BOSTON COLLEGE 2025 - 2026

eaglekeeper said:

I would think that after the national championship game appearance GB got a new 5 year deal. With BC needing to fire Earl Grant, bring in a new President, there is no way GB is going anywhere soon. He would need back to back losing seasons to get fired.

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Oh there's bigger fish to fry for sure. Grant is #1, his presser this week about rebuilding the program was patently absurd. Even Katie King Crowley lost today at home in the HE tournament and needs to go before Greg Clown (but they are close, and she also went to a national title game). Women's basketball lost 20 games in a row and is 5-25.

BOB doesn't inspire confidence at this point but he's safer than Greg Clown as he at least has shown he can win as a head coach somewhere. Clown isn't going anywhere and is going to be in Umile territory as he holds this program hostage for a long time. He could set this program back a few decades.

The entire athletic department needs to be nuked into oblivion.

There are no great teams in college hockey. BC has the talent to put together a run. Emotions and momentum change week to week. They have a very good power play. Having M Hagens back on defense is a plus in getting the transition game going. Having Gasseau and Jevlik back should give them two very good scoring lines. Let’s hope it comes together starting on Thursday. UMass (I wanted BC to hire Greg Carvel) is coming on strong. They are very well coached. BC could very well see a tough Merrimack team in the first round of the HEA playoffs. BU is another 1st round potential opponent.


Go Eagles!

BCeagle said:

Starts at the top, when Leahy is replaced. Hopefully the new president will be better but we'll have to see if he will support athletics.

But I don't disagree about Brown. Not my first choice when he was hired. Crowley probably needs to be replaced too. What has she done lately after having many good teams and not winning the big games when the talent was there.

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The fact that so many of her best players transferred out was downright alarming and should have set off a lot of bells in the ADs office. Watts was one thing as she was somewhat mental but when the rest of them went to Ohio State it said a lot about the staff and the state of the program. There is no way to spin that in any way.

Carmine Scarpaglia said:

Oh there's bigger fish to fry for sure. Grant is #1, his presser this week about rebuilding the program was patently absurd. Even Katie King Crowley lost today at home in the HE tournament and needs to go before Greg Clown (but they are close, and she also went to a national title game). Women's basketball lost 20 games in a row and is 5-25.

BOB doesn't inspire confidence at this point but he's safer than Greg Clown as he at least has shown he can win as a head coach somewhere. Clown isn't going anywhere and is going to be in Umile territory as he holds this program hostage for a long time. He could set this program back a few decades.

The entire athletic department needs to be nuked into oblivion.

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Just wait until the inevitable future when Division I college football has become two 20 team mega-conferences and BC is not one of the cool kids and is left at the kiddie table. They'll be no more than a glorified FCS team and the gigantic loss of revenue will be like a shockwave through the entire athletics department.

Cross Check said:

Just wait until the inevitable future when Division I college football has become two 20 team mega-conferences and BC is not one of the cool kids and is left at the kiddie table. They'll be no more than a glorified FCS team and the gigantic loss of revenue will be like a shockwave through the entire athletics department.

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Many schools will be facing this dilemma.

Cross Check said:

Just wait until the inevitable future when Division I college football has become two 20 team mega-conferences and BC is not one of the cool kids and is left at the kiddie table. They'll be no more than a glorified FCS team and the gigantic loss of revenue will be like a shockwave through the entire athletics department.

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Northeast schools in particular as well as schools that have mediocre football programs. Even lower tier schools in the Big 10 and SEC are having attendance problems.

Students and alumni really only want to go to games that their school wins regularly. The culture of school spirit has changed.

Now that we've all slept on it... let's break down some major talking points as we nosedive towards the end of the season.

Cloutier/Korec/Goaltending:
- Cloutier has no idea what planet he's on out there even when he's making saves. Like the majority of this team, the good things that happen seem to be by accident. I'd be shocked if he's ever the goalie for this program beyond this season.
- Korec has been very good prior to this year and I think his performances this season are outliers (and yes they've been BAD).
- Play Korec Thursday in a massive road game at Amherst. Perhaps Cloutier is tired but either way it's time to make this move for 1 game and see what happens.
- Was it the wrong overall call to go with Cloutier over Korec this year? That's a question I hadn't pondered until now. Did the staff give a little too much weight to early performances at Minnesota and RPI, two teams which are dreadfully bad this year? Hmm.
- Who do we have in the recruiting pipeline at the position or do we need to get a portal hit or scour the CHL to see who we can bring in? I know there was some banter about a super good goaltender in Canada but I believe that was an agent playing a bunch of people (including Greg Clown) as fools to force a trade so I would likely rule that guy out at this point.
- You cannot go into 2026-2027 season with this goaltending duo.

Skahan:
- Healthy scratch this weekend with a fully healthy lineup for the first time in forever.
- This is a 2nd rounder with size that was considered a top player in his age group at the position. I understand there are a bunch of LDs and I understand Hagens being an extra D due to his ability to move back and forth, but I'm not sure why he's sitting ahead of Joyce. I am a big fan of Joyce and think he's great in spot duty (similar to Traeger up front). I don't know about this. Not a huge point of contention for me given all the others but interesting and worth it to point out.

Conmy and Gustafsson
- I've been reserved on these 2 all year even though I see the same thing every night from them. They are interesting to me as they are basically the same story at different positions.
- Good for the PP, they love to shoot into shinpads of defenders, and not good 5x5 which is a theme and huge problem for the team in general. And both of these guys had the games of their lives in the Beanpot which is interesting.
- Conmy was -4 last night and is -5 for the season, worst on the team. I think he forces things in the offensive end; lately he's avoided the shinpad shots but has been going with the extremely low angle shots instead. Possession is so important! He still has only 2 EV goals against a goaltender in net if my numbers are correct. He has been surprisingly good in setting up Hagens and Letourneau on the PP which I didn't expect given his off-wing one-timer that was expected to produce more.
- Gustafsson was -6 this weekend, -3 on both nights. He's now -2 this season. For comparison, Minnetian is +16. I don't even know what else to say, in my 30 years watching it's hard for me to think of a regular defenseman that is this bad. He can be brilliant at times but for only very short stretches.
- Both will get brief shots in the AHL and spend a lot of time in the ECHL although the smart move for Gustafsson would be going to Europe.

NPI/Hagens
- You're free to do what you like but I strongly suggest all BC fans stop looking at NPI. This team is going to get hammered into oblivion if they even make the NCAA tournament and I'd like to see whatever spot BC may have had reserved for a team that could pull off a win or at least deserves to play. This team does not deserve to go to the NCAA tournament and they certainly play like they don't want to go. If they do make it, they'll back in dishonorably due to the other teams around them faltering.
- Is there a scenario where BC gets eclipsed by Uconn, UMass and UMaine in the NPI? If the season was extended another week I'd consider this a likely scenario.
- Here's another scenario. If people expect Hagens to sign, BC sits on the bubble after losing their first playoff game at Conte, and Hagens is stuck waiting for a week to figure out BC's NCAA fate. They slide off the bubble and he lost a week with the Bruins. Or they back in and get hammered in the first round and he wasted two weeks all for an obvious L. Hagens has good numbers but he hasn't dominated 5x5 like I had hoped he would but it is what it is and it's the least of our problems.
- Winning a game or two and getting everyone's hopes up is the likely scenario here as it's been happening all year. Don't get fooled and don't be a Merryman with "diD yOu eXpECt tO RuN The tAbLe?" when they lose or "No oNe WAntS to plAy Us IN thE poSTsEason" after a groundbreaking 2 or 3 game win streak.

North Dakota/BU
- BU this year is an absolute aberration IMO. Three straight FFs before this under Pandolfo. How many years did Albie O'Connell get before they moved on? Four. His final record? 19-13-3. Greg Clown currently owns a 19-12-1 in Year 4. Progression from years 2-4... 34 wins, 27 wins... 19 wins so far. Hmmm. BU knew just like we knew. But BC won't do anything.
- North Dakota is interesting because they are in Year 1 of their new coach and if you question the seriousness of the B1G as a conference as I do, UND is perhaps the odds-on favorite to win the national title. Sure they had some issues and that helped move Brad Berry out but here is a guy that lucked into a national title early in his tenure and he's gone. Can anyone think of a coach that almost lucked into a national title very early in his tenure? Do you see where I'm going with this?
- Hell... look at the Pats canning Jerrod Mayo and going to the SB one year later. This program can get back very quickly with the right hire.

Intangibles
- Clearly don't have it. Everyone knows it. And they know it and they play like it. All starts with leadership (lack thereof) of Greg Clown.

We've talked about why it won't happen but I think it's worth discussing, who realistically should we be looking at to replace Greg Clown in a few years?

Carmine Scarpaglia said:

- BU this year is an absolute aberration IMO. Three straight FFs before this under Pandolfo. How many years did Albie O'Connell get before they moved on? Four. His final record? 19-13-3. Greg Clown currently owns a 19-12-1 in Year 4. Progression from years 2-4... 34 wins, 27 wins... 19 wins so far. Hmmm. BU knew just like we knew. But BC won't do anything.

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I don't have a view on Greg Brown but it's hard to take the rest of your post seriously when you take numbers completely out of context to support your argument. Albie O'Connell never made the NCAAs except in the 16-game COVID year, when BU lost in the first round. His other seasons were the one you reference (19-13-3), one where the team finished exactly .500, and one where the team finished under .500. Meanwhile, Greg Brown is 94-42-10 and in the past three seasons took his team to the NCAAs twice and the national championship game once. Again, I don't particularly care one way or the other, but these two situations are not similar at all.

Come off the ledge Carmen, this is a good team but not a great one. BU put together their two best games of the year in a row and Yazerof was out standing both nights. LC did not have a good game but it was 2-1 going into the third. I agree on Conmy, he has a great shot but he is a poor man's Eiserman, not a great handle so no threat 5 on 5. I would love to have seen Hagens with Jellvik and Gasseau for the whole year but they have a few games left to play off one another. I forgot how good OJ is, last night he seemed to be in the middle of things when ever they were on the ice together. We will see more of that. GB is not going anywhere and why should he, he is a good coach and a good representative of the University. If Pando is so great why will they have to claw their way into the National Tourrnament when they were picked number 2 in the country before the season began. I realize it was preseason but everyone down at Agganis was ready to jump off the BU bridge before this week end. College hockey is very competitive just look at the scores from this week end. I don't know how far they ill go and jump off the band wagon if it makes you feel better but I am sticking with them, there are more games to play and win. I fully agree that BC Athletics is a dumpster fire right now but we have had some real pretenders at AD for 20 years. Fix that first.

Yea, there's a lot to unpack about what's going on with the hockey program (actually it's quite simple and doesn't require a lot of analysis) but I think some of the discussion going back to the larger athletic department problems is really where my concern is. There is a new president coming in and we can hope he gets it like Fr. Monan, who raised this university by supporting athletics, as opposed to Fr. Leahy, who has tried his hardest to destroy every piece of the athletics department. If the new president fails, it's over.

I saw a comment on social media that we have an athletics department that doesn't care about athletics. True and scary. Is this a Somalian daycare in Minneapolis where it's basically a money laundering operation? How can it be justified to pay these people in the building at 140 Comm. Ave? If the BOT is so concerned over penny pinching on athletics, might they investigate the hiring practices in the building? What a waste of millions and millions of dollars. Last night it appears they finally got rid of that women's basketball coach that lost 20 in a row and I think 21 of her last 22 or something like that although reports were that her contract was up and they just didn't renew it so not exactly a stunning and brave move here but it shows Blake James has a faint pulse. Earl Grant is rumored to be on the chopping block but they stupidly extended him as they've done with many TERRIBLE coaches (for no reason) so there will likely be considerable but extremely justified cost to cut bait. 6,191 days and counting since they've even played in an NCAA tournament game and it will probably hit 7,000 before someone comes in and gets the program back up and running under ideal circumstances. BOB has done nothing to justify an extension and unless there is an extremely significant and obvious upswing the AD needs to put him on a plan and let him earn another year as he goes on a year-by-year basis. Motivation is a hell of a drug.

As far as hockey, I told everyone where this was going to go. I may add more thoughts here (or not) but let's say it doesn't look good. Feels like there's no accountability. If nothing else, some staff shakeup is probably needed and get a young BC guy on board in case Brown needs to go in a few years. Hennes is (ironically) on the NYR staff and has good reviews and Ben Smith (an extremely bright guy) just got added to the Bruins staff as a player development guy. Get one of them back behind the bench. For the love of God DO NOT extend Brown any more without positive indicators and see if one of the young guys is worthy of passing the torch.

There will never be another Jerry York. What he did was remarkable and becomes astonishing the more and more we are removed from his tenure.

good team..lol thats funny i hope maine plays u in hockey east tourney because you guys suck as bad as we do

They peaked in late January and early Feb. It is very disappointing to see the scoring drought. If they don't score on the PP play they don't score. Lucka has just not been dialed in and this team's psyche is apparently very fragile. They could go on a run and play with their hair on fire but I wouldn't bet on it, from hear on every win will be a welcomed and pleasant surprise. Thanks to all the seniors, staying all four years is unusual in this day and age and they were good. They should be celebrated. This includes Davey and Traeger, who did not see a lot of game day ice but they stuck with it and for that I am grateful.

DNAEagle said:

They peaked in late January and early Feb. It is very disappointing to see the scoring drought. If they don't score on the PP play they don't score. Lucka has just not been dialed in and this team's psyche is apparently very fragile. They could go on a run and play with their hair on fire but I wouldn't bet on it, from hear on every win will be a welcomed and pleasant surprise. Thanks to all the seniors, staying all four years is unusual in this day and age and they were good. They should be celebrated. This includes Davey and Traeger, who did not see a lot of game day ice but they stuck with it and for that I am grateful.

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Do they dress Davey and Traeger on Senior night and if so, who is left off. Easy choice if there is an injury or illness or dressing an extra forward instead of 7 dmen is another option.

Carmine Scarpaglia said:

- Greg Brown doesn't have it. Cloutier doesn't have it. This team is going nowhere with those two. Even a win on Monday isn't going to really change this. Brown. Cloutier. This team is done.
- Long-term, it's obvious Greg Brown is not the guy.
- This team is poorly coached.
- Greg Brown is not the guy.

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When do the merrymen come and apologize? Some of us knew.

Is Greg Clown autistic? He looks like Rain Man back there and Cloutier is his KMart. Imagine a few more years of this! How much is the buyout?

Carmine Scarpaglia said:

When do the merrymen come and apologize? Some of us knew.

Is Greg Clown autistic? He looks like Rain Man back there and Cloutier is his KMart. Imagine a few more years of this! How much is the buyout?

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What a sad joke this season has degenerated into.

Tomlin syndrome

Igles hockey is like stillers football to supporters. If it isn’t a championship, nobody cares if you have winning seasons.
Fair? Who cares. That’s how it is. You guys want and expect #6. Stillers fans want #7.
Who gives a turkey if you have 20yr straight seasons of over .500 football.

The nose dive the past three weeks is dreadful, I thought they were good hockey team with injuries to key players. That is not the case, everyone is back and they are just not competing at the same level as the teams they are playing. Stupid penalties, bad turnovers and spotty goaltending and no goals when playing 5 on 5 lead to bad results. Last night they had a 5 on 5 goal but it was scored by a defensemen on the other team! They won the Beanpot and I guess they thought they would walk through the rest of the season. Beyond disappointing

Earl Grant fired. Two new hoops coaches coming this year.

Might be the way to go just clean house in the same sport on each side. Next year Brown and Crowley need to be sacked.

I've been warning everyone. This isn't going to go away. This may seem like a post-mortem and for all intents and purposes it is but we can go deeper once it's official Friday night.

I am hung up on a few things.
1. Last year I chronicled my extreme displeasure in the post-NU QF debacle as far as the lineup card submitted for the regionals. Clown refused to break up the top line. I've spoken at length that one-line teams never work. Clown did not get the memo or doesn't like history and sealed the season's fate before the games even started. Needed a last minute Hagens goal on a heroic shift from Leonard to get past Bentley. This year it appears the lineup card at the goaltender position didn't change and that has yielded a save % of .852, .867, and .733 over the past three games. No competition? We have some good numbers from Korec in prior season as data. Should have played him this weekend at least once. I'm not even going to make the Mike Ayers jokes.

2. We've also talked at length lately that this program has no identity in terms of roster build and style. On a macro and micro level, it seems like there is no plan. Clown and staff just recruit the best players they can, throw them onto the ice together, and hope for the best. Sure it's BC so there's a ton of talent but even that will only win 15-20 games most years and get you pounded in March. These other teams are getting better both in terms of talent infusion and in-season they are progressing. We aren't seeing the latter like we used to see under York, which was an absolute guarantee every season. Did Clown learn anything being an assistant under the GOAT?

I find the coaching staff interesting in that they are all going to be looking for jobs and doing interviews soon and I'd almost love to separate them now and hear some opinions. As a staff, are they all in agreement on some of these things going on? Because if they agree then I find it disturbing.

As far as the Thursday/Saturday games, almost no one played well Thursday except Resendes. He was notably good and had some solid shots on net. Which brings us to Saturday. Probably the dumbest penalty I've seen in program history and the the fact that his skates touched the ice in any way after that is a joke and extremely alarming to me. He had some early season issues, cost BC the Minnesota game with another dumb penalty, but seemed to work it out. Is this a hockey team or Bushwood Country Club? Radivojevic has been terrific all season long and was really bad on Saturday, his turnover led to the Resendes penalty and it was extremely unforced after an NU player dumped it in and went to the bench and no one for NU was on BC's side of the red line, he had two pass options and room to skate but instead passed to an NU player. Pretty much 5 seconds that represented the whole season. Radivojevic also fanned on a puck in the crease/got outmuscled on goal #1 and I'm not sure if he was just out of gas on the third or fourth goal when he was beaten down the ice but it was pretty rough to watch.

For the record, I don't think the penalty and subsequent goal would have mattered as BC would have collapsed regardless as it's a fragile team both physically and mentally. But it's important as it points to the underlying problems.

What a major blunder to blow this and end up the 4 seed with a rested team coming in rather than playing a teams with less rest and less time to prepare.

edit - I know there is a chicken vs egg conundrum here with the offense vs goaltending debate. And it's an interesting one. And yes they both suck. My opinion is that if the goaltending was average this team could convert these losses to better results and the offense would have more time to get on the board or extend leads. It's not exactly a team that can handle adversity but in all cases, watching pucks go into the net with such ease is deflating even for the most mentally tough teams. So my focus is goaltending for that reason.

I hope Maine fans fill the building and the Black Bears deservedly run this team out of their own building.