC has to be eyeing a sweep here, despite playing without Megan Keller.

The Eagles have played four straight games where they’ve looked almost as good as last season. I feel good about that continuing with the Terriers floundering. BC wins with matching 4-1, 4-1 victories.

Excitement Meter: 9/10

It’s BU! Let’s go!