Opinion: Frozen Four disappointment

With the conclusion of what was a wild 12 regional playoff games over the weekend, the NCAA Frozen Four is officially set, with Penn State, Denver, Boston University and Western Michigan all punching their ticket to the dance.

But instead of focusing on the success story of this tournament. Let’s focus on a team that for the past two years has had high level talent, but has not achieved a national championship. That team is the Boston College Eagles.

Last year, the Eagles rode into the postseason on a high after winning the Hockey East championship. Led by Hobey Baker finalist and top NHL draft pick Cutter Gauthier. BC bulldozed through to the championship, taking down Michigan Tech, Quinnipiac and Michigan on the way to the big game against Denver.

But before the National Championship, Gauthier made a comment that will stick with him for the rest of his career. Gauthier said, “There’s gonna be a lot of emotions. A lot of tears for that team over there.” Denver came out and blanked Boston College, winning 2-0. Gauthier left for the NHL, but expectations remained high for the Eagles with a solid core still intact.

The Eagles entered this postseason ranked as the number one team in the Pairwise rankings. But their ranking doesn’t tell the story of how the season panned out for Boston College.

In the Beanpot, Boston College fell in the final to fellow Bostonian school Boston University. In the Hockey East tournament, the Eagles lost to Northeastern.

A squad that they beat 8-2 in the Beanpot earlier in the year. But fans overlooked this, the Eagles were still the number one team in Pairwise. People thought the team was a shoe-in for the Frozen Four.

BC was led by Ryan Leonard, a man who filled the void of Cutter Gauthier by elevating himself to Hobey Baker candidacy. Leonard led the nation in goals and game-winning goals with 30 and nine respectively. Gabe Perreault provided a nice one-two punch with Leonard, tallying 48 points on 32 assists throughout the season.

Defensively, the goaltender Jacob Fowler had a solid year. Going 25-7-2 in his starts for the Eagles. Pitching seven shutouts along the way.

So when Boston College beat Bentley to open up the Manchester regional, no one thought that Denver would beat BC for the second year in a row. After all, the last 7 national championships rematches had gone to the team that lost the original matchup.

But as fate would have it, the Eagles would be the one to break that streak.

Denver jumped out to a 1-0 lead near the end of the first quarter. Eric Pohlkamp would slam one home after a beautiful pass into the slot.

The 1-0 score would hold until early in the second, when James Reeder would take a long shot that would just sneak past Fowler for a goal. BC would pot one with about a minute left as Teddy Stiga scored unassisted.

Trying to break through, BC fought until the last minute. But after an Icing call, Denver would slam the door shut with an empty net goal. Leaving the Boston College Eagles once again empty-handed in the NCAA hockey tournament.

So with Ryan Leonard now leaving for the NHL, can Boston College find someone to fill his spot and get back the National Championship? Based on past results, it seems doubtful.

Luke Stefanisko is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ljs6415@psu.edu.