Boston College vs. Minnesota: Resiliency Will Lead Eagles to Victory

The Boston College Eagles have been here and done this before, and they're at their best when they've had to fight to get here.

Boston College will face Minnesota in the Frozen Four semifinals on Thursday night. Despite the absence of some of the bigger names who have helped them get there before, they are poised to bring another championship to Chestnut Hill.

There's no such thing as a rebuilding year at BC. Losing some talent may make the season more challenging, but it only paves the way for new players to step up.

Take the fact that BC lost four-year starter John Muse prior to this season. Muse took the place of Corey Schneider in 2008 and promptly won a championship—and then a couple more—for the Eagles. Now, Muse's successor, Parker Milner, is poised to do the same.

Milner boasts a 27-5 record and a 1.70 goals-against average. Though his road to the Frozen Four has been rocky at times, he and the Eagles peaked at the perfect time.

That is, down the stretch.

After an 8-1-0 start, BC endured a 16-game stretch in which it went 6-9-1. Since then, the Eagles have won 17 consecutive games.

BC head coach Jerry York told The Boston Globe's Nancy Marrapese-Burrell that the warning signs with his team were obvious during that rough stretch, and he was committed to making sure his players could and would bounce back:

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We had become an average team. We had to make a self-evaluation about what type of team we wanted to be. If you go after [the elite status], then you have to bring a better work ethic, a better intensity to every day, we’ve got to play better, we’ve got to get better goaltending and we’ve got to get better special teams. Our kids, they didn’t want to be average.

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The Eagles have a couple of advantages facing Minnesota.

First, they are chasing their third NCAA title in five years, while Minnesota is making its first appearance in the Frozen Four since 2005. Second, they have York, one of the best—if not the best—coach in college hockey.

York, a native of Watertown, Mass., has coached at BC since 1994 and has won three championships with the Eagles (four total) and nine Hockey East tournament titles. From 1998-2010, BC made nine appearances in the Frozen Four and played in six national championship games.

York knows how to get his team motivated, despite youth, despite a lack of experience, despite a lengthy midseason rough patch. When Muse led BC to the title in 2008, he was starting as a freshman.

Junior defenseman Patrick Wey told the Globe:

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I think that is how BC is successful year in and year out. It’s the culture we’ve built here. It’s founded on character and hard work. While we didn’t know per se who was going to step up and fill the holes that were left, I was at least optimistic at the beginning of the year that our culture would bring up someone to do so.

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Inexperience doesn't faze York or any of his players. In fact, not much of anything does, which is exactly what will lead them to the title game once again.