With huge contributions from some of the most extraordinary freshmen that college hockey has ever seen, Boston College and Boston University rolled all the way to the Frozen Four last season, with BC losing to Denver in the national championship game.
If the Eagles and Terriers are to go that far again — and maybe one of them finishes the job this time by winning the NCAA title — they are going to need a new crop of rookies to step up.
It would be a stretch to expect this year’s Green Line freshmen to measure up to what was accomplished last year by Hobey Baker Award winner Macklin Celebrini of BU, and BC’s line of Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.), Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Gabe Perreault.
But there’s no question that the incoming classes recruited by Greg Brown at BC and Jay Pandolfo at BU and their staffs are chock full of difference makers.
How quickly the freshmen adjust to the college game will tell the tale. Chances are it won’t take long.
