Now that we’ve had some time to reflect on the 2023-24 men’s hockey season, our hockey writers are reflecting on BC’s outstanding season. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
How did this season end up compared to your expectations?
Laura: I’m so proud of this year’s team. I expected them to make it to TD Garden during Hockey East and to make a decent NCAA run, and for such a young team to have won the Hockey East regular season, the Hockey East Tournament, and made it to the NCAA Championship is so impressive. They exceeded my expectations for sure.
Steven: I was pretty sure that the team would be good, but I definitely didn’t see them being as dominant as they were for basically the entire season. I said I was hoping for a finish near the top of Hockey East and a postseason run and we certainly got that even if we hated the ending.
Curtis: Wow! They blew my expectations out of the water. I knew we were going to get a good team that would be a championship contender on paper, but it was incredible to watch it happen in real time. They looked like one of the greatest college hockey teams ever.
Maithri: I don’t even know how to put my answer to this into words. I came into this season with no real expectations — I just wanted to enjoy watching this team, and I got so much more than that! They blew any expectations I could’ve even had out of the water. This team was so special and such a blast to watch, and I really couldn’t have asked for any more coming into it.
What impressed you the most about the team this season?
Laura: Their ability to readjust during games. When things weren’t working for them, this coaching staff and these players were able to try new things and adjust their strategy mid-game to give themselves the best chance of winning.
Steven: Just how quickly these guys could put up goals in bunches. It felt like every weekend they would be in a close game and then they’d have a stretch where they’d score two or three goals in a five minute stretch to separate. There was just so much high level offensive talent on display every single night.
Curtis: The unselfishness. The way everyone passed the puck and set up scoring opportunities was absolutely magical, and that’s not easy to do when you have a roster as talented as this one. Everybody completely bought into the team culture and they were dedicated to winning hockey games, not just putting up stats.
Maithri: UGH this is another thing that I could probably go on and on and on about, but I’ll keep it short. I’d say probably their ability to win games in different ways! They had blowout wins, comeback wins, overtime wins, one-goal wins, you name it.
It felt like this team had an answer for whatever they were facing – they almost always wore teams down as the game went on, and then when the moment was right, would completely take over and shut down the opposition. The team’s dedication to defense also impressed me a ton this year — every single player was involved in defending, which made it hard for teams to score on them while also leading to effective break outs. It was really such a treat to watch and I’m so excited to see it continue building as the years go on!
What would you like to see the team work on ahead of next season?
Laura: There is nothing that sticks out as a major problem! Improving a little on the faceoff would be great, but it isn’t something I’m worried about.
Steven: They’re going to have to find a way to get more scoring from their depth forwards. When Gabe Perreault missed a few games at the end of the season, this essentially turned into a one line team until Jack Malone had the game of his life against UConn in the Hockey East playoffs. The five non-Malone forwards who finished the season in the bottom six combined for 12 goals on the season. That’s not good enough and it puts a ton of pressure on the best players to be on every single night.
Curtis: It’s hard to critique a team that did so well in basically every facet of the game. But I’d like to see an improvement in faceoffs for sure.
Maithri: Maybe just faceoffs — it burned them in some of their losses this season, so working on winning them is probably the one (1) thing that I’d like to see them improve on!
How are you feeling about Greg Brown now that he has 2 seasons under his belt as BC’s head coach?
Laura: I have wanted Greg Brown as Coach York’s successor since before he left BC for the NHL, and I feel very vindicated in that opinion. I think Coach Brown is a fantastic leader for this team.
Steven: Awfully hard not to be impressed by the season that Brown just put together. It’s hard to succeed when the expectations coming into a season are high, but he certainly managed to do that. It will be interesting to see how he handles the offseason and how he is able to rebuild the roster ahead of next season.
Curtis: You can point to all of the talent on BC’s roster and say his job was easy, but real ones know how good of a job Brown was doing. The defense had a ridiculous 1-year turnaround, he got the all-star linemates to be completely unselfish, the penalty kill was absurdly efficient, and he made a lot of adjustments throughout the year that helped the team get as far as they did. BC men’s hockey is in good hands.
Maithri: I feel so confident in him and am so, so excited for the future of the program under him. Again, I think this is another question that I could really go on forever about. Being able to almost flawlessly integrate fourteen newcomers into a roster and build the team into what it was is incredible. Though there was a lot of talent, we see year in and year out that raw talent isn’t enough to make deep tournament runs — in the conference or nationally. Brown was really able to blend the experience on the current roster with the raw talent of the underclassmen, and his Hockey East and National Coach of the Year awards are extremely well deserved.
Who is your MVP for the season?
Laura: You could make the argument for so many players on this team as MVP, but Gabe Perrault is the glue that holds them together. They play differently when he isn’t available, and he boosts the offense so much.
Steven: I want to say Will Smith just for leading the country in scoring as a freshman, but I’ll go with Cutter Gauthier for pushing 40 goals and finishing right behind Smith in overall points.
Curtis: Do I have to pick one? If so, then I’ll take Gabe Perreault as the guy that made everything click.
Maithri: I really cannot choose, but probably Cutter Gauthier? He came back for another year — whether it was his original plan or not — and really gave it his all this season while developing into a strong 200-foot player!
Who do you think improved the most from last season to this season?
Laura: Oskar Jellvik made a huge jump this season – you can see it in his numbers, but his speed and hockey sense really shone as well.
Steven: Cutter Gauthier. Gauthier went from having a strong freshman season to leading the NCAA in goals and being one of the best players in the country. That’s a massive step to take.
Curtis: Eamon Powell. He went from a solid defensemen to a leader of one of the best defensive units in college hockey.
Maithri: Oskar Jellvik!
Which freshman are you most excited to watch as they continue to play at BC?
Laura: All of them?!?! But I am really excited to see how Drew Fortescue develops – He was great this season but I think we’re going to see a bigger jump from him next season than any of the other rising sophomores.
Steven: Jacob Fowler. Nothing against Mitch Benson and Eric Dop, but I missed having an awesome goalie prospect that we get to watch for multiple seasons. Fowler was fantastic as a freshman and I’m so excited to see if he can continue to develop as an elite college goalie.
Curtis: JA-COB-FOW-LER! *clap* *clap* *clap clap clap*
Maithri: I literally cannot pick one, especially if we’re expecting the Smith/Leonard/Perreault line to return. So like my preseason roundtable answer, I’ll say Jacob Fowler.
The Laura Classic – let’s end this with a song that best describes this season?
Laura: Applause by Lady Gaga. This team loves to win and they’re only going to be more motivated to get those trophies next year.
Steven: You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
Curtis: Time of Our Lives – Pitbull & Ne-Yo
Maithri: Unstoppable by The Score