Nelson’s Isaac MacLeod and the Boston College Eagles will begin defence of their NCAA championship on Saturday night in Rhode Island.
Last season, the Eagles entered the tournament ranked number-one in the nation. After putting together a 22-11-4 record this season, Boston College had to wait until this past weekend’s announcement of the 16-team draw to know whether they would have a shot at defending the national hockey championship. The Eagles beat Ferris State 4-1 in Tampa Bay last April to become the best in US college hockey.
The Eagles will start their quest for a second straight title on Saturday night at the Dunkin Donuts Centre in Providence, RI. The competition will be Union College of New York, a private college with a powerhouse hockey team that claimed the ECAC (East Coast Athletic Conference) title earlier this month for the second straight season.
The Eagles failed to capture the Hockey East title this past weekend after losing to rival Boston University 6-3 in the Friday night semi-final. Boston University then lost 1-0 to UMass Lowell in the Saturday final.
MacLeod is a junior at Boston College. In his third year of NCAA play, the talented defenceman scored two goals and added five assists in 35 games. MacLeod grew up in the Nelson Minor Hockey system, played for the Kootenay AAA Midget Ice, the Nelson Junior Leafs as a 16-year-old and then with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. In 2010, MacLeod was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round of the NHL draft.
If the Eagles win Saturday night, they will play the winner of Quinnipiac and Canisius on Sunday. Two victories this weekend will get the Eagles to the Frozen Four which takes place in Pittsburg starting April 11.