2014–15 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season explained

The 2014–15 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team represented Boston College in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Jerry York, '67, his twenty-first season behind the bench at Boston College. The Eagles played their home games at Kelley Rink on the campus of Boston College, competing in Hockey East.

The Eagles competed in two tournaments during the 2014–15 season. On January 2–3, the Eagles earned a trophy at the Ledyard Bank Classic, also known as the Dartmouth Showcase Tournament, hosted by Dartmouth College. Because the tournament was not bracketed (i.e. the winners of the first games did not face each other in a championship match), the Eagles won by virtue of points earned; they won both of their games, as Denver and Brown both won one and tied the other, and as host Dartmouth lost both of their games. On February 3 and 23, the Eagles played in the 63rd Annual Beanpot Tournament at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, losing to Northeastern by a score of 3–2 in the first round and winning the consolation game over Harvard 3–2 in OT, the first time since 2008 that the Eagles did not win the Beanpot tournament.

The Eagles finished 21–14–3, and 12–7–3 in conference play, good for the 3rd seed and a first-round bye entering the 2015 Hockey East tournament. However, they would lose to the Vermont Catamounts during the best-of-three quarterfinals in three games at home, marking the second year in a row in which the Eagles did not advance to at least the semifinals. The Eagles qualified for the 2015 NCAA tournament and were placed in the east regional at Providence. They lost to Denver 5–2 in the first round.

Previous season recap

The Eagles entered the 2014–15 season following a Frozen Four loss to Union College in the NCAA tournament, and a quarterfinals loss to Notre Dame in the Hockey East Tournament. The Eagles did capture three trophies during the 2013–14 season, finishing with a strong 28–8–4 record and 16–2–2 in conference play, good for the Hockey East regular season title, as well as their fifth consecutive Beanpot championship in a 4–1 win over Northeastern. Junior Johnny Gaudreau won numerous accolades including the 2014 Hobey Baker Award after a fantastic league-leading 36 goal, 44 assist, 80 point season. He chose to forgo his senior year of eligibility to enter the NHL with the Calgary Flames.

Offseason

Four Senior Eagles graduated in May: Captain Patrick Brown – F, Assistant Captain Bill Arnold – F, Assistant Captain Isaac MacLeod – D, and Kevin Hayes – F.

Junior forward Johnny Gaudreau decided to forgo his senior year of eligibility to enter the NHL, signing with his drafted team, the Calgary Flames.

Junior defensemen Mike Matheson was named Captain, with seniors Quinn Smith and Michael Sit named Assistant Captains for the 2014–15 season.

On June 4, sophomore forward Evan Richardson transferred to UConn after receiving limited playing time in his freshman year, joining former BC Assistant Coach, Mike Cavanaugh, head coach of the Huskies.^[1]

On June 28, goalie Thatcher Demko was drafted 36th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

On August 12, graduated defenseman Isaac MacLeod signed a contract with the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.^[2]

On August 16, York announced that incoming-freshman Sonny Milano decided to forgo an NCAA career at Boston College, opting to sign directly with his drafted team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.^[3]

On August 20, graduated forward Kevin Hayes signed an entry-level deal with the New York Rangers. Having chosen not to sign with his drafted team, the Chicago Black Hawks will receive a compensatory second-round draft pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.^[4]

Recruiting

Boston College added three freshmen for the 2014–15 season: two forwards, and one defensemen.

Noah Hanifin, D – Along with being the youngest player in the history of BC's hockey program, Hanifin is also one of the most highly touted recruits in college hockey. He is a point-producing defensemen, scoring 45 points in 59 games with the US National Development Team, splitting time between the U-17 team and the U-18 team. He has the potential to be a top 5 pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, when he becomes eligible.
Zachary Sanford, F – Sanford played for the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL, scoring 35 points in 52 games. He was taken 61st overall in the 2nd round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals.
Alex Tuch, F – Known as a "big power winger", Tuch is another player out of the US National Development Team, where he scored 64 points in 61 games. He was selected 18th overall in the 1st round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild.
Hanifin and Tuch were on the United States team that won a gold medal at the IIHF World U18 Championship, or otherwise known as the U-18 World Juniors.

Noah Hanifin	Defense	Norwood, MA Played for the US National Development Team. Will be eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft.
Zachary Sanford	Forward	Auburn, NH Selected 61st Overall by WAS in the 2013 Draft.
Alex Tuch	Forward	Bladwinsville, NY Selected 18th Overall by MIN in the 2014 Draft.

2014–2015 roster

Departures from 2013–14 team

Kevin Hayes, F – Graduation - Signed an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers.
Isaac MacLeod, D – Graduation – Signed with the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.
Bill Arnold, F – Graduation – Signed an entry-level contract with his draft team, the Calgary Flames.
Patrick Brown, F – Graduation - Signed a tryout contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Johnny Gaudreau, F – Chose to forgo his senior year of eligibility to enter the NHL with his drafted team the Calgary Flames.
Evan Richardson, F – Transferred to the University of Connecticut.

2014–15 Eagles

As of March 16, 2015.^[5]

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Boston College	Alma Mater
		21	Boston College (1967)
	Associate head coach	11	Boston College (1990)
Mike Ayers	Assistant coach	2	University of New Hampshire (2004)
	Assistant coach	2	Boston College (1992)

Schedule

Regular season

|-!colspan=12 style=""| NCAA Tournament

On October 28, it was announced that Steven Santini needed to undergo wrist surgery and would miss the remainder of the first half of the season; he would return after the New Year's break.^[6]
On October 31, Jerry York gained his 500th victory as head coach of the Eagles in a 2–1 victory over Denver.
On November 11, it was announced that senior goaltender Brian Billet had taken a leave of absence from the program. Sophomore Alex Joyce was added to the roster to fill the third goaltender spot.^[7] ^[8] Billett did return as an active player, but did not see any time on the ice during the season.
On November 14, York earned his 501st victory as coach of the Eagles in a 3-2 match over Michigan State, tying legendary coach John "Snooks" Kelley for most wins at Boston College. He took sole possession of the record with his 502nd win on November 21, a 5–3 victory over UMass.
On January 2, Eagles players Thatcher Demo, Ian McCoshen, Noah Hannifin, and Alex Tuch were away, representing the United States at the 2015 World Juniors in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The US lost to Russia in the quarterfinal. Steven Santini and Scott Savage were also invited to try out for the national squad, but did not make the final cut.
On January 3, the Eagles won the Ledyard Bank Classic Championship with a 3–2 win over host Dartmouth.
On February 3, the Eagles lost to Northeastern 3–2 in the first round of the Beanpot tournament, ending their bid for 6 straight championships. It was their first loss in the tournament since 2008. They beat Harvard 3–2 in overtime of the consolation game on February 23.
On February 27, the Eagles secured a 1st-round bye in the Hockey East playoffs, and will host a quarterfinals matchup at Conte Forum.
On March 15, the Eagles were defeated by the Vermont Catamounts in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament, losing the best of three series in three games. the Eagles took game 1 by a score of 4–2, but lost games 2 and 3 by scores of 3–1 and 1–0, respectively. This marks the second year in a row that the Eagles did not reach at least the Semi-finals of the Hockey East tournament.
On March 19, Hockey East announced the season's Awards recipients and the All-Conference teams. Noah Hanifin was named to the All-second team, with Thatcher Demko, Ian McCoshen, and Alex Tuch making honorable mentions. Hanifin and Tuch were also All-Rookie recipients. Additionally, Michael Sit was awarded the Len Ceglarski Award for sportsmanship.
On March 22, the NCAA tournament Selection Committee placed BC as the 3-seed in the east regional at Providence, losing to 2-seed Denver by a score of 5–2 in the first round.
On March 30, BC announced the captains for the following season: Rising-senior Teddy Doherty was named captain, with rising-juniors Ian McCoshen, Steven Santini, and Chris Calnan named assistant captains. It is the first time since the 04–05 season in where there were three assistant captains.^[9]
On April 2, the Florida Panthers announced they had signed Mike Matheson to an entry-level contract, who chose to forgo his senior season at Boston College. Matheson joined the San Antonio Rampage, Florida's AHL affiliate.
On June 26, Noah Hanifin was drafted 5th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
On July 11, Hanifin signed an entry-level contract with the Hurricanes, forgoing the rest of his NCAA eligibility.

Rankings

See main article: article and 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	Final
USCHO.com	4	7	6	5	3	8	12	12	17	16	15	16	17	19	14	11	10	10	9	9	9	11	12	13
USA Today	4	8	6	5	3	8	12	12	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	15	12	11	11	10	9	9	11	12	14

Statistics

Skaters

1		G	SR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	E	0
2		D	SO	38	0	6	6	8	0	0	0	-7	64
3		D	SO	35	6	10	16	63	3	0	2	+14	69
4		D	JR	38	6	17	23	24	0	0	2	+15	65
5		D	JR	38	3	22	25	26	0	0	0	-4	107
6		D	SO	22	1	4	5	20	0	0	0	-2	39
7		D	FR	37	5	18	23	16	1	0	0	+12	82
8		D	JR	8	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	E	3
9		F	JR	22	0	3	3	10	0	0	0	+1	17
10		F	SR	26	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	-1	10
11		F	SO	37	11	5	16	8	1	1	4	+1	73
12		F	FR	37	14	14	28	28	3	0	2	+13	119
14		F	SO	38	9	18	27	22	5	0	1	+14	70
15		F	SR	38	4	5	9	0	0	0	0	+7	31
17		F	SR	38	7	7	14	46	0	0	1	-4	55
18		F	SR	38	1	5	6	16	0	0	0	E	33
19		F	SO	38	17	8	25	54	7	2	5	-4	125
20		F	JR	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	E	1
21		F	SO	32	3	3	6	8	0	0	0	+4	41
24		F	FR	38	7	17	24	30	0	0	2	+10	88
26		F	SO	37	6	14	20	8	3	0	1	+2	53
27		F	SR	38	7	7	14	26	0	0	1	-10	45
29		G	SR	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+1	0
30		G	SO	35	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	+19	0
35		G	SO	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	E	0
	Bench							10
	Team			38	107	187	294	431	23	3	21	+15	1190

Goaltenders

1		SR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	1.00	0
29		SR	3	3	178:43	2	1	0	8	2.69	75	67	0.893	0
30		SO	35	35	2107:06	19	13	3	77	2.19	1027	950	0.925	1
35		SO	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	1.00	0
	Empty Net				16:17				6		6
	Team		38	38	2302:06	21	14	3	91	2.37	1108	1017	0.918	1

Awards and honors

Hockey East All-Stars

Noah Hanifin, D – All-Second Team, All-Rookie Team
Alex Tuch, F – Honorable Mention, All-Rookie Team
Ian McCoshen, D – Honorable Mention
Thatcher Demko, G – Honorable Mention

Hockey East Awards

Michael Sit, F – Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award

Hockey East Player of the Week

Adam Gilmour, F – Week of October 27, 2014

Hockey East Rookie of the Week

Alex Tuch, F – Week of February 16, 2015

Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week

Teddy Doherty, D – Week of October 20, 2014

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Evan Richardson Leaves BC Hockey Program. 3 June 2014.
Web site: The ECHL's Elmira Jackals Sign Isaac MacLeod. 12 August 2014.
Web site: Sonny Milano Signs with Columbus. 16 August 2014.
Web site: Kevin Hayes Signs with the New York Rangers. 20 August 2014.
Web site: Boston College Athletics. 2014-15 Men's Ice Hockey Roster. September 29, 2014.
Web site: BC's Santini Out for Remainder of First Half.
Web site: Brian Billett Takes Leave of Absence. 11 November 2014.
Web site: Men's Hockey Adds Goaltender Alex Joyce - Boston College Official Athletic Site . www.bceagles.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141218153643/http://www.bceagles.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/111114aab.html . 2014-12-18.
Web site: York Announces Captains for 2015-16 - Boston College Official Athletic Site . www.bceagles.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150403054009/http://www.bceagles.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/033015aaa.html . 2015-04-03.