The Boston College Eagles hockey team is trying to replace a great deal of talent this year that departed to the NHL or other walks of life, but as is often the case with coach Jerry York, he's rebuilt this team into a national title contender pretty much overnight.
The new college hockey rankings are out, and after winning the Ice Breaker Tournament over the weekend, the Eagles have claimed the #1 ranking from Miami-Ohio, who split a pair with little Bemidji State in their opener.
The Eagles blew away their competition in their season opening tournament, first with a dominating second period against Michigan State and then with an overall dominant performance against then-3rd ranked North Dakota in the championship game.
The Eagles' Chris Kreider was named tournament MVP.
"There are six trophies available to us this year," head coach Jerry York said. "We got the first one. It's kind of a steppingstone - they all get bigger as the year goes on."
The Eagles are back in action this weekend when they welcome in Denver on Friday and then travel to play UNH on Saturday in their first Hockey East game.