The Terrier Nation party started at 10:06 p.m. on Saturday night, and it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.<\/p>\n
At Noon today, the Terrier band and cheerleaders led a procession from Kenmore Square down Commonwealth Avenue to thousands of waiting fans in Marsh Plaza. The BU players, coaches, and staff followed behind in two duck boats, waving to throngs of supporters en route.<\/p>\n
When the parade reached Marsh Plaza, the red sea of fans parted to allow the guests of honor to walk from the street to a platform in front of Marsh Chapel, where Terrier broadcaster Bernie Corbett, master of ceremonies, sported a scarlet sports jacket. A giant cake iced with \u00e2\u20ac\u01532009 Champions\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and topped with a chocolate puck and miniature hockey stacks stood on the center of a curiously long table. The crowd soon understood why such a table had been arranged.<\/p>\n
Soon Corbett grabbed the microphone and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153From \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcBurn the Boats\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to the duck boats in triumph, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pleased to introduce the national champion Boston University Terriers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wearing their white \u00e2\u20ac\u0153third jerseys\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as they had in Washington, D.C., for the championship game, the players were introduced by class, starting with the freshmen. When Saturday night heroes Nick Bonino and Colby Cohen were announced, deafening roars erupted from the crowd. <\/p>\n
When the seniors were introduced, they strolled in like the magi bearing gifts. First, it was Steve Smolinsky with the Ice Breaker trophy. Next up was Brandon Yip with the Denver Cup. Jason Lawrence followed with the weightiest prize, the Beanpot. Then Chris Higgins came forth with the regular-season Hockey East Championship trophy, and co-captain John McCarthy added the Hockey East tournament trophy to the growing collection on that very long table.<\/p>\n
Naturally, co-captain and Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Gilroy walked in last to the largest ovation of all, carrying the grand prize – the National Championship trophy.<\/p>\n
That set the stage literally and figuratively for numerous tributes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad to see you gave so many students the day off from school,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d quipped Boston Mayor Tom Menino. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let me just congratulate the BU hockey on the greatest comeback ever\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Jack Parker just wants to keep everybody tense to the end. The guys turned it on; they never quit. So I just want to say congratulations to the team. As mayor of Boston, we declare today to be Boston University Terrier Day in Boston.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
BU president Robert Brown spoke next. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153National championships are rare. This team reached this pinnacle because of a rare combination of talent – and they have loads of it – dedication that started in the summer and ended in the wee hours of Saturday, and belief – belief in each other, belief in their individual ability, and of the dream that they could accomplish together.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Brown reserved his highest praise for Parker. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your coaching and mentorship on and off the ice are legendary, and we are privileged to have you in our community,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Brown told the coach. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We love you\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 even when you decide to play without a goaltender longer than most.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
After Brown went on to extol the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153greatest comeback and greatest team effort I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and went on to predict that a decade from now, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153at least 40,000 alumni will claim that they were there at the Verizon Center, and no one will admit that they changed the channel with four minutes left.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He praised the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153young athletes who refused to yield to what others thought was inevitable.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Terrier Athletic Director Mike Lynch spoke next and provided Parker with a surprise announcement, telling Parker that he had the privilege of informing him that he had just been named the winner of the Spencer Penrose Award for Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
Parker then took the podium and enjoyed another thunderous ovation before being quick to note that he was especially pleased to receive the Award given that the more recent trend has been to have the whole coaching staff go to Florida to be recognized for the accomplishment. <\/p>\n
In his remarks, Parker noted that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153this is the best time to be a coach at Boston University because of Bob Brown\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presidency.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He went on to reflect on the season. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153People keep asking me, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIs this the best Boston University team of all-time?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 And I have to say that no other team won this many trophies and this many tournaments and had the heart-stopping trek through the Hockey East tournament and the NCAA tournament as this club did. They also won more games than any other team. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy for me to say right now that this is the greatest team that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever coached at Boston University.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Parker closed by acknowledging that the Terrier students were the biggest incentive to hold today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s celebration.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I had a lot of former teammates down at the tournament,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Parker said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To a man, they were talking about the student section. When we were down 3-1, they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe how hard and how determined the student section was still cheering and the band was still playing. One of the reasons why we wanted to have this today was because a lot of students couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get down to D.C. due to the lack of tickets. So to have all of you here today is a great tribute to our university. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell all you students how much I appreciate your support – especially in the last three minutes of the Miami game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Terrier co-captains McCarthy and Gilroy spoke a few words of thanks to the fan – Gilroy sounding very hoarse, admitting that he hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t slept much since Saturday night – before proceeding wish Eric Gryba a happy birthday before cutting the cake to close out the celebration.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, a few team members reflected on the celebration. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was awesome,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d McCarthy said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So many fans came out today to support us, which is great because they did it all year long. It all still feels unreal to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Assistant Coach Mike Bavis agreed. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I said to [Associate Coach] David Quinn before the overtime, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re standing here right now. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Bavis said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was kind of a time warp; you couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t rationalize what happened\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Looking back on it on videotape, there were some hell of a plays to make all three of those goals. It was like they were unconscious. They just played. It was unreal. They did some things we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t done all year on some of those plays. It was awesome. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n
Today gave Bavis a chance to reflect on how much the amazing win has meant to how many people associated with the program. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are so many great people involved in this at the university, so to be able to share it with them makes it that much more special,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bavis said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes you underestimate how emotional it can be. You see people who have been years with you doing this, and you realize how much it means to everybody.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Speaking of which, the day gave Nick Bonino a chance to fulfill one dream while reliving another.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was cool,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bonino said of riding in the duck boats. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You see the Red Sox do it and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something you always dream of doing, so it was great for BU to set it up.<\/p>\n
Over two days after scoring what will go down as one of the most legendary goals in BU history, Bonino is still constantly reliving the experience in his mind. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just watched the replay here, and it still gave me the chills. I got a great pass and just had to put it in. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be thinking about that one for a long time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The sophomore admitted that the puck went in by a much narrower margin than he realized at the moment. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it was that close,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bonino said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I looked at the replay, and it went under the kid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arm and right by the goalie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glove, so I guess fate just wanted that puck to go in the net. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great feeling.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
With that, Bonino slipped off the podium, swallowed by the red sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Terrier Nation party started at 10:06 p.m. on Saturday night, and it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. At Noon today, the Terrier band and cheerleaders led a procession from Kenmore Square down Commonwealth Avenue to thousands of waiting fans in Marsh Plaza. The BU players, coaches, and staff followed behind in two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n