Defense straightened out, BC turns corner

By Jim McCabe, Globe Staff, 2/4/2003

t's hard to believe, but not long ago the vultures were circling. Boston College was in a 2-5-2 rut that culminated with a stunning 3-2 loss at Conte Forum against the University of Massachusetts. After being No. 1 in national polls, the Eagles were trying to find themselves.

They went back to a simple philosophy: Stifle the opposition's offense.

Given that BC beat Northeastern, 5-2, last night at the FleetCenter to advance to the Beanpot championship game, you'd have to say the Eagles have accomplished their turnaround. They are 7-1 since the Jan. 3 loss to the Minutemen, and a key reason is team defense. They allowed the Huskies just 26 shots, and you have to go back to Dec. 28 - a 2-1 overtime loss at Minnesota - for a game in which they gave up more than 29.

But take it from defenseman J.D. Forrest: The guys on the blue line shouldn't get all the credit.

''The centers play a big part, coming down low, and the wings are going up top,'' said Forrest, a junior. ''The whole team is on the same page.''

''It is,'' said coach Jerry York, whose team has outscored the opposition, 39-16, over the last eight games, ''a defensive mind-set.''

Gilhooly's chance

A year ago, Northeastern stormed into the championship and nearly won behind a freshman goaltender, Keni Gibson. He earned plaudits all around and has been the team's No. 1 man for most of this season, but coach Bruce Crowder turned to senior Mike Gilhooly in an effort to fight off the Eagles. It didn't work, but Crowder wasn't pointing the finger at the kid from Calgary. ''Gilhooly played great the last two games [wins over Providence and UMass] and this game wasn't Mike Gilhooly's fault. He played excellent and made some big saves, but we left him out to dry a few times.'' ... After nearly winning the Beanpot last year, Mike Ryan, NU's senior captain, had hoped for another chance. Instead, he'll play in his third consolation game in four years. But he will tell his mates there's something to play for. ''Whether there are a thousand fans or 10,000 fans,'' he said, ''you've got to come prepared to play.'' His point was this: The Huskies are in a battle for the eighth and final Hockey East playoff spot, and while next Monday's game with Harvard won't count, ''We can continue to build on the things Coach Crowder has been stressing all year.'' ... Ryan, who assisted on NU's first goal, had six shots, four of them in the opening period when NU controlled much of the play ... BC's Tony Voce(one goal, one assist) also had six shots, as did NU's Eric Ortlip... Crowder on the difference between the programs at BC and BU, compared with NU's: ''We have to rebuild, we don't reload.''

Root differences

It's fairly difficult to ruffle Jack Parker when it comes to the Beanpot. The Boston University coach, after all, is now 45-14 in the tournament and can lay claim to 16 titles. But when his senior captain, Freddy Meyer, said he was going to watch the nightcap between Boston College and Northeastern ''and cheer for the Eagles,'' Parker winced.

''I have never rooted for BC,'' said Parker after his club had beaten Harvard, 2-1, in the opener. Then the veteran coach caught himself and made a correction. ''I rooted for them when Artie Graham played football for BC.''

It was a light exchange, but both sides needed a chance to explain. For Meyer, the purpose of seeing BC beat NU was obvious: BC has beaten BU three times this season, and the Terriers would love a chance to make amends.

Parker understood that, and while he conceded that the Beanpot is always more flavorful if there's a BC-BU game, the coach said he had respect for both clubs and he was just headed to the stands as a fan - a fan on a scouting mission, that is.

Not this time

For the 51st consecutive Beanpot, we will not have Harvard and NU battling in the championship game. Instead, it will be the Terriers and Eagles for the 16th time. BU holds a 9-6 edge, but considering the Terriers lost the first four times (1957, '59, '64, and '65), you could say things have not gone well for the Eagles lately in this classic matchup ... The opening game featured three defensemen who have been drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins: BU's Ryan Whitney and a pair of Crimson, Noah Welch and Ryan Lannon. Of course, gone are the days when a kid being drafted is news. There were 38 players - count 'em, 38 - on the four rosters who have been picked by NHL clubs, 13 of them wearing BU colors ... Making it to nine straight championship games, as BU has done, is impressive, but it's not a record. The Terriers made it into 10 in a row from 1984-93 ... Harvard has not won a first-round game since 1998 and the Crimson haven't won the Pot since 1993 ... NU's championship drought has now reached 15 years, the 1988 conquest of BU growing into an even older memory.

Membership drive

Between games, the Beanpot Hall of Fame welcomed its two newest inductees: NU's Rod Isbister and BU's Steve Stirling. Isbister played for the Huskies from 1982-86 and was a scoring force in a pair of Beanpot wins, in 1984 and '85. The latter triumph was particularly memorable, since Isbister played with a cast over his broken thumb yet registered a pair of assists in a 4-2 conquest of BU. Stirling's legend goes back a bit further, to the days of Jack Kelley and Terrier Beanpot wins in 1970 and '71. Stirling was captain of BU's first national championship club (1970-71), and it has been nothing but hockey since his days on Commonwealth Avenue ended. Stirling coached Babson College for 17 years, Providence College for two, and he is currently with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.

Mr. January

BC junior captain Ben Eaves was named Hockey East Player of the Month, but when the calendar crossed into 2003, it wasn't even certain Eaves would be in the lineup. A groin injury had sidelined him, but he felt good enough to play, and in eight games he had eight goals and 19 points as the Eagles went 6-2 to push into a three-way tie atop the standings (with Maine and New Hampshire) ... York was telling a story the other day that involved another Eaves - Patrick Eaves, a freshman. Ben's younger brother broke a vertebra in a game against Maine in December and has been out of the lineup since. More than likely, he'll be out of action the rest of the season; but as York left the ice during a recent practice, he ducked into the locker room to get a sweater ''and there was Patrick, dressed head-to-toe in all his gear.'' It reminded York how quickly the college years - and something like the Beanpot - can end, and he used that sight to tell his kids ''to enjoy this position you're in'' and to remind his coaching colleagues that they're in this profession to help the players enjoy ... Much as been made of the fact that BU leads Hockey East in penalties, but what people don't often realize is that Parker detests such notoriety and has made a huge issue about it with his players. The end result has been evident. BU standout sophomore Brian McConnell sat out his second straight game because of bad penalties he incurred, most recently in the Jan. 25 loss at UNH. Justin Maiser, also a sophomore, sat out the Merrimack game last Thursday because of penalties in that UNH loss, but was back in the lineup for the Beanpot. In last year's 5-3 title win over Northeastern, Maiser had a pair of goals and earned MVP honors. Parker was also cognizant of the fact that Meyer drew three minor penalties in the win over Harvard, but called him ''a fabulous captain.'' ... The officials had a rough go of it in the early game. Referee Peter Torgerson fell along the right boards and seemed to turn his right wrist. He stayed on duty, but Kevin Shea wasn't so lucky. Caught in a crossing route between opposing skaters at center ice, he got knocked down at 12:08 of the first period and suffered a lacerated tendon in his thumb, which will require surgery. Harvard trainer Dick Emerson treated Shea, who is also vice president of public relations with the Red Sox. ''I thought it best to send him to a nearby hospital [Massachusetts General],'' said Emerson. Shea was back at the FleetCenter within an hour, but Scott Whittemore remained in the game as the replacement assistant referee. ''I'll be fine,'' said Shea.

Globe correspondent Bob Monahan contributed to this report.

This story ran on page F7 of the Boston Globe on 2/4/2003.
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