The hype is undeniable and fully warranted.
Boston University and Boston College — Four miles apart! Five NCAA titles apiece! — will play this weekend as the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the USCHO.com D-I men’s poll for the first time in their storied, decades-long rivalry. Packed houses are expected each night, and lots more watching on television.
If nothing else, fans in the northeast and nationwide should be in for an extremely entertaining weekend of college hockey. No. 1 BU and No. 2 BC go into the weekend series (Friday at BC, Saturday at BU, both at 7 p.m. on NESN) with identical 16-4-1 overall records. The Terriers are unbeaten since Nov. 25 and the Eagles have won 10 of their last 12. The schools also hold the same two spots in the PairWise.
The series will mark only the 25th and 26th times the top two teams in the USCHO poll have gone face to face, the first since No. 2 St. Cloud State took down No. 1 Minnesota State 3-1 in Oct. 2021.
The weekend will feature several of the game’s biggest standouts, such as rookies Mack Celebrini of BU and Will Smith of BC, who were recently named (coincidentally or not) Hockey East co-rookies of the week. Celebrini thrice scored in a weekend sweep of Vermont, and now leads BU in goals (16) and points (32). He also leads all NCAA rookies in goals, and has 10 points (7g, 3a) during a current six-game point streak. Smith scored twice and assisted on a pair of game-winning goals in his team’s weekend sweep of Merrimack with a goal and an assist in each game. He is second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 18 assists.
At the risk of being labeled a wet blanket, however, this columnist advises college hockey fans to have fun, enjoy the games, but also to take a deep breath. Here are two reasons why the 122nd and 123rd “Battle of Comm. Ave” is worth putting in its proper perspective:
—There’s not that much at stake, when you really think about it. Ironic, yes, but barring a major — and extremely unlikely — collapse down the stretch by either club, both are locks for the NCAA tournament. This isn’t big-time college football, where one loss can doom a team’s national-title hopes.
If the teams split, there’s a good chance they remain 1-2 in the next poll. Even if one team sweeps, the swept team probably won’t be judged too harshly in the next round of voting or in the PairWise. Unless there’s a sweep by extremely lopsided scores, or one team exposes another’s flaws in such a fashion that makes anyone question the losing team’s bona fides as a national contender, both should be in excellent shape entering the final six weeks of the season.
—It’s only the first of what could be several subsequent meetings. Heck, they’ll meet again nine days later, on arguably a bigger stage. The Eagles and Terriers will open the 71st edition of the Beanpot against each other on Feb. 5 at TD Garden (the Beanpot pits first-round opponents on a rotating basis), and could very well still be 1-2. While the game will not count in the Hockey East standings, it does not need to be stated how important the Beanpot is to the culture of college hockey in Boston and nationwide. Just Google it.
The Beanpot will be the last scheduled meeting between BC and BU, but a late-round meeting in the Hockey East tournament is likely. Should they meet in the championship game (March 23, TD Garden) as the top seeds, and are still ranked high in the national polls and PairWise (even if not necessarily the top two), expect the hype to far exceed anything this weekend will provide.
If an NCAA tournament matchup features the two schools at any point, let alone the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., expect the anticipation for that contest to be about one billion times more elevated than this weekend’s games (no hyperbole intended).
BC and BU have twice met in the NCAA tournament, last in 2006, a 5-0 BC win in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass. The most famous meeting was in the 1978 national championship game, a 5-3 BU win in Providence, R.I.
Lest the foregoing needlessly dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for this weekend’s action, please remember: What unfolds Friday and Saturday is just the opening chapter of what should be a thrilling conclusion to the college hockey season, one in which both schools will likely play starring roles.
