Boston College Hockey Schedule 2014-15: List of Games, Season Preview for Eagles

Boston College is hungry as it enters the 2014-15 season.

The Eagles have been without a Frozen Four title in each of the past two seasons, but Jerry York's team still has an opportunity to secure a third NCAA title in the past six years if a strong returning cast can put together a special run against a tougher-than-usual schedule.

Thanks to a wealth of matchups against the Big Ten—not to mention powers such as Colorado College and Denver, among others—the road for the Eagles will certainly be no easy task.

Below, let's take a look at the official schedule and a preview of the season.

Boston College 2014-15 Hockey Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
10/04/14	New Brunswick	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
10/10/14	at UMass-Lowell TV	Lowell, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
10/18/14	R.I.T.	Blue Cross Arena; Rochester, N.Y.	7:00 p.m. ET
10/24/14	vs. Colorado College	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:30 p.m. ET
10/25/14	vs. Massachusetts	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
10/31/14	at Denver	Denver, Colo.	TBA
11/01/14	at Denver	Denver, Colo.	TBA
11/05/14	at Connecticut	XL Center; Hartford, Ct.	7:00 p.m. ET
11/07/14	vs. Boston University TV	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	8:00 p.m. ET
11/11/14	vs. Harvard	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
11/14/14	at Michigan State	East Lansing, Mich.	TBA
11/21/14	at Massachusetts TV	Amherst, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
11/22/14	vs. Maine	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
11/28/14	vs. Minnesota	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	6:00 p.m. ET
11/29/14	at Providence	Providence, R.I.	7:00 p.m. ET
12/05/14	at New Hampshire TV	Durham, N.H.	8:00 p.m. ET
12/06/14	vs. New Hampshire	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
12/13/14	vs. Michigan	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
Ledyard Classic (Dartmouth)
01/02/15	vs. Brown	Hanover, N.H.	4:00 p.m. ET
01/03/15	at Dartmouth	Hanover, N.H.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/09/15	at Northeastern	Boston, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/10/15	vs. Northeastern TV	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	4:00 p.m. ET
01/16/15	at Boston University TV	Boston, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/18/15	at Maine	Orono, Maine	3:00 p.m. ET
01/21/15	vs. Merrimack	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/24/15	vs. Connecticut	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/30/15	vs. Providence	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:30 p.m. ET
63rd annual Beanpot Tournament
02/02/15	vs. Northeastern TV	TD Garden; Boston, Mass.	8:00 p.m. ET
02/09/15	Boston University / Harvard	TD Garden; Boston, Mass.	TBA
02/06/15	at Merrimack	North Andover, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
02/13/15	vs. Vermont	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:30 p.m. ET
02/14/15	vs. Vermont	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:00 p.m. ET
02/20/15	vs. UMass-Lowell	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	7:30 p.m. ET
02/27/15	at Notre Dame TV	Notre Dame, Ind.	7:35 p.m. ET
02/28/15	at Notre Dame TV	Notre Dame, Ind.	6:05 p.m. ET

No Holding Back

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

Upon its release, the schedule likely caught more than a few fans off guard.

At first glance, the schedule appears to be both front loaded and a serious undertaking if the program is going to overcome the Hockey East and take home a sixth NCAA tournament title.

"We are very excited to once again take on the elite of college hockey this season," head coach Jerry York said, per BCEagles.com. "This year's lineup at Kelley Rink will be enjoyable for our fans and we are looking forward to our fans ubiquitous support."

No kidding.

The Eagles head west early in the season to encounter Denver for a continuation of their tournament showdown from last season. Matchups with Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado College and Michigan State all act as landmines before the new year. 

The encounter with Michigan State is especially important considering Boston College's all-time record against the foe, as illustrated by the team's Twitter account:

At the tail end of the Beanpot tournament, in the early goings of the 2015 portion of the calendar, the Eagles will get a chance to take on an old rival in what will be a nationally televised pair of contests to close out the season before the revamped Hockey East playoffs:

Boston College does lead the epic series, but remember that Notre Dame took three of four games from York's team last season and certainly has the talent to make things rough on the Eagles this year as well.

A rather young roster with a few key returning pieces will do so in new threads, too:

Not donning the new jersey will be Johnny Gaudreau, one of last year's best overall players who will suit up for the NHL’s Calgary Flames in 2014-15.

In the wake of his departure, the Eagles will lean on players such as senior assistant captain Quinn Smith, who scored 11 points last year. Junior captain Michael Matheson led all defensemen in scoring last year with 21 points on three goals and 18 assists before subsequently being named to the All-Hockey East first team. 

Joining them is a stellar recruiting class led by defenseman Noah Hanifin, a surefire top selection in next year's NHL draft. He just so happens to be a wicked scorer given the nature of his position, as he posted 33 points in 45 games with the U.S. National Under-18 team.

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

Sophomore netminder Thatcher Demko returns after a spectacular rookie debut last season and secures the Eagles in that area. He tallied a .919 save percentage last season, a number that ranked 30th overall in college hockey, and was drafted No. 36 overall by Vancouver in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

It just so happens the Eagles have the right man at the helm for the job of nurturing young talent while blending it with seasoned vets. York, going into season No. 21 as coach, has an all-time record of 496–242–68 with the Eagles and was last season's Hockey East Coach of the Year.

Further helping the daunting task is the fact that most of the major events will take place in the Eagles' back yard. The program can seize its sixth consecutive Beanpot win and Hockey East tournament title No. 12 from what basically amounts to the comforts of home.

Best of all? The 2015 NCAA tournament goes down in Boston at the TD Garden this season.

Title No. 6 could not come at a better time.

Schedule via BCEagles.com. Stats and info via NCAA.com unless otherwise specified.