This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northeastern chapter.
Following the success of the Bruins–Flyers winter classic and Frozen Fenway games in 2010, college hockey returns to the cathedral of Boston this January in a face-off for the ages. Northeastern men’s hockey will taken on Boston College in the program’s premiere outdoor matchup. If you’re questioning the epic–ness (for lack of a better word) at all of this game, just take a look at the recent history between these two rival teams.
Think back to February 14th of last year at TD Garden when the Huskies met the heavily favored Eagles in the 59th annual Beanpot Tournament championship game. After playing catch–up for most of regulation, NU tied the game with 1:46 left on the clock to force overtime with their crosstown rivals. However, the hearts of every husky fan dropped six minutes later when BC netted their seventh goal of the night to win the tournament 7–6.
Less than a week later, the Huskies had their chance for sweet revenge with a home and home series against the Eagles. In another high–scoring affair, the duel in Chestnut Hill ended in a 7–7 tie, but the following night the Huskies emerged victorious with an emotional 2–1 victory over BC.
Now fast forward to the 2011–2012 season when the Eagles made their first visit to Matthews Arena on October 22nd. After Northeastern held a 3–1 lead through two periods of play, BC tied the game and ultimately won 4–3 in overtime despite a phenomenal 39–save performance from goaltender Chris Rawlings. The Huskies then returned to Chestnut Hill on Veteran’s day, and despite playing a hard–fought, evenly matched game, they allowed BC’s winning tally with 2.8 seconds left on the clock and dropped the game 2–1.
If there’s one thing this emotional roller coaster of hockey tells us, it’s that Frozen Fenway will be one hell of a game. With all of the emotion building up to this event and the added unknown variables of outdoor play, it’s anyone’s game. The Eagles have the advantage of an outdoor game already under their belt, as they took on the Boston University Terriers at Frozen Fenway in 2010. The Northeastern team is new to the outdoor rink setup, except for Junior Forward Vinny Saponari who played against the Eagles at Fenway as a Terrier in 2010. In a press release on gonu.com, Athletic Director Peter Roby was quoted, “playing hockey against Boston College at Fenway Park as part of its 100th year celebration will certainly be a memory our players, coaches, alumni and fans will never forget.” No one can say who will win this historic matchup, but if you’re a Husky fan, you definitely won’t want to miss out!
The Northeastern–BC game will start at 4:00pm on January 14th, with a high school matchup between Catholic Memorial and BC High beforehand at 3:00.
To read the official Northeastern release and hear the teams’ thoughts on playing in this historic game, go to gonu.com and be sure to get your tickets while they still last on myNEU or redsox.com.
Quote courtesy of gonu.com
Images courtesy of gonu.com, mlb.com
