The Eagles didn’t exactly stumble upon their second national title in three years. They put in the time and earned it, finally claiming the prize Saturday with an impressive 5-0 victory against Wisconsin at Ford Field. It capped off a four-game NCAA tournament run in which the Eagles outscored their opponents, 24-9, including 12-1 in the Frozen Four.
"I feel like I’m in a dream, honest to God, and I feel like 2008 happened yesterday," BC junior Joe Whitney said. "I don’t know what to say. The guys worked so hard all year long. We had so much fun the whole year. This is incredible."
Boston College whooped and hollered on the way to the locker room and amped up the celebration inside, blasting the stereo and dancing with the trophy.
"Unbelievable, indescribable, look around," junior Brian Gibbons said. "There’s so much joy and happiness and emotion coming out. It’s awesome."
BC fought off a tough Wisconsin squad and led 1-0 after a balanced two periods. But, just like BC has done throughout the course of its 13-game unbeaten streak (12-0-1), it wore down Wisconsin in the third period and piled on a quartet of goals to make the game a no-doubter.
"We went in after the second period and told ourselves, 'We’re up 1-0. We’ve got to keep attacking, attacking, don’t sit back because [Wisconsin has] got some pretty good offensive weapons,'" said BC sophomore Cam Atkinson, who scored two goals in the third period. “That’s what we did. We attacked, generated some scoring chances and we put them away.
"What makes the biggest difference is we’ve got four lines that can play, and we’re so deep. Each line can contribute in its own way. That’s what we did. Every line contributed and wore them down. We were fresh, and they weren’t. Then we capitalized."
Boston College’s four seniors — forwards Matt Price, Matt Lombardi and Ben Smith and defenseman Carl Sneep — became the first senior class in program history to win two national championships.
"There’s nothing like it, going out on top like this," said Sneep, who led a defense that blocked 17 shots and suffocated the second highest scoring offense in the country. "I’m ecstatic right now really."
It was also the Eagles’ third national title in the last 10 years, which is more than any team in the nation.
"Cloud nine," said Kreider, whose third-period goal put BC ahead by three. "I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s absolutely unreal. I’m just so happy. I’m in a loss for words."
The Eagles packed their bags and quickly departed to Boston, jumping on a plane that was scheduled to leave Detroit at 1:30 a.m. From there, the celebration would really begin. There will be a ceremony on campus and likely a first pitch at Fenway Park.
They owe it to a staggering ability to develop throughout the course of the season. After missing the tournament last year, BC entered 2009-10 with a young team and a handful of question marks. They grew up quickly, and the extremely talented freshmen and sophomores developed into catalysts who could support the upperclassmen.
The Eagles might have been speechless after beating Wisconsin, but their postseason performance made quite the statement. Now, they’re champions and can validate their yearlong beliefs.
"Absolutely, we come into the season every year thinking we have a chance to win a national title," said Whitney, who had three assists. "That’s one of our goals, obviously. We just keep chipping away at it every day. At the end of the season, you get a good team. That’s a pretty good team we beat on the other side in Wisconsin. It feels pretty good."
