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Terriers fell one spot from 2nd to 3rd in both the USCHO and USA Today hockey polls. The losses to Maine also dropped BU to second in the current pairwise rankings.
In the Hockey East weekly release, Alex Chiasson, Chris Connolly and Kieran Millan earned top performer recognition.
● Daily Free Press Saturday recap and feature on injuries to Alexx Privitera and Max Nicastro ● College Hockey News Blog: Privitera injury, conference race ● USCHO Hockey East Blog: Weekend games
Looking ahead More information on BU’s newest recruit, Doyle Somerby (photo) of Kimball Union Academy, where he is on a defensive pairing with Alex Carle, brother of NHLer Matt Carle. His coach, Mike Levine says the 6’5” blueliner “is a good skater who has good stick skill and has a great understanding of the game.”
Prior to KUA, he played for St. Mary’s in Lynn, Mass. Like fellow 2013 recruits Sam Kurker and Matt Grzelcyk, Somerby also skated for the New England Nordiques tournament team and played in last summer’s Senior Chowder Cup, he. Last Friday, after committing to BU, Somerby tweeted: “best day of my life.”
Looking back New England Hockey Journal looks at Carl Corazzini’s transition to coaching.
Women’s Team Terriers host the 34th annual Women’s Beanpot tonight. BC and Northeastern meet in the opening game at 5 p.m., followed by BU-Harvard at approximately 8 p.m.
BU is led by Senior captain Jenn Wakefield with 37 points, freshman Kayla Tutino with 23 and junior Isabel Menard with 22. The last two will be making their Beanpot debuts.
As Yogi Berra might have said, it was “déjà vu all over again.” For the second night in a row, Terriers and Black Bear played a close, low-scoring game at Agganis Arena, but it was the visitors who broke the tie and then added an empty-netter.
This time Maine scored first. After failing to convert on several power plays in the first period, Maine connected at even strength with just seven seconds left in the period. BU pulled even early in the second on a power play as Garrett Noonan (photo) redirected an Adam Clendening shot for his ninth goal of the campaign. Just three minutes later, following an offensive zone faceoff win, Maine’s Nick Pryor blast a shot off the pipe and past Kieran Millan for what would be the game-winner.
Terriers had some golden opportunities late in the second period and in the final period—including an attempted redirect by Alex Chiasson, who played well all weekend—but couldn’t put the equalizer past Dan Sullivan, who made a career-high 38 saves.
Coach Jack Parker was pleased with his team’s effort despite the loss:
I was extremely happy with how hard we played. I thought we did a great job killing penalties [7 for 8]. I thought we did a pretty nice job in an awful lot of areas. Kieran played great and Sullivan played great. It’s not surprising that both those guys were the first two stars [of the game]. I was happy with my team.
BU played without two starting defensemen. Junior Max Nicastro had suffered a shoulder injury in Friday’s game, which freshman Alexx Privitera suffered a broken hand that should sideline him four to six weeks. Ryan Ruikka returned to the line and the Terriers rotated five blueliners with Ben Rosen taking a few shifts.
Parker was ejected with five seconds left in the game after giving game officials an earful. He was upset about a questionable embellishment call against Noonan, who’d been hooked. The call denied BU a power play for the final two minutes of regulation, which would’ve become a 6-on-4 with the goalie pulled. For more regarding the officiating, see the Boston Hockey Blog story linked below.
USCHO’s Scott Weighart points out that Pryor’s goal marked the 17th time this season that an opposing player has scored his first collegiate goal against the Terriers.
CHECK BACK FOR MORE COVERAGE AND NEWS OF A NEW RECRUIT
Recruiting News Terriers have their second commitment this month from a Kimball Union Academy blueliner. 6-5, 220, right-shot defenseman Doyle Somerby, a KUA junior, has verballed to BU for 2013. Earlier this month, his teammate John MacLeod committed to BU for 2014. A Marblehead, Mass., native who had a 2-4-6 line for KUA in 2010-11, Somerby was ranked #127 among North American skaters in the recent NHL Central Scouting Midterm rankings. USHR recently reported that Somerby also had offers from Maine, UNH, UMass, and St. Lawrence.
Somerby, who is on a defensive pairing with Alex Carle, brother of NHLer Matt Carle, previously played for St. Mary’s in Lynn, Mass., and in last summer’s Senior Chowder Cup, he skated for the New England Nordiques. On Friday after committing to BU, Somerby tweeted “best day of my life.”
Women’s team Held scoreless for two periods, the Terriers found the net three times in the final period to edge #6 Northeastern, 3-2. BU came from behind twice on goals by Jill Cardella and Isabel Menard before Captain Jenn Wakefield converted a rebound with 1:49 remaining in regulation with assists to Louise Warren and Marie-Philip Poulin. ● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score ● Post-game comments: Coach Brian Durocher, Wakefield ● WTBU Sports recap
Terriers will seek to salvage two points tonight in their rematch with Maine at Agganis Arena in a 7:30 p.m. start that will air live on CBS College Sports.
BU’s five game-winning streak and its seven-game conference winning streak ground to a halt as Maine beat the Terriers, 4-2, at Agganis Arena last night. The Black Bears broke a 2-2 tie in the final period, then added an empty-netter for the final margin.
Maine’s potent power play proved the difference as the Black Bears scored twice in four chances, including the game-winner midway through the third period. Fourteen of Maine’s 25 shots came on its final three power plays.
Terriers took a 1-0 first period lead on Alex Chiasson’s ninth of the season on a power play late in the first period. Maine scored twice in the first 8:22 of the middle period. Following a delay due to a partial power outage in the arena, Ross Gaudet knotted the score at two apiece when he banked a shot in off Maine goalie Dan Sullivan, who stopped 28 Terrier shots. Terriers carried the play during the remainder of the period, but couldn’t retake the lead despite several grade-A chances.
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor stopped 40 shots in a 3-2 Youngstown win against Dubuque. Phantoms coach Anthony Noreen said. “Bottom-line, flat-out, Matt O’Connor stole us that game.”
2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon scored a power play goal in the final minute of regulation to tie help Indiana tie Chicago, 4-4, but the Ice lost in a shootout, 5-4. He also recorded a pair of assists. Baillargeon’s Team MVP performance in the USHL Top Prospects on Tuesday game led to this strong assessment on The United States of Hockey site.
Two of Hockey East’s hottest teams, #2 BU and #20 Maine, go head-to-head for a pair of games this weekend at Agganis Arena. Tonight’s action begins a 7 p.m.
Since moving into their state-of-the-art arena, the Terriers are 7-0-2 against the Black Bears in regular season games and 9-1-2 overall; however five of those wins were by a single goal. When the teams met in Maine last month, BU won, 5-1, but Coach Jack Parker points out that the game was far closer than the score indicated.
Maine is led by seniors Brian Flynn and Spencer Abbott and junior Joey Diamond, the top three scorers in conference games. BU’s Matt Nieto (photo), Chris Connolly and Sahir Gill are the next three on the top scorers’ list.
Penalties are likely to have much to do with the games’ outcomes. BU and Maine are conference leaders in both penalties and power play efficiency.
Terrier Lineup Wade Megan – Chris Connolly – Alex Chiasson Matt Nieto – Sahir Gill – Evan Rodrigues Justin Courtnall – Cason Hohmann – Yasin Cissé Ross Gaudet – Ben Rosen – Ryan Santana Garrett Noonan – Patrick MacGregor Sean Escobedo – Adam Clendening Max Nicastro – Alexx Privitera Kieran Millan
Looking ahead 2012 recruit Matt O’Connor stopped 29 of 32 shots in Youngstown’s 4-3 win against Waterloo. The 6-5 netminder’s 17 wins are second best in the USHL.
Hockey Humanitarian Award Nominees for the 2012 Hockey Humanitarian Awardhave been announced by the foundation, which for 17 years has recognized those college hockey players—both men and women--whose efforts to better their communities continue to stand out. The inscription on the HHA trophy, first awarded in 1996, reads “"Presented annually to the hockey collegian who best exemplifies the qualities of character, sportsmanship, and devotion to the game, the team, and the community."
While this year’s nominees do not include any Terriers, the concept of the award, now presented by BNY Mellon Wealth Management, was born in October 1995 at BU’s Walter Brown Arena. John Greenhalgh and Jeff Millman, two fathers watching their sons’ squirt team practice at WBA were talking about one of the volunteer assistants, BU All-American goalie J.P. McKersie, who, in addition to his studies and his varsity practice commitments, had recently recovered from a life-threatening accident that had left him speechless and in a coma, and supposedly with little hope of ever walking or talking again. Noting McKersie’s selflessness and dedication, the two dads decided it was necessary to recognize college hockey players who best demonstrate those qualities now listed on the trophy.
Former BU Sports Information Director Ed Carpenter was one of the foundation’s first three board members and early on met with the co-founders at T Anthony's—BU Hockey’s unofficial (barely) off-campus eatery— to talk about the Award and to frame the organization’s goals. On Feb. 25, 1996, during a BU home game, the foundation announced McKersie as the first Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient in recognition of his volunteer work with the squirt team—frequently staying after practice to work with the goalies and providing a positive role model for the youngsters—as well as his year-long struggle to recover from his near-fatal bicycle accident and return to action for the Terriers. Daily Free Press article.
With the #2-ranked Terriers preparing for a crucial pair of home games against Maine— winner of six of its past eight games—we have much for fans to read, watch and listen to.
Inside BU Hockey’s 14th Episode is now available for listening here. As noted yesterday, guest interviews are Jack Parker, Adam Clendening and former Terrier Bill O’Neill whose son is a standout bluliner for Maine. We hope to soon post a list of links to all episodes.
● Defenseman Garrett Noonan, who is third in the nation in goals by defenseman with eight, is the first guest on today’s edition of BU All-Access. ● Bay State Road Sports interviewed former Belmont Hill skaters Matt Ronan and Jake Moscatel, now walkons to the Terrier hockey team. ● The two-game home series with Maine is part of BU’s annual Winterfest Weekend featuring 10 sporting events over three days. ● Dave Hendrickson’s USCHO Weekly Hockey East column ● College Hockey News Hockey East weekend preview ● HockeyEastOnline weekend preview ● Maine Campus previews this weekend’s series between the Terriers and Black Bears
Looking back Dave Warsofsky scored a goal and added an assist for Providence as the P-Bruins edged Wilkes Barre 4-3. Brian Strait recorded an assist for the Baby Pens.
Luke Popko scored twice for Bloomngton, but the Blazers fell, 7-4, to Missouri in CHL action.
Women’s Team
Terriers blanked rival Boston College 6-0 on Wednesday night behind a 30-save performance by Kerrin Sperry who recorded her first shutout of the season. Six different skaters found the net for BU: Jenn Wakefield, Marie-Philip Poulin, Taylor Holze, Louise Warren, Tara Watchorn and Caroline Campbell. Junior Isabel Menard had two assists and reached the milestone of 100 points as an NCAA player. ● GoTerriers.com recap, comprehensive boxscore, video highlights ● Post-game highlights: Coach Brian Durocher, Menard ● Daily Free Press recap and Menard feature
►Daily Free Press hockey notebook: fan support, moving up in national stats.
► College Hockey Weekly named BU its Team of the Week, edging out this weekend’s opponent, Maine, while INCH's Power Rankings are consistent with the national polls. Terriers ranked #2
►We’ve got a sneak preview of tomorrow’s Episode 14 of Inside BU Hockey. Terrier play-by-play announcer will be talking with Coach Jack Parker and sophomore blueliner Adam Clendening (photo), who has scored a goal and 11 assists in his past six games. In the “old dogs” segment, the guest will be Bill O’Neill, a member of the 1978 BU national championship team, current head coach at Salem State and the father of Maine Black Bears standout defenseman Will O’Neill. Bill is closing in on his 500th win as a college head coach. Check back tomorrow for a link to Inside BU Hockey.
Looking ahead 2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon scored the first two goals—one unassisted—for Team East in the USHL’s Top Prospects Game played in Muskegon and won by the East, 5-3. Baillargeon earned Team East MVP honors. 2012 recruit Robert Polesello assisted on the East’s third goal. ● Baillargeon, ranked 43rd among N. American skaters for the 2012 draft, talked with NHL.com about his experience in the Prospects games.
In BCHL action, 2012 recruit Marc Hetnik, Jr.’ s second goal of the season gave Vernon an early 1-0 lead, but the Vipers fell,3-1, to Westside.
Women’s program Terriers take on BC at Walter Brown Arena tonight in a 7 p.m. start.. ● GoTerriers.com preview, gametracker , All-Access Webcast (subscription) ● WTBU Webcast ● Daily Free Press preview ● Message from the Terriers (video)
Senior Jenn Wakefield was the Hockey East Player of the Week following her hattrick and six points in BU’s 6-2 win against Vermont. Goalie Kerrin Sperry and forward Kayla Tutino earned spots on the top performers list for the week.
Following its sweep of Providence College by a combined 14-1 margin, BU finds itself atop the PairWise Ranking. In the two college hockey polls, BU remained in second place in theUSCHO poll . BU also is ranked second in the USA Today poll, which had BU ranked 3rd last week. Four of the top 11 in the USCHO poll are Hockey East teams. Besides the #2 Terriers, Merrimack is #5, BC #7 and UMass-Lowell #11.
The double-drubbing of the Friars was BU’s first weekend sweep of a Hockey East opponent this season. Saturday night’s 8-0 shutout provided the biggest margin of victory BU has had in a shutout since beating Northeastern 8-0 on Feb. 14, 1994.
Terriers are currently tops in scoring in conference games with 3.88 goals per game and second in goals against with a 2.47 GAA. In their past 15 games (12-3-0) Terriers have outscored opponents by a 58-33 margin.
In Hockey East’s Weekly Release, Kieran Millan’s .984 save percentage --along with his eighth career shutout--during the Providence series earned him conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. Making the Top Performers list were Sahir Gill, Wade Megan, Matt Nieto, Garrett Noonan and Alexx Privitera. Millan (photo) leads the conference’s Army ROTC Three Stars Award competition while Megan is tied for second. Adam Clendening’s 12 points during his current six-game point streak and Coach Jack Parker’s 400th Hockey East win were among the milestones recognized.
As of January 1, the Terriers ranked 35th in the country in power-play percentage, but they’ve leaped up to fifth thanks to a 13-of-33 (.394) effort thus far in the month of January and 8 for 15 (.533) in the two games with Providence.
Looking back Brian Strait’s shorthanded goal was the game-winner in Wilkes Barre/Scranton’s 4-3 win against Syracuse.
Looking ahead Defending Mass. Super 8 champs Malden Catholic remains in first place in the Boston Globe schoolboy hockey poll following an 8-3 win against Xaverian in which 2013 recruit and Lancers captain Brendan Collier registered four assists.
Fellow 2013 recruit Sam Kurker scored a goal and added two assists as St. John’s Prep beat BC High, 3-1. Kurker, recently ranked #41 among North Americans for the 2012 NHL draft, has 12 goals in his first 11 games this season, after scoring 15 goals as a junior. He joined ESPN’s Scott Barboza for a Q&A interview.
Yet another 2013 recruit, Kevin Duane of The Brunswick School is off to a strong start and along with Luke Esposito, a nephew of Mark Messier, leads the Bruins in scoring. Early in the season, the 6-4, 214 forward scored a hattrick in a 5-1 win against Millbrook. In the recent rematch with Millbrook, Duane scored top shelf to knot the score at 2-2, but the Bruins fell in overtime. Duane will hone his skills in the USHL with Des Moines next season.
BU completed a convincing weekend sweep of Providence with an 8-0 rout of the Friars behind four-point efforts by Wade Megan (2 goals, 2 assists) and Matt Nieto (1+3) and a career-best three points from Max Nicastro (1+2). At Schneider Arena, BU scored three times in each for the first two periods and then twice in the third, with six goals coming on nine power play tries. Sahir Gill added a pair of goals while Garrett Noonan scored for the third consecutive game, bringing his conference leading total for defensemen to eight goals. BU’s 8 goals came on just 24 shots, for a .333 shooting percentage for the night.
Ten different Terriers made the scoring sheet with captain Chris Connolly assisting on two goals for a total of 19 helpers, tied for the team lead with Adam Clendening. Megan leads BU in goals with 12, followed by Nieto (10), Gill (9) Alex Chiasson (8) and Noonan (8).
Kieran Millan’s eighth career shutout put an exclamation point on a weekend in which he stopped 62 of 63 shots over the two games.
The victory, combined with another BC loss, gave the Terriers a four-point lead over the Eagles in Hockey East with a game in hand. Next up for BU is a two-game series with another hot team, third-place Maine. Both games are at Agganis with Friday’s matchup being a nationally televised one by CBS Sports Network.
●GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score ●Boston Hockey Blog recap ●USCHO recap ● Providence athletics recap
Looking ahead 2012 recruit Sean Maguire stopped 23 shots in Powell River's 5-1 winagainst Cowichan Valley. The victory gave him four consecutive wins during which he stopped a total of 101 shots while yielding just four goals.
Looking back Colin Wilson scored his ninth goal in a 5-2 Nashville win against Chicago. Brandon Yip, acquired this past week from Colorado, made his first start for the Predators wearing the same #18 as he wore at BU.
Former Terrier captain Joe Pereira scored a first-period goal against former Michigan netminder Billy Sauer for the South Carolina Stingrays in their 3-1 victoryagainst Florida in ECHL action.
Terriers and Friar wrap up their home and home series tonight in a 7 p.m. start at Schneider Arena. At stake is the season series as each team has won twice. BU lost its season opener at Providence, but overall is 30-28-6 (.516) in the 64 meetings at Schneider Arena.
A victory would give BU its first weekend sweep of a single opponents this season. Terriers have swept three previous weekend series, but each of them involved games with two different teams.
Sophomore Garrett Noonan (photo), who leads BU's blueline corps in goals with seven, scored in both the season opener and last night's win.
Terrier line-up:
Wade Megan – Chris Connolly – Alex Chiasson Matt Nieto – Sahir Gill – Evan Rodrigues Justin Courtnall – Cason Hohmann – Yasin Cissé Ross Gaudet – Ben Rosen – Ryan Santana Garrett Noonan – Patrick MacGregor Sean Escobedo – Adam Clendening Max Nicastro – Alexx Privitera Kieran Millan
► Melissa Wade’s photogallery of last night’s BU win.
Women’s team Terriers took on the Vermont Catamounts and came away with a 6-2 win led by captain Jenn Wakefield’s hattrick. Isabel Menard, Kayla Tutino and Jill Cardella also found the net for BU.
Sophomore Adam Clendening’s three assists and a goal and an assist each from junior Alex Chiasson and second-year players Matt Nieto and Garrett Noonan powered #2/3 BU to a 6-1 thumping of Providence College at Agganis Arena. Terriers rode a four-goal first period to a commanding league and then added a pair of power play goals in the final period. Other goal scorers were Sahir Gill, Alexx Privitera, and Ryan Santana (first of the season) as BU drove Alex Beaudry, a Terrier nemesis in the past, from the cage. Kieran Millan stopped 36 shots in the victory.
With BU's 11th victory in the past 13 games, Coach Jack Parker now has 400 career wins in Hockey East play.
Clendening 12 points (1 goal, 11 assists) in his past five games. Chiasson’s goal gave him 20 points on the season.
Terriers won the faceoff battle, 32-26, with Gill and Ben Rosen having strong nights.
Looking ahead 2012 recruit Robert Polesello scored his 6th and 7th goals—the second a shorthander—while 2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon added a pair of assists in Indiana’s 3-2 win against Chicago. Baillargeon now has 28 points in 29 games for the Ice.
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor stopped 32 of 34 in Youngstown’s 2-1 OT loss to Des Moines. ● Phantoms' recap and O'Connor photo
2012 recruit Sean Maguire turned aside 22 shots in Powell River’s 2-1 win against Cowichan Valley in BCHL action.
Looking back
Chris Bourque's 21st goal of the season was the game-winner in Hershey's 4-3 winover Binghamton. Bourque is second in AHL scoringbehind Bears' teammate Keith Aucoin. Eric Gryba tallied an assist for the Senators.
Former BU All-American Colby Cohen assisted on the game-winner in the Providence Bruins' 3-2 win against Worcester.
Former BU center Luke Popko scored his seventh goal of the season in Bloomington’s 3-2 win over Missouri in CHL action Friday night.
NESN explored the question “Who is the best former Hockey East position player now in the NHL?” The reports' answers include several ex-Terriers.
The #2/3 Terriers will be seeking to remain in first place in Hockey East and also avenge a 5-3 loss in their season-opener when they begin a home-and-home series with Providence College tonight at Agganis Arena. The game, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will be broadcast live by NESN.
Following last weekend’s two come-from-behind wins, BU is keeping its lineup virtually unchanged. Freshman Evan Rodrigues (photo), who scored his first collegiate goal in the 4-3 win against Northeastern, will again skate on right wing with Matt Nieto and Sahir Gill.
Terrier line-up: Wade Megan – Chris Connolly – Alex Chiasson Matt Nieto – Sahir Gill – Evan Rodrigues Justin Courtnall – Cason Hohmann – Yasin Cissé Ross Gaudet – Ben Rosen – Ryan Santana Sean Escobedo – Adam Clendening Garrett Noonan – Patrick MacGregor Max Nicastro – Alexx Privitera Kieran Millan
The Friars, following a fast start under new coach Nate Leaman, have a 9-9-2 record overall and are 3-6-1 in the past ten games. Alex Beaudry, always a challenge for BU, is expected to start in goal for Providence.
BU and Providence are the national co-leaders in shorthanded goals with 8.
Terrier head coach Jack Parker enters the weekend with 399 Hockey East victories on his resume.
Episode 13 of Inside BU Hockeyis now available for listening online. Featured segments include Bernie Corbett’s conversations with Terrier head coach Jack Parker and Captain Chris Connolly, who scored twice to kickstart BU in Saturday’s 4-3 win against Harvard. Joining Bernie for the “Old Dogs” segment is Dan Ronan, a blueliner for two BU Frozen Four teams (1996 and 1997), brother of current Terrier Matt Ronan and cousin of former Terrier (and Stanley Cup winner) Ed Ronan.
Head coach Jack Parker posted this thank you note on BU athletics Twitter applauding Terrier fans for their vocal support during away games at Northeastern and Harvard last game.
●College Hockey News’ Scott McLaughlin has posted the latest Hockey East Power Rankings. ●USCHO’s Jim Connelly’s This Week in Hockey Eastcolumn explains why those who wrote off the Terriers following the loss of two key centers were sorely mistaken. There’s also information about the fifth annual Charity Beanpot Challenge, hosted by former Terrier Travis Roy. ●USCHO’s TMQ also addresses the Terriers’ recent success. ●Providence Athletics preview of the weekend home-and-home between BU and the Friars.
Looking ahead 2012 recruit Jarrid Privitera, younger brother of freshman Alexx Privitera, led the The Gunnery School to a 7-1 win Tuesday against Trinity Pawling. The 5-6 forward, who was a 25-goal scorer during his junior season, is averaging 1.64 points per game (12-12-24 in 15 games) and leads the team in goals scored. The Highlanders have a 13-2-1 record this season. His coaches call him an "excellent two-way player---blocks shots, backchecks hard, good positioning."
The USHL has announced a free live Webcast of its 2012 NHL Top Prospects Game on Tuesday January 24 at 7:15 ET. Played in Muskegon, Michigan, the game will be Webcast by FASTHockey. 2012 recruit Robert Polesello and 2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon, both skating for the Indiana Ice, will participate in the Prospects Game.
2012 recruit Mike Moran’s path from prep captain at Taft in 2010-11 to BU next fall has taken yet another turn. Moran participated in the Indiana Ice tryout camp this past summer—along with Polesello and Baillargeon—but eventually signed on with Penticton in the British Columbia Hockey League. His stay with the Vees was a short one as he was traded to the Victoria Grizzlies where he quickly established himself as a potent scorer recording 41 points in 33 games, including seven power play goals and four game-winners. A team decision to rebuild for the future sent several of the Grizzlies' top players to new clubs and Moran’s rights were acquired by the AJHL Spruce Grove Saints, the top team in the Albert Junior Hockey League and currently ranked #2 in Canadian Junior A. If the Saints name sounds familiar, it’s the program that developed BU netminder Kieran Millan and sent him to Commonwealth Avenue. Moran’s linemate on the Grizzlies’ 3M Line, 2012 recruit Wesley Myron, escaped the team’s trade deadline fire sale, but only because he’d suffered a season ending shoulder injury that required surgery. Myron and Moran will be back together next fall at BU.
Looking back Former Terrier standout Brandon Yip has been acquired on waivers by the Predators from Colorado. Joining Nashville, he’ll be reunited with his Terrier linemate on the 2009 national championship team, Colin Wilson. The Predators had long coveted the right wing who had a strong rookie season with the Avalanche before injuries slowed his second and third pro seasons. Yip scored the championship-winning goals in both the 2006 and 2009 Hockey East Tournaments.
Nick Bonino registered two assists and earned second star honors in Anaheim’s 6-2 win against Phoenix. The former 50-point scorer for BU is skating on the Ducks’ third line, an all-college trio, with former Michigan forward Andrew Cogliano and former North Dakota star Jason Blake.
Women’s program The Terriers seek to rebound from last weekend’s losses to Maine as they visit New Hampshire tonight. BU is 2-0-2 in its past four games against the Wildcats at the Whittemore Center. The 11-11-1 Terriers’s offense is led by captain Jenn Wakefield (27 points), freshman Kayla Tutino (19) and junior Isabel Menard (18). Sophomore Marie-Philip Poulin, who returned to the lineup last week, after missing first semester with a spleen injury, is on the shelf again, this time with shoulder problems. ●GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, Live Stats, WTBU Webcast, pay-per-view Webcast ● Daily Free Press preview, feature on Poulin.
BU has a commitment for 2015 from Kimball Union freshman John MacLeod, a 6-2, 165 right shot defenseman. In 16 games for KUA, MacLeod, a Dracut, Mass. native who previously played at the Cardigan Mountain school, has an 0-9-9 line for the Wildcats who are the third-ranked prep hockey team in the Northeast. A standout at last summer’s USA Hockey Select 15 camp, he skated earlier this season for the Cleveland Barons Midget Minor team, recording three goals and two assists in 10 games.
U.S.Hockey Report quotes Mike Levine, his coach at KUA, as saying MacLeod “is a special talent because at 6’2” he can really skate, shoot the puck, and think the game at a high level, plus he’s tough and the loves the physical aspect of the game at such a young age – and that’s unique. He’s actually the toughest kid I have ever coached – and that includes the college level.”
MacLeod, who also visited Michigan, is expected to receive an invitation to the NTDP 40-man camp next March. If selected for the U17s roster, he could accelerate and join BU’s 2014 class.
Another KUA blueliner, 6’5”, 220 lb. junior Doyle Somerby will visit BU this week. He already has offers from Maine, UNH, UMass, and St. Lawrence. A ’94 birthdate, he was ranked #127 in NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm rankings—four spots ahead of 2013 recruit Brendan Collier.
Speaking of Malden Catholic’s captain, Collier talked with the Boston Herald about playing with pressure.
In this past weekend’s 5-3 Malden Catholic win against St. John’s Prep, Collier went head-to-head with Prep’s co-captain and 2013 recruit Sam Kurker who scored his 11th goal of the season. Collier tallied the game’s final goal.
Last night, Kurker, who was ranked #41 among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings for the 2012 draft, was on the BU campus—at Walter Brown Arena—showing why he’s so highly regarded—and scored a hattrick to lead the Eagles to a 5-1 win against Catholic Memorial, the alma mater of his future Terrier coaches, Jack Parker, Buddy Powers and Mike Bavis and future teammates Garrett Noonan and Marc Hetnik, Jr.
► Please note that we've added a link to U.S.Hockey Reportto our sidebar list of links. USHR is recognized as one of the most authoritative sources of information about college hockey recruiting and U.S. junior and prep hockey players. It has been a key source for many of our posts about Terrier recruits. USHR is a subscription site.
Working with the BU and Northeastern coaching staffs, USHR recently held its first International Hockey Showcase at Walter Brown Arena and Matthews Arena. Featured teams included the Boston Junior Bruins, Boston Advantage and Ontario midget AAA teams Vaughan Kings and Toronto Marlboros. Among the top players at the event were several reportedly high up on BU’s recruiting radar: High-scoring Junior Bruins forward Jack Eichel, regarded as the top ’96 U.S. forward, and Vaughan power forward Michael Dal Colle, who previously had visited BU and whose sister plays for Niagara.
In an article about top Canadian junior prospects this past fall, USHR wrote that the 6-2, 180 Dal Colle is a “big, strong goal scorer who has drawn comparisons to Rick Nash. Brings some intangibles to the table as he is the captain of the Vaughn Kings. Considers himself a hybrid power forward/sniper, but admits that his footwork needs improvement.”
Expected to be a high OHL draft choice, Dal Colle also has played a number of games this season with the OJHL St. Michael's Buzzers. Last summer he was one of 24 top Canadian bantam players chosen by the NHLPA to a take part in the Allstate All-Canadians Mentorship program. He also has played for the East Coast Selects tournament team, whose alumni include former Terriers Colby Cohen, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Corey Trivino, current Terriers Alex Chiasson and Matt Nieto and future Terriers Robert Polesello (2012) and Kevin Duane (2013). He was the ’96 East Coast Selects Player of the Year in 2009.
Polls, Pairwise and Honors BU’s pair of comeback wins this past weekend—4-3 against Northeastern and 4-3 OT against Harvard—vaulted the Terriers to the #2 spot in the USCHO weekly poll and #3 in theUSA Today poll. BU also moved into third place in the Pairwise Rankings.
HockeyEastOnline named the Terriers its Team of the Week and recognized four Terriers— Chiasson, Adam Clendening, Chris Connolly and Wade Megan—in its list of weekly top performers.
Sophomore blueliner Noonan who scored the overtime game-winner against Harvard and had a plus-4 rating on the weekend, raised his team-best rating to plus-13, which is tied for third in Hockey East.
●USCHO Hockey East blog ●Boston Herald feature on college hockey a s breeding ground for referees including former Terriers John Melanson, a member of BU's 1978 national championship team, and Dick DeCaprio, Hockey East's Supervisor of Officials.
For the second night in a row, the Terriers trailed by two after one period. However, three point nights for sophomore defenseman Adam Clendening (3 assists), junior forward Alex Chiasson (3 assists) and senior co-captain Chris Connolly (2 goals, 1 assist) were enough to force overtime where sophomore Garrett Noonan (photo) scored the game-winner. Connolly's first period goal was also his first of the season.
Harvard got on the board early in the first period courtesy of Alex Fallstrom, and BU's tying power-play goal by Chris Connolly late in the period was overcome quickly by two Harvard goals. BU finally pulled within one in the third period when Connolly got his second of the night, and Ben Rosen managed to tie the game late after a video review. Noonan ended the game 2:08 into sudden-death overtime with his game-winning goal.
Looking ahead 2012 goalie recruit Sean Maguire (2012) stopped all 36 shots he faced in the Powell River Kings 7-0 shutout victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in BCHL action last night. Looking back
Eric Gryba netted his third goal of the season in a 6-4 loss for Binghamton against Hershey.
The Terriers make the short trip to Harvard's Bright Hockey Center for a game against the Crimson, seeking their third straight victory. BU fell to the Crimson in the Beanpot Consolation Game last season despite two goals from Alex Chiasson (photo); the Terriers will also will face Harvard in the first round this season.
The women's hockey team took on Maine once again, this time with two 3 pm games at Walter Brown Arena. Maine took the first game this afternoon, 3-2, but the two Terrier goals both game from sophomore forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who made her return today from injury that had kept her out since Oct. 1.
BU overcame a 2-0 first period deficit, scoring four straight goals and finishing with a 4-3 victory tonight at Matthews Arena against Northeastern. Junior forward Wade Megan paced the Terriers with two goals, and Kieran Millan stopped 31 of 34 shots.
The Huskies opened the scoring in the first period, with first two even-strength strikes from Alex Tuckerman and Ludwig Karlsson. BU answered in the second period with 3 goals less than 4 minutes apart. Adam Clendening's second goal of the season and Megan's first of the night collectively even the score at two apiece. To cap the second period scoring came the first collegiate tally for Terrier freshman Evan Rodrigues (photo), on the power play. In the third period, Wade Megan's second goal of the night and 10th of the season gave BU a two-goal lead. The Huskies managed to pull within a goal late in the game with a power play and extra attacker, garnering an assist for former Terrier Vinny Saponari, but BU came away with the win.
The next game for the Terriers will be tomorrow night against Harvard at Bright Hockey Center, 7 pm. Harvard will be fresh off a 2-0 loss to Union during the Frozen Fenway event tonight.
Video highlights below, courtesy of Hockey East/NESN
Looking ahead
The USA U-18 team was defeated 4-3 by the Indiana Ice of the USHL, but future Terriers on both sides had a hand in the final score, as Matthew Lane scored a goal for Team USA and Robert Polesello and Robbie Baillargeon each had a helper for Indiana.
Meanwhile, 2012 goaltending recruit Matthew O'Connor and Youngstown fell 2-1 to the USA U-17 team, despite him saving 33 of 35 shots on the night.
Looking back
Adrian Aucoin's 2nd goal of the season didn't stop the Coyotes from falling 4-3 to Columbus, but it did confuse the play-by-play guy.
#6 BU will face off with Hockey East opponent Northeastern for the first time this season at Matthews Arena tonight. This will offer an opportunity to see former player Vinny Saponari (pictured), now with the Huskies after being dismissed from the team in May 2010. The Terriers went 2-1 against the Huskies in the 2010-2011 regular season, but it was Northeastern who defeated BU two games to one in the Hockey East quarterfinals, ending their season.
Tonight's contest will be broadcast on NESN, with BU looking to stay atop the Hockey East standings.
Looking ahead
Central Scouting Service has released their midterm rankings, with several Terrier recruits appearing on the list.
41 - Sam Kurker (2013)
43 - Rob Baillargeon (2013)
112 - Danny O'Regan (2013)
123 - Kevin Duane (2013)
131 - Brendan Collier (2013)
133 - Matthew Lane (2012)
Looking back
A two assist night for Bryan Miller in a 3-0 Alaska victory has him third in scoring for defensemen in the ECHL. Chris Bourque picked up yet another point in Hershey's 4-3 win over Charlotte, but he remains 2nd in AHL scoring behind current teammate Keith Aucoin.
Following the women's hockey team's 2-1 victory over Maine at Alfond Arena on Sunday, the team was named Team of the Week and freshman forward Kayla Tutino was honored as Rookie of the Week for the second time this season (GoTerriers release, Hockey East release).
Terriers fell one spot from 2nd to 3rd in both the USCHO and USA Today hockey polls. The losses to Maine also dropped BU to second in the current pairwise rankings.
The #2/3 Terriers will be seeking to remain in first place in Hockey East and also avenge a 5-3 loss in their season-opener when they begin a home-and-home series with Providence College tonight at Agganis Arena. The game, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will be broadcast live by NESN.
