With the 2014-15 BU hockey season now in the rearview, the Boston Hockey Blog crew will be unveiling some lists over the next week or so — looking some of our favorite moments from the past year. Here’s our first post, ranking the top 30 quotes from a wild year of BU hockey:
30. “I don’t like our power play.”
— David Quinn after BU’s 1-0 victory over Michigan State on Oct. 24. BU finished the season ranked second in the nation in power-play percentage.
29. “I found out after my nap.”
— Connor LaCouvee on finding out that he was going to start BU’s first regular-season game of the season
28. “I think if you combine the length that all his goals have traveled it would equal two feet, so that says something for going to the net.”
— David Quinn on the proximity of Matt Lane’s scoring chances
27. “I got choked up for a minute talking, just because I looked down and I saw my mom and she was crying, so it choked me up for a minute, just because of how important my parents are and everything they’ve done for me.
— Jack Eichel talking about his parents after winning the Hobey Baker Award
26. “I just thanked him for not letting any of the guys hit me.”
— Jack Eichel on what he said to David Quinn after BU’s exhibition against the U.S. World Juniors team on Dec. 19
25. “I think last year made all the returning guys in that room hungrier, and I think we added a freshman class that brings a lot of positive attitude, and they’re always upbeat, they’re always positive, they’re always coming to work everyday. It’s made for a special season so far, and hopefully, this is just the beginning.”
— Evan Rodrigues following BU’s Beanpot victory over Northeastern on Feb. 23.
24. “You look around the room and from top to bottom, you believe in the guys that are sitting next to you, and I think that confidence builds throughout the game. We’ve done it time and time again … Keep pressing, keep pressing, it will come. And it did today.”
— Evan Rodrigues after BU’s overtime win against Vermont on Jan. 24.
23. “When you look at their club, boy, Grzelcyk, and O’Regan … Rodrigues, their goaltender, O’Connor’s very strong … They’re gonna be a dangerous team as the season progresses. And they have been already. But they’ve got a lot of good players. Too many good players.”
— BC head coach Jerry York on BU’s roster
22. “He’s [O’Connor] played a lot of hockey and I just thought what the heck. They’re not listening to me up to this point so maybe if I pull the goalie they might actually get a little rattled and pay attention. They [UNH] scored a goal a minute later, so that didn’t really work.”
— David Quinn on replacing Matt O’Connor in net with Connor LaCouvee against UNH on Feb. 14
21. “We’ve bottled it and we can’t reveal it … I have no idea. I wish I could tell you. I have no idea.”
— David Quinn on BU’s “formula” for successful third periods
20. “The reason I think we have the record we have is we have some talent, but I think we have a grit element to our game, for the most part, all year. When we struggle, I think we get away from that. I think we think we’re a little bit more like the Harlem Globetrotters and the ’86 Oilers and we can shoot ourselves in the foot because we have been successful offensively.”
— David Quinn on BU’s playing style
19. “You see his stats and his skills and all those things — don’t get me wrong, they’re elite — but he’s a tough son of a bitch, and he’s competitive, and he’s withstood an awful lot. He’s handled it about as well as anybody could.”
— David Quinn on Jack Eichel’s toughness
18. “There wasn’t a goalie on the planet stopping that one.”
— David Quinn on Jack Eichel’s overtime goal against UMass Lowell on Jan. 18.
17. “I expected the worst and he kind of lived up to it.”
— Danny O’Regan on facing off against Jack Eichel in BU’s exhibition against the U.S. World Juniors team
16. “Just tried to tell him that I love him and it’s been a pleasure playing with him. I’m going to keep telling him that ‘till I’m probably dead.”
— Anthony Moccia on what he said to console Matt O’Connor after the team’s national championship loss
15. “He’s just an incredibly smart player, works hard, competes, has a great skill set and he can skate. Other than that, he can’t really do too much.”
—David Quinn on Evan Rodrigues’ talent
14. “When we got into the building.”
— David Quinn on when he considered putting Anthony Moccia in the game in BU’s 6-1 win over Northeastern on Feb. 28.
13. “I’ve been coaching for 20 years, and I’ve never enjoyed coaching a team more than the one we had this year.”
— David Quinn after BU’s loss in the national championship game
12. “This is a man’s game, and we better be ready to play like men tomorrow night, and I don’t mean like acting like Joe Tough Guy after the whistle and pushing and shoving. I’m talking about taking a hit, I’m talking about 50-50 pucks, having an attitude.”
— David Quinn after BU’s 6-5 loss to Northeastern on Feb. 27
11. “Probably beating BC was better. I mean, it’s BU-BC.”
— Ahti Oksanen on whether BU’s overtime victory against Maine was better than the win over BC
10. “Tough one to swallow, without question. But we’ll be back.”
— David Quinn after BU’s loss in the national championship
9. “If I was gonna die, I would probably bring [graduate student goaltender Anthony] Moccia. He’d probably do some good Bible studies. If I wanted to live, I’d probably bring Ahti because he can fish pretty well.”
— Matt O’Connor on which teammate he would bring if he were stuck on a deserted island
8. “It’s not just some silly slogan. …Their work ethic, their enthusiasm throughout the summer, leading up to this…certainly you get the sense that they understand what it’s gonna take to never have to have something like [last season] happen again.”
— David Quinn, prior to the season, on BU’s “Never Again” offseason slogan
7. “We’ve piled up a lot of wins, but like Quinn’s [been] reiterating throughout the week, wins don’t mean anything. It’s trophies and championships.”
— Evan Rodrigues prior to the Beanpot tournament
6. “I had a rosary bead in my coat pocket. It certainly didn’t feel like he didn’t have points tonight.”
— Harvard coach Ted Donato on Jack Eichel’s first scoreless game of the season on Nov. 25 against the Crimson
5. “Just a really weird, indecisive moment there cost us a national championship, I guess you could say.”
— Matt O’Connor following BU’s loss in the national championship
4. “I jokingly say he’s kind of like the Secretariat of a hockey player. If you ever watch Secretariat run, he just looks so different than all the other horses. Jack is very much in that mold.”
— David Quinn on Jack Eichel’s talent
3. “All I can say is that he lives up to the hype. A lot of times, guys are overhyped, but not with Jack. He works hard, on and off the ice. He’s the most skilled guy I’ve ever seen in my life.”
— Danny O’Regan on Jack Eichel prior to the season
2. “I may wear it out of here. Hopefully they’ll let me do that. I really don’t want to take it off.”
— Cason Hohmann, following BU’s loss in the national championship, on the thought of removing his jersey
1. “When I told him we were going to move him up front, I told him we’re not going to put you on the third or fourth line, we’re going to put you up front and we think you’re going to be one of the top six forwards. I said you’re going to have a chance to play with Danny O’Regan or Cason Hohmann or Jack Eichel. When I told him Jack Eichel ‑‑ this is in May ‑‑ he said: ‘Who is that? Never heard of him.'”
— David Quinn, recalling his decision to move Ahti Oksanen from defenseman to forward
Hopefully you can add the quote of the Buffalo GM after he lost the lottery and dissed Jack Eichel . Especially if it factors in his decision and he decides to return for another season.
Completely shocked that he would go on the record to say something like that, Larry. McDavid is an extremely talented player, no question about it, but I feel like a majority of people really aren’t aware that the gap between him and Eichel really isn’t as astronomical as some would think that it is.
Hoping his true feelings influence Jacks’ decision to stay for another year. I was not surprised at the diplomatic response from Jack. He has great advisors. I do not believe the phony apology from the Buffalo GM. I do not expect any news until after the draft.
Even though they’re associated with a game I’d like to forget, my two favorite quotes here are #16 and #2. They both show a high degree of caring.