Saturday, December 31, 2011

Game Day: BU vs. Notre Dame--UPDATED

#9 Terriers get the second semester under way tonight with nationally televised game (Versus) again #5/6Notre Dame at the Fighting Irish’s new Compton Family Ice Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. ET.

With the departures of Charlie Coyle and Corey Trivino, BU’s lineup will have a new look. Sophomore Sahir Gill (photo) will center the top line between captain Chris Connolly and red-shirt freshman Yasin Cissé. Junior Wade Megan, enjoying his best season as a Terrier, moves up as pivot on the second line between Matt Nieto and Alex Chiasson.

The third line is the only unit remaining intact from BU’s last game (5-1 win against Maine) with Cason Hohmann centering assistant captain Justin Courtnall and Evan Rodriguez. Senior Kevin Gilroy returns to the fourth unit with Ben Rosen and Ross Gaudet.

Since Adam Clendening is playing in the World Junior Championships, the blueline pairings have changed as well. Sophomore Garrett Noonan will skate with freshman Alex Privitera, while Max Nicastro-Ryan Ruikka and Sean Escobedo-Patrick MacGregor are the other pairings.

Senior Kieran Millan gets the start in goal for BU, which has won seven of its past eight games.

12/28/2717/18/919/23/2622/8/167/213/621/4Millan in goal
Notre Dame also will be shorthanded as top scorer T.J. Tynan and heavy-hitting defenseman Stephen Johns are with Clendening on Team USA at the WJCs. Sophomore’s Anders Lee and Riley Sheehan have 20 and 18 points respectively for Notre Dame.

The game mark’s BU’s first visit to South Bend, but not the Terrier program’s first connection with that Indiana city. Jacques Joubert, captain of the 1995 national championship team, is from South Bend.

The teams first met 41 years ago in the championship game of the 1970 Boston Arena Christmas Tournament, a 7-3 Terrier victory with BU's Ric Jordan being named tournament MVP. The most recent meeting was last season’s 3-3 tie in the consolation game of the Shillelagh Tournament.

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, WWZN Radio Webcast, game tracker
● CHN’s Tale of the Tape, Tweetcast
● Boston Hockey Blog preview, Parker interview on Coyle departure, live blog
● NHL.com preview
● Hockey East live scoreboard
● Notre Dame Athletics game notes
● South Bend Tribune preview
● WTBU Sports first-semester awards: MVP, unsung hero, top rookie
● New England Hockey Journal regional power rankings

Inside BU Hockey-Episode 10- features Bernie Corbett's interviews with head coach Jack Parker, junior blueliner Sean Escobedo and former All-American Mike Grier, who recently retired after a 14-year NHL career. Grier talks about the 1995 NCAA championship team and explains how Terrier strength and conditioning coach Mike Boyle made a xxxxx impact on career at BU and in the NHL.

During the break, Boyle was hired as conditioning coach for the Boston Red Sox, but Parker told The Boston Hockey Blog that “Boyle’s new duties over on Yawkey Way will not steal him away from the BU hockey program.”

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Sean Maguire stopped 29 shots in Powell River’s 2-1 loss to Coquitlam in BCHL action. Maguire earned the game’s third star.

Defenseman Marc Hetnik,Jr., also a 2012 recruit, picked up an assist, his eighth of the year, in Vernon’s 7-4 loss to Silver Arm.

2012 recruit Robert Polesello's recorded his eighth assist of the season in Indiana's 5-2 win against Youngstown.

World Junior Championships
Team USA dropped its second consecutive game, 5-2, to the Czech Republic, despite taking 52 shots and hitting iron three times. The Czechs scored three goals in the final period.
● USA Hockey recap
● United States of Hockey recap
● USCHO recap

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