With Hockey East's first playoff round completed--with all three home teams winning--next up are four quarter-final games on Saturday.
#16 Terriers will be in Hartford facing off with Connecticut for a fourth time this season. BU took one-goal wins in both prior games at Hartford's XL Center, while the Huskies won at Agganis Arena. Puck drop this Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m.
In his weekly media call, Coach Albie O'Connell addressed the task at hand:
"I expect our game to be very tight-checking. They (UConn) pose a lot of different problems. They have good size, they’re heavy, they have skill, they have a very good goaltending. The way they play D-corps can cause problems.
"We have to be ready to skate and compete. One-on-one battles will be very important, especially when they’re in our zone. They have some big strong forwards that can impose a presence at our net. We have the manage the puck well. Things happen quickly in that building.”
Asked about leading scorer Wilmer Skoog (15-15-30), O’Connell pointed to his creativity and the results the junior center been getting. “He’s found a way to make a difference on the score sheet. He’s also done a really good job on the power play screening, getting to the net, playing physical.”
●Boston Hockey Blog preview
Photo credit Kyle Prudhomme
Freshman defenseman Ty Gallagher has been named to the Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie team, becoming the 50th Terrier all-time named to the conference's top rookie team. The Clarkston, Mich., native has scored 16 points and led all conference rookies with 44 blocked shots. A Boston Bruins draft pick, he was named Rookie of the Week twice this season.
BU has had at least one member of the All-Rookie team for 15 consecutive seasons, going back to 2007-08.
● GoTerriers.com report
● HockeyEastOnline report
Looking ahead
2023 recruit Jeremy Wilmer had a four-point game—1G, 3A—to lead first-place Tri-City past Lincoln, 8-3. For the right-shot forward, it was his 21st multi-point effort in 44 games. Wilmer now has an 18-46-64 scoring line, third best in the USHL.
This date in BU Hockey History: March 10
1972: Behind Captain Jake Danby’s hat trick and 27 saves by Dan Brady, BU defeated Harvard, 3-1, in the ECAC tournament semifinal at Boston Garden.
The win improved the #2 seed Terriers’ record to 23-4-1 and set up a championship game match against top seed Cornell. It also avenged Harvard’s upset of BU in the ECAC semifinal a year earlier.
Danby gave BU the only a power play late in the first period, ripping a shot from the right circle past Harvard’s Joe Bertagna, assisted by Ric Jordan. Midway through the second period with the teams skating 4-on-4, Danby connected on a 65-ft shot for what proved to be the game-winner. Late in the period, he added another man-advantage tally, redirecting a Bob Brown shot.
Harvard broke the shutout with a third-period power-play goal but Brady slammed the door the rest of the way.
1991: All-American Shawn McEachern’s overtime goal in the Hockey East Championship game defeated Maine, 4-3, and delivered BU’s second of seven conference tournament titles.
On the game-winner, Phil Von Stefenelli controlled the puck at center ice and slid it along the right boards to Tony Amonte, who quickly passed to McEachern, one of college hockey’s fastest skaters, in stride. He blew past a defender, closed on the goal and beat Garth Snow with a backhander through the five-hole.
BU had trailed 2-1 after two period, but in the third period, Amonte tied the scored and BU took a 3-2 lead on Peter Ahola’s shot at 17:45. Maine quickly knotted score at 3-3 on a Keith Carney blast, setting the stage for McEachern’s heroics, which would earn him tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. John Bradley stopped 24 Black Bears' shots for the Terriers.
Among all BU skaters, McEachern's 82 in 1990-91 is second only to Jack Garrity's 84 in 1949-50.
Looking back
Clayton Keller scored his 24th goal and added two assists in Arizona’s 9-2 win against Detroit. With 54 points, he leads the Coyotes in scoring and is closing in on 250 career points.
Brady Tkachuk scored his 20th goal and added an assist in Ottawa's 5-4 win against Seattle.
Charlie Coyle scored his 13th goal in the Bruins 4-3 win against Chicago.
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