Chris Higgins said the best part of it all was being able to share the experience with "26 of my best friends."
Teammate John McCarthy echoed that sentiment, noting the feeling was "unparalleled to anything else I've ever experienced."
The two 22-year-old Boston University senior hockey stars — Higgins as the team's third-leading scorer, McCarthy as the Terriers' co-captain — were still trying to wrap their minds around the fact that they ended their college careers as national champions Saturday night in what is already being called one of the greatest hockey games in NCAA history.
McCarthy, a former St. John's Prep hockey captain, and Higgins, a Lynnfield native who was dominant at The Pingree School, were more than happy to recall just exactly how the Terriers came from two goals down in the final minute to tie the game and send it to overtime, then finish off their remarkable season by beating Miami University, 4-3, in overtime at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
"There's a picture of the 1995 (NCAA title) team receiving the championship trophy in our locker room that I've had to look at many, many times," said McCarthy. "I wanted to know what that feeling was like to receive that trophy myself. Now that it's actually happened, I don't even know how to properly describe it.
"The way we won this was the best thing about it. We won all seven tournaments we played in this season. We won high scoring games, low scoring games and games at the buzzer. We won games we were supposed to win, and a few that maybe we shouldn't have, but did. And we did it all as one team with a mission: win the national championship."
Higgins, who finished fifth in the country in assists (34) and was ninth nationally in total points (48) this season, had been playing with a broken bone in the palm of his left hand for the last month-and-a-half. He hurt it in a late February game vs. Northeastern and was in a great deal of pain until he received a cortisone shot, allowing him to play up to his own high standards in the NCAA Regionals two weeks ago and this past weekend down in D.C.
Nearly 24 hours after Colby Cohen's deflected shot at 11:47 of OT gave the Terriers their fifth NCAA hockey crown, Higgins was still in awe of what he and his teammates were able to accomplish.
"I get chills just thinking about the game, this season, my last four years," said the 5-foot-11, 185-point left wing for BU's top line. "I'm so thankful for the chances that my coaches have given me, and to be a part of a team as special as this one. There's no better way to end my four years here than to go out on top."
It certainly didn't look like that would be the case, however, as the upstart Redhawks of Miami had the top-ranked Terriers on the ropes late in the game. When Trent Vogelhuber scored to give his team a 3-1 with 4:08 to play, BU's dream season seemed like it would end in nightmarish fashion.
"The coaches just kept telling us on the bench, 'Keep believing. Keep believing,'" said Higgins. "We just persevered."
With head coach Jack Parker deciding to pull his goalie, Kieran Millan, with 3 1/2 minutes to play in favor of an extra skater, the Terriers continually pressured Miami in an effort to cut into the lead. Finally, with 58.2 seconds to play, that strategy worked with McCarthy's line on the ice as Zach Cohen jammed home a shot, making it 3-2.
"It was kind of a dirty goal scored down low," said the 6-foot-1, 198-pound McCarthy, who had a career season with 6-23-29 numbers in 2008-09. "Zach made a nice backhand and got it to go in, setting up the finish."
Some 42 seconds later, Higgins was on the ice with linemates Jason Lawrence of Saugus and Colin Wilson, with Matt Gilroy and David Warsofsky on the points and Nick Bonino as the extra skater. Along the side boards, Higgins fed Gilroy at the center point, who deked his man before throwing a beautiful backhand to Bonino in the right circle. Bonino rocketed the one-timer past Miami keeper Cory Reichard for the game-tying goal, sending the BU bench into euphoria.
"We've been working on that 6-on-5 setup for exactly that type of situation," said Higgins, who finished his BU career with 49 goals, 84 assists and 133 total points. "By the time Nick got the puck, he was cocked and ready to fired it home — and he did."
In the locker room before overtime, the Terriers were going wild, speaking, said Higgins, that it was destiny they came back. But McCarthy and fellow captain Gilroy reminded their mates they still had one more goal to score before they could really celebrate.
When that eventually happened, McCarthy, Higgins ("I figured it'd be a 'puck-luck' goal that would win it," he laughed) and the rest of the Terriers were able to live out their lifelong dream of calling themselves national champions.
"It was a long road for me to get here, playing juniors (in Des Moines, Iowa of the USHL) and earning a scholarship here," said McCarthy. "But the feeling I have now makes everything worth it."
"The last few years, our season would end in tears and everyone saying goodbye," added Higgins. "This time, it's the same thing — only they're tears of joy. Everyone celebrating together; that's a special feeling you'll never forget."
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Higgins, mccarthy hope to go pro
Now that they've been crowned NCAA champions, Boston University stars Chris Higgins and John McCarthy are hoping to join the world of pro hockey — perhaps as early as this week.
Higgins received "a ton" of phone calls from inquiring NHL clubs yesterday and will sit down with his family advisor today to weigh his options. "A lot of interest is very nice," said the Lynnfield native. "I think it's going to end up working out well."
McCarthy, who was drafted by the San Jose Sharks (7th round, 202nd overall) in the 2006 NHL Draft, has been talking to the team and is hoping to strike a deal with the team as well. There's a chance he could wind up with the AHL's Worcester Sharks, who begin the league playoffs this week.
