Athletes are a notoriously superstitious bunch, prone to all kinds of rituals and superstitions. Former NHL Ottawa Senators player Bruce Gardiner was said to dip the blade of his hockey stick in the locker room toilet before each game. Basketball great Michael Jordan wore shorts from his days as a University of North Carolina star under his NBA Chicago Bulls uniform during every game. Baseball Hall of Famer and former Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs ate chicken before all his games and took batting practice at exactly 5:17 p.m. every day. And tennis champion Serena Williams reportedly wears the same pair of socks all through a tournament.

Entire sports are known to hold to certain rituals and superstitions as well. For example, NASCAR drivers famously refuse to drive green cars or to carry $50 bills (both are considered bad luck).

And college athletes are no exception. So with hockey season at its height—the men’s and women’s Beanpot Tournaments are this week and the Hockey East regular season wraps up later in the month—we asked members of both BU hockey teams to share their rituals and superstitions.

Men’s team goaltender Connor LaCouvee (Questrom’18) defines a superstition as “something that, if not done right…is going to have a negative effect on your performance.” And a ritual “is something that not only kind of gets you mentally prepared, but gets you physically prepared as well.”

For defenseman John MacLeod (CGS’16, CAS’18) that means eating a bowl of fruit mixed with yogurt before each game. But not a bowl of just any fruit. Each must contain exactly six blueberries and four raspberries. “I did it for the first game and it tasted really good, so I was like, I might as well just stick with it.”

Ask any player on the men’s or women’s team who is most likely to be superstitious, and with one voice, they’ll single out goalies. Women’s team goaltender Erin O’Neil (SHA’18) admits to at least one quirk (you’ll have to watch the video to find out). But LaCouvee has worked hard to shed any rituals. “A long time ago,” he says, “I just tried to erase that habit of building superstitions, and I try to focus on feeling my best and playing my best.”

Bill Politis can be reached at bpolitis@bu.edu.