Looking ahead and looking back

Looking ahead

               Two future Terriers made the USHL’s weekly highlights reel.  Last Friday, 2014 recruit Jack Eichel’s rush and shot set up linemate—and future rival—Sonny Milano (he’s going to BC) for the game-winner vs. Cedar Rapids. The next night 2015 recruit Maxim Letunov’s spin-o-rama pass set up teammate Josh Melnick for a goal as Youngstown bested Omaha.

The USHL’s weekly notes point out that with his two goals in two games against Cedar Rapids, Eichel has 19 goals, along with 13 multi-point efforts, in 18 USHL games.

2014 recruit AJ Greer is playing in the Beantown Spring Classic’s Draft Division Tournament, which begins today in Massachusetts. He’ll be coached by Los Angeles Kings scout Bob Crocker, a former long-time BU assistant coach under Jack Kelley and the Dean of New England scouts.

2014 recruit Ori Abramson's sixth goal of the season and second of the playoffs brought the NJ Hitmen to with a goal of the Junior Bruins, but that was as close as the Hitmen got. Jr. Bruins took game one of the USPHL Premier division finals, 4-3.

2016 recruit Clayton Keller (photo) was among the 52 players invited to evaluation camp for next season’s NTDP 17s team. The camp will be held in Ann Arbor March 21-25. The roster also includes several players reportedly being recruited by the Terriers.

OverTheBoards.com offered comments on the candidates, including Keller:

If Jack Eichel wasn’t toeing the line between prodigy and generational talent, Keller would be BU’s star recruit. Even with Eichel on the way, Keller puts up a fight in that conversation. The young forward has enjoyed a phenomenal season for Shattuck’s prep. Consistently the best forward on the ice against skaters three years his senior – Keller is playing at an elite level and should only get better.

Looking back--This Date in Terrier History—March 12, 1977 
The Terrier Women’s team just completed its three-peat of Hockey East tournament title, but

that isn’t the longest streak of conference tournament championships in BU hockey history. Thirty-seven years ago today, BU won its fourth consecutive ECAC championship in one of the highest-scoring and wildest tournaments in ECAC history.

BU defeated BC, 8-7, in the quarterfinals, rallied past Clarkson, 7-6, in the semis and outlasted New Hampshire, 8-6, in the title game.

In the victory over the Eagles, three-time All-American Rick Meagher (photo, right) scored a third-period hat trick with the game-winner coming just seven seconds after BC had knotted the score at 7-7 with less than three minutes remaining in the third.

In the semifinal, BU pulled off one of the greatest late rallies in program history—at least until the D.C. Miracle in 2009—scoring three times in the final 3:05 to steal a victory away from top seed Clarkson. Future Olympian David Silk rapped home the winner with just 37

seconds left in regulation.

 

The championship game matched BU with the Wildcats who got there by outscoring Cornell 10-9 in double overtime in the other semi. And the goals just kept on coming. Terriers had rallied from a 4-2 deficit to tie the game at 6-6 going into the third period. BU did all the scoring over the final 20 minutes, riding goals by co-captain and future Olympic hero Mike Eruzione (photo, right) and John Melanson to a win and a four-peat of the ECAC crown.

Eruzione told the media: “In my freshman year, I watched Eddie Walsh skate the ECAC trophy around the Garden. Then, I saw Vic Stanfield do it. And Terry Meagher and Peter Brown last year. I always wanted to do it. For the next 50 years, I can say I skated around the Garden with the ECAC trophy. Unbelievable!” [Of course, he managed one more milestone three years later.]