This (pretty much) changes everything, and not to exaggerate and declare it a wholesale start-and-scratch project, but it has that vibe and is fairly close to reality.
The conjecture for the 2009-2010 Boston College Eagles, as opposed to that of its seven Hockey East cohabitants, was comparatively shadowy leading up to Monday's announcement of the U.S. Olympic team's Qwest Tour roll call. After all, they were not only the loan program lending players who have yet to exhaust their collegiate eligibility, but they were lending three in all.
As it happens, their two most recognizable personalities -scoring beacon Kelli Stack and bricklike netminder Molly Schaus- have made the cut. Meanwhile Stack's classmate and fellow puckslinger Allie Thunstrom fell short and is due back at The Heights to commence her senior year as originally slated.
Naturally, from a BC standpoint, this amounts to the essence of ambivalence. With still two players yet to be cut before the February excursion to Vancouver, Olympic coach Mark Johnson has already declared that he will hang on to all three of his goaltenders, meaning Schaus is locked in for the rest of the journey. Such an arrangement guarantees the first-time presence of a Boston product in the world's topmost tournament, which is great for purposes of pride and tradition.
As for Stack, already a two-time Hockey East Player of the Year and the top gun in the league in 2008-09, there are 13 relatively new forwards vying for 12 spots, so her odds are more than favorable. And even if she is to be the odd woman out, BC coach Katie King would likely pass her a red shirt for the second half of the season and let her push off her senior campaign until 2010-11.
Translation: for the time being, the Eagles are suddenly without their long-established puck-blasting pilot and their minute-munching goaltender. Those are a tough two pair of skates to fill.
Since their 2006 arrival, Stack and Schaus -with some not-so-negligible help from Thunstrom- presented their recruiting class as one not suitable for opposing fans with weak constitutions. And they, along with a similarly formidable class of 2009, stood out in the Eagles' two NCAA tournament ventures in 2007 and 2009.
Now, all of a sudden, Meghan Fardelmann, Maggie Taverna, Becky Zavisza, and Stephanie Olchowski have all graduated. Couple that with Stack's sabbatical, and suddenly BC is missing five of its top eight point-getters. All that is left are Thunstrom and rising sophomores Mary Restuccia and Danielle Welch. Beyond that, it is all freshmen or individuals who did not so much as crack double digits in the cumulative point column.
Last season, the depth chart was such that the budding Restuccia linked up with Stack and Thunstrom for a peerless starting line while Welch flexibly winged on the third line behind an all-senior second unit. With Stack out of the picture, King faces a choice of either promoting Welch to fill that void, waiting on an instant impact freshman to do the same, or dismantling that top trinity altogether in an effort to spread the wealth more and hope that the rest of the roster can feed off of the explosive twigs.
The test is at least equivalent, and its magnitude slightly greater, in goal. The Schaus surrogates consist of three personalities who have combined for five appearances in a regular season NCAA game. Rising sophomore Kiera Kingston had one full-length outing all to herself along with parts of three others games last year, charging up 59 saves on 65 shots faced and a 0-1-0 record. Junior Amanda Rothschild has yet to record a decision over three career appearances, during which she has played but 40 minutes and 57 seconds and faced an infinitesimal seven shots. Toss rookie Corinne Boyles, who backstopped the Chicago Mission to a U19 national title in 2008 and is fresh off a silver medal campaign with the same team, into the equation as well.
While Boyles has yet to stare down a barrage of college pucks, she may have the advantage of freshness, having seen more game action -albeit at a lower level- than her two colleagues. And, incidentally, her prep background is not that different from Schaus.
Granted, none of the three -individually or collectively- need be asked to equate Miss Zero's output (gobs of shutouts, a GAA comfortably under 2.00, a save percentage well above .900). But they are going to be asked to step up and get acclimated without delay.
It will be imperative, too, that their skating associates pitch in by defending their claim to the best defense in Hockey East and by stepping up to pack sufficient offensive support.
That is what ideally happens when leaders take leave. Sudden ex-followers willingly consume the surplus workload and, in turn, bulk up as a group.
That will be the naturally defining enterprise for this year's Eagles.
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