The Heights Hockey Preview 2016

THE HEIGHTS HOCKEY PREVIEW 2016

locked and

ABBY PAULSON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

reloaded chris calnan

brand loyalty c4

christopher brown

christopher, not chris, c4

colin white

center stage c6, 7

2 THE HEIGHTS OCT. 6, 2016

HOCKEY PREVIEW PROJECTED LINES AND PAIRINGS

PROJECTED LINES AND PAIRINGS I n h o c k e y , c h e m i s t ry i s k e y .

These groupings will give BC the best chance to win.

FIRST LINE

THE MEN

#19 A

#18

SENIOR 5-10, 180LBS NORTH READING, MA

SOPHOMORE 6-1, 185LBS HANOVER, MA

SOPHOMORE 6-0, 195LBS AUBURN, NH

GRAHAM MCPHEE

#9 A

AUSTIN CANGELOSI

#10 CHRISTOPHER

FRESHMAN 6-1, 174LBS BETHESDA, MD

SENIOR 5-8, 180LBS ESTERO, FL

SOPHOMORE 6-0, 190LBS BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI

#17

#26

#11 C

RYAN FITZGERALD COLIN WHITE

SECOND LINE

THIRD LINE

FOURTH LINE

#27

JULIUS MATTILA

CHRIS CALNAN

FRESHMAN 5-11, 171LBS TAMPERE, FINLAND

SENIOR 6-2, 209LBS NORWELL, MA

#21 MATTHEW

#28

#12

RON GRECO

MIKE BOOTH

FRESHMAN 5-10, 175LBS PHILADELPHIA, PA

FRESHMAN 5-11, 195LBS CAREY, IL

SECOND LINE

THIRD LINE

#12

FOURTH LINE

#23 C

ANDIE ANASTOS

JUNIOR 5-6 NORWELL, MA

SENIOR 5-8 FARMINGTON HILLS, MI

#7 A KRISTYN

#19

LONERGAN FRESHMAN 5-7 ROSLINDALE, MA

#9

TORI SULLIVAN

SOPHOMORE 5-7 GUILFORD, VT

JUNIOR 5-5 WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI

#24

#3 SERENA

SOMMERFIELD SOPHOMORE 5-9 GREENWICH, CT

CASEY FITZGERALD SOPHOMORE 5-11, 185LBS NORTH READING, MA

#2

SCOTT SAVAGE

SOPHOMORE 6-0, 200LBS TORONTO, ONTARIO

SENIOR 6-1, 186LBS SAN CLEMENTE, CA

#6

#7

FRESHMAN 6-3, 195LBS

CONNOR MOORE FRESHMAN 5-10, 175LBS CUMMING, GA

POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

#4 A

#18

JUNIOR 5-11 FARMINGTON HILLS, MI

JUNIOR 5-4 BRONX, NY

#15

#10

MEGAN KELLER TONI ANN MIANO

#11 CAITRIN

SOPHOMORE 5-7 SCOTTSDALE, AZ

#5

MICHAEL KIM

MICHAEL CAMPOLI

FRESHMAN 5-8 PORT ORANGE, FL

JUNIOR 5-2 OAKVILLE, ONTARIO

FRESHMAN 5-6 NEEDHAM, MA

#4

BELINSKAS

CAPIZZANO

KATE ANNESE

FRESHMAN 5-11, 185LBS TAMPERE, FINLAND

#17 DELANEY

MAKENNA NEWKIRK

RYAN LITTLE

JESPER MATTILA

THE WOMEN

KENZIE KENT

#20

#8

BROWN

FRESHMAN 6-3, 204LBS PARKER, TX

SENIOR 5-9, 145LBS CARNEYS POINT, NJ

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

JD DUDEK

DAVID COTTON

GAUDREAU

FIRST LINE

#15

#21 BRIDGET

ERIN CONNOLLY

KALI FLANAGAN

SOPHOMORE 5-7 SOUTH BOSTON, MA

SOPHOMORE 5-5 BURLINGTON, MA

#2

#25

GRACE BIZAL

CAROLINE ROSS

FRESHMAN 5-5 MINNETONKA, MN

FRESHMAN 5-7 ROCHESTER, NY

MCCARTHY FRESHMAN 5-6 PEMBROKE, MA

#13

HALEY MCLEAN SENIOR 5-1 HOWELL, MI

THE GOALIES THE WOMEN

THE MEN

#31

#35

#29

#33

#32

#1

JOE WOLL

RYAN EDQUIST

IAN MILOSZ

KATIE BURT

GABRI SWITAJ

MOLLY BARROW

FRESHMAN 6-4, 202LBS DARDENNE PRAIRE, MO

FRESHMAN 6-0, 171LBS LAKEVILLE, MN

SOPHOMORE 6-7, 214LBS NORTH GRAFTON, MA

JUNIOR 5-6 LYNN, MA

JUNIOR 5-3 KENT, OH

FRESHMAN 5-8 BELMONT, MA

HOCKEY PREVIEW FRESHMEN

OCT. 6, 2016 THE HEIGHTS 3

THE PLAYMAKER HAS LANDED

After stops in dc and minnesota, graham mcphee is finally home.

JOHN QUACKENBOS / AP PHOTO

Annabel Steele Asst. sports editor

Alexander Ovechkin. The name elicits a response from casual sports fans, hockey diehards, and residents of the District alike. Love him or hate him, one thing is certain: he is one of the faces of the National Hockey League.

Since 1978, the Washington Capitals had seen little success in the NHL. When the team won, it was never enough to bring home the Stanley Cup. When it lost ... well, Caps fans choose not to remember their inaugural season—the worst in league history. But he burst onto the scene in 2005-06, scoring 106 points and earning the Calder Trophy. And since then, he has won three Hart Trophies and six Rocket Richards to go along with 11 NHL All-Star Teams.

To Washingtonians, he is their hero, a man who legitimized a franchise that had been mired in a long history of losing.

To Boston College freshman Graham McPhee, he was just another face around the house.

McPhee’s father, George, played six years in the NHL and was then the general manager of the Capitals. He was the man responsible for bringing Ovechkin to D.C. When he was first drafted, Ovechkin lived with the McPhee family for a little while. When McPhee, himself a forward, was in elementary school, he got to learn one-on-one from the most electric player in the NHL every day.

According to McPhee, Ovechkin was the nicest guy. Despite learning a new language and culture on top of a busy NHL practice schedule, Ovechkin was never too busy to play with McPhee and his friends. And even when Ovechkin moved out of the McPhee house, McPhee was still exposed to extremely highlevel hockey.

“It was awesome being around the rink every day, being in the locker room … being in

an NHL environment, and really learning little things from the guys,” McPhee said.

Watching professional sports is great, and getting a front-row seat to practices is even better. But what do kids want to do while they watch professional sports? They want to play.

McPhee was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to play on the ice at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex after practice. That time came with some invaluable tips. When he’d go out on the ice, Caps players and coaches would occasionally come back out and play with him, giving him advice and helping him improve.

Hockey had been present for his entire life.

He’d seen a lot of great players, watched how seriously they took practice, and carried the lessons they taught him into his own game.

Through determination and practice, McPhee honed his natural abilities into potent skills. As early as the third or fourth grade, he decided that he would play college hockey. It was a lofty goal, but he knew he could reach it.

He was so young when he made his decision that he didn’t even know where he would go to high school, let alone college. But McPhee still had a particular school in mind.

His father played college hockey at Bowling Green State University, where he won the 1982 Hobey Baker Award under the direction of none other than Jerry York. So, from a young age, McPhee was exposed to York and his legendary coaching career—and this exposure helped him choose where he wanted to go when the time came.

“Watching Boston College play, growing up, I really wanted to be a part of it,” he said.

McPhee made his decision to shoot for college and professional hockey early on, but that doesn’t mean it was guaranteed. Nothing is as easy as making a choice and having everything fall into place—there was still a lot of hard work that went along with developing as a player and getting the opportunities to play at a high level. Eventually, in 2012, McPhee left the D.C. area to move to Minnesota and play for Shattuck-St. Mary’s School.

THE FINNISH TOUCH Riley overend Assoc. sports editor

Jesper and Julius Mattila try their best to put the memory behind them. But it’s not an easy one to forget.

At just 17 years old, the twins were representing Finland in the 2015 IIHF U-18 World Championship, on the biggest stage of their young careers. Jesper was a defenseman with an eye for playmaking who manned the blue line while Julius, a speedy forward with a nose for the goal, patrolled the attacking zone. The second-smallest of the top-division countries to participate, Finland has a population of only 5.5 million—Massachusetts alone is home to a million more people—but the Mattila brothers and the rest of the Finnish squad had battled their way into an overtime period with the mighty United States in the gold-medal game.

Jesper remembers looking on from the bench as Julius skated back on defense to slow a fast break from the Americans. Barreling toward Julius at full speed was Jeremy Bracco, then a commit to Boston College who would later be selected with the 61st overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Bracco turned a corner and whipped the puck back to center ice. His pass found Colin White, soon to be the 2015-16 Hockey East Rookie of the Year for BC, in the soft spot of the Finnish defense. The electric attacker slotted home the game-winning goal and lifted his stick

in the air in elation. Julius and Jesper heard the blare of the final buzzer, forced to watch as White was buried by his teammates at the bottom of a dogpile (which, by the way, is a far more dangerous celebration in razor-sharp skates) in the middle of the rink. No redemption. No rebuttal.

The Finns would have to settle for silver.

The Matilla twins never expected to see the young U.S. forward in competition again, nor did they particularly want to. Then Jerry York came calling. *** “We hate you, Colin,” Jesper chirped down the hall at his former rival.

The Mattilas exchanged laughs with their new teammate in the belly of Conte Forum after a loose September practice. The thunderous claps of slapshots echoed off the empty red seats, followed by an occasional ring off the post. Here, 4,000 miles away from their family and friends, the brothers seem right at home.

In school clothes, Jesper and Julius are barely distinguishable. They both measure 5-foot-11, share the same pale skin, and wear their light brown hair combed to one side. When teammates see the twins in passing, they often resort to calling them by the color of their clothes.

“I wear a gray coat and Jesper wears a black coat, so that’s kind of the joke on the team,” Julius said.

It helps that the brothers have a sense of humor as they adjust to life in New England.

“They’re very outgoing and personable, and hard to tell who’s who,” York said. “We’re learning every day since they’re pretty close-looking.”

Ironically, it’s only when Jesper and Julius suit up in pads and helmets that York and his staff can

Shattuck-St. Mary’s has produced some pretty good hockey players. Some guy named Sidney Crosby, the No. 1 overall draft choice in 2004 (the same year Ovechkin was drafted, coincidentally), played at the school for a year. So did Zach Parise of the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews, among a host of others. On the women’s side of things, Shattuck-St. Mary’s graduates Brianna Decker and Amanda Kessel won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

With a strong hockey tradition, Shattuck-St. Mary’s was instrumental in helping McPhee develop even more. McPhee played there from 2012-14, and he improved and excelled during these years.

In the 2012-13 season, McPhee emerged as a serious threat for Shattuck-St. Mary’s. He played for the school’s Bantam team that year and appeared in 61 games. McPhee scored 35 goals and recorded 54 assists, finishing with 89 total points. In 2013-14, McPhee played for the Midget U-16 team. He scored 28 goals and added 30 assists, earning 58 total points over 58 total games. Cale Politoski, McPhee’s Midget U-16 coach, characterized his former player as a “very hard working young man.”

“Graham always had this ‘swagger’ about him,” Politoski said. “There was no doubt that he had some skill to his game, and a good sense of the game. He carried himself with confidence. I liked that about him.”

The season, according to Politoski, wasn’t always easy, but McPhee didn’t let any team difficulties deter him from playing at the highest level he could.

McPhee also has experience playing for the United States National Team Development Program (NTDP). On the U-17 team, he contributed 13 points in the 2014-15 season.

On the U-18 team, he contributed 19 points in the 2015-16 season. It was at Team USA tryouts that McPhee first met Will Lockwood, who would go on to play with him for two years on the NTPD. Lockwood, who currently plays for the University of Michigan, had high praise for

McPhee. Sometimes, Lockwood said, you’re on the ice, but it seems like there’s nothing you can do—you can’t create opportunities out of thin air, after all. But McPhee has the ability to turn even the dullest situations into exciting plays.

“He has some of the quickest hands I have ever seen,” Lockwood said.

This sentiment was echoed by Politoski, who said that McPhee’s playmaking ability is one of his strongest assets. According to Politoski, he also has the ability to frustrate opponents, get under their skin, and disrupt their focus. This skill is invaluable—McPhee can make plays, contribute points, and knock opponents off their game.

McPhee’s hard work and dedication pushed him into an elite status. Sometime along his path, he got the first call from York—prompting joy and happy relief from his family, who knew that BC had been his favorite school for years. In 2013, he achieved his childhood dream and committed to play college hockey at BC. Politoski’s proudest moment coaching McPhee was when he finally committed to play for the Eagles.

“You could really tell that was where he wanted to be,” Politoski said.

McPhee’s love for BC extends beyond just hockey. He comes from a Catholic family, so the prospect of attending a Jesuit, Catholic institution was enticing. Beyond that, he was attracted to the strong academics and student life.

And he didn’t stop improving after committing to BC. Earlier this year, McPhee was the No. 149 overall choice in the NHL Draft, selected by the Edmonton Oilers. On draft night, his family was overjoyed for him—who wouldn’t be?

But his father said they were even prouder that McPhee chose to invite his best friend, who’d suffered a family loss less than two years prior, to the draft along with the McPhee family.

“Graham thought beyond himself on one of the most memorable nights of his young life, and helped a friend have a good day,” George said. “The very next day, Graham was dropped off at BC for summer session—with

his priorities in the right order.”

Steve Santini. Ian McCoshen. Miles Wood.

Adam Gilmour. Alex Tuch. Thatcher Demko.

Zach Sanford.

Yes, BC lost these players on top of the seniors after last season, and yes, this year’s team will probably look pretty different. Even so, McPhee isn’t worried about the Eagles losing seven members of their roster. After all, it’s hard to have doubt surrounded by high-class players and the most successful coach in college hockey history.

“Coach York does a great job of building teams with whoever he has,” McPhee said.

McPhee has already begun to impress during his time on the ice. In a scrimmage against Carleton last weekend, McPhee showed off his talents while helping the Eagles to a 4-3 victory.

In the third period, McPhee received the puck near BC’s goal. He took off along the boards, beat a defender one-on-one, and fired a shot to the top shelf, scoring his first collegiate goal for the Eagles.

He also showed impressive puck-handling skills and quick hands. He sometimes lost possession of the puck trying to deke defenders out, but overall showed great skill and potential in his first action for the Eagles.

McPhee hasn’t set any goals for himself this season—he doesn’t want to box himself into fulfilling certain expectations. Instead, he’s going to work his hardest and let things naturally play out. It’s hard to imagine that he won’t be one of the biggest threats for BC, though, especially under York’s influence.

“It would be hard to find a finer human being than Coach York,” George said.

It’s been more than 10 years since Ovechkin was drafted. McPhee is no longer the elementary school kid watching Caps practices in awe and hoping to get some time on the ice after the pros leave. He’s now a bonafide hockey player—a great talent on a great team. He made a name for himself in his career at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and the NTPD. And now he’s ready to take on college hockey head-first.

jesper and julius mattila aim to bring finland’s fire to the bc lineup. tell them apart. Julius wears No. 26 and focuses on the opponent’s end of the rink, while Jesper wears No. 8 and is anchored on the blue line.

But just because they don’t play the same position doesn’t mean they don’t connect with each other on the ice. Jesper, the highest-scoring defenseman for Finland’s Ilves U-20 team last year, likes to get involved in the attack with his brother, especially on power plays. His 33 assists last season caught York’s eye, and he experimented with pairing the twins together on the second power-play unit during Sunday’s scrimmage against Carleton.

Jesper did exactly what he has done his entire career. Playing on the second line, the defender helped set up the Eagles’ first goal of the afternoon with an assist to Scott Savage on a power play in the first period. Then, Jesper and Matthew Gaudreau combined for an assist on a JD Dudek goal at the end of a BC power play.

Ultimately, the Eagles would eke out a 4-3 win and offer a glimpse of what roles the Finns could play on this young squad.

With blue-liners Steve Santini and Ian McCoshen departing for the NHL this offseason, Savage is the only remaining upperclassman on an inexperienced defensive front. Savage and Casey Fitzgerald are the only current defensemen who have played at least one full season for BC. This vacuum could translate into a lot of responsibility for Jesper, who, along with fellow freshmen defenders Luke McInnis, Michael Campoli, and Connor Moore, will compete to fill the gap among the top-four defensemen.

For Julius, there won’t be as much weight on his shoulders in his rookie season. Although the

Eagles lost four of their top six forwards—all of them underclassmen—they are being replaced

by Christopher Brown, Chris Calnan, Austin Cangelosi, and Dudek. Julius is thought to be a front-runner for York’s third line and second power-play unit (with Jesper), and should log double-digit minutes along with his brother.

Originally, Jesper and Julius were supposed to play on different teams this year, for the first time in their lives. Associate head coach Greg Brown, who specializes in defense and special teams, first saw tape of Jesper playing for Ilves and offered him a spot on a defensive unit in desperate need of some depth. Meanwhile, Julius was initially slated to bring his talents to Western Michigan’s men’s hockey program. But when Miles Wood, Alex Tuch, Zach Sanford, and Adam Gilmore decided to follow Santini and McCoshen to the pros, York realized that the defense wasn’t the only position that would be operating shorthanded this season.

“Coach called me and said, ‘We have a spot for a forward,’” Jesper recalls with a smile. “Julius was my first recruit.” *** Jesper and Julius are no strangers to intense rivalry. Back home in Tampere, Finland, you either pledge your hockey allegiance to Ilves or Tappara. The two teams have been playing in the same city together for over 80 years, and have 16 Finnish league championships each.

The Mattilas, like their father, were members of the Ilves squad before they came to America for collegiate hockey.

“We are like BC, and the other team is like [Boston University],” Julius said. “So obviously we are a better team than they are.”

Julius was kidding around, but this year’s Terriers are no joke. The same team that lost 1-0 in the Beanpot Final to BC last season may have graduated its star goaltender, Sean Maguire, but it gained a mammoth recruiting class packed with NHL talent like Clayton Keller and Patrick Harper, who tallied five goals and two assists last Saturday. According to preseason polls, BU is favored to win the Hockey East and make a legitimate run at a national championship.

In order to do that, though, the Terriers will have to run through the Eagles, too. The Comm.

Ave. rivals are scheduled for back-to-back matchups in January in addition to a first-round meeting in the Beanpot.

Some, like the Hockey East coaches made clear in their recent polls, think that the recent mass exodus of talent from BC will cripple the team’s chances in such a competitive conference.

But Jesper and Julius are ready to fill in accordingly and affirm York’s ability to seamlessly replace premier talent on a yearly basis.

Sure, it will be an adjustment, but so is everything for the Mattila twins right now. Enrolled in CSOM, Jesper and Julius are taking challenging courses while still learning a second language.

“It’s hard, especially in the beginning. A lot of reading, a lot of new words we have never heard about,” Jesper said. “We have dictionaries in the classes, so some of the words we check in the dictionary, and then translate it into Finnish in our head, and then back to English.”

Luckily, on the ice, it’s all the same language: just 12 men and a puck. And when Jesper and Julius are playing, you can bet on unmatched natural chemistry and two beaming smiles to go along with it.

4 THE HEIGHTS OCT. 6 2016

HOCKEY PREVIEW CHRIS CALNAN

brand loyalty

while he balances captaincy and mod life, chris calnan eyes a future in chicago.

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

michael HOFF Heights Staff

C

hris Calnan has a lot to deal with this year. As captain, he has to show 13 freshmen the way things go while picking up a big chunk of the departing offensive firepower. Yet, the biggest accomplishment of his senior year came as a junior, and he’s got ResLife to thank for it. He and some other teammates make up the first senior men’s hockey class to reside in The Mods in many,

Rink, and a confluence of circumstances caused BC to lose Thatcher Demko, Ian McCoshen, Steve Santini, Adam Gilmour, Miles Wood, Alex Tuch, and Zach Sanford.

W h e t h e r h i s p l ay e r s s t i c k around is partially out of York’s hands. Since the 2004-05 lockout, the NHL has clamped down on clutching and grabbing that impedes a skater’s progress, while also de-emphasizing fighting and

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

many years.

Calnan lights up talking about when they got that pick time. He thinks it was about 4:30, and they had to go run and ask head coach Jerry York for his permission to pull the trigger. He granted it, but then came the hard part: convincing the team chaplain. Thankfully for Calnan, the chaplain took mercy.

“It was wicked funny,” Calnan said, laughing. “Once he announced it to the team that we had a Mod, it was bananas.”

As for why Boston College needed 13 freshmen this year, well, York and his staff play with fire, and they got first-degree burns this summer.

BC men’s hockey lost a lot of top players this offseason, because BC recruits NHL-level talent. NHL trends affect what happens at Kelley

general goonery. Per a TSN study, fighting majors per game have been cut in half since 2008-09. Boarding majors are down about 40 percent as well. There’s now an arms race to de-goon rosters. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, and Los Angeles Kings possess eight of the previous nine Stanley Cups. All of those teams roll four lines deep of skilled players. The Penguins, the defending champions, are best known for their speed. NHL general managers need to adapt, and the ones that fail to have gotten fired, or will get fired, only to be replaced by an enlightened executive who understands the need to keep up with the Joneses/Penguins.

To get the speed to compete with such teams, NHL teams turn to the kids, whose coaches no longer

have to worry about them getting punished by so-called enforcers. The young players, so far, have rewarded their bosses. According to The Globe and Mail, the percentage of evenstrength minutes played by skaters in the 18-20, 21-23, and 24-26 age brackets have all jumped since 2005, and the percentage of minutes is down for all age brackets over 27.

Per another TSN study, over the last 10 seasons, the percentage of top-50 point-getters in the league that were under the age of 28 has jumped from 40 percent to 60 percent. For the under-24 demographic, it has doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent.

NHL teams also need to get younger in a less Darwinian sense, too.

Thanks to a sluggish Canadian dollar, the NHL’s salary cap has stayed relatively stagnant the last few seasons, rising by just $2 million each year.

Young, fresh-out-of-college players have few rights under the current collective bargaining agreement, and must sign entry-level contracts at the outset of their careers. For instance, former BC star Johnny Gaudreau nearly put up a point per game last season for the Calgary Flames and made less than $1 million.

In this context, it’s not surprising that teams rush to sign their young stars. The most important reason, though, is the fear that their top prospects will go the route of another former BC star: Kevin Hayes.

Drafted in the first round by the Chicago Blackhawks out of Noble and Greenough in 2010, Hayes struggled relative to expectations during his first three seasons on the Heights. He bounced back from an injury-riddled junior year to blow up his senior year for 65 points, and then waited until August 2014 for his Blackhawks rights to expire so he could be free to entertain offers from other NHL teams. The New York Rangers landed him, and Hayes rewarded them with 81 points in 158 games.

The 2016 Hobey Baker winner, Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, ditched the team that drafted him—the Nashville Predators—to throw his name into

free agency. He, too, waited until August to follow in Hayes’s footsteps to Madison Square Garden. The Predators threw a public fit, saying that Vesey got “bad advice and bad counsel,” according to The Tennessean. Vesey and Hayes both made the team that drafted them look like a spurned lover, which is probably a big reason that so many of BC’s good players got gobbled up before they could even think about going that route.

T

wo years after they drafted Hayes, the Blackhawks drafted another big forward out of Noble and Greenough: Calnan.

Now BC’s captain, Calnan has to deal with the ramifications of the Eagles’ offseason exodus.

“Just got a lot of freshmen to deal with,” Calnan said of the 13 newcomers called upon to replace the likes of Demko and McCoshen. “Gonna be pretty crazy.”

Calnan knows that all those freshmen are watching him all the time, and he doesn’t take that burden lightly. For leadership lessons, the Norwell, Mass., native looks outside of the team for guidance, though York is definitely OK with where Calnan gets those insights.

“Definitely the [New England] Patriots,” Calnan said, while specifying Patriots’ captain Matthew Slater as a particularly admirable leader because Slater “brings it every single time.”

“It’s crazy how much Coach York loves the Patriots,” he continued. “We have ‘quote of the day’ and half of them are Bill Belichick.”

It’s a lot of responsibility for a senior who’s still recovering from shoulder and ankle injuries that derailed his junior season. York needs Calnan to steer the freshmen while picking up a chunk of the production that left with those now-former Eagles. Just like Hayes did after his junior year was cut short by injury, Calnan looks forward to contributing more than he ever has. The captain posted a career-high 16 points his sophomore year, and wants to easily

top that this winter.

“I have a lot more I can do this season. I’ll be in a bigger role, because a lot of guys signed and left early, which stinks every time it happens,” Calnan said. “The team’s gonna need me offensively a lot more this year, and I’m ready to step into that role, be an all-around guy and contribute offensively this year and put up some numbers.

“You need the offensive presence, and we lost a lot of size. You look at Miles [Wood], Tuch, Sanford, Gilmour, and those guys are 6-foot-3, 6foot-4, and once you lose that, I think I’m the only one around here 6-foot-3 up front now. You need that physical presence, so I can fill that.”

When a 6-foot-3 former thirdround pick puts up numbers at a place like BC, NHL teams notice. If Calnan does what he believes he’s capable of doing, he will have options. In fact, Calnan has known Vesey and Hayes from a young age. He admires how they took advantage of the business to do what was best for their futures, by putting it into their own hands, not just by choosing a team but by playing up to a level in which they were desired by many. Though Calnan respects their decisions, he said his mind is made up.

“Obviously, we’ll see how the season ends up for me,” Calnan said, “but Chicago has been great to me, very respectful, and I plan on signing with them after the season ends.”

The future of BC hockey players’ senior housing, the Eagles’ fate on the ice, and Calnan’s professional prospects all hang in the balance this year. Yet Calnan is relieved, if anything, because he no longer has to worry about his shoulder popping out when he goes into corners, or his ankle slowing him down. He also couldn’t wait to finally get “back out with the boys” at the next day’s practice, but didn’t want to talk about much beyond that. He’s taking his big year one day at time. He’s Jerry York’s captain, after all. But unlike the captains before him, he’s going out in style—in a Mod.

“You need that physical presence, so I can fill that.”

chris calnan

OCT. 6, 2016 THE HEIGHTS 5

HOCKEY PREVIEW CHRISTOPHER BROWN

JAKE EVANS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Christopher, not chris after a generation of browns at bc, christopher is out to build his own legacy.

ALEC GREANEY HEIGHTs editor

I

t isn’t easy finding Chris Brown online. Even if you dig deep past the heap of tabloid stories that still circulate around the (in)famous singer-songwriter, you have to weed through football players, reporters, and writers; professional hockey players; rugby assistant coaches; and Pokémon managers—and those are just the eight different Chris Browns who are already verified on Twitter. To search for the second-year college hockey player, you have to keep going on down from there.

But ask the parents of the Boston College forward, and you’ll have to search for a different name. “We call him Christopher, I know you guys always try and shorten it.” Maureen Brown, the mother of Christopher (not Chris), the sister of New York Giants co-owner John Mara, and a BC alumna, laughed after she said it, but stood by her words. And indeed, searching ‘Christopher Brown’ may still point to the American R&B singer, but the redheaded college kid isn’t far below.

Ask Chris/Christopher himself, though—or at least kindergarten-age Chris/Christopher—about which he’d prefer, and you would have gotten a whole different answer. “Brendan Shanahan,” the 5-year-old responded to the kindergarten teacher who just wanted to get him to answer a question. Christopher wasn’t having it—he wanted to be a guy who stepped on the ice, not one who could draw triangles or add 2 and 2 to 4. In this case, Christopher identified as an eight-time NHL All-Star, at the time playing with the Detroit Red Wings—right alongside Doug Brown, Christopher’s father and also a BC

alumnus.

If you take a look at Christopher’s family tree, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he’s ended up where he is. His parents weren’t the only ones to attend BC. Five of Maureen’s 10 siblings made their collegiate home in Chestnut Hill, and six of them also married BC alumni.

Christopher’s three older siblings have come to BC—his only brother, Patrick, captained the hockey team during the 2013-14 season and currently plays for the Carolina Hurricanes—and a cousin started as a freshman this fall. His uncle, Greg, followed his father to the Heights as a student in the ’80s, and eventually returned as men’s hockey’s associate head coach under Jerry York.

“I don’t know how many cousins and aunts on the other side go here, but double digits,” Christopher said. “Been in the family for a long time, and I love it. It’s a great school.”

That isn’t to say he was forced down the pipeline to BC. He had offers to play at other schools, including offers from DI college programs for lacrosse. But according to his mother, it wasn’t going to be anything but BC. And it was certainly going to be hockey.

“He has always been hockey, hockey, hockey,” Maureen said. “He said other sports were hobbies.” ven before the kindergarten episode, Christopher had made his intentions clear. As a very young child, he had problems with his ears, which led his mother to keep him away from noisy ice rinks. But at home, 3-year-old Christopher managed to stumble upon his older brother’s hockey equipment in the family’s garage.

The natural hockey player began to get

E

JOHN QUACKENBOS / BC ATHLETICS

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

dressed in the gear—but not before playing with his parents’ phone and accidentally speed-dialing the fire department. When Maureen came up from her workout in the basement, she found firemen who had broken down the door to get to a toddler dressed and ready to take the ice. Except, of course, that he couldn’t manage to buckle the snap of the roller blades on his feet.

From then on, Christopher has been fully attuned to the world of hockey. It didn’t hurt that the rest of his life also revolved around the sport. Both his dad and uncle played hockey for the Eagles.

Greg played a few years in the NHL before bouncing around leagues in Europe. Doug, however, played 15 seasons for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and, of course, Red Wings, the last of which he still played for when his second son was born. Christopher took advantage.

When he wasn’t sleeping, he was normally at Joe Louis Arena, the home of the organization that won the Stanley Cup in 1996-97 and 1997-98. He often visited the locker room and went on pregame skates or after-skates with his dad and brother.

If he couldn’t make it to the pro rink, his mother would take him and another little local kid, Shane Switzer—currently a defenseman for Boston University—to the Birmingham Rink, just a short drive from his hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. There, they played 2-on-2 or 3on-3 with other 4- and 5-year-olds, all of whom could skate better than walk.

If he couldn’t get a ride anywhere, Christopher had only to step out back.

His father and a few handymen from town had set up a rink that froze from December to February each year, complete with a couple of goals from Joe Louis.

“Whether it was pucks or tennis balls or tape balls, he’d be out there [shooting]

all day,” Maureen said.

And even if he couldn’t make it outside—sub-zero temperatures aren’t uncommon in Michigan—he and Switzer would take mini sticks down to play in the basement.

As he grew up, he held onto his love.

If he wasn’t playing, he’d check out a game on TV or go to watch his brother or father play. Before he really took to academics, he’d play with Xs and Os on a dry erase board, exercising his young hockey mind.

A

ll the while, he was building up an astute knowledge of the game that allowed him to excel at each new level. He had help every step along the way. With Doug, Greg, and Patrick in the family, Christopher always had advice flowing to him, even if it was sometimes unsolicited.

“Every day they’re giving me different pointers. Sometimes I want it, sometimes I don’t,” Christopher said, laughing. “But they’re always good pointers.

I really enjoy it, it tells me a lot.”

All of the Browns identify as smart hockey players, helped along by hard work to get there. That’s exactly what Doug believes is the most important factor at each level: “It’s an athlete’s IQ that helps propel them forward, helps them mature,” he preaches. “It’s back to being aware of your surroundings.”

That awareness is the thing Doug believes Christopher is best at. What’s Christopher like on the ice? A “cat-andmouse” player, who is “quick, intercepting, counter-punching.” Off the ice?

“Quiet and very aware of his surroundings. He’s very alert.” So really, in his father’s eyes, not much difference.

There is, though, plenty of difference in playing style between the two brothers. Patrick is more of a physically aggressive defensive player—“a wrecking ball,” as Doug describes him. Christo-

“right from the first practice, we’ve said, ‘Whoa, he looks bigger, he looks stronger, he looks more skilled.’”

jerry york

pher is more skill-oriented, with more potential offensively.

In other words, Christopher embodies the quarterback persona that Doug also describes as being key for advancing to the next level. He knows what’s happening on all sides, meaning he knows where to be to snag a turnover or how much time he has before he must give up the puck. It’s that know-how and effort that made him one of just six skaters to take the ice in each of BC’s 39 games last season. He didn’t fill the statsheet (two goals and nine assists on the season), but he proved he could skate in the Hockey East.

And his improvement this summer may help him to break out this season.

“He’s added strength, and it looks like he’s added some confidence out there, as well,” Greg said. “I think he’ll be able to step into a much bigger role for the team this year.”

Don’t just take a Brown’s word for it.

“He’s been the biggest surprise for me early in camp,” York said. “Right from the first practice, we’ve said, ‘Whoa, he looks bigger, he looks stronger, he looks more skilled.’”

The combination of this physical step up and the early-summer exodus of upperclassmen will give Christopher a spot on the top power-play line, alongside Colin White and Ryan Fitzgerald. He is also projected to start the season at right wing on the second line with Graham McPhee and his weekly tennis partner Austin Cangelosi.

In fact, it was on the tennis court in high school that he first outwardly displayed his love for the place his family calls home. Christopher always wore the same BC ball cap throughout one season. Eventually, it became so sweaty and stained that his mother tried to get him to replace it. He wouldn’t do it.

“If you know Christopher, when he has his mind set, it’s very hard to change it,” Maureen said.

Above all else, he has had his mind set on playing hockey. Part of him is still that kindergartener with a speech impediment, saying all he wanted was to go to ‘Yo Lewis’ and skate. That may have been something of a second home for him then, but his real home was always meant to be the rinks at BC. After all, it’s in his DNA.

6 THE HEIGHTS OCT. 6, 2016

HOCKEY PREVIEW COLIN WHITE

OCT. 6, 2016 THE HEIGHTS 7

speed. drama. goofiness. all these and more make colin white the best forward in the nation.

#18

michael sullivan

19 g 24 a 43 pts

sports editor

“

Let’s get ’em real tired before they hit the showers, Greg!”

From center ice, Jerry York hollers at his associate head coach, Greg Brown. An hour or so has gone by in Practice No. 8 for Boston College men’s hockey, and York isn’t satisfied.

He wants to see his special-teams units once again. No one is leaving until the puck hits the twine. It doesn’t matter to York which of the two goaltenders in net gets scored upon, or who gets the goal. He wants to find the formula he’ll use on Oct. 7—opening day in Denver—that will light the lamp.

So Brown, the master of the Eagles’ power-play unit, blows his whistle. “Line up!” he yells at his Eagles, who amble over to their positions. Gold on offense, maroon on defense, 5-on-4, the sweat from an intense workout dampening the normally vibrant colors of BC’s sweaters. This particular side of the net has the No. 1 attack vs. the No. 1 kill. Brown blows the whistle again. Both sides send a man for the faceoff. Eight of the nine players stand still, looking at Brown to drop the puck on the right circle.

But Colin White can’t stop moving.

While the others stand at attention, White fidgets.

Back and forth, White shuffles on his skates. He has no particular destination while he moves. He just knows he has to keep moving. Make those feet warm, keep the blood flowing, never stop.

The puck drops. Austin Cangelosi wins it off of the draw. He zings it to White between the circles. White backs up slightly with the puck on his stick. The righty winds up and fires. Before the goalie turned around, White was skating to the bench.

York took off his whistle and closed his book.

Practice was now over.

W

hite’s inability to sit still comes as no surprise to his mother, Chris. White hasn’t stopped moving since he was 4

years old.

Most BC players turn to hockey because past generations have told them to. Currently on the roster, the Eagles have two players related to coaches (a nephew and a son), two sets of brothers, two with brothers who played college hockey elsewhere, and two related to former Hobey Baker winners of York’s. White did it because he needed to find friends.

Though White was born in Boston, the family lived in Nebraska early on. By the time they returned to Massachusetts, everyone in the cul-de-sac had already strapped on their roller skates.

White had athleticism built into him. Chris played varsity tennis at Florida State, while his father Mark is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame for football and track and field. The two encouraged White and his older sister, Nicki, BC ’15, to follow in their footsteps. Nicki recalls their father training them through agility exercises, specifically the ladder drill soccer players use to build their foot speed. They’d play basketball in the driveway, too, so that White would have practice playing against the older kids.

White wanted to join every youth league—even if only for the uniforms. His mother recalls that White would come downstairs decked out in pads, sweaters, or stirrups, depending on the day. Chris always appeared taken aback—is there a game today she forgot about? No, White would reply, I just want to wear the uniform. Of course, that also meant he was still

going outside to play with anyone who would catch his passes. He just couldn’t stop moving, but at least he didn’t keep his mother awake.

“Basically, he slept well at night because he was going at 100 miles per hour during the day,” Chris said.

But hockey? For that, White was on his own.

So at just 4 years old, the young White grabbed a stick. It didn’t take long for him to get serious. The next year, he began trying out for junior teams. By age 6, he’d joined the South Shore Kings, a Foxborough-based team that competes in the United States Premier Hockey League. Under the direction of coach Neil Shea, who later became a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, White blossomed.

Though his particular group had seven kids who’d end up getting drafted, White stood above the rest.

To make White as great as he is today, Shea had to pull a lot of skills out of him. White had to learn how to handle the puck, find the right time to shoot, and make said shot powerful enough for a goal.

But man, could he fly. Speed like that wasn’t something Shea—or anyone—could teach.

White outpaced his teammates in both his acceleration and how long he could sustain that pace. He could take off “like a rocket,” developing that nowNHL-level separation speed Shea says scouts drool over. Once he has the puck, White has a unique ability to sever himself from a defender’s trail and find open space. When that happens, goaltenders are doomed.

Sometimes, White’s Ricky Bobby-esque “I wanna go fast” mentality led to some, well, typical child moments on the sidelines. As at home, White had trouble sitting still on the bench for Shea. White constantly wanted to get into the game, so much so that he ignored his basic bodily functions.

Shea recalls a game in which White asked him if he could go to the bathroom during a period. This would happen often— White’s father instilled in him the importance of staying hydrated, so the young kid would constantly drink water. Shea knows kids can’t hold it even in the heat of battle, so he told White it was fine for him to run to the locker room.

Shea was surprised to see that White hadn’t left. So he reminded White again that he could go to the bathroom. White replied immediately: “No, it’s okay, I’m good.”

“I turned around and he was peeing in a barrel,” Shea said with a laugh. “He’ll be embarrassed I mentioned that but it perfectly sums up Colin.”

gold medal: u.s. men’s national u-18 team gold medal: u-17 world hockey challenge 2015-2016 hockey east rookie of the year JOHN QUACKENBOS / BC ATHLETICS

behind Fitzgerald. Those were numbers good enough to earn the Hockey East Rookie of the Year Award, and a Second-Team All-Conference nod.

Those are numbers good enough to warrant early departure to the NHL, too. Hell, four of his forward teammates did it last year: Alex Tuch, Zach Sanford, Adam Gilmour, and Miles Wood. None of them had better numbers, nor made a bigger impact on BC’s season, than White. No one would have blamed White for leaving.

But he had no intention of departing. It doesn’t even make sense to him why anyone thought he would.

“Once I decide to do something, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability,” White said. “I’m not going to turn my back on a school when I’ve committed to them. I’m pretty loyal in that sense.”

For his mother, White’s decision to stay revolved largely around him getting a degree. One year in college means a difficult time ever returning to complete his academic work. If it means two or three years total before heading out, so be it—plenty of BC hockey players have gotten their degree in that time. If it

CENTER STAGE

S

till, White didn’t commit 100 percent to hockey. He had too much fun dominating the other sports. At Noble and Greenough School, White took to the baseball and football fields.

That’s where he met George Loring, who’s still his best friend today. On the gridiron, Loring, a freshman men’s lacrosse player at Harvard, and White made for a lethal combination. White was the junior varsity team’s quarterback, and Loring, his tight end, was his favorite target. He dazzled crowds with his strong arm, nimble feet, and tenacity to win. Loring believes White had a future in the sport, just like his dad.

“He could’ve played football at BC if he wanted to,” Loring said. “No doubt.”

Yet Brian Day had no intention of allowing that to happen. Day, Nobles’ boys’ hockey coach, saw White play with the South Shore Kings. He captivated Day with his fantastic sense of the ice, skating skills, athleticism, and unselfishness—the last trait an uncommon one for a star like White. Day had no choice: this kid was a top-six forward immediately. He needed him on the varsity team.

So Day took a chance on the eighth grader. White had always had to punch upward to succeed in hockey, just like he did back when he was a 4 year old. Now, he’d have to do it on the biggest stage available to him.

Day stuck White—again, an eighth grader—on a line with two of his future BC teammates—Chris Calnan and Adam Gilmour—both of whom were already in high school. Day dared White to keep up.

The whole school wanted to see if he could keep up, too. Nobles draws huge crowds for hockey games, according to Loring, and many wanted to see if this hotshot eighth grader could really hang with the big boys. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure it out.

White barrelled down the ice in the first period to score what would be the only goal of the game—the first of 34 he’d score in two seasons with Nobles. He instantly became a school legend. And Loring knew that, even though White was always the youngest, he would always be the best. White knew how high his ceiling is going to be.

“He’d say back in seventh grade, ‘I’m going to the NHL,’” Loring recalled. “And we all said, ‘Alright, okay buddy, who is this kid? What’s his deal?’ And after that, and now, we’re all like, ‘Holy crap, he’s going to make it.’”

I

t wouldn’t take long for White to become a big name on the national scene. And when that happens, you get the call. After his second season, White received the opportunity to play for the United States National Development Team Program under Don Granato, now an assistant at Wisconsin.

White and his family sat down and weighed the benefits and consequences. The U.S. NDTP is the nation’s premier training program for American talent. White would be joining players like Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and former BC star Noah Hanifin. These are the guys NHL general managers dream of snatching up, if the ping-pong balls can fall in their favor come Draft Day. The transition would also mean entering the most stressful hockey environment in the country. White would also have to accelerate his education a year to make him more desirable to scouts and executives.

Yet the challenge was just too enticing.

“It’s always an honor to play for your country,” White said. “You can’t take anything for granted because everyone’s out there trying to gun for you.”

So White packed his bags for Ann Arbor, Mich.

There, he married his two biggest loves—gold and goals—into a third: the golden goal.

Speed and succeeding as the youngest on the ice had already been the core parts of White’s playing career. Now he added the ability to be the most clutch player on the ice at any given moment, a fact that isn’t lost on his family.

“When the game goes to overtime, Colin wants the puck,” Chris said.

In his U-17 year, White earned the assistant captaincy while notching 64 points—33 goals and 31 assists—in 47 games. That season included a gold medal in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. White scored in the United States’ 4-0 championship game victory over Canada (Pacific), and led the entire tournament with 18 points (10 goals, eight assists).

The following season, things didn’t get better for White. He suffered a wrist injury in an exhibition game against North Dakota, and, on the whole, had a rough year, according to his mom. White opened the season as the captain for the U-18 team, yet had to drop down to assistant again because of the injuries.

Still, he garnered respect from his teammates as a leader, while remaining productive on the ice: White notched 54 points in 54 games.

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Still, he needed that big moment. White and his mom felt he was due for a little something special.

So, as he usually does on the ice, White took matters into his own hands.

United States. Finland. Overtime in the 2015 IIHF U-18 World Championship. With seven minutes to go in overtime, Charlie McAvoy, BU’s star defender, gathered the puck on a deflection off Finland goaltender Veini Vehvilainen. He dished it to Jeremy Bracco—his future BC teammate for all of five games—who crossed from the right to left circle while juggling the puck. Once Vehvilainen sold out to the left, Bracco eyed White back on the right, who wound up and fired.

“I knew I was going to get it, and I just hit it as hard as I could,” White said.

T

he goal set off a classic Colin White celebration, the likes of which he has since become famous for. Against Canada in the U-20 IIHF World Championships, White broke out another big-time celly: a sustained dab that took him from the spot of his goal to the bench.

It’s all part of the goofy behavior that has made White so beloved by friends and family. He has gotten particularly close to Casey Fitzgerald, and not just because the two used to share a bathroom all the time. The two roomed together at the U.S. NDTP, where White had a propensity for losing wallets and joking about each time he lost it. He also holds a firm control over the aux cord in the Eagles’ locker room, which everyone allows him to do … even if it’s not exactly what Fitzgerald would pick.

“He likes some soft stuff every now and again, which I’m not okay with,” Fitzgerald said. “If you try to take it from him, he’ll get very upset. That’s a no-no.”

More importantly, White keeps himself grounded by not talking about hockey outside the rink. He and Loring remain incredibly close, which Loring believes has to do with the fact that they were never in-game competitors—that is, except on the golf course. White cannot stand losing on the links, yet can’t help but be loud and lose full focus. While everyone is as quiet as the crowd at Augusta National, White will joke about his stroke—not to mention heckle Loring during his.

White also likes to bet on each hole. If Loring wins, they’re going again. This time, double or nothing.

“We’ll keep playing until he wins,” Loring said.

White even kept it light through draft day. It was a stressful day for the whole family. Even though they knew White would go at some point, the waiting grew to be unbearable. But when the 21st pick rolled around, a scout from the Ottawa Senators turned to White and gave him a wink. Moments later, Pierre Dorion announced his name. The dream of a seventh grader had come true.

W

hite had one more dream to complete. He had the choice of attending any school in the nation, or going pro immediately.

After all, between BC, Boston University, Harvard,

Northeastern, and more, the White family had plenty of choices right within an hour radius of his house.

But his mind had been made up. White had to go to the school he had dreamt of since he was a little boy, when his football-playing father took him to watch Cory Schneider and Nathan Gerbe. It was also the place from which his sister had just graduated.

“If you asked either of us from age 6 or 8 where we would go to college, we’d have said BC,” Nicki said.

BC is more than thankful White’s father chose Beacon Street over St. Botolph or Babcock. He asserted himself onto the scene in the home opener against Wisconsin. With the game already in hand, White reeled in a pass on a fast break. He crossed

means riding the wave for the full four, that’s not out of the question.

For his teammates and head coach, White’s return is about unfinished business. The Eagles had a successful season by anyone’s standards last year. They won the Beanpot in dramatic fashion. They took home the Hockey East Regular Season Title. They even made it back to the Frozen Four for the 25th time in program history, the most of any school. What more can you want?

That’s not how White is wired. Anything that doesn’t end in a championship is a failure. After all, the Eagles began as the preseason No. 1 team in 2015. You don’t get a trophy for falling in the national semifinal.

In that sense, it makes White the ideal player for York. Off the ice, he is committed to academics, is loyal to friends and family, and always has a big smile on his face. On the ice, White presents himself as the textbook diagrams of how to be a two-way center in the NHL. He has superb reach, he can outskate anyone, he doesn’t fear players that are older and bigger, and he always comes through in the clutch.

“He’s a terrific billboard for what a BC hockey player should be,” York said.

It all starts with constantly moving your feet in practice. Use that extra time to make friendships, work on skills, or just stay energized. Don’t let the whistle dictate what you’re doing. Always be moving.

And White—well, he just can’t stop.

“He’s a terrific billboard for what a BC hockey player should be.” jerry york center ice with defenders closing in on both sides.

Instead of keeping the puck glued to his stick, White allowed its momentum to keep him moving forward.

He used a swim move around the two players with his stick, breaking the ankles of one in the process, and nearly his own. Once around them, White regained possession of the puck, took two steps, and fired. That goal, his linemate Ryan Fitzgerald said, is what made him realize BC had a special player.

“When he gets full steam, he’s impossible to stop,” Fitzgerald said.

And that goal was only the first of his collegiate career. He had a hat trick against Providence in the first game after his return from the U-20 Tournament.

He notched a shorthanded goal against Merrimack to win a game in February.

But his and his father’s personal favorite came against Michigan State. White desperately tried to stave off Zach Osburn, who had cut off the middle of the ice. Now forced to the left side, White thought about a wraparound, or an assist if the trailing skater could get there in time. But White was too fast for even the puck, causing it to slip out of his control farther to his weaker side. With no one there to dish it off to, White had to wildly chuck it up and hope for the best.

It clanked bar-down and into the net.

“Probably the best backhander I’ve had in my life,” White said.

In total, White finished with 19 goals and 24 assists. His 47 points were tied for 27th in the nation, fourth among freshmen, and second on the team JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

8 THE HEIGHTS OCT. 6, 2016

HOCKEY PREVIEW ADS

HOCKEY PREVIEW CAPIZZANO AND SOPHOMORES

OCT. 6, 2016 THE HEIGHTS 9

QUEEN OF THE NORTH MICHAEL SULLIVAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

kristyn capizzano, bc’s only canadian player, eyes to take this season by storm.

tom devoto heights editor

Kristyn Capizzano could have been a figure skater.

When you see her now, all the skills needed to excel are right there—phenomenal skating ability, powerful strides across the ice, exceptional balance, and an abundance of creativity.

Thousands of girls around the world, and particularly in winter sports-crazed Canada, lace up their skates every morning with wild Olympic dreams running through their heads. The leotards, the pageantry, and the artistic value in figure skating make it one of the most popular amateur sports in the country.

Capizzano might have been great at figure skating, considering she’s been great at most every sport she’s tried.

There was just one problem—she hated every second of it.

“She’s just always loved hockey. Always,” her mother, Anna Capizzano, said. “We tried to give her figure skates, but she rejected those in favor of a stick and a puck. Once we bought her hockey equipment, we never looked back.”So Capizzano swapped the

leotard for a sweater, the white figure skates for the black hockey equivalents, and a permanent smile for a competitive glare.

Just as Capizzano’s parents never looked back, she has continued trudging forward, even when it stung her and her team. Now in her final season at Boston College, she’ll look to lead the Eagles to the National Championship that has long eluded the program.

Capizzano’s love affair with hockey began when it does for all good Canadian citizens—in the womb. Her father, Elio, played junior hockey when he was younger, and he passed down a love of Canada’s Pastime to his children.

The game came naturally to Capizzano, even from a young age, and she ran with it.

Capizzano played in a boys’ league until she was 14, holding her own among her male counterparts until they eventually outgrew her.

When she switched over to a girls’ league at the beginning of high school, she dominated in such a fashion that she started to attract national attention.

After building a convincing case for herself, Capizzano was invited to try out for Canada’s U-18 IIHF World Championship women’s team in 2013. Not only did she earn a spot on the final roster and a trip to Finland, she was named captain of the team.

Canada dominated the group stage and the semifinal round, setting up a champion-

Shannon kelly heights editor

Sophomore year is a weird time.

You’re not a freshman, but you’re not yet an upperclassman. You aren’t consumed by the worldly realities of your older peers—resumés have yet to be perfected, careers aren’t set in stone, and you might even switch your major a couple more times. It’s easy to see why it’s called the sophomore slump. You’re just comfortable. There are no sticks or carrots that could persuade you to actually do something.

Unless you’re one of the seven sophomores on Boston College women’s hockey.

For some of them, it’s clear why a slump is impossible. One player knew she wouldn’t get the time on the ice she craved, so she redshirted. With no baseline for her play, she has nowhere to go but up. Another player only played twice.

Others made debuts to positive reviews, but didn’t have the opportunity to excel to the extent that they now can with the seniors out of their way. The rest of the girls fall in between these two—more than a few games under their belts, but only because BC’s stars needed a rest every once in a while.

Experienced or not, these girls want to show BC what they can do. Each has her own unique story, of personality, playing style, and path to the Heights. Without them, the Eagles would fight through depth issues and growing pains over the loss of a strong senior class.

With them, they’re national championship contenders yet again. *** Most freshmen will struggle to come up with some major accomplishments from their first year of college—I’m talking things bigger than their first ‘A’ in a class or not throwing up at Garage. The sophomores are unique in that their first season with the Eagles was just short of a grand slam. BC went 40-1 last season, falling only in the NCAA National Championship to two-time back-to-back winner Minnesota.

It’s not as cut and dry as saying that the Eagles will repeat it all again this season.

They did lose six seniors, including possibly the greatest woman to ever play the game, Alex Carpenter. And those seniors did their part: they combined for 288 points over 41 games. It’s hard to replace a group like that.

Makenna Newkirk puts a good-sized dent in that effort.

2015-16 was a breakout season for Newkirk. Everything she tried during a game seemed to work the first time, every time.

Newkirk notched 49 points over the 41 games, and was voted Hockey East’s Rookie of the Year. This season, the Eagles are looking to capitalize on her deadly ability to make plays happen. Her position has been switched to center, which gives her more of a responsibility, as well as an easier time to run the ice. To adjust more easily to the role, Newkirk called up Dana Trivigno to get some tips. Though she has had a slow start in her first two games (she hasn’t notched a point yet), there have

ship match against the United States (and future Boston College teammate Kenzie Kent).

The heated contest came down to a winnertake-all overtime period, and Canada’s Karly Heffernan snuck one past Sidney Peters less than a minute into the stanza to clinch gold for the Canadians.

“To be able to travel all around the world, play with different players against the best of the best, it was an experience in itself,” Capizzano said. “I’ll never forget that.”

The tournament truly represented Capizzano’s value to a franchise—she showed up on the scoresheet, notching two points through those five games, but her biggest contribution was intangible. They don’t measure grit, motivational speeches, or fleeting pick-me-ups to struggling teammates in the post-game box score, but you can be sure that they make a difference.

“That win in the World Championship is one of the times in her life that I was most proud of her,” Anna said.

Under Capizzano’s leadership, that young, inexperienced, talented Canadian team realized its potential and came out on top. The circumstances, opponents, and venues might be different this time around, but she’ll look to do the same for BC this spring. *** Four years ago, when it came time to pick a college, Capizzano knew she wanted to come to the U.S. She was given a number of schools to select from—in the end, her fa-

vorites were BC, Boston University, Harvard University, and the University of Wisconsin.

In the end, a convincing pitch from associate head coach Courtney Kennedy and the allure of BC’s storied athletic history, combined with playing for a head coach like Katie Crowley, moved the needle more than enough for the Capizzano family. Though they hadn’t even visited campus at that point, Capizzano made a firm commitment to play for the school down Comm. Ave. It’s been a relatively scot-free ride for Capizzano thus far, and she hasn’t had to face many challenges. Given that life in the Toronto suburb of Oakville isn’t much different from life in Boston, the adjustment to her first extended stay in the U.S. wasn’t difficult.

Nor was the level of competition on the ice. Thrust into a prominent position as a freshman forward on a top team, Capizzano shined as one of BC’s most valuable role players. She notched 26 points in her first year, including three goals on the power play and three game-winning goals.

An oft-overlooked member of a team that has been perennially stacked with firepower, Capizzano has her first real chance to break out this year. She has been assigned a coveted red “A” on the shoulder of her jersey to represent her assistant captaincy—a tactile sign of greater responsibility. She opened the season manning the left wing on a line with Makenna Newkirk, who is expected to be one of BC’s

biggest offensive weapons this season.

And though the 2015-16 season only began this past weekend, Capizzano speaks like she’s been a captain for decades.

“I think our greatest success, from my freshman year until now, is just how our team has grown,” Capizzano said, true to the clichéd nature of an experienced captain.

“Watching players develop, certain people stepping up, assuming new roles has been pretty special.”

Though not physically imposing—at 5-foot-2, she’s second-shortest on the team behind Haley McLean—Capizzano presents problems for whichever defense she encounters. She’s a deft, smart skater who makes the right plays and does what she’s supposed to.

Thanks to her relentlessness and her tenacity, she can score in a variety of ways.

Look no further than her performance in a preseason scrimmage against the Cambridge Rivulettes. About 10 minutes into the first period, Capizzano established position in between the faceoff circles in the offensive zone. Once there, she waited.

The puck whipped from the stick of Toni Ann Miano to her defensive partner, Megan Keller. With room to skate, Keller took one powerful stride toward the net and unleashed a low-flying slap shot. Capizzano fought through her defensive counterpart, got her stick on the designed deflection opportunity, and redirected the puck away from goaltender Caitlin Kroetsch into the back of the net.

Almost exactly five minutes later, Capizzano got sprung on a breakaway chance by Erin Connolly. With a creative deke, she found an opening just wide enough through Kroetsch’s five-hole to score the Eagles’ fifth goal of the game.

She can be pretty, she can be gritty, and she can be somewhere in between. But no matter how it looks, Capizzano gets the job done. *** Capizzano certainly could have chosen figure skating over hockey. She might also have chosen soccer, a game she played at a high level until she had to give it up to dedicate all of her effort to her primary sport.

“Capi brings hard work, relentlessness, and a hunter’s instinct to the table,” Crowley said. “There’s never a time when she gives up. It’s a level of determination that our team needs, and it’s one we’ll absolutely feed off of.”

BC should count its lucky stars, though, that she chose ice hockey and that she chose the Eagles. Because her leadership, her experience, her playmaking, and her attitude will be invaluable deep in a postseason run.

sophomore BUMP

Bc’s sophomore class will be the key to its success in the 2016-17 season.

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

only been a few practices with her leading the line.

“It will be an easy transition for her if she doesn’t overthink it,” head coach Katie Crowley said. *** BC has the best defenseman in the nation in Megan Keller. She is fierce backing up goalie Katie Burt, and was the leading points-scorer among defensmen in the nation last season.

It’s good to have the best on your team, but BC doesn’t settle for that. That’s why Grace Bizal is here.

It’s like Bizal has a GPS installed in her brain that tells her where her threats are going to be. She will hunt a person down until she’s satisfied that her opponent cannot even come close to scoring. In the first game of the season against Minnesota Duluth, Bizal played as part of the third pairing for the Eagles. As such a strong defenseman in the third pairing, she adds a depth to the team that will be sure to block many of the shots that come Katie Burt’s way. Paired for now with freshman Caroline Ross, it may be expected that the two would look green, but both have proved themselves to be excellent at redirecting the action to the other side of the ice.

Like Keller once was, Bizal is cautious about her offensive opportunities. She likes to take her time or look for a pass before trying it herself. In the few practices that BC has had so far, associate head coach Courtney Kennedy has been pushing Bizal to shoot more. Kennedy sees Bizal stepping into a much bigger role this season, even though last season she excelled. And when Keller leaves in 2018, it seems like Bizal will keep the D corps in good hands. *** Erin Connolly sits behind the desk of Lizz Summers, the sports information director for women’s hockey. She had initially chosen

one of the two seats in front of the desk, but switched upon realizing that this was probably her only chance to look authoritative in an interview. All it does is reflect the character she brings to the team. She’s the class clown, the prankster—but that doesn’t mean she’s not serious about finally starting her college career.

As a redshirt, Connolly is uniquely positioned as a member of the sophomore class.

She’s attended all the classes and taken all the notes, but she hasn’t sat for an exam. This experience gives her an edge. Instead of having to adjust to college play like the freshmen must do every year, she can hop right in. So far, the defenseman is doing well, stepping up to make her first block in her first game, against Minnesota Duluth.

Connolly considers herself like Bizal, in that she takes a middle-of-the-road approach to her defense—ready to go chase down the puck, but also to keep by the goalie at certain times. She believes that this will balance out the returners, who tend to be more aggressive.

A native of South Boston, Connolly is most excited to play a certain crosstown rival: Boston University. She wants to serve up a brutal beatdown to make sure the Terriers know what side she’s on. With the help of her childhood friends Bridget McCarthy and Caitrin Lonergan—a breakout star for the Eagles—it appears that BC will deliver on that promise. *** One word to describe Ryan Little is gritty.

Not one to watch from the sidelines, she gets right into the mix, picking the puck out from the corners to get her shot. Hell, she’ll barrel into the goalie before she stops. It’s the same kind of play that people saw when Crowley played at Brown and in the Olympics.

Little is also very fast. She controls the tempo

of the game with her speed, and after being told by the upperclassmen to always move her feet, she has only enhanced her skill. Her classmate, Molly Slowe, is the same way. She wants to show her fight in the game, and if that means taking people down to eventually get the goal, so be it.

But those two don’t hog the puck. One of Little’s favorite things about playing with the Eagles is how well she connects with Tori Sullivan on passes.

A lot of people feel that this season, it would be difficult to replicate the run BC had last season. Though the Eagles have already faced their first loss, against Minnesota Duluth, Little is confident that losing the seniors is not as devastating as people think it is.

“I think we’re just as strong,” Little said.

Much of this can be attributed to the environment that this year’s team creates.

Even though practices are still hard coming out of the summer, everyone is pushing each other through the pain. They encourage each other to get one more rep in or do one more drill. That’s the kind of hard work that wins championships. *** Serena Sommerfield is the definition of the popular joke that you should “get you a girl who can do both.”

It has nothing to do with her personality—it seems that she is in a constant state of bubbly, happy to talk to whomever. On the ice, however, Sommerfield switches between forward and defenseman—whatever role that will benefit Crowley that game.

“I will go wherever they tell me,” Sommerfield said. “I enjoy being on the ice, so I will love going anywhere.”

Last season saw her at forward for the 28 games she played. This season, though things change very often, Sommerfield will be starting out as a defenseman. This might be due to

a fix that Sommerfield made over the summer months—she bulked up. After the coaches said that their 5-foot-9 defenseman was too skinny, Sommerfield hit the weight room and did some off-ice training to better anticipate those hard hits. Now, she feels much more prepared.

She just wants to do whatever she can to get her team back on the national stage.

It helps that Sommerfield plays smart. She knows when to chase down a potential play or when to pull back. When she does get the puck, she flies up the sides of the ice toward the net. During an exhibition game against the Cambridge Rivulettes, Sommerfield kept every defenseman off of her. Only when she reached the net could someone stop her. Sommerfield also doesn’t cower after an unsuccessful strike.

Seconds later, she’s trying to find another play to be a part of. *** The one thing that unites the sophomores as a unit is their attitude. All seven of them like to keep things light, whether it means having team dinners or cracking jokes in the locker room. They have a seriousness that can be turned off when the buzzer sounds. It makes them approachable to the freshmen, who they sympathize with—it wasn’t so long ago that they were in their shoes.

And of course, the biggest uniting force is one of any team: the chance of a national championship. There’s no pressure about it, but once the season progresses, it will get more stressful. Crowley just wants to have them take it game by game, like she always has.

But the sophomores have been there before. They know what it’s like to be in the stadium with hundreds of people chanting, “Let’s go, Eagles!” for the last time of the season, and for another team to be left holding the trophy. It’s a tough image to shake. It’s one that’s meaningful enough to prevent these sophomores from getting into a slump.

10

THE HEIGHTS OCT. 6, 2016

HOCKEY PREVIEW ANDIE ANASTOS

captain awesome

with solid play AnD a caring attitude, andie anastos is the hero bc needs.

shannon kelly

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Heights editor

F

ocused and determined, Andie Anastos prepares for the night. It is a routine she has done many times before—donning the uniform, putting the helmet that will conceal her identity (for the most part) on last. Nearly every inch of her body is protected by a thick padding. Everything is put on the left side first, then she moves to the right. She ties her hair up in a bun at the base of her neck. Anastos has been taken down and pushed around before, so she isn’t too worried about tonight. At 5-foot-9, she’s not someone who just falls over.

She’s ready for any enemy who might get in her way.

As much as she would like to, Anastos is not finishing off her uniform with a red cape or shiny boots—not even underwear over slick tights. And as much as she would like it to, her night doesn’t entail fighting crime with her favorite superhero, Batman. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have important work to do. It doesn’t even mean she’s not a superhero herself.

Unlike Batman, Anastos is, in fact, wearing hockey pads.

Anastos is the two-time captain of Boston College women’s hockey—tough enough to balance with the stresses of senior year, let alone the pressure of winning 40 straight games last season under the leadership of phenom Alex Carpenter. The

enemy is not as clear-cut as the Joker or the Penguin. In hockey, it’s every team that poses a threat to a spotless record. Anastos wants to face all of them.

Turn open the cover, to the first page of Issue No. 1 of Captain Awesome.

A

nastos looks like she should be wearing basketball shorts and high tops instead of a bulky hockey sweater and pads, like her older sister did at Northwood University. She started skating when she was about 5 years old, and playing hockey followed soon after. Her father, Tom, had played hockey at Michigan State and spent one year in the minor league system of the Montreal Canadiens. Tom coached his daughter for years on her travel club team, HoneyBaked, along with three other Eagles—Megan Keller, Haley McLean, and Tori Sullivan. Tom taught her one of the most important lessons when it comes to being an athlete, one that she takes to heart to this day.

“After every single practice I would come home from,” Anastos said, “he would always ask me, ‘Were you working hard when the coach wasn’t watching?’”

Anastos carried that through both sports she played, but more so on the court. She felt more at home with a ball in her hands than a stick. She picked up bas-

ketball at around the same age she learned to skate, and her position as a point guard came to her naturally. Again playing with Keller in their town recreational league, Anastos found comfort in her role and thrived as well on her high school team, the Ladywood Blazers.

The parallels between hockey and basketball aren’t always obvious. Hockey is more technically difficult because of the added challenge of skating, and basketball usually doesn’t get as aggressive as the roughhousing that can occur on the ice.

But Anastos finds a common thread through her role as a center. The point guard sets up the offense and acts as the voice between the defense and the offense. On the ice, Anastos screams as loud as she can to drive plays to the opposing team’s net. Breathing hard when she gets to the bench, she often asks if the players can hear her out there, to which they usually say no. So she screams louder the next time. The biggest similarity for her is a fake screen in basketball, which translates well to hockey. By pretending to pass the puck back to a player behind her, she splits the defense and goes right up the rest of the ice with it, putting it in the twine.

Basketball teams at nearby colleges in Michigan recruited Anastos, as did hockey programs.

But for Anastos , this wasn’t something she had on her radar.

Her U-14 team had gotten a tour of BC from assistant head coach Courtney Kennedy, who entertained Anastos with her jokes.

But she was still in the mindset that she was better at basketball.

“when she’s home for the summer, she makes our house better.”

tom anastos

Her interest was piqued again when her good friend McLean signed with the Eagles, when Anastos was a junior. Soon after, her U-16 coach at HoneyBaked told her that BC might be interested in her while the team was in Boston for a tournament, so she walked around campus with her family and had a meeting with the coaches. They asked her to think about it and take her time, but after going to lunch with her family later in the day, she called them. She was coming to BC. It was all the time she needed.

H

ead coach Katie Crowley will tell you that Anastos doesn’t get the credit she deserves.

Crowley has been watch-

doesn’t have individual accomplishments. And it definitely doesn’t mean she hasn’t made her fair share of goals. A quick look at her stats shows that Anastos is the definition of steady—she’s scored 14 goals in each of her last three seasons. She also knows how to make it count—she’s tied for ninth all-time as an Eagle for game-winning goals, with nine.

Always looking for that next opportunity to help someone out, she notched 23 assists last season. Perhaps most importantly, she keeps herself on the ice at all costs. Despite playing in all 41 games, Anastos landed in the penalty box just one time—Oct. 3, 2015, against the University of Minnesota Duluth. She rarely creates problems, but is most

most difficult for her teammates to face all of those people. So when she was asked, she went.

She sat under the lights next to Crowley, expressing her disappointment in the final game.

She doesn’t look back on that moment with dread. She remembers it as a last chance to praise the seniors for taking the team so far. Anastos recalls it like a true captain would.

“I felt honored to be able to do that and step up,” Anastos said. “I wouldn’t want to have someone else do that.”

A

nastos loved Suicide Squad. Sure, it has a 26 percent on RottenTomatoes.com, but as a lover of superheroes and comic books,

2015-2016:

bc career:

14 g 23 a

43 g 61 a

37 pts

104 pts

ing her since she was playing for HoneyBaked U-14. To her, Anastos represents a consistency that other programs disregard.

Unlike other recruits, Anastos doesn’t stand out for her speed, skating, or shooting. But Crowley doesn’t believe that you need to excel in a particular category to be a great player. Anastos, according to Crowley, is unique in her ability to “do things the right way,” whether it means communicating with the defense or collaborating with the offense.

There is a steadiness to Anastos’s play that makes her reliable, and incredibly valuable to any hockey team.

Ana sto s admit s that she doesn’t have the style of play that makes her immediately enticing in the recruiting process. She’s no Alex Carpenter, chasing down the puck every time for another goal.

Nor is she a Kenzie Kent type, fast from playing both hockey and lacrosse. Though both Carpenter and Haley Skarupa encouraged Anastos to take more shots, she’s just the type of person who looks for a pass instead of an opportunity for glory.

But that isn’t to say Anastos

often part of the contingent that solves them.

Off the ice, it’s much of the same. Anastos is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her team happy. Even when it’s faced with the biggest loss of its whole season—the NCAA National Championship.

B C had lagged in the beginning of the game against powerhouse University of Minnesota—the Golden Gophers got a goal only 13 seconds into the finals. With less than half of the third period left to play, there was a glimmer of hope. Keller passed the puck up to Anastos, who dished it over to Makenna Newkirk for a goal.

The Eagles had given it their all in the last few minutes, but still lost. It was the hardest game in most of the players’ careers.

Skarupa struggled to come out of the locker room for the last time, and Carpenter, usually unreadable, had tear streaks on her face.

But someone needed to head to the media suite and address the game to the press—even when teams win, most players don’t want to do that.

Anastos knew it would be

Anastos is confident in her appreciation for the film. And say what you will about whether he’s a superhero or just a wealthy vigilante, Anastos strives to be like her hero, Batman.

“He doesn’t do anything for the glory of it,” she said. “People think he’s a myth and he’s not real, and he just does it for the good of the city.”

So does Anastos—except, instead of Gotham, it’s the Eagles of Chestnut Hill. Her personality brings people together. Even though they are separated by hundreds of miles, her father feels the same way.

“When she’s home for the summer, she makes our house better,” he said.

Her teammates laugh at the mention of her, especially her obsession with Batman. There is no one more adored on that team, from players young and old. In fact, it’s made her a superhero, too.

“She’s the most fun person on the team, but also if I were in trouble or anything, she is the first person,” Serena Sommerfield said. “She’s just Captain Awesome.”

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

OCT. 6, 2016 THE HEIGHTS

HOCKEY PREVIEW MEGAN KELLER

11

born free JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

megan keller is cementing her title as america’s best defenseman.

michael sullivan sports editor

T

he hardest questions are sometimes the simplest.

Athletes and coaches can go on for days analyzing a play, talking about a leader, or explaining a win or loss. Even if the quotes don’t have substance, chances are you’re getting a sound bite of some sort.

But ask about a favorite moment, on the playing field or off it, and the whirlwind hits.

For whatever reason—whether too many great snapshots of the exciting life of an athlete, trying to remain PG, or maybe just not having an interesting enough life—that question freezes everyone up.

Tori Sullivan and Andie Anastos had no trouble with it.

The two have had a lot of moments with their favorite topic, Boston College defenseman Megan Keller, but one recently sticks out more than any other. A couple of weeks ago, Keller took a trip to Fenway Park with Anastos, Makenna Newkirk, and Serena Sommerfield.

It wasn’t for a Red Sox game or ceremonial first pitch, but for a Kid Rock concert. The country/rock/rap star holds a dear place in the hearts of Sullivan, Keller, and Anastos.

The three HoneyBaked alumni spent their summer times in Northern Michigan—well, the Bloomfield Hills area, but that doesn’t flow with “All Summer Long”—near the home of the man born Robert Ritchie.

According to Anastos and Sullivan, you might have guessed the concert was last night.

Meg, as they call her, just can’t stop wearing her black Kid Rock T-shirt, with his name, face, and “BOSTON, MA” emblazoned in red, white, and blue on the front. Both of them began cracking up as they recalled it. A classic Meg story: funny and goofy.

Keller, naturally, had a different kind of laugh.

“They spilled that secret?” Keller said, hiding her embarrassment. “Well, it’s my favorite shirt.”

Fortunately for Keller, the Kid Rock memory will soon fade—even if the shirt stays in her closet and the love of “Born Free” still lingers.

Sullivan and Anastos know other, better moments have yet to come. It’s not hard to feel that way when you’ve got the best defenseman in the nation on your team.

K

eller’s parents, Greg and Lynn, weren’t happy with their daughter.

Once again, she had biked over to

the Anastos house without telling them.

The two didn’t live far from one another in Farmington Hills, Mich.—only about a three-minute drive—but, like any parents would do, they needed to know where their daughter was. It’s a simple mistake—Keller just didn’t call them. But the punishment was severe: they’d drive and get her, or even take her phone away. To Anastos, that’s just another day in the life.

“That’s typical Meg stuff,” Anastos said.

Typical Meg stuff includes pranks, like the times when Keller would refuse to air out her hockey bag, and stuff her smelly undershirt in the faces of Sullivan and Anastos. And, of course, there was hockey—that’s as typical Meg as you’re going to get. But Keller also tried her hand at other sports, like basketball and baseball. Sullivan recalled a Pony League baseball tournament the two played in Cooperstown, N.Y. Keller starred as a pitcher and shortstop, the latter in the new, tall, Cal Ripken-esque style, while Sullivan also pitched and played first base. In the tournament—an all-boys one, at that—Keller and Sullivan helped their team get to the final game. The tournament had a whopping 105 teams from across the nation.

When baseball gave way to softball, Keller didn’t make the transition. But her time on the court didn’t have as graceful an end. Unlike Anastos, who spent her four years as a twosport athlete, Keller’s basketball career ended after her growth spurt. She played the point for much of her early career, but by the time she grew, she had to go to the post.

So Keller decided hockey was for her, full-time. She immediately found a home as a defenseman, where she had a rough adjustment. Keller wanted to chase the puck, but her dad reminded her she had another role. It didn’t exactly help.

“My dad would tell me, ‘You’re defense, you have to be on the blue line!’” Keller said. “So for an entire game, I would just stand on the blue line. I wouldn’t go into the zone, I would just go blue line to blue line.”

When she wasn’t in trouble or on the court/ice/diamond, Keller also spent a lot of time at the Anastoses in her younger days.

Anastos’s father, Tom, said that Keller was like having another daughter in the house. One day, the Anastos family went to see the girls play in a boys’ hockey league at a rink in nearby Livonia. He paid close attention to her skating, how she handled the puck as a defender, but also how she integrated herself into the offensive game. Tom has a keen eye for talent.

He was the commissioner of the now-defunct CCHA at the time, and is now the head men’s hockey coach at Michigan State. But he never saw anyone like her.

“I turned to my wife and I said, ‘That kid’s

going to be an Olympian,’” Tom said.

I

t was at HoneyBaked, the club team coached by Tom, where Keller made her first big impression. HoneyBaked, a class AAA travel team, got to the state finals, but lost the championship game. Luckily, since they were hosting the national tournament, they automatically got a bye into it. In the tournament, Tom recalls a shootout in which Keller—again, a defenseman—had to step up. She scored an unbelievable goal that made everyone leave their seats. In the national championship semis for the U-16 bracket, Keller had a play in which she came around the back of the net. Seeing her forwards tightly guarded by the opponent’s D, Keller made an indirect pass off the boards that found Haley McLean—the fourth of BC’s HoneyBaked alumnae—near the blue line. The pass hit McLean’s stick perfectly, and she roofed one for a goal.

HoneyBaked’s success earned them trips to tournaments across the country, including Boston. While the girls took a visit in the summer between Keller and Sullivan’s sophomore and junior year, they got a chance to visit the legendary programs in the area—BC, Boston University, Northeastern, Harvard. In Chestnut Hill, Courtney Kennedy was waiting at the top of Linden Lane to greet her.

The associate head coach had begun scouting Keller back in U-14. A two-time Olympic medalist from behind the blue line herself, Kennedy was blown away by Keller’s ability to stick handle in tight spots and her bomb of a shot. She stood at nearly six feet, but had the agility of a player 5-foot-4. Keller, according to Kennedy, could’ve picked any school in the nation.

But as it turns out, she had nothing to worry about. Sullivan and Keller were already plotting to join the strong team Kennedy and Katie Crowley had been building. Anastos and McLean were already committed at this point, and Keller and Sullivan had met established BC stars like Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa. Before they could take in all the other non-hockey factors—the allure of the city, great academics, etc.—they were sold.

“Meg and I looked at each other, and we both gave each other this look,” Sullivan said.

“I was like, ‘Hell yeah this is where I want to be!’ And she gave me this look like, ‘Yeah, me too.’”

A

t BC, Keller has had two defining traits: her physicality and skill in the offensive zone. One has come naturally, and is the part that she loves the most. The other—well, that took a lot of getting used to.

Unlike men’s hockey, where large Russian and Canadian men will pound each other

into the boards repeatedly, the women’s game focuses far more on finesse and puck handling.

Still, that doesn’t mean an enforcer isn’t needed every once in a while. Keller isn’t a goon like the typical hit man on a hockey team—rarely is the most skilled defenseman the one who goes out for the hits. Yet she still has the nastiness in her.

And Keller takes that role with pride.

She particularly remembers laying a couple of big hits on last year’s Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Kendall Coyne. The Eagles and Huskies have had a fierce rivalry brewing for the past couple of years. 2015-16 was supposed to be Northeastern’s time to shine, or at least make it competitive. It didn’t exactly turn out that way—BC won all five of the two teams’ matchups. Keller was a big reason why. Tasked with chasing down Coyne at all times, Keller held her to only six points in five games, a far cry from her 2.27 per game average (84 total).

Keller’s strong defensive effort includes holding Coyne scoreless in the Beanpot final and to a garbage-time goal in the NCAA Quarterfinals. And she wasn’t apologetic about getting her size in there, too.

“Any time you can catch Kendall, it’s something else,” Keller said, “but yeah, I took her into the boards pretty good.”

It has made her the target of many penalties—39 thus far in her career. Sullivan believes that her huge size difference over the competition has made her the unfair target of referees.

But that doesn’t mean she should stop playing the way she does. Keller’s style, Sullivan says, gives the Eagles a unique presence on the ice.

She needs to be the enforcer.

“It can be a pain to play against [in practice], Sullivan said. “She’s the only one who could do that job.”

As a freshman, Keller prided herself on that physicality and her defensive skill. But she didn’t like to shoot. Kennedy wasn’t okay with that.

“Court’s always telling me, ‘Shoot the puck, Keller, shoot the puck!’” Keller said with a laugh. “Kinger, tell her to shoot the puck!”

Kennedy doesn’t care if the shot comes out ugly, as long as she gets it off. Because when she sends off a one-timer, it’s a thing of beauty.

Keller’s shot is a heat-seeking missile—it can find the net or a stick in front of the net with ease. It stays low, making it harder for the goaltender to see it from distance. On offense, and especially on the power play, Keller’s ability to become a fourth attacker is invaluable.

Her extra work over the summer took her from being a good player to a Patty Kazmaier Award Top 10 Finalist. She jumped from 24 points—four goals, 20 assists—to 52 points—12 goals, 40 assists. That effort made her the highest scoring defenseman in the country, 11th overall in the nation, and earned her a berth on the AHCA All-America First

Team and the Hockey East Best Defenseman Award. That jump has ended the lessons from Kennedy.

“It’s hardly ever that I have to critique something,” Kennedy said. “As much as I’d like to take credit for it, this kid’s a special player.

You don’t have Megan Kellers walking in the door every day.”

K

eller always has her sights set on another chance at a national championship. The Eagles won’t have as easy a road as last year. They’re missing Carpenter and Skarupa, plus four other strong players.

BC will also be breaking in its burgeoning sophomore class, as well as highly touted freshmen Caitrin Lonergan, Delaney Belinskas, Caroline Ross, and Bridget McCarthy.

But Pyeongchang is in her sights in 2018.

She has already had a taste of international play, as she won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2014 IIHF U-18 World Championships and was an assistant captain on the U-22 Select Team this winter. That experience has led to her role as an assistant captain on the Eagles this season. She also has just earned a spot on Team USA’s roster for the 2016 Four Nations Cup on Nov. 1-5. Next year, if the Olympic opportunity arises, she’ll have to take a redshirt year, like Carpenter did back in Sochi in 2014. But she will have no hesitation about doing so.

“If it comes, yeah, I’m not going to pass it up,” Keller said.

It shouldn’t be a problem for her. Tom Anastos believes that “there’s no one in college hockey better than her.” Kennedy knows she has the perfect mix of ability, coachability, and personality to succeed wherever she goes.

No game exemplifies that more than Keller in the 2014 Beanpot Championship. The Eagles didn’t win—it was the first loss they had in the 2014-15 season—and Keller never found the scoresheet. It wasn’t exactly the type of game BC wanted to remember.

But Kennedy says that game was the turning point for Keller’s career. After the Eagles fell down 3-2 to the Crimson midway through the second period, Keller came to the bench and started firing up her team. She immediately began using her incredible reach to aggressively go after the puck at every turn. Whenever Keller got the puck in the offensive zone, she shot it off at Emerance Maschmeyer to create a scoring chance. That moment, Kennedy feels in her gut, is what took Keller from a good defenseman to the best in the nation. And it’s only a matter of time before this once-in-a-generation player creates enough moments to make her friends forget about Kid Rock shirts and missed calls from parents. Instead, the first moment in everyone’s mind will be her raising a national championship trophy.

6102 W EIVERP YEKCOH STHGIEH EHT

dna dekco

dedaole kristyn capizzano

andie anastos

queen of the north, c9

captain awesome, c10

megan keller

born free c11