Terriers move up the polls; two make HE top performers list UPDATED

Rankings: Terriers jump up to #14 (from #20) in the USCHO poll. In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, BU now is ranked   at #12 (up from #14).

Freshmen Jack Eichel, with a four-point night against UMass, and Connor LaCouvee, with a 31-save effort for his first collegiate win, earned spots on Hockey East’s weekly top performer list.  Eichel's offensive output led to this tweet from BU Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Brian Kelley:

Eichel’s offensive output led to this tweet from BU Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Brian Kelley and a reply from BurntBoats:

@BKelleyBU Eichel was 2 months old for that.
— BurntBoats (@BurntBoats) October 13, 2014

►The ISS scouting service posted its list of the top 30 NCAA freshmen, which featured five Terrier pups: 1.    Eichel, 18. Brandon Fortunato, 20. Brandon Hickey,  (photo) 21. Johnathan MacLeod and 27. JJ Piccinich. 

@collegehockey @ISShockey No AJ Greer? He's a potential 1st - 2nd rounder in 2015 NHL Draft (late '96)..
— Brendan Collins (@US_Hockey_Scout) October 14, 2014

►Terriers’ eight goals were the most in a conference opener since BU rang up a 9-4 win over Northeastern to kick off the 1992-93 season, led by two goals apiece from Mark Bavis (one PPG, one SHG), Doug Friedman and Jacques Joubert (photo).

● Scott McLaughlin’s WEEI.com blog: What stood out in Hockey East’s opening weekend

● USCHO’s HockeyEast blog

●  SB Nation—Eichel feature

Looking ahead

SB Nation’s Chris Dilks assessed the NTDP U17 forwards, including 2016 recruit Clayton Keller, as Team USA found the net frequently in two wins over Minnesota Elite league teams.

Centering the top line is BU commit Clayton Keller. I thought Keller was fantastic on Saturday, and just good on Sunday. The thing that really stood out both days is just how patient he is with the puck. He scored an amazing goal on Saturday that showed off some really good puckhandling skills. He's a small kid and his size will likely make him divisive among scouts gong forward, but he's got above average hockey sense, and should be a very valuable player.

Keller played for the Shattuck prep team last year and despite being one of its youngest players, led the team in scoring with a 36-41-77 scoring line in 51 games as the Sabres won the National Tier 1 U18 championship.

Looking back

The Lowell Sun’s Barry Scanlon spoke with Terrier Hall of Famer Mike Eruzione about how a chance meeting brought him to BU and eventually to a miraculous Olympic gold medal in 1980. Scanlon also notes a strong start for Terrier freshman defenseman and Dracut, Mass., native Johnathan MacLeod.

Former Terrier defenseman Bill O’Neill begins his 34^th season as head coach at Salem State, where his teams have won at least 14 games in each of the past seven seasons. The defending MASAC champions begin defense of their title on Nov. 11. O’Neill, who played for BU’s 1978 national champions as well as two ECAC championship squads, goes into the season with 532 wins behind the Vikings’ bench. His son, Will, was a standout blueliner for Maine.

Women's Team

● Terriers remain at #6 in the USCHO weekly poll

● Daily Free Press recap of exhibition game loss to the Boston Blades