Body By Boyle

Terrier recruits choose to play hockey at BU for a wide variety of reasons: Coach Jack Parker and his staff, the long and rich tradition of Terrier hockey, Hockey East, The Beanpot Tournament, Agganis Arena and its state-of-the-art training facility, strong academics. And, very often, they cite strength and conditioning guru Mike Boyle, a highly respected innovator who has worked with BU athletes for more than two decades.

Case in point: Incoming freshman Alex Chiasson, explaining to NHL.com the factors that led to his decision to play for BU, pointed out that “Mike Boyle is there and he's known around the world for what he's done with hockey players."

Besides his duties with the Terries, Boyle also runs Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning in Winchester, Mass., which has an impressive roster college hockey players and NHL players among its alums. His offseason training techniques were featured in an NHL.com article about players’ summer regimens. Among those featured are former Terrier All-American and Buffalo winger Mike Grier who has worked with Boyle since he arrived at BU in September 1993. The article also quotes two former Terriers now in the NHL coaching ranks: Joe Sacco, the new head coach in Colorado, and Mike Sullivan, a Rangers assistant. Sacco, who trained with Boyle while at BU and during his NHL career, said:

"(Mike) is an innovator, a pioneer. He always believed that if you train fast, you play fast," Sacco said. "If you train slow, you play slow. His philosophy is all about speed and strength. When you did plyometrics or sprint work, it would make you faster on the ice. If you were going to run a marathon, then you train for distance, but when you're talking hockey, it's all about speed and strength. I always felt like I went to training camp in the best possible shape."

John McCarthy, co-captain of the 2008-09 Terriers and a recent San Jose signee, talked about the Boyle approach during an interview following Sharks’ development camp.


Boyle also has been a consultant for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor.

►At USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp, sophomore right wing Vinny Saponari had a goal in the USA’s 6-4 loss to Russia on Friday. Saponari and fellow sophomore David Warsofsky each picked up an assist in the final game against Russia on Saturday, a 6-0 shutout. Warsofsky, who is in Lake Placid for his second NJEC, discussed his strengths and efforts to enahnce his game in a video interview. In six games (2 intersquad, 4 vs Russia) Saponari has a 1 goal and 4 assists; Warsofsky had 1+2 in 7 games.

►Last weekend, former Terrier captain and Hobey Baker winner Chris Drury reunited with his Trumbull, Conn., Little League teammates to mark the 20th anniversary of their victory in the championship game of the 1989 Little League World Series. Drury pitched the final game, beginning two decades of athletic achievement, which was recounted by in 2007 by Sports Illustrated.

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