When the UMass Lowell River Hawks blanked Boston College 6-0 last Friday night, it was only the second time they had ever shut out the Eagles in the 85-game series between the two schools and the first time in nearly 30 years. The first shutout nearly kept the team — then the University of Lowell Chiefs — out of Hockey East.
On Dec. 11, 1979, Division II ULowell played the Eagles in hockey for the first time. BC was the defending ECAC Division I champion and had not been shut out at the McHugh Forum, its home rink, in 20 years.
But Brian Doyle backstopped the Chiefs to a stunning 3-0 whitewash of the Eagles, who featured future NHL 500-goal scorer Joey Mullen on their roster.
As if the Eagles weren’t humiliated enough, the fans the Chiefs brought with them were particularly obnoxious that night. BC’s football team had just suffered through an 0-11 season and fired its coach, Ed Chlebek. Throughout the hockey game ULowell fans constantly chanted “BC football! BC football!”
BC athletic director Bill Flynn’s ears were burning that night, and he never forgot.
Three years later ULowell became a Division I program and applied to join fledgling Hockey East. Flynn lobbied to keep the Chiefs out, and when the charter membership of the new league was announced both ULowell and Maine were on the outside looking in. Only when St. Lawrence and Clarkson had second thoughts and dropped out to rejoin the ECAC did ULowell and Maine get accepted into Hockey East.