It’s been my pleasure to bring you this blog. As I sit in the pressroom in the bowels of Pepsi Arena, watching the BC players file past wearing their championship hats, it’s dawning on me that I’ve seen my last of 47 college hockey games this season. I had the privilege to see both the Division I and Division III champions crowned, and to see some incredible hockey these past six months.

And in six more months, we’ll start it up again. It may take you that long to read all of the coverage we’ve been able to bring you this weekend, in both words and pictures. A special thanks to Jim Rosvold and Melissa Wade for their photos used in this blog.

Enjoy and we’ll see you in Washington.

I’ll leave it up to my fellow USCHO.com writers to bring you all the quotes from players and coaches. Instead just some general impressions:

Notre Dame was very classy in defeat. Often times a losing team will talk about what they didn’t do right and not give enough credit to the other team. Not the case here. Coach Jackson, Kyle Lawson and Marc Van Guilder had some nice words for Boston College. You can tell that even in defeat, there was a sense of pride about this team, and a realization that they had helped to put Notre Dame hockey on the map.

Coach York talked about how Notre Dame reminded him of his own 1998 team, which was the one that, while losing in the title game, brought Boston College back to national prominence. He also talked about the parallels between this team and the 2001 team, which also had a speedy, gutsy, diminutive forward that did not win the Hobey Baker award but instead got the trophy he really wanted.

Nate Gerbe and Mike Brennan were flush with excitement and satisfaction, as well the should be. They had nearly gotten to the top of the mountain two years in a row, and had finally cashed in on Brennan’s final chance, and possibly Gerbe’s. Will the Sabres come calling? I think so, but Gerbe wouldn’t comment, saying he was living in the moment. And what a moment it is.

And that’s it. Notre Dame used it timeout with about 44 seconds to go and then put Pearce back in net, conceding defeat. Time finally ran out on the Irish, who had a great, great run.

Your all tournament team:
G - John Muse (BC)
D - Mike Brennan (BC)
D - Kyle Lawson (Notre Dame)
F - Ben Smith (BC)
F - Kevin Deeth (Notre Dame)
F - Nate Gerbe (BC)

Most Outstanding Player - Nate Gerbe

There’s 2:20 left in regulation and the Irish still trail by three. Their net is empty. Even a power play at this point probably won’t help Notre Dame - BC has killed all 15 penalties with weekend.

We just got handed the official explanation on the disallowed goal: “The puck was kicked in the net by the Notre Dame player’s right skate. The skate was moving toward the goal line. There were sticks in the crease , and we needed to make sure there wasn’t a deflection off the sticks or the defender’s skates after it was kicked.”

I don’t know about “kicked”. It was directed, unintentionally by Lawson as he attempted to play the puck off his skate to his stick. But it never made it to his stick - it went into the net.

Notre Dame’s Kyle Lawson appeared to make this one a goal game, but after a looooong review by the video replay official Greg Shephard, it was ruled that the puck was directed off Lawson’s skate. He appeared to be try trying to stop the puck with his skate at the far crease to put the puck in a wide open weak side, but BC’s Tim Filangieri checked Lawson off the play before he could use his stick. The puck went into the net directly off of Lawson’s skate, so no goal.

Just 35 seconds later, Boston College scored what’s probably the backbreaker, as Ben Smith took a feed from Gerbe (who has been in on all four BC goals) and floated a wrist shot past Pearce, who was screened by his own defenseman. What an emotion swing, from 3-2 to 4-1 in less than a minute.

We’re about to start the third period - still 3-1 BC. Shots through two periods are 18-13 Eagles. Sneep is out for the rest of the game.

We’ve traded goals, with the last one coming for Notre Dame.

BC made it 3-0 at 8:11 on the power play. Joe Whitney took a feed from Gerbe and wristed it home. But the Irish responded just 56 seconds later on a pretty give-and-go between Kyle Lawson and Kevin Deeth. Deeth left a drop pass for Lawson, then went to the net, got the pass back and buried it.

Gerbe does it again, diving to poke in a loose puck at the far post. He now has five goals on the weekend and seven total in the tournament, tied for highest in NCAA history.

The Irish took two quick penalties, but the Eagles give one right back just six seconds into the 5×3. We’re skating 4×3 with 12:14 to go in the second.

1-0 BC at 2:31 of the second. Goal scored by…guess who? Gerbe finds room in the near faceoff area and one-times a backhand pass from Brian Gibbons, which beats Jordan Pearce high glove.

Boston College defenseman Carl Sneep has not returned to the game since blocking a shot off of his ankle in the first period - we were just told in the pressbox that his return is “questionable”.

After one, we’ve got a 0-0 tie in Denver. Shots were 7-5 in favor of BC. Most of the shots for each team have come off power plays - Notre Dame has had three to BC’s one. The Irish will start the second period with 23 seconds of man advantage to work with.