Game Day: BU visits UMass

Terriers are in Amherst for their second and final regular-season matchup with Massachusetts. BU defeated the Minutemen, 3-1 in its regular-season opener at Agganis Arena in October.Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network.

UMass is led by Senior Colin Sheary (20 points). Steven Iacobellis and Branden Gracel are the top goal-scorers with 10 apiece. Junior goalie Steve Mastalerz has a 2.66 GAA for the 7-16-3 Minutemen.

BU, still seeking its first road win, will be bolstered by the improved health of junior Evan Rodrigues and sophomore Ahti Oksanen (photo). Freshman Robbie Baillargeon and Oksanen are the Terrier point leaders with 18 while Danny O’Regan, who scored in each of last weekend’s games tops the goal-scorers with eight.

Sophomore Matt O’Connor will get the start in goal tonight for BU. Check back later for the Terrier lineup

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, NBC Sports Radio Webcast

● Boston Hockey Blog live in-game blog

● Daily Free Press preview

● USCHO picks and predictions

● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape

   

►In case you missed it: Episode 15 of Inside BU Hockey

Looking ahead

The Hockey News’ Prospect Watch list of key January NCAA commitments includes 2014 recruit Brandon Hickey, a 6-2 left-shot defenseman for the AJHL Spruce Grove Saints.

Coming out of the Alberta Jr. A League, Hickey is a smooth-skating defenseman with the Spruce Grove Saints on track to join B.U. next year. A good bet to go in the second or third round of the NHL draft this summer, Hickey plays a calm game and has a nice offensive upside to his game.

Might there be another Saint in BU’s future? An item in the Wisconsin State Journal reports that highly regarded Spruce Grove forward Cameron Hughes, whom the Badgers and Michigan State also are recruiting, has a visit to BU scheduled. 

Looking back

Former BU captain Jay Pandolfo officially retired from professional hockey after 15 NHL seasons. An All-American, Hockey East Player of the Year and Hobey Baker Award finalist as a senior, Pandolfo scored 79 goals--tied for 9^th in BU history with John Danby, Ed Lowney, Shawn McEachern-- and is #11 in points with 169. He helped BU reach the NCAA Final Four all four years and played in two national championship games, 1994 and 1995. He spent most of his professional career with New Jersey, playing a defensive role in two Stanley Cup championships, and finished up with his hometown Boston Bruins.

Former Terrier Ken Rausch, a member of the 1995 national championship team tweeted: "With Jay Pandolfo retiring, there are no former college teammates of mine still playing. We are officially old!"

While nearly every member of that team went on to play at some professional level, only  seven, including Pandolfo, reached the NHL. Who are the other six ? Leave your answers as a comment.

That  1994-95 squad was the final Team to win the Beanpot and Hockey East in the old Boston Garden. In the HE title game, BU edged Providence, 3-2. Rausch scored the Terriers’ first goal and Mike Grier the second. Who scored the game-winner and final college hockey goal at Boston Garden?  Again, put your answer in comments.

With the Beanpot beginning on Monday, the Boston Globe assembled a group of hockey veterans who played in the first Beanpot Tournament in 1952, even before the event had that name. Among them is former Terrier forward Dick Rodenheiser, who scored 54 goals and 37 assists in two varsity seasons. Earning All-American honors in 1952-53, he led BU to the NCAA tournament. A member of the BU Athletics Hall of Fame, he later won a silver medal at the 1956 Olympics and was part of USA's first gold medal team in Squaw Valley, California, in 1960.

Women’s Team

BU begins a home-and-home series with Connecticut tonight. First up is a 7 p.m. start at Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs. The teams will play tomorrow at Walter Brown Arena with puck drop set for 3 p.m.  The teams last met in November when six Terrier skaters scored goals as BU recorded a 6-2 win.

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, Game Tracker, TerrierTV Webcast

● Daily Free Press preview