Thank You, BC Hockey: Part 1

Photo by BCEagles.com

Thank you. Thank you for all the memories. Thank you for the highs, and the lows. Thank you for letting me share in your journey. I’ve been a fan of a lot of teams in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever grown more attached to one than the 2019-20 Boston College hockey team.

It’s funny, I still remember leaving the Notre Dame game in December, my friend next to me at his last BC game before going to Ireland for the spring, saying this team would break our hearts. He wasn’t insinuating they’d be a letdown. On the contrary, he meant they’d draw you in to the point where the season could end in heartbreak.

I didn’t want this season to end. As January and February wore on, however, I began to mentally prepare myself that we were nearing an end. Only one team can come out on top in the end, and, while I believed in BC with all my heart, I know that a hockey season can end in the blink of an eye.

But I sure wasn’t expecting it to end this way. An overtime loss to North Dakota in Detroit, sure. But a season cut short inches away from what they’ve been working all season for, that I did not see coming.

This heartbreak feels worse. It’s a different kind of pain. My heart breaks for these players who poured every ounce of their selves into this team.

Thank you to the seniors. David Cotton, Graham McPhee, Ben Finkelstein, Jesper Mattila, Julius Mattila, Luke McInnis, Connor Moore, Ron Greco, Zach Walker, Mike Merulla, Ryan Edquist. I know this isn’t the way any of you wanted this to end, a season which ended abruptly, just weeks before your first NCAA Tournament appearance. Don’t walk away with heads bowed. You guys fought through the disappointment of your first couple seasons with the Eagles and led this team to greater heights in your final season.

Part of the reason I felt such a connection to this team is that they let me into their lives. Throughout the season, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cotton, McPhee, Fink, Alex Newhook, Aapeli Rasanen, Mike Hardman, Michael Karow, Matt Boldy and Marc McLaughlin.

A special thanks to those guys. I enjoyed interviewing each of you and learning about your unique journeys to BC. To Graham and Boldy, I promise, the features are coming soon, although they may need a little tweaking given the circumstances.

An idea I had for an article to post prior to the tournament was: what is one thing I love about each player on the team. From the top with captain Cotton all the way to Adin Farhart, the club goalie eventually called up to the varsity squad, each player contributed something special to this team.

It feels weird writing in this context, but here’s one thing each guy on the team made me thankful for. Today we'll focus on the forwards. In part 2, it'll be the goalies and defensemen. Here we go:

David Cotton’s clutch gene - It was a toss-up between clutch and leadership for the captain, but I went with the former, because I’ll remember him as the guy who, when the game was on the line, you wanted the puck on his stick.

In the biggest of moments, he elevated his game. Last season he led the comeback charge against Northeastern in the Beanpot Final and the Hockey East Championship. This season, he saved BC’s collapse in the Beanpot against BU with an effort goal in the final minute of regulation. BC would go on to lose all three of those games, but one thing Cotton gave BC fans in each one of those games was hope. In BC’s down period during Cotton’s first three seasons, hope was something fans needed.

Out of everyone, I feel for Cotton the most. He’ll end his BC career never having laced up his skates for an NCAA Tournament game. After coming up just short last season, he could’ve passed up his senior season and signed an entry-level contract with Carolina. But, instead, he came back for one last shot. Here’s what he told me the week of opening night regarding his decision to return.

“I wasn’t ready to leave on the terms I had already had. Not having the opportunity to lift any of the trophies that I’d come here to win, I wouldn’t be able to wake up and be satisfied with my decision if I had left.”

Tell me that doesn’t tug at the heart strings a bit. All he wanted was to bring this program back its previous highs, and he never got the opportunity to finish the job. I hope Cotts knows that he left this program in great shape for the future.

Logan Hutsko’s Cellys - Of course, cellys imply that he scores, and that is Hutsko’s specialty. One of the best pure shooters in the nation, Hutsko tied for the team lead with 19 goals this season. He’s got great anticipation to jump out ahead of the rush, and his moves make him lethal on odd-man rushes. 

Some of his goals this season were filthy; I’m thinking back particularly to a couple of the breakaways and the one against Yale that even got Justin Bieber’s attention. What’s better, he’s seemingly got a new celebration for every goal. One of my personal favorites was “The Eagle” during the BC-BU game in January. I also enjoyed “The Superman” and “The Archer” against Providence in the 2019 Hockey East Quarterfinals. And I’m sure there are plenty I’m forgetting about. He’s the only member of BC’s first line with eligibility remaining. Sure there is a concern of how he’d perform without his line mates, but he has found success without them in the past, playing the first half of his freshman season with Rasanen and Chris Grando. BC would benefit from a senior season filled with Hutsko’s cellys. I’m feeling “The Kayak” next season.

Julius Mattila’s Underrated Scoring Touch - I feel like each guy on the first line kind of carved out a defined role. Cotton was the two-way power forward, Hutsko was the sniper and Mattila was the playmaking center. But don’t overlook the fact that Julius had recorded double-digit goal totals twice in his four years and had a not-too-shabby career-low of eight. He was never known as the guy with the craftiest breakaway moves, but he could score, and score in bunches. Six career multi-goal games, including a hat trick, highlight a successful offensive career. He also wasn’t afraid to shoot, as his 91 shots during the season ranked fourth on the team behind his line mates and Matt Boldy.

Alex Newhook’s Intensity - Newie has an enviable amount of energy. Turn on any BC game recap on Twitter, and you’ll see him hyped up and ready to go pregame. And he carries that energy onto the ice. Honestly, I could’ve seen him jumping through a pane of glass in the boards if he’d had the opportunity to score a big postseason goal. That’s how invested he looks out there.

When BC hit its stride late in the season, Newhook was a driving force behind the team’s success. During the second half of the season, Newhook took his game to a new level, scoring in all but two games following the flip to 2020. The first UMass game really stood out to me as a launching point for the freshman’s ascent to stardom. He was always the fastest guy on the ice, but I’d wondered how Newhook would respond to the increased physicality of Hockey East play. The Minutemen were a good introduction to that, taking every opportunity to finish their hits. Newhook didn’t shy away, challenging the UMass defenders all night and scoring a beautiful goal, splitting three UMass players to get in on Filip Lindberg.

Of the three first round picks, Newhook may be the most likely one-and-done, but I’m hoping for another year on the Heights. He has been a genuine joy to watch and is a great kid with a great story. Money talks, but Newhook seems like someone who wanted that “one shining moment,” so to speaks, but he was robbed of it by the shortened season. Colorado can afford to wait on him, and the prospect of playing alongside Boldy and Hardman again should be enticing. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but Newie has the potential to be Johnny Hockey 2.0 if he stays. Gaudreau wasn’t drafted nearly as high, but both are diminutive, speedy forwards who lit it up during their freshman seasons. Johnny played well enough to leave, but he stayed two more seasons before leaving as one of the most decorated players in modern college hockey history. I don’t see Newhook staying three years, but next year could be a special one for him if he returns to the Heights.

Matt Boldy’s Crafty Plays - Bolds had a rough start to his freshman campaign from a pure numbers perspective. After scoring opening night, he went without a goal until January 11th. From that point forward, the flood gates opened for the freshman, and he scored seven goals down the stretch and recorded four three-point games. Even when pucks weren’t going in the back of the net, one thing that was easy to see was that Boldy was one of the smartest players on the ice. His excellent vision and smooth skating allowed him to make plays most players can’t. The game seems to slow down when he has the puck on his stick, and he can see a play develop before it does. Even though he didn’t play center much, I did notice he had this cool face-off move in the offensive zone, where he’d let his opponent win while snaking around him to retrieve the caroming puck. Face-offs aren’t that exciting, but he even managed to make them exciting.

Mike Hardman’s (Legal) Hits - Hardman can inject a lot of life into a game with his bruising style of play, but he does it in a disciplined way. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a hits tally for the team, but I assume Hardman was near the top, and he did it all while accruing only 10 penalty minutes. The Hanover native wasn’t drafted, and he can’t be now seeing as he’s older than 20, but Hardman held his own playing on the all-freshman line with Newhook and Boldy, shining when defenses focused on the first round picks and overlooked him. He was always the unheralded piece in BC’s freshman class, and he played like someone who had something to prove every time he stepped out on the ice. Hardman is a four-year, future captain kind of player for this team.

Aapeli Rasanen’s Face-off Ability - Aaps led the team in face-off percentage each of his first two seasons. When I talked to him about his success at the dot earlier in the year, he said it comes down to getting low and going hard for the puck. This season, he bounced around lines and positions, playing center much more infrequently than in the past. Still, he was quite successful at the dot, and he even adopted an interesting new strategy. A couple times late in the season, I saw him flip his stick around to take the face-off as a lefty. I don’t know what that was about, but it worked for him. Also, thanks to him, we get one more year of the Finnish flag waving in the stands.

Jack McBain’s Increased Physicality - Standing at 6-foot-4, McBain will always be one of the bigger guys on the ice. But too often during his freshman season, it felt like McBain didn’t take full advantage of his frame. He’d get knocked off his feet and pull up on hits. This season, he added more physicality to his game and it paid off. He’d leverage his size to win puck battles along the boards and crowd the front of the net. It all led to a quietly-successful, 21-point season. Next season, he’ll be asked to fill a top-6 forward role, and I’m confident with the steps he took this season, especially towards the end of the season, that he can make the jump.

Ron Greco’s Sustained Physicality - BC had a weird dynamic between players who hit a lot and players who never use the body. Greco certainly fell on the first end of the spectrum. Sometimes it got him in trouble; he was ejected once each during his freshman and senior seasons. He’s probably lucky he missed on a few hits along the way too, because he’d surely have been in for more time in the box had he connected. But you cant argue that his bruising style of play is exactly what you look for in a fourth liner. Between Greco and Zach Walker, the line had no shortage of grit. 

Probably my favorite Greco memory was a game early in the season, I think it was either the Notre Dame or UConn one. He got his stick knocked out of his hands, and, instead of going back to pick it up (it was pretty much right at his feet), he played the rest of the shift without it and laid a couple crushing hits. I remember the game, because my friend and I joked that Greco would be successful even if he never played with a stick. And then he goes out there and scores a hat trick a couple weeks later against Vermont. His single-season career-high in goals was 5, and he had 3 in one game. Maybe he can use the stick after all.

Graham McPhee’s Personality - I could never really figure McPhee out during my first two years at BC. Maybe its because he had double-digit goals and assists during my freshman year and then the point total dropped to 9 during my second year at BC. Whatever the case, I found my answer this season. He’s the team goofball, and I mean that in the best way. Graham is a funny dude and likes to keep things light in the locker room. When I did player superlatives during my interviews, one answer was consistent across the board: Graham McPhee is the team clown. Here’s what he had to say when I asked him about his teammates’ perception of him:

“I always get pretty excited when I get to come to the rink for a couple hours, and when I get to see my teammates faces, it kind of gets me going a bit. I think I have a big personality. I always like to get the guys to laugh or loosen up.”

But, as soon as he steps on the ice, the switch flips. He’s a physical player and an instigator. Most importantly, he’s the first guy to jump to his teammate’s aid during a post-whistle scrum. He was very deserving of wearing a letter on his chest this season.

Marc McLaughlin’s Selflessness - I didn’t write these from top to bottom, and Marc’s was actually the last one I wrote, because I wanted to be absolutely certain I got it right. Marc is a guy I didn’t really notice much during his freshman season until my roommate told me I should keep an eye out for the kid who’s always giving 110% on the ice. It was Marc.

This season, his second at BC, he was the do-it-all guy for the Eagles, killing penalties and providing a spark in whatever role he was asked to fill. McLaughlin bounced between the third and fourth lines during his sophomore season. He’s better than a fourth-line center, but the fit is so natural given his energetic, grinding play style.

He steps up in big moments too. Last season, three of his four goals came in March, and the other one was scored at BU. This season he scored two big short-handed goals, one to spark a comeback against UMass-Lowell and the other to cap a comeback against Harvard.

He told me that Patrice Bergeron was his idol growing up, and its fitting; both play solid 200-foot games and are high-character guys. Marc’s a great leader on the ice and a genuinely nice kid off of it. When he was in the USHL, McLaughlin won the community service and has stayed actively involved into his time at BC. Ever since I interviewed him in December, he makes a point to say hi every time we see each other around campus. When I interviewed him, he was very quick to deflect praise away from himself and towards his teammates. McLaughlin deserves captain votes next season, even though he’ll only be a junior, and, to me, he should be a lock to wear the “C” during his senior season.

Zach Walker’s Glue-Guy Traits - Walks is a pretty popular guy in the locker room. He was just about the unanimous choice for team mom during the “Get to Know the Players” intermission package. He even chose himself when he was asked. When I asked the players some superlative questions during interviews, Walks’ name came up a lot. Marc said Walker was the guy to go to for a pick-me-up. Boldy chose Walker as the most likely to be president. And Aapeli called him the biggest BC super fan. He’s just a good team guy. The ultimate Walks moment was when Boldy scored his second of the game in the 10-1 win over Northeastern. A few fans, not realizing that an earlier Boldy goal retroactively got credited to Hardman, threw their hats on the ice in celebration of what they thought was the freshman’s third goal of the game. It was only a few hats, but Walks was the guy who picked them up. Note to every team: find yourself a Zach Walker.

Patrick Giles’ Penalty Killing - For Giles, it was all about health. A preseason injury sidelined him until the Vermont series. Another injury shortly after the new year put him in a sling, and he’d only suit up for two more games, reaggravating the injury in the first round of the Beanpot. But in the games he did suit up for, Giles was beast on the penalty kill alongside fellow fourth-liner McLaughlin. He contributed on three of BC’s nation-leading 11 short-handed goals. In his second game back, Patty combined with Marc for one of the prettiest goals of the season; Marc poked the puck loose to Giles on the kill and the two went give-and-go for the Giles goal. Two weeks later, Giles returned the favor, setting up Mclaughlin for the shorty. Then, against Notre Dame, Giles recorded his second short-handed goal of the season, picking top corner on a two-on-one with who else but McLaughlin on his wing.

Casey Carreau’s Comeback - We didn’t really get to see much of Carreau this season. After suiting up in 33 games during the 2017-18 season, Casey spent last season away from BC with the Des Moines Buccaneers and Boston Jr. Bruins. This season, he returned to BC and only saw action in three games, two in early November and one on the final night of the regular season. I respect that he went to juniors to hone his game and came back without assurance of a spot in the lineup. It speaks to his high character.

Mike Merulla’s Friendship - Merulla will graduate having played just 18 games. He never recorded a point in his BC career, but something that stuck out to me was his bromance with BC’s captain. Apparently, Merulla and Cotton are best friends. That the captain and the perpetual healthy scratch are that tight speaks to the bond across the board on this Eagles team.

Be on the lookout in the coming days for part 2 featuring the defensemen and goalies.