Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Terriers top USCHO Pre-season Poll; Q&A With Joe Pereira

BU is #1 in the USCHO.com preseason poll.

BREAKING NEWS: NTDP forward Cole Eiserman has switched his commitment for 2024-25 from Minnesota to BU. Details later this evening.

USCHO’s initial Division 1 hockey poll is out and, like CHN’s and John Buccigross’s rankings, it has the Terriers in the top spot. Quinnipiac had more first place votes (22-17) than BU, but was slotted at #2 based on overall points.

The list of top 20 team includes eight (possibly nine) teams on the BU schedule who will take the ice against the Terriers in 18 of BU’s 34 regular-season contests.

@BUHockeyStats points out that this is first time BU has been pre-season #1 in the history of the USCHO poll.

 

                                Photo credit Matt Woolverton
The Terriers, who finished at #4 in the final 2022-23 poll, began last season at #12. The initial USA Hockey/The Rink Live College Hockey Poll will be published on Oct. 2.

● GoTerriers.com Men's Hockey Tops USCHO Poll 

● USCHO.com BU starts 2023-24 as No. 1 Team in USCHO Pre-season Poll


Clockwise from the upper left: Aiden Celebrini, Nick Zabeneh, Lane Hutson, Macklin Celebrini

 

Q&A with Associate Head Coach Joe Pereira

Associate head coach Joe Pereira was the first hire made by Jay Pandolfo when he took the reins of Terrier hockey in May 2022. He is BU’s chief recruiter and guides the team’s defense corp.  

Pereira was a member of the Terriers’ 2009 squad that claimed the program’s fifth national title, in addition to that year’s Beanpot and Hockey East regular-season and tournament trophies. But a spleen injury suffered in the Hockey East championship game sidelined him for the national tournament.

As captain his senior year, he led the team in goals and finished his collegiate career with 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points in 139 games.

● GoTerriers.com Pereira bio

 

      Pereira with Assistant Coach Kim Brandvold following a Terrier win

Q. With the addition of four veteran transfers and a talented group of nine freshmen, is BU reloading rather than rebuilding?

A. I believe we're reloading this year at BU. We have high expectations within this program to win trophies every year. We believe these new players can help us accomplish that. We have returned several keys players who played significant roles last year who want to finish the job.

Q.  Coach Pandolfo has said that having a veteran group last year led by 10 seniors, all familiar with him from the previous year, was instrumental to the team’s buy-in to his game philosophy and team culture. With nearly 50% newcomers, does that present a challenge to get everyone quickly on the same page?

A. Having seniors definitely helps, but with the leadership we have on this team with Case, Sam, Luke, Cade, Lane and the rest of the returners who played in many meaningful games last games, we believe we can accomplish a lot this year. We have a hungry group of players that want to get back to the frozen four.

Q. Last season’s successes invariably led to high expectations. How do you channel those expectations to be a strong motivation rather than a burden?

A. It's a new year, we'll have new challenges, but we just need to live in the moment. All we can do is be where our feet are. Continue to work and improve every day and the results will take care of itself.

Q. BU will have a new primary goalie for the first time in four years and an all-new goalie room, as well. What goes into establishing coordination and chemistry between a goalie and the defense corps?

A. That's a great question, I think communication is critical as is trust. Communication on goalie touches and what they want the defensemen to take away. It helps when you have four veteran defensemen who logged a lot of minutes in previous years.

Continue reading

 

             Captain Case McCarthy and Assistant Captain Sam Stevens

 

Looking ahead

Assisted by 2024 recruit Jack Pridham, 2024 or 2025 recruit Cal Hughes scored the overtime game-winner for West Kelowna in a 5-4 win against Trail. Pridham also scored his first BCHL goal.

● WestKelownaWarriors.ca recap

2024 recruit Kamil Bednarik scored his first goal of the season in the NTDP U18s’ 5-4 overtime win against Dubuque. 2024 recruit Cole Hutson set up the game-winner.

Looking back

 

 

This Elite Prospects Page tracks the current teams—in North America and Europe—and stats for both former and future Terriers, all mixed together, including the 29 Terriers currently in NHL training camps. A separate goalie list follows the skaters. We’ve added this tracker to the list of Links in the sidebar: BU-Where Are They Now. 

 


Anderson was a standout forward on BU’s 1971 and 1972 national champions. He had a 39-48-87 line over two seasons, including a pair of goals in the 4-0 win against Cornell in the 1972 championship game. 

Before assuming the reins at Merrimack, the Moncton, New Brunswick native played in 28 NHL games with Washington and spent several seasons playing in Europe. He led the Warriors for 15 seasons, including their move from Division 2 to Division 1 in 1984-85. Since 1999, Anderson has been a scout and Director of Player Recruitment for the Blackhawks.

Women’s Team

First-year head coach Tara Watchorn’s Terriers head to Montreal on for a Saturday exhibition game against McGill.

NEHJ’s Belle Fraser penned a look at potential difference-makers among New England schools, including senior center Lacy Martin.

The Terriers struggled mightily last season, but Martin remained a bright spot. The senior center, who will serve as assistant captain for her second consecutive season, relentlessly created chances for her team but didn’t see as many pucks go in the net as she’d like.

With new head coach Tara Watchorn at the helm, Martin will benefit from a more defined team structure and expectations. She’s a top-six staple who recorded 101 shots last season and amassed 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) through 34 games.

The effort was always there from Martin as she leaned on her speed and high hockey IQ, but this season is when the tangible production might finally catch up.

 

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