After calling his first season one of growth, Boston College men’s hockey head coach Greg Brown laughs as he calls last season “exciting,” and for good reason. The Eagles went from 14-16-6 in his first season to an impressive 34-6-1 last year, with a Hockey East Regular Season title, a Hockey East Championship title, and a trip to the National Championship game in St. Paul in the books.
Although the Eagles fell short in the national title game, there were many positives to take from the season.
“The guys put so much effort into the season and then to come that close definitely stings,” Brown notes, “but when you step back over the summer, you absorb that we did a lot of things really well.” He’s quick to point out how the team got better as the year went along, and how impressive their consistency was throughout the season. A team as young as the Eagles were last year put themselves in a position to win the national championship and that’s nothing to scoff at.
Brown believes that there were several turning points on the journey to the Frozen Four; most of them good. The 3-4 loss to Boston University in the Beanpot semifinal, though heartbreaking, was one big turning point that really helped the team raise their level of play. “I think that loss just made us grow up a little and realize it’s not going to be easy,” Brown says. The Eagles went 15-1 after that loss in February, and finally won their first tournament trophy in eight years at the Hockey East Championship in March.
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“The biggest thing about winning Hockey East is it shows us we can,” Brown says of what having won the trophy means to the team. “And you need that confidence and belief when you get in those intense games.” Brown notes how strong Hockey East was as a league this season, and how it helped BC’s playoff run to face such tough competition day-in and day-out. “You know you can’t take a night off [in this league],” he explains. “It really helps grow the team to their highest levels.”
Brown mentions the consistency of the team multiple times throughout our conversation, emphasizing that it was one of the most impressive things to him. He credits last year’s upperclassmen for never letting the team feel complacent as a huge reason for their success.
He’s expecting the players to have similar consistency this season. “All the guys coming back have that hunger,” he says.
The Eagles are returning a large portion of last year’s roster, including star forwards Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, along with veteran defenseman and captain Eamon Powell – who is using his fifth year of eligibility.
Having Powell back is a “huge bonus,” Brown says, emphasizing how important the captain was to last year’s team. “He did a phenomenal job as captain and leader; a great job staying even keeled last year — and we know he’ll do a great job with that again this year.”
Along the same lines, Leonard — who set the program record for goals scored by a freshman last year — announced that he’d be returning for his sophomore year despite being offered an entry level contract by the Washington Capitals. “It’s a great testament to Ryan and to his teammates,” Brown shares, “and you can already see it in the first few practices we’ve had — he keeps the intensity high every day, and the other players see that.”
The enthusiasm runs high in practice, Brown tells me. The upperclassmen have led the way, while the younger guys have quickly caught on. The Eagles boast another talented freshman class, headlined by James Hagens, the projected first overall pick for the 2025 NHL Draft, and Dean Letourneau, the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Brown shares that they’ve shown they can play at a high level in practices, and despite the big jump from juniors to college, they’ve adapted very quickly. He foresees that they’ll be contributing heavily to the lineup from the start, much like last year’s freshman class.
Though the Eagles do return a good amount of last year’s roster and have a talented incoming class, Brown recognizes the departures of three of four centers, including the country’s leading point scorer in Will Smith and leading goal scorer in Cutter Gauthier. People will have to fill in and step up offensively on this new look team. However, the team returns most of their defenders and goalie Jacob Fowler, a Mike Richter Award Finalist who also set the NCAA record for most wins in a season by a freshman. “We can be sound in our end of the ice, and then I’m sure our offense will evolve,” Brown believes.
After all, the team is still returning 60-point scorers in Leonard and Perreault, and a 1.02 point-per-game scorer in Oskar Jellvik. Powell returns as a 38 point scorer in 40 games, while Andre Gasseau returns with 29 points in 40 games. With the addition of the freshman class, it’s safe to assume that the offense will evolve well.
The team is looking to get back to the Frozen Four this season, and they’ve got the pieces to do it. But with the season getting underway in just a week, the goal now is to stay focused in the short term — and not looking too far ahead too quickly.
Brown is particularly excited to watch the team grow together this season. “You want to see all of them improve individually and expand their games,” he shares, “but also, when you have a team that really wants to play for each other — not just with each other — it’s exciting to see how good you can become.”