Friday Linkorama

INCH’s annual “College Hockey A to Z” series took a look at sophomore blueliner Eric Gryba this week. With three four-year defensemen having graduated in May, Gryba’s ability to make that big second-year jump to a larger role will be critical for the Terriers. INCH reports that Coach Parker expects Gryba’s penalty minutes, which dropped in the second semester, to continue to decrease with fewer stick penalties. The Saskatoon native and 2005 Canada Midget AAA Defensive Player of the Year was drafed by Ottawa Senators in the third round in 2006.

“Gator” Zancanaro

Former Terrier buzzbomb Brad Zancanaro has re-upped with the Florida Everblades for a second ECHL season. The 5’6” center, who put up 51 points for the Everblades last year following 15 games with a pair of AHL teams, has been working out this summer with BU strength and conditioning guru Mike Boyle.

Where’s the ice?

An innovative “Micro Ice” training facility in North Andover, Mass., designed to aid in teaching hockey skills to small groups of players, has a distinct Terrier flavor to its operation. The ice surface in this rink is just 41’ by 50’. Former Terrier captain and BU Hall of Famer Jay Pandolfo and his longtime N.J. Devils teammate Scott Gomez are partners in the ownership headed by Jay’s uncle, Dick Pandolfo, who hopes to franchise the concept. The staff at Micro Ice Training Center includes Mike Boyle, BU’s strength and conditioning coach and cofounder of “Body by Boyle,” Terrier goalie coach Mike Geragosian and Hockey East Director and former Harvard goalie Joe Bertagna.

Curry-ing favor in Pittsburgh

All-American goalie John Curry, who recently signed a two-year contract with the Penguins, was featured in an NHL.com overview of top prospects in Pittsburgh’s system. Pens assistant General Manager Chuck Fletcher said:

Here's another kid from Minnesota playing in Boston, a walk-on who beat out a scholarship goalie. John became the starter and he had a remarkable record in wins, save percentage and goals-against average. He had one of the highest save percentages in the history of the Beanpot Tournament. That's important. One of the things that we really liked about John was that as the games rose in importance, his play seemed to get better and better. The bigger the game, the better he played. John Curry is a competitive kid with good quickness in his hands and feet. We thought, here's an undrafted goalie who had a terrific collegiate career, so it made sense to sign him and get some depth in our system. We just have to see how he adjusts to pro hockey. He should be OK. We got good reports from our scouts Kevin Stevens and Jimmy Madigan, who watched him for a long time.

Curry's 13 career shutouts tie him with another All-American netminder, Jack Ferreira (now Director of Player Personnel for the Atlanta Thrashers), for the school record, while his career marks of 2.07 (GAA) and .923 (sv %) are the best in program history.

Freedom’s just another word…

So wrote Kris Kristofferson, and often freedom brings with it opportunity. For three recently graduated Terriers not signed by their NHL draft teams--Ken Roche (Rangers), Tom Morrow (Sabres) and Kevin Schaeffer (Predators)--free agency comes with much uncertainty. The trio is among the 30 college players gaining that status this month. Some other pretty fair college players—such as Matt Christie, JD Corbin Brett Hemmingway and Dylan Reese—also are on the list compiled by INCH. We’ll keep an eye out for where the ex-Terriers land.