Marc McLaughlin and his Boston College teammates have experienced a roller coaster of emotions over the past year. When the sports world was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic last March, the Eagles were just getting set for what most college hockey pundits were expecting to be a long run through the Hockey East and NCAA tournaments.
The 2020-21 season came with its own unique set of obstacles to overcome — such as testing, masking and other safety protocols; Hockey East’s week-to-week scheduling format; and playing in empty arenas — but none of it stopped BC from emerging out of the conference’s tight pack to post yet another first-place finish.
“We thought we had the team to pull it off last year and things obviously ended shorter than we had hoped. I think our success really started then,” said McLaughlin, a junior from North Billerica, Mass., who has captained an Eagles squad that finished a 16-4-1 regular season with defenseman Michael Karow as the lone senior, after forward Logan Hutsko signed his first professional contract with the Florida Panthers after suffering an undisclosed season-ending injury in February.
“There have been so many challenges, so much we’ve had to deal with and so many sacrifices that were unlike a normal year. We’re all so fortunate to have played a whole season and do what we love to do because so many other people at different age groups haven’t had the chance this year.”
Now that the sudden end to last year’s 24-8-2 run is well in the rear view, you’re likely to find a smile under McLaughlin’s mask. Through everything this fall and winter, Hall of Fame head coach Jerry York’s (Watertown, Mass.) team has indeed put together another banner season, despite falling in the Hockey East tourney semifinals in a double-overtime thriller to UMass Lowell.
McLaughlin’s leadership never has been more important as he and assistant captains Hutsko, Karow, Jack McBain and Patrick Giles were tasked with guiding one of the youngest rosters in all of college hockey — including 10 freshmen and nine sophomores — through an unprecedented campaign while maintaining the program’s championship standards.
“He was a de facto captain for us as a sophomore and really helped us in those circumstances where we needed people to guide us, but being a captain as a junior, we haven’t had too many of those,” said York, the sport’s all-time winningest coach who also pointed out McLaughlin’s status as a captain for the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders following two prep seasons at Cushing Academy.
“We’ve always gotten that (leadership) from him since he got here, but the offensive production has added a whole new dimension to his game.”
As the this year’s team’s attention turned to what York likes to call “Trophy Season” in mid-March, their captain set even bigger goals than rising to the top of the national polls eight times in a nine-week span since mid-January, and claiming the No. 1 seed in Hockey East’s postseason for the seventh time in the last 11 years.
From an individual standpoint, however, the new dimension that York mentioned has led to McLaughlin’s best offensive performance as an Eagle.
The 6-foot, 205-pound center has been a reliable player and leader throughout his time in Chestnut Hill, becoming BC’s sixth-ever recipient of Hockey East’s Best Defensive Forward honor on March 12, but a mark of 23 points in 21 games put him one behind sophomore Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.) for the team lead this winter and earned him a Hockey East third-team All-Star nod. He also finished tied for second in the conference with a plus-17 rating.
“Marc wasn’t a guy who was going to have his individual success defined by the numbers he puts up on the scoresheet, because he’s a heavy forechecker and just gives us an intimidating presence on the ice,” Karow said. “The way he plays the game and has always kept things simple is what earned him the respect to be voted captain this year, but it’s been awesome to see him still doing all those things and putting up the points.”
McLaughlin has spent much of the season playing on a line alongside another physical forward in junior classmate Patrick Giles. The two have formed a strong identity of being hard to play against, leading to career-best point totals for both players during the shortened season.
“I think I’ve just adjusted to the pace of college hockey and my game has definitely matured as the years have gone on,” said McLaughlin, who entered the playoffs with nine goals to match the total from his first two college seasons combined. His five game-winners tied for the national lead.
“I know where I have to be to produce a little bit more, getting to the front of the net, being harder to play against and playing a heavy game.”
Former Thayer Academy star Casey Carreau (Acushnet, Mass.) is McLaughlin’s roommate and has spent time on the same line this season. As a result, he’s had an up-close look at McLaughlin taking on the crucial leadership role — and making the most of it.
“No matter who you are or what’s going on, Marc is going to be there to support you and have your back,” said Carreau, who also has recorded career-high marks in goals (five) and points (eight) after playing in just three contests last season and returning to the junior ranks for a year following his college debut in 2017-18.
“During this crazy season for us, that’s everything you could ask for out of a leader,” Carreau said. “Things are going on that freshmen have never experienced, but Marc and the rest of that group have done an incredible job bringing the team together and making sure that everyone was on the same page.”
Though McLaughlin’s status as a junior captain might be rare in BC’s storied history, his contributions as a leader were felt even while the likes of David Cotton, Christoper Brown, Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) and Michael Kim were the ones wearing letters during his first two years within the program.
Of course, McLaughlin is a Massachusetts native who knew all about BC’s hockey tradition long before it was time to make his own college choice. The aforementioned captains during his career stressed the importance of building upon that tradition and a team culture, which was tested through the long pandemic months entering the delayed start to this season back in November.
“Learning from them, I think I just recognized how important culture is and how important it is to play for each other and to want to compete for the guy next to you,” McLaughlin said. “I think that has been really evident over the years. When you have that buy-in and everyone pulls in the same direction, I think that definitely makes the difference within a team.”
McLaughlin wearing the team’s lone ‘C’ as a junior makes sense for a team carrying so much youth. On the ice, his growth from a defense-first forward into an offensive weapon certainly can be an example for the many underclassmen making key contributions to the team.
“Marc has had a lot more success on the scoresheet than he had in the past, so I think that’s a huge part of being the role model that he is as a captain, showing stability in his game and kind of leading the way for us,” said Karow, who made his own offensive impact during BC’s Feb. 2 win at Northeastern, scoring his first collegiate goal in his 120th game. “He kind of adapted his game to the needs of the team this year and pulled the other guys along.”
Remarkably, 18 different players had scored a goal and 22 recorded points entering postseason play for the Eagles, the No. 2 scoring team in the country (behind only North Dakota) with 3.9 goals per game.
That incredible depth has been a major key to BC’s success as the team played the 2020 portion of its schedule without star sophomore Alex Newhook, the 2019-20 Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year Award winner who trained with Team Canada before competing in the IIHF World Junior Championship in December and January, and then missed several more games due to injury upon his return.
By committee, the Eagles were able to fill Newhook’s major scoring void and start the season with just two losses before the month of February. McLaughlin quickly showed off his increased scoring touch, logging 12 points in 12 games, including a four-game goal scoring stretch entering the first weekend of that month.
“He is certainly one of the best offensive players in our conference this year, and I couldn’t say that the last couple of years,” York said. “He has always been a good defensive player, checker, but his puck skills are much better, he’s moving pucks, and his shot is crisper and more accurate. That’s led to him scoring more goals this year.”
McLaughlin’s big season has thrust him firmly into the conversation for a free-agent contract with a National Hockey League team.
Whether he chooses to pursue a professional opportunity following this year or next, consistent improvement throughout his time as an Eagle has allowed him to make the next step and chase
that dream. So many in BC’s past have done the same.
In the meantime, McLaughlin and his teammates are looking to erase the bitter end to last season and bring a sixth national championship trophy back to the Heights.
BC was selected as the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Regional in Albany, N.Y., and was slated to face No. 4 seed Notre Dame on March 27 at Times Union Center, before COVID-19 protocols forced Notre Dame out of the tournament. The Eagles will play the winner of No. 2 seed St. Cloud State vs. No. 3 seed Boston University on Sunday in the NCAA Regional Final at Times Union Center at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
“Playing for this program and for Coach York is so cool and it means so much to me,” McLaughlin said. “Having grown up so close, the first time I met him (during my recruiting process) was almost surreal.
“This place is so special and I try not to take any moment of wearing that jersey for granted.” ′
