Men's Hockey Prepares For Special Game At Fenway
While the BC men’s and women’s basketball teams begin to ramp up conference play and the football staff grinds away on the recruiting trail, the men’s hockey team is gearing up for quite a special event.
The Winter Classic might be over, but the Eagles will get to play inside historic Fenway Park on Saturday when they face UMass in the second game of a doubleheader at 6 P.M. BC and UMass will have the final game of the four-game slate this weekend. Harvard, Qunnipiac, BU and Holy Cross’ women’s program will take the stage on Friday and Northeastern and UConn’s men’s teams will take the ice first on Saturday.
On Wednesday afternoon, head coach Greg Brown and forwards Cam Burke (Boxborough, MA) and Connor Joyce (Dedham, MA) met with the local media via Zoom to talk about the unique opportunity.
“The guys have been very excited this week to get going,” said Brown. “I’ve been fortunate to be involved in four of these, so I have a feel for it. I can’t remember which announcer, but he said ‘the Bruins are having trouble connecting passes’ (during the Winter Classic) and that’s usually their strength. The ice in an outdoor game is always a bit choppy, it’s brittle, it’s not the quality you’re used to. We’ll talk about that. In general, you just have to keep your game a little more simple over all the past game’s I have been a part of.
“You can imagine what it’s like for the local kids. They’ve all been to Red Sox games and know the history of the team and Fenway Park, as well as watching the Bruins…I’m sure they’ll all be a little sleepless the night before and excited to be a part of it. It’s a totally different experience.”
Both Joyce and Burke backed those comments up as local guys getting to play in this game.
“Ever since the beginning of the year when we heard this Frozen Fenway matchup was going to be played, I didn’t think it mattered who it was going to be against, I think everyone was excited. It’s something everyone on our team has marked on the calendar,” said Joyce. “I’ve never really had the chance to play outdoors, especially in front of fans. I’m really excited and as a team I think everyone’s really excited.
"I think being from around here almost is going to help us in that situation,” added Burke. “Playing in front of family isn’t going to be something new for us. My family and (Connor’s) family makes it to most of the games, that’ll be a bit familiar to us. Playing outdoors is obviously very, very special, we’re excited…I think after that first shift or two we’ll settle in and make it feel just like another game.”