Boston College's Jamie Armstrong back in Frozen Four, after going last year with Boston University

BOSTON -- The Boston College Eagles don't like the Boston University Terriers, and the Terriers don't like the Eagles. Think Red Sox-Yankees, but if those two teams played just around the block from each other.

The disdain runs so deep that you don't usually see players change sides in the famous Comm. Ave rivalry. But Eagles defenseman Jamie Armstrong is one of the few people to experience it from both sides. He spent the first four years of his college career protecting the blue line for Boston University, which included a trip to the Frozen Four last year. Now he's back on college hockey's biggest stage in a different sweater.

Yes, Armstrong traded in his white and red for maroon and gold.

"Yeah I took some grief," the Warrick, Rhode Island native told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche on Wednesday, ahead of BC's Frozen Four matchup with Michigan. "But I think everyone wanted the best for me and they knew it was a good situation going into it. So it worked out well.

"I just took the opportunity for what it was," said Armstrong, who had five goals and seven assists for the Eagles this season. "Go with your gut instinct. The coaches were great at my visit and I had a good feel for this school. It was the best opportunity in front of me. It's been good."

Boston College doesn't even acknowledge the fact that Armstrong spent four years across town on his bio page, simply writing that he spent "four seasons in Hockey East." And when he decided to cross over during the offseason, Armstrong made sure to put his BU gear out of sight.

"When I made the decision, I put it all in one bag, gave it to my family members and said I had to move on from it," said Armstrong. "We're all BC in the house now, which is good."

While things seem to be fine in the Armstrong household, it's been a little touch-and-go on the ice whenever he's had to line up across from his old teammates.

"You practice against those guys every day for four years, so the first game was a little weird. The second game you get used to it, and by the third game, the Battle of Comm. Ave is real and you're just going out there and playing," he said.

The Eagles went 3-1 against the Terriers this season, which included a 6-2 thumping in the Hockey East championship game. If both win in Thursday's Frozen Four, it would set up the first-ever meeting by the two rivals for an NCAA title. 

Armstrong is just the second player to cross over in the BC-BU rivalry, joining Bruce Milton, who played for Boston University from 1980-80 before going moving to Chestnut Hill from 1983-85. 

He's enjoyed success on the ice on both sides of the rivalry with back-to-back visits to the Frozen Four, but Armstrong wouldn't say which school was better in an academic sense.

"I can't say," he told Roche. "Just happy to be in college and getting an education."