Friday, October 24, 2014

Game Day: Terriers host Spartans UPDATED



 
BU opens its home regular season schedule with a pair of non-conference games, hosting Michigan State (Friday) and Michigan (Saturday) as part of the Big 10-Hockey East Challenge. Puck drop against the Spartans is 7:30 at Agganis Arena.

Last year, BU lost to Michigan State, 3-1, in East Lansing. A first-period goal by Matt Lane gave BU a lead that it held until late in the third, when the Spartans scored twice in less than a minute and then added an empty net score.

The Spartans split their two regular season games against UMass, winning 5-3 and losing 4-3. Senior Matt Berry leads their offense with a 2-4-6 scoring line. Junior Jake Hildebrand is the veteran in goal.

The Daily Free Press reports that junior goalie Matt O’Connor (photo), healthy after his recent lower-body injury, is expected to play in one of the two weekend games, but that junior Mike Moran, injured in the St. Thomas exhibition, remains idled.  

UPDATE: O'Connor gets the start. The rest of the lineup remains the same as the starters against UMass.   


The Spartans last visited BU in 2008 with the Terriers winning, 2-1, in the championship game of the Ice Breaker tournament. It would be the first of seven titles earned by the 2008-09 squad, culminating with the NCAA Championship.

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Gametracker, Terrier TV Webcast, Terrier Sports Radio Network Webcast  
Daily Free Press preview
●  BU Today preview and Rhett Rally details (starts 5 p.m. at Agganis) 
● USCHO: Hockey East picks, Big Ten picks
● College Hockey News’ Tale of the Tape,  Big Ten preview
● HockeyEastOnline.com weekend preview
SB Nation's Michigan State preview
Spartan Notebook profiles sophomore Mackenzie MacEachern, who plays left wing on Michigan State’s top line.
● Michigan’s MGoBlue.com previews Saturday’s match-up between the Wolverines and the Terriers.

Episode 3 of Inside Terrier Hockey features Bernie Corbett’s interviews with Head Coach David Quinn, senior assistant captain Cason Hohmann (photo) and new assistant coach Albie O’Connell. Be sure to listen for the Terrier Hockey Fan Blog Trivia Question of Week. We’ll post the answer on Saturday morning with the recap of the Michigan State game.

►Prior to last Saturday’s game, Terrier freshmen and former NTDP standouts Jack Eichel, Brandon Fortunato and Johnathan MacLeod were presented with their championship rings from Team USA’s gold-medal performance at the 2014 IIHF Under-18 World Championship.

►The Boston Globe’s John Powers offers an insightful profile of Eichel, including comments by Jack Parker, the coach who recruited him, and David Quinn, who currently coaches him, as well as a video interview.

►AlongTheBoards.com gives BU the top spot in its weekly Hockey East Power Rankings.

►Last Sunday, members of the Terrier men’s hockey team, led by captain Matt Grzelcyk, and women’s basketball team were volunteers at the 14th annual Greater Boston Walk Now for Autism Speaks fundraising and awareness event at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield. It was the first of many Autism Speaks activities for the hockey team, which has supported the Massachusetts chapter of Austism speaks for 11 years and wears the Autism Speaks logo on its uniforms.



Looking ahead
Following last Saturday’s game against the U18s, the Daily Free Press talked with 2015 recruit Jordan Greenway about his first Agganis Arena experience, the key influences in his hockey career and his decision to play at BU. The 6-5, left-shot forward from Potsdam, N.Y., who starred at Shattuck St. Mary's before joining the National Team Development Program, is projected to be a mid-first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

USA Hockey’s Weekly NTDP Notebook looks at the games ahead this week for Greenway, fellow 2015 recruit Charlie McAvoy and the U18s—Cornell and Oswego State—as well as those for 2016 recruit Clayton Keller and the U17s—USHL Tri-City. It also features video from the U17s’ 5-3 loss to Des Moines, including a “backhand snipe” by Keller (2nd goal, at the 25 second mark).



Vindy.com looks at the Youngstown Phantoms' defense including newcomer and 2016 BU recruit Vas Kolias.



Looking back

Former BU standout Nick Bonino scored the game-winner and assisted on Vancouver’s first goal as the Canucks defeated St. Louis, 4-1.  Former BU captain and All-American Kevin Shattenkirk scored his first of the season for the Blues' only goal.  Bonino earned first-star honors.

Former BU assistant captain Brian Strait registered his first point of the season with an assist, to go with a game-high six hits, as the Islanders edged the Bruins in Boston, 3-2.

Former Terrier Charlie Coyle has signed a five-year extension worth $16 million with the Minnesota Wild. He celebrated by scoring the game-winner in the Wild’s 2-0 blanking of Arizona.

A Boston Herald feature on Glen Tucker, aka Dr. Shot, notes that Coyle, Eichel and 2018 BU recruit Jake Wise, have all sought Tucker’s guidance on improving their shot-making.

Women’s Team
#6 Terriers begin conference play with a pair of road games at Maine. Puck drop at Alfond Arena both Friday and Saturday is 2 p.m.  Last season, BU won all three meetings between the teams by a combined 14-6 margin.

BU has the fourth best offense in Division 1, averaging 3.75 goals per game. It’s led by junior Sarah Lefort with seven points and senior captain Marie-Philip Poulin with five points, including a team-best four goals.

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats
●  GoTerriers.com preview
● HockeyEastOnline.com weekly preview

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