Game Day: Home Opener vs. Sacred Heart--UPDATED

#8 Terriers kick off their home season with a pair of out-of-conference games this weekend, beginning with tonight’s first-ever match-up with Sacred Heart. BU (1-2-0) will look to return to the winning side of the ledger after being swept in Denver.  Puck drop for the Family & Friends Weekend game is at 7:30 p.m., with free livestream coverage in HD, featuring a simulcast of the radio broadcast with play-by-play announcer Bernie Corbett and analyst Mark Linehan.

Head coach David Quinn will be looking for improvements in several areas, asking his team to have “more grind” to their game and to become a team that’s hard to play against.  The fourth-year coach told the Daily Free Press, “One of the things that’s happened, not just through the Denver game but in the previous three games is that I don’t think we’ve established the offensive zone enough.”  Cutting down on penalties will be another priority, along with using team speed to draw penalties.

The Pioneers come into the game at 1-2-1 and, in their last outing, skated to a 4-4 tie with Union. Previously, they dropped a pair of shutout decisions to Army and edged Merrimack, 2-1. Early scoring leaders for SHU are seniors Justin Danforth and Evan Jasper with three points apiece and freshman Ruslan Rakhmatov with two. Sophomore goalie Brett Magnus has a 2.49 GAA, while the Pioneers have killed off 27 of 29 penalties.

Tonight's Terrier line-up

Bellows-JFK-Carpenter

Harper-Keller-Greenway

Olsson-Curry-Cloonan

Kelley-McDermott-Roberto

Hickey-Fabbro

Krys-McAvoy

Somerby-MacLeod

Oettinger

 

● GoTerriers.com preview; Game Notes, Live Stats, Terrier TV Livestream, Terrier Sports Radio Network; BU GameDay

● Boston Hockey Blog Live In-Game Blog

● Daily Free Press game preview

● WTBU Sports weekend preview ; Oettinger ready for prime time

● BU Today game preview

● SHU preview and game notes

● HockeyEastOnline weekend preview

● USCHO Hockey East Picks & Predictions

● College Hockey News: Hockey East Random Thoughts

►Freshman goalie Jake Oettinger, who is scheduled to get the start tonight, continues his entries to the NHL.com 2017 Draft Diary. Discussing his adjustment to D1 hockey, the Lakeville, Minn., native explains:

"The biggest adjustment is just being able to keep up with the pace. There are bigger guys in college so you need to manage all the traffic and the stuff in front. I need to try and establish a plan for every game and know how I will read different situations. I think with more playing time I'll be able to see a lot more different situations and react and exhibit more comfort in those situations."

►For tonight’s game, youth players (8^th grade and younger) who wear their team Jersey can go to the Agganis Arena box office (925 Commonwealth Ave.) and receive two free tickets. Details are here.

►As part of Family & Friends Weekend, The Friends of BU Hockey will hold its annual Family Night Dinner in the Hancock Student Village, welcoming parents of the freshmen class and welcoming back all others. The event is an opportunity to introduce the players’ families to one another and to make them aware of how the Friends support the hockey program

► Congratulations to former Daily Free Press hockey writer Andrew Battifarano for landing a spot with NHL.com as an associate editorial producer.

Looking back
Former BU MVP Alex Chiasson has earned a spot on the Calgary Flames top line joining Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The 26 year old power forward, who was traded from Ottawa during the off-season has gotten off to a strong start, earning kudos from Coach Glen Gulutzan
● NBC Sports report 

Women’s Team

Excelle Sports sat down with the Terriers' top scorers, senior Samantha Sutherland and sophomore Sammy Davis (photo) for a Q&A interview.