Gibbons in middle of action
As the center of Boston College's most productive line - the Production Line? - freshman Brian Gibbons rarely, if ever, has been the center of attention. It has been his role, after all, to serve up scoring opportunities for his much-heralded linemates, junior Nathan Gerbe and sophomore Ben Smith, a pair of 20-goal scorers.
"He never gets the center of attention, or as many points as he should," Gerbe said of Gibbons, "but most of the goals our line scores are created off either a big hit or a smart play by him."
However, in BC's 4-0 victory over Vermont in the Hockey East tournament championship game last night before a TD Banknorth Garden crowd of 11,766, Gibbons was heralded for converting a backdoor pass from Andrew Orpik into the game's killer goal on a power play at 19:40 of the second period.
"The late power-play goal in the second period really helped our momentum, for sure," said BC coach Jerry York, after his fourth-seeded Eagles captured the title for the second year in a row and third time in the last four seasons.
The net effect of Gibbons's goal - his 13th of the season and third in the last three games - was that it enabled BC to take a commanding 3-0 lead into the third period and demoralized the third-seeded Catamounts, shattering their dreams of winning the title in their first appearance in the final.
"It put them up, 3-0, but it kind of put the dagger in us," said Vermont senior cocaptain Mark Lutz. "We really tried to stay positive in the locker room and come out in the third, but I just don't think we could muster up the effort to get ourselves back in the game."
While BC goaltender John Muse (29 saves) was largely responsible for dispiriting the Catamounts, Gibbons provided the will and the way for the Eagles to soar into the NCAA Tournament as the Hockey East champion with his clutch goal.
"Coming into the year, I didn't know what to expect," said Gibbons, a Braintree native and former All-ISL first-teamer at Thayer Academy. "But halfway through the year I got put with Smitty and Gerbs, and when you get put with two guys like that you just stay out of the way and pretty much you'll get some points just chipping in."
"He's a tremendous player and fits in perfect with our team," said Gerbe, who was named the tournament MVP. "He works hard and competes hard on every shift. He's also very skilled and talented and he opens up a lot for me and Ben Smith and also creates a lot for us."
Smith wasn't about to debate Gerbe on that point. "Brian deserves a lot of credit for what Nathan's done this year and, obviously, for what I've done, too," Smith said.
It's been quite a heady time for Gibbons in his first year at The Heights. In February, he tallied two goals in BC's 6-5 overtime victory against Harvard in the Beanpot final, and hoisted the MVP trophy, despite the fact freshman teammate Nick Petrecki (two goals) mistakenly thought he had been summoned to collect the hardware. "I don't know if you've seen 'Zoolander,' but it was similar to that scene where he goes up to get that award," Gibbons said.
Then, in March, Gibbons helped the Eagles capture the Hockey East crown and hoist the Lamoriello Trophy, while chipping in a few goals along the way.
"When I signed here to come to BC, I came here expecting the best," Gibbons said. "Every year they're in the NCAAs and the last couple of years they've been to the Frozen Four, so hopefully I can help them get back there. I couldn't be happier right now. It's an unbelievable feeling."
Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.
