Battle of Commonwealth Ave. Battle of Boston. B-Line Rivalry. Whatever you call it and whoever you cheer for, you can’t deny that this is one of the best rivalries in college hockey. Proximity might be a factor in other rivalries, but no schools in our rankings are closer than Boston University and Boston College are separated by just a few miles of Commonwealth Ave. As Offside News writer Katrina Liu once texted me, “we travel to beanpot together on . the same f*cking train. it's brutal.” That train line is the MBTA’s Green Line — hence one of the series’ other nicknames, “The Green Line Rivalry.” (That nickname actually originated between the football teams in the 1950s, but as the programs did not play each other after 1962 and the Terriers discontinued the team in 1997, it now belongs firmly to the hockey rivalry, though other teams do use it.) Every year since 1949, these teams have played at least twice, always with some of the best young talent in the country, and always with bitter hate for their rivals. Since 1952, they’ve also frequently played each other in the Beanpot, the best in-season tournament in college hockey today. But the rivalry really got underway in the 1970s when BU legend Jack Parker was hired as the coach of the Terriers. Parker took over six games into the 1972-73 season when Leon Abbott was fired, and didn’t relinquish the post for 40 years. In that time, he coached the Terriers to three national championships, 13 Frozen Fours, six Hockey East Tournament Championships and 21 Beanpots. One of those national titles was against the Eagles in 1978, where Boston University defeated them 5-3. Terrier Jack O’Callahan gave [https://web.archive.org/web/20120802030026/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093490/2/index.htm] a legendary quote after the game that really highlighted his distaste for the Eagles: “We shouldn't have to beat BC for the nationals. Hell, we can do that anytime.” (While this was certainly one of the most high-profile matchups of the rivalry, I’d argue it’s not the most significant one. More on that later.) On the opposite side of the ice from 1994 onward was equally legendary Eagles coach Jerry York. York would bring the Eagles to new heights, winning four national championships, nine Hockey East Tournament Championships and nine Beanpots and taking Boston College to 12 Frozen Fours. The York-Parker era came to define an era of college hockey, with the teams frequently battling it out for Hockey East or Beanpot trophies. The rivalry was heated, particularly because players often grew up playing against each other and saw each other so frequently around Beantown. “Outside the rink, you see those guys as human beings," BC captain Ryan Shannon said [https://web.archive.org/web/20121104161018/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1109143/index.htm] in 2005. “[But on the rink] They're evil. They're a Terrier.” That has more than extended to the fans. The two schools bully [https://www.reddit.com/r/collegehockey/comments/18ritv/list_of_schools_chants/] each other for plenty of things: Catholic BC students informing Terriers that Jesus doesn’t love them and that Boston University was their backup option while BU students remind them that BC is not even located in Boston and should be called [https://www.reddit.com/r/collegehockey/comments/1hmseyf/comment/m3wckhe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button] “Chestnut Hill Community College” and that Jesus doesn’t love them either. In all the winning achieved by both York and Parker over thirty years, at no point did the teams manage to play each other while ranked #1 and #2. This is where we must return to “what is the actual greatest matchup of all time” because I would argue it was just the entire 2023-24 season. First-ranked BU was swept at home by No. 2 BC in January, then defeated them as the third-ranked team nationally in the Beanpot semifinals, 4-3. (The Terriers lost to Northeastern in the final, 4-3 in overtime). Then, in the Hockey East Tournament Championship, Will Smith scored [https://goterriers.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/stats/2023-24/boston-college-hockey-east-final-/boxscore/31832] four goals to defeat the Terriers, 6-2. What’s criminal is we really should’ve gotten one more matchup. Both teams made the Frozen Four and would’ve met up once more in the national championship. But per usual, Denver Had A Goalie. Matt Davis limited BU to just one goal and the Terriers lost in overtime. Boston College also fell to the Pioneers. Jerry and Jack aren’t helming the teams anymore, but this rivalry still blazes fiercely. After down years for both teams, the 2026-27 season should have some fireworks. It's one of the best rivalries in all of sports.
