HAMDEN, Connecticut — The second line? All freshmen. The top-pair left defenceman? A freshman. All three goalies? All freshmen.

In theory, the learning curve for this season's Boston College Eagles is steep. But when it's the calibre of rookie these Eagles have plucked from the USHL, they may be able to make the climb pretty quickly.

They couldn't have gotten a tougher test, either. In a road game against the reigning national champion Quinnipiac, on its banner-raising night, against a roster that is, on average, almost a year and a half older with a lot more big-game experience, there wasn't even really a frying pan. All seven freshmen in the lineup for BC's opening game were thrown straight into the fire.

But in the end, things worked out pretty well. The freshmen looked pretty good, and so