Unbe-freakin-lievable
This is the scene. It's the title game and one fan section is pumping with energy, ready to celebrate their team's first national title in ANY sport. The other fan section is holding on close to each other, hearts pounding and eyes tensed with tears. There are 59.5 seconds left in the game, national championship up for grabs, and one team is winning 3-1. That is where this story starts, and that is where this story ends.
For the entire season, Boston University men's hockey has been the team to beat. They started their season by winning the Icebreaker tournament and continued to bulldoze through opposition, pausing for only a minor hiccup in a weekend series against Vermont and a couple of naps against UNH and Providence College.
Once the calendars were set for February, BU was ranked as the number one team in the nation. When they wanted to play BU hockey, they took control of the entire ice and put the opposing team to shame, leaving players and goalies alike in crises of self-esteem.
Naturally, BU won four tournaments and five titles before the NCAA tournament even began: Icebreaker Champions, Denver Cup Champions, Beanpot Champions, Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Hockey East Champions. They were the inevitable number one seed.
And so, even after close-call wins against UNH (in which UNH scored the winning goal for BU) and Vermont (in which Vermont scored for BU), Terrier Nation entered the Verizon Center secretely but confidently expecting BU to win its fifth national championship and seventh title of the season (they were the Northeast Regional Champions because of their against UNH).
Boy were those dreams shattered. Quickly.
Miami University (of Ohio) stepped on the ice and wasted no time knocking BU's players physically and emotionally down. They played the perfect rough game without getting called for anything. They controlled puck movement across the ice and especially in the neutral zone. They slammed Colin Wilson to the ice twice and ruined Corey Trivino's face. The only thing holding Miami back from their banner was goalie Kieran Millan, and they even eventually found a way past him to take a 3-1 lead heading into the waning minutes of the title game.
That was it. The game was over. The Terriers did not seem to be playing poorly, they were just outplayed. Miami was better than the dogs from Comm Ave. They were dominating in a way no team had dominated over BU for the entire season. Desperation kicked in. Coach Jack Parker pulled Millan with three minutes remaining in favor of an extra skater. It didn't work.
There was a face-off in the defensive zone, and Millan went back in. The Terriers took forever to get the puck out of the zone and put enough pressure on the Miami defense so Millan could dash back to the bench.
At 1:19 remaining in the game, it was hopeless. Nothing was bouncing BU's way. Tears, rally caps, and silence filled the BU student section.
And then there was a minute left in the game. And then junior Zach Cohen refused to say die. And then Zach Cohen scored, and it was suddenly a one goal game. BU had 59.5 seconds to tie the score.
And then they did.
With 17.4 ticks left on the Verizon Center's clock, sophomore Nick Bonino rocketed a Matt Gilroy pass into the back of the Miami net. The BU bench erupted. Students almost fell out of the top tier from the intense hugging, screaming and general celebrating taking place. If they could simply hold on for 17.4 seconds, they would have a real chance. The momentum was on BU's side for one of the first times in the game. Here was the championship, right in front of them.
15 minutes and 17.4 seconds later, the Terriers emerged from the locker room and played BU hockey. They reached pucks first, they found each other for passes, they evaded hits from Miami. After 11 minutes of consistent BU scoring chances, Colby Cohen hit paydirt. A backhanded pass from Kevin Shattenkirk found its way to Cohen's stick. He closed his eyes and took his shot. The puck bounced off of the defender in front of him and floated forever into the net. A knuckleball. A win.
That was it. BU took the National Championship right out of Miami's hands and brought it home to Comm Ave. The best Terrier team in history (35 wins) solidified their place with the hardware to prove it.
It sounds like a dream. It feels like a dream. It's not.
The Boston University Terriers are National Champions.
For the entire season, Boston University men's hockey has been the team to beat. They started their season by winning the Icebreaker tournament and continued to bulldoze through opposition, pausing for only a minor hiccup in a weekend series against Vermont and a couple of naps against UNH and Providence College.
Once the calendars were set for February, BU was ranked as the number one team in the nation. When they wanted to play BU hockey, they took control of the entire ice and put the opposing team to shame, leaving players and goalies alike in crises of self-esteem.
Naturally, BU won four tournaments and five titles before the NCAA tournament even began: Icebreaker Champions, Denver Cup Champions, Beanpot Champions, Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Hockey East Champions. They were the inevitable number one seed.
And so, even after close-call wins against UNH (in which UNH scored the winning goal for BU) and Vermont (in which Vermont scored for BU), Terrier Nation entered the Verizon Center secretely but confidently expecting BU to win its fifth national championship and seventh title of the season (they were the Northeast Regional Champions because of their against UNH).
Boy were those dreams shattered. Quickly.
Miami University (of Ohio) stepped on the ice and wasted no time knocking BU's players physically and emotionally down. They played the perfect rough game without getting called for anything. They controlled puck movement across the ice and especially in the neutral zone. They slammed Colin Wilson to the ice twice and ruined Corey Trivino's face. The only thing holding Miami back from their banner was goalie Kieran Millan, and they even eventually found a way past him to take a 3-1 lead heading into the waning minutes of the title game.
That was it. The game was over. The Terriers did not seem to be playing poorly, they were just outplayed. Miami was better than the dogs from Comm Ave. They were dominating in a way no team had dominated over BU for the entire season. Desperation kicked in. Coach Jack Parker pulled Millan with three minutes remaining in favor of an extra skater. It didn't work.
There was a face-off in the defensive zone, and Millan went back in. The Terriers took forever to get the puck out of the zone and put enough pressure on the Miami defense so Millan could dash back to the bench.At 1:19 remaining in the game, it was hopeless. Nothing was bouncing BU's way. Tears, rally caps, and silence filled the BU student section.
And then there was a minute left in the game. And then junior Zach Cohen refused to say die. And then Zach Cohen scored, and it was suddenly a one goal game. BU had 59.5 seconds to tie the score.
And then they did.
With 17.4 ticks left on the Verizon Center's clock, sophomore Nick Bonino rocketed a Matt Gilroy pass into the back of the Miami net. The BU bench erupted. Students almost fell out of the top tier from the intense hugging, screaming and general celebrating taking place. If they could simply hold on for 17.4 seconds, they would have a real chance. The momentum was on BU's side for one of the first times in the game. Here was the championship, right in front of them.
15 minutes and 17.4 seconds later, the Terriers emerged from the locker room and played BU hockey. They reached pucks first, they found each other for passes, they evaded hits from Miami. After 11 minutes of consistent BU scoring chances, Colby Cohen hit paydirt. A backhanded pass from Kevin Shattenkirk found its way to Cohen's stick. He closed his eyes and took his shot. The puck bounced off of the defender in front of him and floated forever into the net. A knuckleball. A win.
That was it. BU took the National Championship right out of Miami's hands and brought it home to Comm Ave. The best Terrier team in history (35 wins) solidified their place with the hardware to prove it.
It sounds like a dream. It feels like a dream. It's not.
The Boston University Terriers are National Champions.
Congrats to BU!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com
Report any abuse or spam