BC - MIH - 11/13/11

BU vs. BC Men’s Ice Hockey, 11/13/11 - Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA


Bottom Line:  BU beats BC 5-0

The Memories:  BC goes 0 for 8 on the PP / First BU shut out of BC since 1983 / The Dog Pound makes a showing and fills almost an entire section (LL) 

Boston University hockey is historic.  But lately, whatever they happen to be doing with puck is far from hockey.  Anyone who has seen a game this season could agree with that, save for the UNH game and possibly the Denver game.

But lo and behold, the storied rivalry did its job again.  Flocks of diehards and fairweathers alike showed up to support our less than stellar line-up versus the number two team in the country.

And it was wicked awesome.

Under normal circumstances, I’m certain The Dog Pound wouldn’t chant about a person’s religion (well, fairly certain).  But in BC’s house, on a SUNDAY?  That was just gold.  Even when the Superfans tried to tell us “Jesus hates you,” it was no more than a two second pause before we let them know “that’s not Christian.”

Beyond the quality of the BU section chants, there was quantity.  The last two to three minutes of the game was a straight up romping of the BC students.  Everybody wearing Scarlet and White was louder than they have been at any point this year, home or away.

So, in the short term, this is the boost we need.  Men’s ice hockey attendance, relative to the rest of the sports at this school, has never suffered.  But lately, it’s certainly been lagging.  There are already reports that the next BU/BC game at BC (December 2nd) is sold out.  BU students are now going on StubHub and hacking up $30 a ticket before fees just to be apart of, what we hope, to be part two of one of the most brutal season series to date. Not necessarily for the hockey, but for the fans.

Long term, however, I’m still nervous.  A 5-0 blow out is like seeing a unicorn riding a velociraptor.  If the new-to-BU-hockey students think this is what it will always be like, they’ve got a lot to learn.  Just like the freshman class last year who watched a 9-3 killing in the exhibition game at the start of the season.  From here, it’s a two way street.  The team needs us to show up and support them so they can play hard, and skate away with a win, and the fans need to stick around even through the heartbreakers to give them that presence.

All in all, here’s to looking forward, first and foremost to Friday night’s game versus Vermont.  Vermont, an absolute bottom dweller, could possibly shock us just like the Holy Crosses and UMass Lowells of the world.  But hey, one step at a time.