My Top Five BU BC Games

Because Everybody Loves Lists

I'll be honest.  I'm fairly new to the BU BC rivalry.  I didn't follow college hockey until I came to BU as a student in 2005.  That makes this my fifth year as a Terrier season ticket holder, giving me four plus years of rivalry under my belt.  And my god, have there been some games since I have been here.

SEE THE LIST AFTER THE JUMP!


5) The Own Goal Game
BC 1 -- BU 0
December 2, 2006

This is the only game on my best of list that the Terriers lost.  Why, you ask?  Because this was one of those classic battle of wills type of games that went down in history as a classic between two teams that simply could not be any more evenly matched.

In the 06-07 season Pete MacArthur was the biggest offensive force for BU.  He led the team with 16 goals and 36 assists, but on this night he made the lone mistake that killed the Terriers. 

With BU on an early power play, MacArthur received a pass behind his own net.  Petey Mac looked to skate up ice to set up the Terrier attack.  However as he skated past All-World Goaltender Johnny Curry, he mishandled the puck and sent it bouncing toward Johnny Curry's right leg.  The unsuspecting goaltender was unable to prevent the puck from careening into the net.  Nathan Gerbe was credited with the short handed goal, and somehow it would stand up.

For the next 47 minutes the rivals exchanged haymakers but nobody could land a knockout punch.  Cory Schneider halted all 34 shots he faced on the day, and Johnny Curry turned away all 22 Eagles' shots.

BU failed to convert on six power plays, including one for the final two minutes of the contest.  BU even threw a 6 on 4 at BC at the tail end of the game, but it simply wasn't enough to make up for that one gaffe.  At the end of the night, Schneider turned toward the Dog Pound, removed his helmet, raised his index finger to his lips and silenced the Terrier Faithful.

It was the first time a Jack Parker BU team lost a 1-0 game.


4) 3 Goals in 44 Seconds
BU 3 -- BC 2
2009 Hockey East Semis
March 20, 2009

We'll hop in the not so way back machine for number four on our list, all the way back to March, when BU began it's amazing run of comeback victories in postseason games.

Everyone knew the Terriers could score goals, sometimes at will and in bunches.  But what the Terriers did to the defending champs at TD Banknorth in the semis was beyond most fan's wildest expectations.

For three straight seasons, the Eagles had played in the National Championship game, finally breaking through for the banner in 2008.  But on this night, at the tail end of a lackluster season, BC was staring down an early exit from the playoffs if they couldn't find a way to knock off the 30-6-4 Terriers.

It looked good early for the Eagles, who were able to hold down the high octane BU offense until they could finally push one fast Kieran Millan with 2:10 to go in the second period. 

If the Terriers made adjustments during the second intermission, they didn't show.  Kevin Shattenkirk took a bad cross-checking penalty a minute into the period, and almost immediately after BU got back to full strength Eric Gryba sat down for two for high sticking.  BU seemed to be digging themselves into an even bigger hole, but the BU defense showed why it was ranked #1 in the nation.

The defense held on long enough for the prolific offense to go to work. 

It all happened so fast, that even the Terriers' heads must have been spinning.  Zach Cohen at 11:01. Brian Strait at 11:22.  Colin Wilson at 11:45.  Three goals in forty four seconds.  By the way, Cohen's goal broke an incredible 179 minute scoreless streak for BC goalie John Muse in tournament play.  The three goals were also the fastest three goal spurt by one team in tourny history.

And just like that, the Terriers ended the Eagles season.  How sweet it was for BU fans to ride home on the Green Line that night.


#3) On The Road Again
BU 4 -- BC 3
January 27, 2006

Beating your rival is sweet.  Beating your rival in front of their own packed house is sweeter.  But doing it when your rival is ranked number one in the nation?  Simply delicious.

It wasn't often that Johnny Curry forced his teammates to pick him up, but on this night Johnny surrendered two first period goals to Peter Harrold and Andrew Orpik to put BU down by two.

But in the second period, BC took a penalty that allowed the Terriers to set Conte Forum ablaze.  Kevin Schaeffer kicked off the scoring for BU at 4:30 of the second, followed by an Eric Thomassian tally at 11:52.

But the fun didn't end there.

The Terriers came out flying to start the third period, when Freshman Forward Brandon Yip scored his seventh goal of the year at 1:32 to put the Terriers in front.  Five minutes later BC took another costly penalty, which senior co-captain Brad Zancanaro capitalized on.  The insurance goal turned out to be the game winner when Brett Motherwell put one back on the board for BC.

Four straight goals against the best team in the country in their house against a goalie who put up a 2.11 GAA on the year?  Only in BU BC.



#2) Brian Who? McGuirk Nets A Game Winner
BU 2 -- BC 1
Beanpot 2007
February 12, 2007

When you've got Johnny Curry on your team, it doesn't matter how many shots your opponent takes.  He is going to keep you in the game, and he's going to do it with style.

In the 2007 Beanpot Championship, Boston College came into the Garden firing, and they left the building wondering how on earth Curry was able to turn away 37 of 38 shots in such a pressure packed contest.

If Curry was the reason BU won it's 28th Beanpot Title, 80th Beanpot Game, and 27th Beanpot Game against BC, Brian McGurik is the one that went down in history that night.

Let's talk improbabilities.  Going into that game, Brian McGuirk did not have one goal all season long.  When the book closed on 2007, he would have just one goal, and four assists.  In his first two seasons in Scarlet and White, he had a grand total of 5 goals and ten points.  After that fateful night, he would put home just four more goals for the Terriers.

But on that night, he was the hero.



John McCarthy had a part in the game winner, sliding a face-off victory to his immediate left to McGurik.  McGuirk grabbed the puck on the backhand, and before anyone else on the ice seemed to react to the fact that the puck had dropped, he wheeled around and brought the puck to the blade of his stick.  He flicked a shot through traffic that may or may not have hit an Eagle blade on the way through.  Either way, it found empty space over Schneider's left shoulder and into the net.  Bedlam at Banknorth.

With that goal, Brian McGuirk most likely earned himself the captain's C, which he would later lose.  This truly was McGuirk's moment.

#1) Yip Yip! Hooray!
BU 2 -- BC 1
2006 Hockey East Championship
March 18, 2006

How do you win Hockey East Rookie of the Year?  How about scoring the game winner in overtime in the Hockey East Championship Game.

That's the route Brandon Yip took to the award in his breakthrough rookie season with the Terriers in 2006.

After dropping the teams' first meeting of the season 2-1 on December 2, BU would dominate Boston College through the regular season and into the Hockey East Tournament. They went 4-0 including the Yip game, outscoring the Eagles 15-8 over that span.  Two of those wins came during an incredible 11 game win streak in the dead of winter for a white hot BU team that got back David Van Der Gulik from an injury as a Christmas gift.

In fact, after losing to BC, the Terriers went on one of the most unbelievable runs in team history, going 21-3-2 all the way to the NCAA Semi-Finals against, who else, Boston College (we'll get to that in a minute).

As always, the teams were dead even all night long.  Mike Brennan scored his first of the year for BC, and John McCarthy scored his second of the year for BU to knot the game at one. 

You know the drill by this point.  Schneider made 37 saves on 39 shots.  Curry saved 29 of 30.

Then in OT, the kid did it.



The irony of it all?  The two teams would meet again less than two weeks later, and BU's luck would not last.  Curry fell apart, the prolific offense sputtered, and BC won 5-0 to advance to the Frozen Four.

Only in BU BC