BU Bests BC, Barely, In Nation's Best Rivalry

Terriers Take 3 Points in Home and Home Series

For fans of college hockey, there is nothing quite like Boston University against Boston College. The old clash of Commonwealth Avenue rivals rarely disappoints, and this weekend’s set of contests was no different.

The first weekend of December this season showcased the Eagles at second in the nation and the Terriers sitting at seventh. Coming into the weekend, the Terriers had not defeated BC since the days when Johnny Curry patrolled between the pipes for the Scarlet & White almost two years ago.

BU’s Agganis Arena was the site of the first game of the home-and-home series. Proving that the teams could not possibly be any closer, the Terriers and Eagles skated to a one-one tie in a game marked by the intensity and physical play the rivalry is famous for.

Captains from each squad got on the board Friday. The Terriers kicked off the scoring at 11:09 of the first period. Rushing into the Eagles’ zone, Brandon Yip drew a delayed penalty on a hooking call. Yip kept his composure, however, and held on to the puck under pressure from the BC defense. Yip tossed it out in front for an un-marked John McCarthy who flicked it over John Muse for the goal.

Perhaps the Terriers celebrated a bit too much though, as just 19 seconds later BU was caught napping. Brian Gibbons zipped a pass to a streaking Brock Bradford. Bradford snuck in behind the defense on a breakaway, finding himself face to face with freshman goalie Kieran Millan. The nation’s leading scorer showed why he has 14 tallies on the year as he beat Millan to tie the game at one.

That’s exactly where it would remain for the rest of the contest. Despite the best efforts of the Terriers’ offensive unit, Muse held strong. The Terriers fired 36 shots on goal, including one from Chris Higgins off the left iron early in the third period.

Both teams had chances throughout, but neither could find the back of the net, and they packed up to be continued on Saturday.

Down the road at Conte Forum in Game 2, the Terriers unleashed some of their pent-up frustration early on. Freshman Corey Trivino made his first collegiate goal a memorable one, finding a Matt Gilroy rebound in front of Muse and pounding it home to give BU a 1-0 lead.

Freshman Chris Connolly kept the youth movement going in the second. Colby Cohen found Connolly breaking behind the BC defense on a breakaway. Tommy Cross mugged Connolly and was immediately whistled for the infraction resulting in a penalty shot.

Connolly acted like he had been there before on the penalty shot, gliding in and crossing up Muse, sneaking it past him to double the BU lead.

The Eagles would make it closer than the score indicated. They came out soaring in the third period, as Matt Price cut the lead to 2-1 at 6:01 in the third.

The BC onslaught continued, as they spent the majority of the final frame in the offensive zone. Aided by a few lucky breaks, Millan was able to keep the puck out of the net and keep his team in the lead.

Nick Bonino added an empty netter with less than a second remaining to make it 3-1 Terriers.

Millan has officially made his case to be named full-time starter. After a stellar weekend, the freshman goalie is now the proud owner of a 7-1-1 record with a 1.77 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Coupled with Grant Rollheiser’s sore groin, it certainly seems as if Millan will be the main man for Jack Parker for some time.

BU is now 3-0-1 in their last four games after picking up three points in a huge weekend. They move to 10-4-1 on the year, including five wins against teams ranked in the top ten nationally.

BC falls to 9-5-2 on the year after a disappointing performance, especially on home ice. After two exhibition contests against New Brunswick, the Eagles will renew Hockey East Action at Vermont on January 9.

Things are looking up for the Terriers, who are sure to move up the ranks in the National Polls on Monday. They will have a chance to gain two more points in Hockey East on Friday at Agganis Arena against UMass Lowell.

--Phil DiMartino

Two Faces, Two Teams, Two Outcomes

The New York Jets seem to be having as much trouble figuring out what they’re all about as the rest of the football world is.

A week after what appeared to be a signature win over the Tennessee Titans, the Jets came home for a match-up against the equally befuddled Denver Broncos.

The only thing standing between the Jets and a six-game winning streak would be the Broncos with their battered secondary and inconsistent offense. The subway Superbowl was within sniffing distance for New York football fans.

Who knew “trap game” was spelled “j-a-y?”

Jay Cutler led a Broncos passing attack that gutted the vaunted Jets defense. Cutler bombed the ball all day through a driving rain at the Meadowlands, connecting for a total of 357 yards and two touchdowns.

Cutler exploited the weaknesses in the defense that New England exposed, but Tennessee ignored. And while the lack of an ability to respond to a mid-level passing game did not come into play for five straight weeks, it certainly burned the Jets on this Sunday.

This is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Cutler found his tight ends Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham a whopping 13 times in the game for 149 yards.

Time and time again Scheffler, Graham and the rest of the Denver receiving core bobbed and weaved through the Jets’ shaky zone coverage as if it were Swiss cheese.

Gang Green’s run defense didn’t fare much better, yielding 129 yards on the ground to Peyton Hillis. The un-drafted rookie from Arkansas, who is listed as a fullback, had carried the ball just 38 times for 156 yards all season prior to this game.

Now the Jets, and specifically quarterback Brett Favre, have a serious identity crisis on their hands.

And it truly is up to Favre to decide how far this team can go. In eight Jets wins this season, the old gunslinger has been stellar, amassing a 101.7 passer rating and tossing 15 touchdown passes. However, in their four losses, Favre has been more like Mr. Hyde, with a 71.7 rating and six picks.

To become one of the league’s elite teams, the Jets need their biggest off-season acquisition to start acting more like Dr. Jekyll week in and week out.

Favre and the Jets will have a perfect opportunity to bounce back next week on the West Coast against the lowly San Fransisco 49ers.

With just four games left in the season, and a slim one-game lead over both the Patriots and Dolphins, it may finally be time to see what this Jets team is really made of.

And if the Jets want to prove that they are worthy of the praise they have received for the better part of this season, they will need Favre to be at his best down the stretch.

For the Jets’ sake, let’s hope Favre is a little more Jekyll, and a little less Hyde.

--Phil DiMartino