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Video: Boston University hands Boston College first home loss

By Dhiren MahibanNov 7, 2014, 11:52 PM EDT
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Evan Rodrigues scored twice and Nikolas Olsson added a goal and an assist as the Terriers upended the Eagles 5-3 Friday night.

Highly touted prospect Jack Eichel netted his fifth goal of the season for BU while Matt O’Connor turned aside 27 shots for his fourth win of the season.

Boston Bruins 2013 fourth-round pick Ryan Fitzgerald scored a pair for Boston College while Chicago Blackhawks 2012 third-round pick Chris Calnan had his third of the season for the Eagles.

Vancouver Canucks 2014 second-round pick Thatcher Demko made 21 saves in a losing cause and saw his record drop to 4-4-0 on the season.

Highly touted defensive prospect Noah Hanifin finished a minus-4 in the loss.

Hayes sees opportunity with Rangers

By Dhiren MahibanAug 31, 2014, 12:03 PM EDT
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With the New York Rangers losing forwards Brad Richards, Benoit Pouliot, Brian Boyle and Derek Dorsett newcomer Kevin Hayes believes there’s an opportunity to be had at training camp.

The Boston College product, who chose to sign a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Rangers earlier this month, spoke to the Rangers website about his decision.

“At the end of my BC career we sat down with my family and thought that it was best to explore other options,” he said. “It wasn’t really hectic cause I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone until Aug. 15 so I basically had a free three months to train, hangout and relax. But ever since Aug. 15, it’s been pretty hectic.

“Ultimately I chose the Rangers and I’m extremely excited about it.”

Hayes admitted former Boston College teammate, and current Ranger, Chris Kreider called him to sell him on New York while he was making his decision.

“He called me Aug. 15 late and kind of just broke down everything about the city the good, the bad and stuff,” he said. “I only talked to him a couple times on the phone.

“Kreids was my line mate the year we won the national championship and it’s always nice to have one of your good buddies on the team. Hopefully he can show me the ropes.”

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound left-handed shot scored 27 goals and 65 points in 40 games during his final season at Boston College. In total, he appeared in 142 games for the Eagles scoring 44 goals and 132 points.

Hayes, 22, was originally a first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks (24th overall in 2010).

According to the Massachusetts native, Alain Vigneault’s style in addition to talking to Kreider and Boyle is what helped him settle on the Rangers.

“The coach… I really like the style the coach plays so I figured this would be the best opportunity for me,” he said.

Hayes says his ultimate goal is to crack the Ranges lineup this season. Despite the aforementioned departures, the Rangers did bring in NHL veterans such as Tanner Glass, Lee Stempniak and Matthew Lombardi so Hayes will have competition as he tries to make the jump from college hockey to the NHL.

Related: Rangers win Kevin Hayes sweepstakes

Looking to make the leap: Johnny Gaudreau

By Joe YerdonAug 3, 2014, 12:01 PM EDT
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If you’re not familiar with Calgary Flames prospect Johnny Gaudreau, you’re likely going to hear a lot about him in the coming months.

Gaudreau was a star player at Boston College and won the 2014 Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player. Scoring 36 goals with 80 points in 40 games made him the virtual automatic winner of the award as offensive output like that doesn’t happen very often in college hockey.

The same day he won the Hobey, he signed his entry level deal with the Flames. Two days later he made his NHL debut and scored his first goal. Making a first impression like that is a good way to get fans excited, but now it’s a matter of doing it daily at the pro level.

Potentially working against Gaudreau is his size. At 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds he’s far from big, but fortunately for him he has a role model who’s been making his size work for him for a while in the NHL in Martin St. Louis.

The comparisons with St. Louis are something he’s been dealing with for a while. They’re even more apt considering both guys played college hockey and were big time scorers there. What may help Gaudreau most is the situation the Flames are in as they rebuild.

Gaudreau will have every opportunity to crack Calgary’s roster right out of training camp and, after a quick glance at who they have now, there’s no reason to think he can’t do it.

The Flames are lacking in dynamic offensive players. Gaudreau has shown he can light it up at the college level (175 points in 119 games) and while doing it against much bigger pros is a lot harder, opponents may find his speed and elusiveness hard to handle. If he can show his BC skills during camp, we may be talking about him as a Calder Trophy candidate in no time.

Blackhawks waiting on Hayes as signing deadline approaches

By Joe YerdonJul 21, 2014, 4:20 PM EDT
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The Kevin Hayes saga with the Chicago Blackhawks trudges on, but from the team’s perspective they’ve done all they can do.

Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman discussed the Boston College prospect’s situation with the team during the Blackhawks Convention during the weekend. As Brian Hedger at the Daily Herald shared,the ‘Hawks feel there’s nothing left to do but wait.

“We’re still waiting,” Bowman said. “Status quo from our end. We’ve been hopeful that they want to sign with us, and at this point (agent) Bob Murray might be in a better position on what they’re thinking, but we’re hopeful that he wants to be part of our organization.”

Hayes was taken 24th overall by Chicago in the 2010 NHL Draft and just completed his final year at Boston College. He has until August 15 to sign with Chicago or else he becomes a free agent. If being signed by the Blackhawks isn’t all that, apparently being able to sign where you want is.

Elliotte Friedman said in his final 30 Thoughts of the summer that Hayes may have his eye on signing with the Florida Panthers where his brother, Jimmy Hayes, is at. Pittsburgh may also be a possibility as that’s where his cousin, Tom Fitzgerald, is.

NCAA on NBCSN — Frozen Fenway: No. 6 Boston College vs. No. 14 Notre Dame

By Joe YerdonJan 4, 2014, 9:30 AM EDT
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NBCSN continues its coverage of the 2013-14 college hockey season tonight when the No. 6 Boston College Eagles (12-4-2) host the No. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-7-1) at Fenway Park in Boston with coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. 

The Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium won’t be the only outdoor hockey game with ties to college this week. It’s time for Frozen Fenway in Boston and the main event features a pair of powerhouse teams in Boston College and Notre Dame.

With BC involved, there’s plenty of talent to go around (10 NHL draft picks) but the biggest name is one of the smallest players in junior forward Johnny Gaudreau (pictured).

Gaudreau, a fourth-round pick by the Calgary Flames in 2011, is second in the nation in points with 33. His 15 goals put him behind just RPI junior forward Ryan Haggerty in that category. The remarkable part is he’s done all this in 18 games.

What makes BC scary is they’re not a one-player show. Seniors Kevin Hayes (Blackhawks) and Bill Arnold (Flames) are right there with Gaudreau in points and freshman Ryan Fitzgerald (Bruins – son of former NHLer Tom Fitzgerald) has arrived on the scene in a big way with 18 points.

The bad news for the Fighting Irish? BC is on a tear heading into the game. The Eagles have won four in a row and have outscored opponents 21-5 over that stretch. Aside from a couple of hiccup losses on the road to Maine and at home against Holy Cross, the Eagles have been more than worthy of their No. 6 ranking.

Notre Dame heads into the game having won just two out of the past six games. They’ve been off for almost a full month due to the holidays and finals and coach Jeff Jackson is hoping the time off will help them rebound.

Senior T.J. Tynan (Blue Jackets) has led the team with 15 points and sophomore forward Mario Lucia (Wild) leads in goals with nine. Offense has been a problem and they’ll have to go without freshman Vince Hinostroza (Blackhawks) who’s away with Team USA’s World Junior team.

That could spell trouble for the Irish as BC’s had strong goaltending this year. If the Irish want to surprise the Eagles, they’ll need senior Steven Summerhays to continue his strong play (9-6-1/.931/1.89). With an attack like BC has and the buzz that will be in the air at Fenway for this game, it sets the bar high for Summerhays to get the job done.

NHL Draftees

Boston College — Forwards: Johnny Gaudreau (JR – Flames), Bill Arnold (SR – Flames), Kevin Hayes (SR – Blackhawks), Ryan Fitzgerald (FR – Bruins), Adam Gilmour (FR – Wild), Chris Calnan (FR – Blackhawks)

Defensemen: Ian McCoshen (FR – Panthers – at WJCs), Michael Matheson (SO – Panthers), Isaac MacLeod (SR – Sharks), Steve Santini (FR – Devils – at WJCs), Chris Calnan (FR – Blackhawks)

Notre Dame — Forwards: Vince Hinostroza (FR – Blackhawks – at WJCs), T.J. Tynan (SR – Blue Jackets), Austin Wuthrich (JR – Capitals), Bryan Rust (SR – Penguins), Jeff Costello (SR – Senators), Mario Lucia (SO – Wild), Steven Fogarty (SO – Rangers), Thomas DiPauli (SO – Capitals – at WJCs)

Defense: Robbie Russo (JR – Islanders), Stephen Johns (SR – Blackhawks), Kevin Lind (SR – Ducks)