Monday, January 30, 2023

Commesso's bounce-back; Coming Up 3s

                           Photo credit Jenna Van Sickle
 

After being pulled midway through the 9-6 win against Maine, Drew Commesso delivered a strong bounce-back performance, stopping 64 of 68 shots in the two wins, including 40 of 41 Saturday. Of the four goals yielded, three were on power plays (one on a 5-on-3).

“I think he took ownership of not feeling good that last game against Maine,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said of his netminder. “He was determined to come back and have a great weekend… he was certainly ready.”

“Yeah, it feels awesome. Growing up a BU fan my whole life, I’ve never really liked the Eagles,” Commesso said post-game. He mentioned the “embarrassing loss” in December, and noted how it fueled the Terriers towards this weekend’s sweep. (From Boston Hockey Blog)

The Boston Hockey Blog’s newest writer provided this analysis: Against Boston College, Drew Commesso gave BU everything it could have hoped for, and more

 

Poll Story

Terriers move up to #3 in the USCHO D1 Weekly Poll with seven first-place votes. With last week’s top-ranked team, St. Cloud, losing twice to Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, the new #1, Quinnipiac and BU also moved up a slot.

In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, BU also is #3, improving from #5 last week, with three first-place votes.

ESPN’s John Buccigross has the Terriers at #2 in his ranking. The Everything College Hockey ranking also has BU in the #2 slot.

In the PairWise rankings, BU, which has the second best winning percentage in D1, jumped from #6 to #3.


SNL (Saturday Night Leftovers)

►BU’s 19-6-0 record is its best mark through 25 games since 2008-09 when the Terriers finished January at 19-5-1. In 1995-96 with Pandolfo as captain, BU was 19-3-3 after 25 games.

►Nationally, BU is second in goals per game with 4.2, just a smidge behind Western Michigan’s 4.214, and fourth in margin at 1.52 GPG.  BU also is second in winning percentage at .7333, trailing Quinnipiac (.8269)  and edging top-ranked Minnesota (.7321)

►BU has a perfect 15-0-0 record in games when ahead after two periods. When tied after two periods, Terriers are 3-2 with wins in the last three instances.

►Hot sticks report:

-Wilmer Skoog has scored nine goals in the last 11 games and 16 points in the last 12.

-Jeremy Wilmer has scored five goals in last five games. He has nine points in the eight games played in 2023.

-Luke Tuch has scored four goals in the last six games and seven points in his last seven games.

►With four assists in the BC series, Lane Hutson has broken the Terrier record for points by a freshman defenseman. He now has 31 points (9G,22A), exceeding the mark set by Alex Legault (30) in the 1989-90 season.

Elite Prospects.com reports that Hutson was 7th most frequent among players at all levels clicked on its site last week.


Sights & Sounds of a Sweep

  

Looking ahead

2023 recruit Macklin Celebrini scored twice in the third period to help Chicago rally from a 3-0 deficit to force overtime with the NTDP U17s before Team USA scored for a 5-4 win. With the two tallies, Celebrini is now tied with teammate and fellow 2023 recruit Jack Harvey for the league scoring lead with 45 points. Celebrini’s 23 goals pulls him even with another 2023 recruit, Youngstown’s Shane Lachance, two behind Harvey’s league-high 25. 2023 recruit Hunter Hady recorded his 11th assist for the Steel, while 2024 recruit Cole Hutson scored his sixth goal for the U17s and now has 32 points.

2024 recruit Jack Pridham had a pair of two-goal games and a three-assist game to lead St. Andrews College to the bronze medal in the MacPherson Tournament in Aurora, Ontario. With eight points in the five-game event, Pridham now has a 23-28-51 line in 37 games.

The Hockey News’ look at draft prospects whose stock has improved or fallen recently has BU’s latest 2023 recruit, Tom Willander (a ★★★★¼ prospect per NeutralZone) , moving up:

Stock Up: Tom Willander, RHD, Rogle BK J20 (J20 Nationell)

Quietly moving up boards over the last couple of months, Willander has been one of the most intriguing blueline prospects in Europe. He boasts good size as he stands 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. He also possesses mobility and tools that could give him an impressive upside despite already ranking as Sweden’s second-highest scoring defender at the J20 level.

Willander plays a calm, cool, and collected game. He spins off opposing forecheckers and escapes pressure, diffusing danger before finding a teammate in the neutral zone. While playing for the Swedish under-18 squad, he routinely showed more confidence with the puck. Willander tends to lean towards a conservative style of play despite having the skill to play a bit more aggressively. He is committed to Boston University, which could be an excellent place to develop more of a killer instinct with the puck.

 

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