At 5 ' 7 " 160 lbs., Brian Gionta looks like he should be collecting water and towels for the Boston College Hockey program instead of goals and assists. But after two stellar seasons with the Eagles, both of which BC reached Frozen Fours, no one will underestimate Gionta's skills based on his small frame. Brian Gionta arrived at Boston College for the 1997-1998 campaign as a highly touted recruit from Rochester, NY and Aquinas Institute. Although little was known about him outside the amateur hockey community, Gionta was about to re-energize a program that had been slumbering since the early nineties. He burst onto the scene and immediately showed the college hockey community why he had been one of the highest recruited players in the country. He celebrated his first collegiate goal on October 24, 1997 in style as it was the game winner at Jesuit-rival Notre Dame with less than five minutes to play in a tie-game. He went on to score a goal in five of BC's next seven games including another game winner vs. New Hampshire in November. With Gionta providing a much unexpected scoring punch as a freshman,, Boston College turned a 15-19-4 campaign in 1996-97, into a 28-9-4 season, which culminated in BC's first Hockey East Championship since 1990 and a trip to the 1998 Frozen Four in Boston, which ended in an overtime loss to Michigan in the National Championship Game. Overall, Gionta's numbers were astonishing. In forty games played, he tallied thirty goals along with thirty- two assists. His sixty-two points were remarkable considering he missed four games to play in the World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland. In the end, Gionta was awarded the Hockey East Rookie of the Year Award, Second-Team All -Hockey East honors, and was drafted by the NHL's New Jersey Devils. With Gionta anchoring the Eagles' first scoring line, Boston College entered the 1998-99 season as Pre-Season # 1 in both the USCHO poll and the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Now playing the role of favorite and wearing the target that comes with it, all eyes were on Gionta and how his sophomore campaign would fare now that he was a household name in the Hockey East community. Although BC would struggle during the regular season, Brian Gionta did not. In thirty- eight games, he tallied twenty-seven goals and thirty- three assists for a total of sixty points. While playing in the 1999 World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Gionta scored eleven points in the US Jr. National's five games. His six goals represented a quarter of the total team's goal output for the entire tournament. BC rebounded nicely down the stretch and once again captured the Hockey East Championship while reaching the Frozen Four in Anaheim, CA for the second straight year. At the end of his sophomore season, Gionta was firmly in place as one of college hockey's stars. He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award while garnering First-Team Hockey East honors as well as First-Team All New England honors. His awarding of the Prestigious Bob Johnson Award from USA Hockey was of particular note. Gionta was awarded this prize which recognizes excellence in international competition during a specific season. The Bob Johnson Award is awarded in Colorado Springs, Colorado (Ironically the locale that BC won its only National Championship in 1949.) Now as Gionta approaches his junior season at BC, one can only wonder what achievements await him. He will be a pre-season favorite for the Hobey Baker, as will his team be a strong contender once again for the National Championship. One thing that is certainly without question, no one will underestimate the skills of this 5'7", 160 lb. center from Boston College ever again. -DJW
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