A big rivalry weekend between the two top teams in NCAA hockey was a glance at what the sport at this level has to offer, and it's pretty awesome.
The Boston College Eagles and the Boston University Terriers hit the ice at both the Conte Forum and Agganis Arena on Friday, January 26, and Saturday, January 27, and boy were those barns bouncing like almost nothing we've seen in college hockey so far this season.
With BU ranked number one and BC ranked second, the already heated rivalry between two NCAA Hockey powerhouses rose to a different level, with fans packing both stadiums to the brim and cheering on their favorite squads.
Here is the Conte Forum, home of the BC Eagles on Friday:
And here is a picture of half of Agganis Arena, home of the BU Terriers, on Saturday (unfortunately, I couldn't find a good enough video clip to showcase the arena at full capacity):
There are plenty of fun rivalries across the slate of college hockey, some more nationally recognized than others. But there aren't many like those between all of the Boston-located universities. The Beanpot is one of the most enticing and exciting college hockey tournaments of the entire season, and it's only between the four Boston teams. Fans go to pack the TD Garden and support their favorite university. There's something special about that, but there's nothing like rivalry games in the team's actual arenas.
The first game went in BC's favor at home by a score of 4-1. It took a full period for either team to get on the scoresheet, but the Eagles went up early in the second thanks to a goal from Ryan Leonard, who celebrated just as hard as one might expect.
Then, a goal on a two-on-one rush by Gabe Perreault, assisted by Will Smith and Leonard, put the Eagles up two goals before the Terriers were able to strike back and cut the lead in half about 13 and a half minutes into the third period with a goal from Los Angeles Kings prospect, Jack Hughes. It was a one-goal game just over the 18-minute mark into the third when Cutter Gauthier hit the empty net, and then, Andre Gasseau hit the empty net again just 51 seconds later to truly seal the deal.
With a big win at home against the number one team in the nation, the Eagles were riding some good momentum heading into the Saturday game at Boston University, and the Terriers knew that they needed a bounce-back game.
The game started differently than the day prior, as there were three goals scored in the first period, but just like the last game, the Eagles had a 2-1 lead thanks to two straight goals.
The Terriers ended up tying the game 3:39 into the second period, and it remained that way until Gauthier gave the Eagles the lead with a quick snapshot through the five-hole.
Smith struck early in the third period to instate a two-goal lead for the Eagles, and that was the way the game went for almost the entire period before Macklin Celebrini pulled out this number with the goaltender pulled. Truly a fantastic goal from the projected number-one overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Unfortunately for the Terriers and their fans, there wasn't another goal in the team to tie the game and force the overtime period, but nonetheless, they made things interesting with just over two minutes in a rivalry game.
For those who may not have been paying attention to college hockey before this series, hopefully, it brought light to the kind of appetite there has been for more of these kinds of games and more college hockey in general.
BU versus BC is always a fun rivalry, but throw in that they were ranked the first and second teams going into the weekend for the first time in the rivalry's history, and it was a who's who of NHL prospects on both rosters, that just meant the stakes were even higher, and the fanbases for both teams knew their presence was as important as anything.
Yes, it was a weekend sweep for the "underdog," but that shouldn't take away the fact that the series managed to live up to the hype that it was garnering heading into the weekend. And, luckily for anyone who enjoyed those games or enjoys college hockey in general, those two teams will be squaring off in the aforementioned Beanpot tournament on Monday, February 5. So, get ready for some more high-pace action between two bitter rivals on the ice and rival fanbases off the ice!
This is why college hockey is so great.