 The Boston College men´s hockey team put together a strong run through the NCAA tourney.
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What is the measure of a champion? Some see it as a shelf full of trophies, the winner of first place. A champion, though, is also defined as a warrior or a fighter and the 2003-2004 Boston College men's hockey team showed this.
Although the team did not earn the hockey national title, they repeatedly overcame challenges and put together one of the most exciting and memorable seasons in history.
The team opened the season on the right foot as it won three of its first five games, including a win to clinch the Ice Breaker trophy and a win against North Dakota, catapulting the Eagles into the top rank in the nation.
The Eagles' first home game against Notre Dame changed things a little as their offense sputtered and the team bowed to the South Bend rivals, 1-0, giving fans something to worry about.
The ship was soon righted as the Eagles won their next game and opened up a 12-game stretch in which they went unbeaten from Nov. 5 to Jan. 3. The streak included wins against Hockey East rivals Maine and Boston University and wins against Michigan and Michigan State to take the GLI championship.
One loss to Hockey East rival Northeastern, 3-0, gave the Eagles a record of 13-3-3 halfway through the season.
Showing their resilience and strength, the Eagles bounced back from the tough loss and went on to record their greatest streak of the season. The team won six straight games and entered the 52nd Annual Beanpot as the favorite. With star forward and captain, Ben Eaves, on the bench, BC was still quick to eliminate Harvard in the first round by a score of 4-1.
The game was a total team effort as Patrick Eaves, Ned Havern, Justin Dziama, and Tony Voce all scored, setting the Eagles up to play Comm. Ave. rival BU in a classic battle.
Entering the final, the Eagles were announced as the top-ranked team in the nation, regaining their position from earlier in the year.
The Eagles fell behind early by one goal and to the anxiety of fans, headed into the third period down 1-0. After a negated goal at 6:06 of the third, the Eagles finally got one past stingy BU goalie Sean Fields, when Ty Hennes scored at 16:30 of the period. In overtime, Ryan Murphy was the hero as he beat Fields at 6:07 to give the Eagles the 2-1 victory and their 13th Beanpot title before 17,565 people at the FleetCenter.
The wins kept coming as the Eagles won five more straight games, putting together an unbeaten streak of 14 games and giving them a record of 26-3-4 and 17-1-3 in the Hockey East. The last win of the streak came against New Hampshire and gave the Eagles the Hockey East regular season title.
Just when the Eagles seemed at the pinnacle of college hockey, they hit a bump in the road. Even with Eaves returning after 15 games with a fractured kneecap, the team lost three straight games, the first time they had lost two or more games in a row, and entered the Hockey East tournament set to play BU.
Despite playing on their own ice and out-shooting the Terriers 30-10, BC was unable to overcome a late 3-0 deficit, and dropped the first game of the series 3-2.
The following night, the Eagles put together the type of dominating performance they had so many times before, as Ryan Shannon notched two goals on the way to a 4-0 victory to force a third game. BC outshot BU 41-14 in the match-up, and the win marked the first time the Eagles beat the Terriers five times in a season.
The deciding game at Kelley Rink was a disappointing one for the Eagles.
BU got three shots past Matti Kaltiainen in the second period, and although B. Eaves put one through the posts at 15:25 of the third, BC was unable to overcome its opponent, falling 4-2 and eliminated from the Hockey East tournament. The Eagles finished with a record of 29-9-4.
With two weeks to work their struggles out, the Eagles blocked out the disappointing first round loss and looked to the NCAA tournament.
With a No. 1 seed, the Eagles' first opponent in the tournament was Niagara.
Behind two goals from both P. Eaves and Shannon, the Eagles made quick work of the Purple Eagles, 5-2 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in New Hampshire.
BC went on to face Michigan, the team that prevented them from a Frozen Four berth the previous year, in the second round. The game was an uphill battle as the Eagles were constantly down, but Voce and P. Eaves scored goals to make it 2-2.
In overtime, B. Eaves made perhaps the most thrilling goal of his career.
At 10:08, the younger Eaves shot the puck and it was deflected up in the air.
The senior captain slapped the puck out of midair into the net for the 3-2 win. Returning the favor to Michigan, the Eagles advanced to their first Frozen Four since 2001.
Playing at the FleetCenter, the Eagles were pitted against fellow one seed Maine.
The Black Bear defense was tough, and goalie Jimmy Howard stopped 40 of 41 shots as BC was eliminated from contention in a 2-1 loss. Shannon scored the Eagles' lone goal.
Jerry York led BC to an overall record of 29-9-4 and earned the Coach of the Year award.
Voce and Alberts earned 2003-04 Division I All-America first-team honors, while Shannon and P. Eaves gained All-America second-team accolades.
With seniors Eaves, Forrest, Hennes, Voce, Dziama, and Peterson departing, the Eagles will rely on newly named captain Shannon and assistant captains Murphy, Alberts, and P. Eaves next season.
Spring Break
