Monday Linkorama

Matt Gilroy, invited to participate in the U.S. National team training camp last week, didn’t make the final roster, but two former Terriers are taking part in the IIHF World Championships in Quebec and Halifax City. Winger Frantisek Skladany (#20 in photo) who spent the past two seasons in the Czech Pro League, is skating for his native Slovakia and had an assist in Saturday’s win against Norway. Defenseman Jakabs Redlihs is representing Latvia. The Riga native, who began this past season with Syracuse (AHL) and finished in the Czech Pro League, is joined on the Latvian roster by his brothers Krisjanis and Mikelis.

A few weeks ago, we had reported Gilroy's unexpected decision to return to BU for his senior season. A recent news feature in The Daily Free Press looks at several reasons Gilroy's choice, including loyalty to the university, a desire to complete his undergraduate degree, the opportunity to play with his brother, incoming freshman Kevin, and a stronger free-agent position next summer than he'd have now.

And then there was one...

Chris Drury and Mike Grier, teammates at BU and later on the Buffalo Sabres both were eliminated from Stanley Cup play Sunday in overtime games, leaving Pittsburgh’s Ryan Whitney as BU’s only remaining NHL playoff performer. Grier and the San Jose Sharks lost to Dallas, 2-1 in a four-overtime game. Drury’s New York Rangers, had avoided a sweep by Pittsburgh, winning game four, but after battling back yesterday from a 2-0 deficit, lost 3-2 in overtime. The Penguins take on Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference final.

In other playoff news...

John Curry is the only Terrier still playing in the AHL Calder Cup playoffs. Curry’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens evened their division final series with Philadelphia at one apiece Saturday night with a 5-4 win.

Tonight, Kevin Schaeffer and the Reading Royals play a seventh game against Cincinnati in the ECHL Northern Division finals. Schaeffer had played 31 games with AHL Providence before being returned to Reading last month.

Incoming freshman Chris Connolly (Omaha Lancers) is in the finals for the USHL Clarke Cup. The Lancers lost game one to Waterloo.

He shoots, he hits, he blogs!

Terrier freshman forward, and Hockey East Rookie of the Year (video clip) Colin Wilson is one of several projected first round draft choices who were invitied to blog on the nhl.com Web site. Colin, ranked #10 by NHL Central Scouting and #8 by International Scouting Services (ISS), has made two lengthy blog posts: the first describes his pre-BU hockey development; in the second, he looks back at his freshman season, discusses another player expected to be drafted in the first round this June, and reveals his favorite team and player in the NHL playoffs.

In the NHL.com “Draft Dandies” series, several members of the Central Scouting team assess Wilson’s game and offer some comparisons to his father, former Dartmouth and NHL player Carey Wilson.

While Wilson is expected to return to BU for his sophomore season, Terrier fans are understandably concerned that the team that ultimately drafts Wilson might have a different scenario in mind. Coach Jack Parker addressed the situation in The Daily Free Press.

As for Wilson, ranked ninth among draft eligible North American skaters by the NHL's Central Scouting Service, Parker said the start of the rookie's pro career will depend on the team that selects him in June's NHL Entry Draft. Though his rights will be owned by the pro club that picks him as an entry-level player, the decision to turn pro ultimately rests with Wilson and his family.

"We've talked about it quite a bit actually," Parker said. "I think his parents will have a lot to say about it. His father [Carey Wilson] was a former pro hockey player and he'll know all about that. The team that drafts him and the coaching staff here will help him out with the decision. Whoever drafts him -- we'll get together with them and say, 'Hey what do you think. Here's what we think.' If Colin Wilson
is ready to play in the NHL, I say get going. If you wanna go, go. But a lot of that will have to do with what the pro team that drafts him thinks."

From Parker's perspective, the decision should be a no-brainer for the reigning Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year, who finished third on the team in scoring this season with 35 points.

"There's no question he's a top prospect, but I also think there's no question he should be back here next year no matter who drafts him," Parker said. "It's gonna be difficult for him to step in and make the NHL next year. Some teams might think he's a prospect to play in the NHL because he's got the size and real good hands, but I think he knows he's developing here."

Whenever Wilson reaches the NHL, he'll become a third-generation player in the league. His grandfather, Jerry Wilson, skated briefly with Montreal in the 1950s.

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John Curry's sterling first pro season continues in the AHL Calder Cup playoffs. Curry and the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins, eliminated Chris Bourque and the Hershey Bears in five games and now move on to the divisional semifinal. Curry, who was named to the league's All-Rookie team, posted a 1.97 GAA and a .934 save percentage in the first round matchup with the Bears.

In the USHL, 2009 recruit Max Nicastro registered his first playoff goal, but couldn't help Chicago from dropping its second game to Waterloo in the Clark Cup semifinals. 2008 recruit Chris Connolly and Omaha lead Lincoln, two games to one in the other semifinal. Connolly remains tied for the USHL post-season scoring lead with seven points.

A USCHO pictorial by Melissa Wade of the Team USA training camp in Portland, Maine, features several shots (#s 4 9,10,19 & 28), of Matt Gilroy who is trying out for the USA National Team that will play in the upcoming World Championships in Quebec (see April 23 blog post). A wannabe Terrier is shown in shot #15.

Linkorama

Two-time All-American defenseman Matt Gilroy is one of only two college players invited to the U.S. Men's National Team training camp in Portland, which began today and runs through April 30. Gilroy, who will co-captain the 2008-09 Terriers, will participate in an exhibition game against Sweden on Sunday.

All three coaches of the U.S. Men's National Team, which will compete at the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Quebec City, Quebec, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 2-18, are former college players. Former BU captain and current Tampa Bay assistant Mike Sullivan joins Lightning head coach John Tortorella, a former Maine Black Bear. The assistant is ex-Providence Friar Kurt Kleinendorst, who is head coach of the Lowell Devils.

NHL Central Scouting has issued its final rankings for the 2008 draft. BU freshman forward Colin Wilson was ranked #10 among North American skaters. Four Terrier recruits also were ranked: Corey Trivino, #49, David Warsofsky (photo), #81, Max Nicastro, a 2009 recruit, #90, and Vinny Saponari ,#122. Wilson and Trivino have been invited to attend the NHL Central Scouting Draft Combine May 26 to June 1 in Toronto.

Trivino, Saponari and Warsofsky all were medal winners at the IIHF World U18 Championships. Trivino and his Canadian teammates earned the gold with an 8-0 blitz of Russia. Trivino scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the championship game to finish with 4-3-7, 5th best for Canada. Warsofsky's seven assists for bronze-medal winning USA was tied for most points by a defenseman in the tournament. Saponari added two assists.

Chicago Steel defenseman Nicastro and Omaha Lancer forward Chris Connolly, a 2008 recruit, are in the semifinals of the USHL Clark Cup playoffs. Omaha is matched up with Lincoln and Connolly is currently second among all playoff scorers with six points. The Steel, the surprising victors over Indiana now taking on Waterloo, are led by USHL Coach of the Year Steve Poapst, a former NHL defenseman. He recently commented to Paul Shaheen's Research on Ice about the progress first-year defenseman Nicastro: "Max is doing well. He's learning to be more patient and control his movement away from the puck."

Looking forward: World U18 edition

All three future Terriers participating in the IIHF World U18 Championships reached the medal round but only Corey Trivino will play for the gold, as Canada takes on the host Russian team on Wednesday. Trivino, who scored a hattrick and added an assist in Canada’s 4-1 win over Denmark in preliminary round play, has six points thus far in the tournament.

Team USA lost in the semifinals, losing to Russia, 3-1, and meets Sweden in the Bronze medal game. on to the quarterfinals and faces Germany. Thus far, team Captain David Warsofsky has six assists and Vinny Saponari, subject of a USA Hockey profile last week, has two assists.

Video of the gold medal game is expected to be streamed live --in Russian-- beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. Go to CobinaTV. Scroll to the bottom and click on a green icon with the letters THB in the middle. When the small viewer appears, double-click on the video image and it will become full screen. If the bronze medal game is Webcast, it will begin at 7:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

McKeen’s Hockey Prospects recently took a hard, analytical look at the two latest Terrier recruits from the NTDP program, addressing each one's strengths and weaknesses.

USNTDP-U18 Team: My Cousin Vinny Kevin Hopson, McKeen's Hockey Prospects

Though Danny Kristo is considered the top-rated draft-eligible prospect in the U.S. National Team Development Program, there are a few others to keep an eye on, including winger Vinny Saponari. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Hopson provides an update on Saponari, as well as teammates Justin Florek and David Warsofsky.

Vinny Saponari (2008), F, USNTDP-U18 A decent skater who lacks the necessary gear to blow by opponents, though he helps make up for this deficiency with his gifted puckmoving abilities .. owns an active stick and incredibly flexible hands, which – together – can make defenders miss .. crafty with the puck and can hold on to the rubber for lengthy periods of time .. also possesses a sneaky and precise passing game .. for example, he can pick up speed coming out of his own end, giving the impression that he is going to rush the ice however, he will sometimes dish the puck right before hitting full stride, reeling opponents in and causing them to over commit in the process .. enjoys astute vision on the ice, as he can find teammates in transition and even send a wing-to -wing pass across the mouth of the goal .. works most efficiently around the half boards and down low .. a special teams player who logs icetime on both the man advantage and PK .. though a respectable defender, his stickhandling expertise and aggressive nature on the forecheck are what hold value during penalty kills.

David Warsofsky (2008), D, USNTDP-U18 A mobile, puckmoving defenseman who can work in all three zones .. displays proper positioning on defense, as he does an effective job of cutting down angles and getting in the shooting lanes .. not afraid to initiate contact and get in the face of opponents.. utilizes the boards well, particularly in pressure situations .. plays a clean game for the most part, as he makes safe and precise passes in his own end .. has the capacity to skate the puck out of trouble as well .. can be dangerous in transition, as he possesses the gentle hands and smart vision to make a quality outlet pass .. also capable of keeping the puck and leading the rush himself .. does not look to shoot from the point that often, as he prefers to utilize his productive passing game to set up teammates .. however, he will pinch at times, as he loves to crash the net and be on the receiving end of a one-timer .. because of his puckmoving abilities, he sees regular time on the man advantage.

Terrier Hockey Banquet

Posted by CDRAL

The 45th annual Friends of Hockey Banquet was held last evening at the George Sherman Union. It was a pleasant evening weather wise and the turnout was a very nice one. In addition to the salute to the team members and departing seniors, there was a video presentation of hockey highlights of the past season..

A number of former Terriers who are now part of the Friends of BU Hockey Board were present including Chairman Paul Giandomenico, Dennis O'Connell, Brian Collins, and Mike Sylvia.

Tim Regan, the MVP of the 1972 NCAA tournament, yielding just one goal in Final Four and shutting out Cornell in the championship game [Recap from Sports Illustrated Vault] and a BU Hall of Famer, attended along with his wife.

The year end awards were presented as follows:

Ed Carpenter Award (Team Leading Scorer): Peter MacArthur

Clifford P. Fitzgerald Scholarship ( Junior/Senior Defenseman): Brian Strait

Regina Eilberg Scholarship (Excellence in Academics/Athletics): John McCarthy

Bennett McInnis Spirit Award: Craig Sanders (Second Consecutive year)

Most Improved Player: Bryan Ewing

Friends/Albert Sidd Unsung Hero Award: Ryan Weston (absent as he is in AHL playoffs)

George V. Brown Award /MVP: Peter MacArthur

Team Captains were announced for 2008-2009: Co-Captains: Matt Gilroy and John McCarthy
Alternate: Brian Strait

BU will open next season by hosting the Icebreaker Tournament at Agganis Arena, featuring North Dakota, Michigan State, and UMass

An enjoyable evening for all I would say.

Looking back: Stanley Cup edition

The number of ex-Terriers in the Stanley Cup playoffs decreased by one last night as Jay Pandolfo and the New Jersey Devils were eliminated by the New York Rangers, 4 games to 1. The coup de grace came from Pando’s former Terrier teammate, Chris Drury, who scored his 45th playoff goal and 16th game winner.

Joe DiPenta and the defending champion Anaheim Ducks staved off elimination with a 5-2 win against Dallas. Others still in the cup chase: Washington Cap’s defenseman Tom Poti, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney, San Jose Sharks winger Mike Grier, whose family connection to pro football were the subject of a Calgary Herald article, and Flames defenseman Adrian Aucoin.

Technically, there’s one more ex-Terrier in the group as Calgary recalled winger David VanderGulik from Quad City after the AHL affiliate completed its season to provide some emergency depth. VanderGulik’s 2-goal effort in Quad City’s next to last game gave him 19 for the season.

USHR reports that UM Lowell assistant coach Ken Rausch has resigned after seven years assisting Blaise MacDonald, a former BU associate head coach at Lowell. He also was MacDonald's assistant at Niagara for three seasons. Rausch, a speedy forward, played on three Frozen Four teams, including the 1995 national champions, and was MVP of the 1995 Beanpot, the final one played in the old Boston Garden. The report mentions Shawn McEachern, who recently left his post at Northeastern, as a possible replacement.

Kudos for Tkachuk

Ex-Terrier and St. Blues assistant captain Keith Tkachuk’s 16th NHL season ended short of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the Melrose, Mass., native reached a major milestone on the final weekend of the regular season. Tkachuk netted his 498th and 499th career goals in the Blues’ next to last game and then recorded his 500th in the season finale.

He joins Joe Mullen, Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick as the only Americans to reach the 500-goal plateau, and with 484 assists, he’s 16 points shy of 1,000 career points.

All-Americans: Gilroy, MacArthur, Ewing

Three Terriers have been named to the 2007-2008 RBK All-American teams, announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Junior defenseman Matt Gilroy was named to the East first team and senior forwards Pete MacArthur and Bryan Ewing are on the East second team. (BU Web site report)

This marks the first season with three BU All-Americans since 1997-1998 when Chris Drury and Tom Poti were picked for the first team and Chris Kelleher took second team honors.

Gilroy, who recently decided to return for his senior year, was a second team All-American in 2006-07. He also was a first team Hockey East All-Star this season and last season.

MacArthur, who finished his BU career with 147 points (18th best), also was a first team Hockey East All-Star this season and last season, and was named to the league second team in 2005-06. Ewing joined his two teammates as a first team league All-Star this season and had a career best 43 points.

3 Future Terriers in World U18s

The U.S. and Canada named their rosters for the upcoming World U18 Championships that begin in Russia on Thursday. Former Maple Leaf coach and GM Pat Quinn will coach Team Canada while ex-Terrier John Hynes (pg. 28), coach of the NTDP U18s, will be behind Team USA’s bench.

2008 recruit Corey Trivino (right) was the only non-Major Junior player to be selected by Canada. Earlier this season, Trivino helped Ontario win gold at the 2007 Canada Games, played in the World Junior A Challenge in Trail, B.C., last November and the national Jr. A prospects game in Manitoba in December.

His future teammates, Vinny Saponari and David Warsofsky are on the American squad that is almost entirely NTDP program players. The two are the second and third leading scorers for the NTDP U18s. Warsofsky will be the third consecutive NTDP U18 captain to play for BU.

Team USA— with team captain Brian Strait , Luke Popko and Colin Wilson—won the gold medal in 2006. Last year, Team USA—with team captain Kevin Shattenkirk and co-leading scorer Wilson—took silver, losing in the final to Russia.

Chris Connolly scored his 26th goal in a 7-1 Omaha/USHL win.

Incoming recruit Grant Rollheiser is spending some time as a goalie instructor before enrolling at BU this summer.

The Spruce Grove Saints’ AJHL playoff run ended in the semifinals with a loss to Ft. McMurray, but Kieran Millan, BU's other goalie recruit, was a standout for the Saints throughout the post-season, posting a 2.19 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 15 games. Millan earned his team’s star of the game in several of the games with Ft. Murray, including a double-overtime loss in which he stopped 48 of 51 shots.

USHR reported that BU, along with BC, is interested in 6'2" Avon Old Farms defensive defenseman Brendan Rempel for 2009.

Linkorama—Catching Up--UPDATED!

Four Terriers have been honored by the New England Hockey Writers. Seniors Pete MacArthur and Bryan Ewing and Junior Matt Gilroy were named Division 1 New England all-stars, while freshman Colin Wilson was named Rookie of the Year. Gilroy also received the Bob Monahan Award as New England’s top defenseman, succeeding Sean Sullivan who received that honor a year ago and now plays in the Phoenix organization.

A NESN video feature on Gilroy, produced prior to the Hockey East playoffs, suggests that he might leave BU to sign an NHL contract, but we’re hearing from a number of sources that he will return for his senior year and suit up along with his brother, incoming freshman Kevin Gilroy.

UPDATE: Gilroy's return for his senior year has now been confirmed and reported by the Daily Free Press.

A Boston Globe feature examined the Terrier experience of senior walk-on forward Craig Sanders.

Congratulations to former Terrier Rob Davies, who led Curry College to the regular season title in Division 3 ECAC Northeast Conference.

Former All-American goalie John Curry has been named to the AHL All-Rookie team where he was joined by fellow Hockey East products Brian Boyle (BC) and Ted Purcell (Maine)

This week marked the 10th anniversary of Chris Drury winning the Hobey Baker Award. Earlier in the week Drury scored yet another game-winning goal, the 44th regular season game-winner of his NHL career, in the Rangers’ 2-1 OT win against Pittsburgh

Chris Bourque had a Texas hattrick, netting four goals for Hershey/AHL last Friday

Looking back

Keith Tkachuk is four goals shy of the 500 career goal mark and stands to become the fourth American-born player to reach that milestone. The first three were Joe Mullen, Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick. With 23 goals this year, Tkachuk has scored 20 or more goals 14 times in his 16-year NHL career.

Carl Corazzini scored his 23rd goal of the season for Grand Rapids and added another in the shootout, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Griffins from being edged by Milwaukee, 3-2.

Tim Kimball, who was a freshman defenseman on the 1977-78 Terrier national championship team, will be inducted into the Beverly (Mass.) High School Sports Hall of Fame on April 5. This past Tuesday, March 25 was the 30th anniversary of BU’s 5-3 win over BC to claim it’s third NCAA title, chronicled in an original Terrier Hockey Fan Blog article.

From the Beverly Citizen:

Tim Kimball, Beverly High School Class of 1977, was known as one of the finest hockey players ever at BHS. He was highly skilled in hockey fundamentals, a strong skater, great stick handler and possessed one of the finest shots in hockey for a high school player. Tim had good hockey sense, was a scoring defenseman and was also a stalwart defenseman. He was a fine team player and was adept at getting his team out of the defensive zone.

He was a three-year varsity letter player and co-captain of the 1977
Massachusetts Schoolboy Hockey Tournament semi-finalist BHS squad. His awards include first Team Defenseman on the Massachusetts All State and Massachusetts All Scholastic hockey teams twice and received the 1977 Hockey Night in Boston
Massachusetts Top Schoolboy Defenseman award. Tim was the all-time leading scorer among defenseman in BHS history.

His second passion was soccer. He was team MVP and co-captain in 1977, and was NEC and Boston Soccer All-Star. Tim also won varsity letters in track in 1975 and in baseball in 1977.

Tim took his many hockey skills to Boston University and was a member of the 1978 NCAA Division I Ice Hockey championship team as well as the 1978 and 1979 Beanpot Tournament championship team.

“Tim Kimball was a gentleman on and off the ice,” said Beverly High hockey coach Jerry Ryan. “His conduct was exemplary — and (he) was the recipient of the NEC Team Sportsmanship award.”

Catching Up with the Terriers

BU’s 3-1 loss to Vermont in the Hockey East semifinals ended the team’s NCAA hopes and its season. With a 19-17-4 record, the Terriers were ranked 15th in the final national polls.

Another Eastern team with Terrier connections won its’ league title and advances to the national tournament. Princeton beat Harvard last Saturday to clinch its first ECAC Hockey League tournament championship. Kevin Shattenkirk’s older brother Keith is a senior forward for the Tigers, while goalie Zane Kalemba was a teammate of ex-Terrier Matt Radoslovich at Bergen Catholic High School when the pair won the New Jersey state championship in 2001. Princeton takes on North Dakota tomorrow in the Midwest Regional in Madison, Wisc.

Four BU seniors have moved on to the next stage of their hockey careers, signing Amateur Tryout (ATO) contracts with AHL clubs. Brian McGuirk (Syracuse), Bryan Ewing (Springfield), Pete MacArthur (Bridgeport) and Ryan Weston (Albany). McGuirk has already played his first game with the Crunch, registering one assist. Weston makes his first start for the River Rats tonight against Syracuse. When MacArthur debuts tonight for the Sound Tigers, he’ll find a familiar face on the opposition, his freshman classmate, Hershey’s Chris Bourque, who has made a few brief trips up to the parent club, Washington. [Update: MacArthur had an assist--and 4 PIMs--in Bridgeport's 4-2 win]

Looking forward: Tricky Trivino

McKeen's Hockey took a look at the college-bound players that led the Stouffville Spirit to the third round of the OPJHL playoffs in the North Conference. McKeen's correspondent David Burstyn was particularly effusive in his asssessment of Corey Trivino who is currently ranked No. 17 on McKeen's Midterm Rankings for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Corey Trivino (2008), C, Stouffville, Committed to Boston University. Trivino led the team in points in the postseason, as he took his game to another level .. he has been a member of every International team he went to training camp for, including the Under 17 team and the World Junior A Challenge .. an offensive-minded centre whose skill marries well with his feet .. he does everything in mach speed, as his hands and feet work in unison with one another .. he can control the pace of the game when he enters the offensive zone, as he shrewdly weaves his way in and out of scoring areas .. his passing skills are superior to anyone in the OPJHL .. his ability to make plays in traffic and find the open man is awe inspiring .. he literally dances around the opposition and is a wizard with the puck .. goes to the net with his stick down, always prepared .. showed more attention to detail away from the puck in the playoffs ..he engaged in the corners and behind the net for the puck and is a gifted soccer player, as he often used his feet to alleviate pressure .. his forte is creating offence, however he needs to shoot more .. he is tricky to get a read on but has developed more of a reputation as a passer .. has all the tools to be a player, however his weight is a serious concern .. while it is not inconceivable for him to add some weight, some NHL teams might be scared off, as many prospects weigh more than his listed 160 pounds .. because of his slender frame, he does get pushed around in the slot but to his defense, he comes back, often eluding coverage much like Mike Bossy did in his NHL career .. given his gifted offensive imagination and skills, Trivino should see himself land in the bottom half of the first round, as his game is a mirror image to that of Mike Ribeiro.

Ethan Werek (2009), LW, C, Stouffville Committed to Boston University. Werek enjoyed a fine campaign, as he led the team in scoring as a rookie and participated in both the Under 17 and World Jr. A Challenge .. not used much in the Under 17 team Ontario gold medal victory but was a dominant player who saw plenty of ice on the World Jr. A team that finished in second place .. slick skater with soft hands and uncanny vision .. plays on the first PP unit and
controlled the game at the half boards making timely passes .. at times, he looked lost and struggled to identify the changes in the game. particularly in the Aurora series, as he did not adjust to the Tigers neutral zone trap .. his strength is a major concern as well .. he gets pushed around too often, however at 16, he is not supposed to bulldoze over the opposition .. nonetheless, he is very ineffective along the boards .. plays a wide-open game, curling and dragging the puck to get into better position .. Werek played out of position for the most part of the playoffs and season and it showed in his game .. a natural centre, he rode shotgun to Trivino on the left-hand side .. while this helped to pad the points, it also crippled his development somewhat .. should continue to be a major point producer next season and will undoubtedly be a player who is mentioned in the NHL entry draft.

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2008 recruit Ryan Ruikka's hometown newspaper traces his path from local star in Chelsea, Michigan, to EJHL champion with the Jersey Hitmen.

Wilson, Ewing, Higgins take home Hockey East awards

Eight Terriers were recognized at Thursday night's Hockey East Awards Banquet in Cambridge. Freshman Colin Wilson took home the Rookie of the Year award, Senior Bryan Ewing was both Hockey East Scoring Champion and "Three Stars" Champion, and Junior Chris Higgins received the Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award. Sophomore Brian Strait was runner-up for Best Defensive Defenseman and Sophomore Luke Popko was runner-up for Best Defensive Forward.

All-Star Teams also were announced with Senior Pete MacArthur, Junior Matt Gilroy and Ewing named first team Hockey East All-Stars. Freshman Kevin Shattenkirk and Wilson earned spots on the the All-Rookie team.

UNH goalie Kevin Regan was named Player of the Year (Ewing was runner-up) and Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon was selected Coach of the Year honors. Season highlights video.

Drury has got "it"

In the 1920s, the heyday of silent movies, the biggest star was actress Clara Bow, the “It Girl.” The “it “ she had, but went largely unspoken, given the times, was “sexiness.” An NHL.com feature (check the video link) on former Terrier captain and Hobey Baker Award winner Chris Drury declares “Drury's got 'it', Rangers are delighted.” In this case, the “it” is his ability to deliver in the clutch, when the game is on the line.

By the numbers, his track record is nothing short of remarkable. Of his 216 career regular season goals, 43 –or one in every five—have been game-winners. On the bigger stage of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he’s been even more clutch with 15 of 43 goals being game winners, and more than a few of those in overtime. In the article, his teammates offer their theories of how Drury, hardly the biggest guy out there, consistently puts himself in position to score those deciding goals, often right at the goalmouth.

Last night, Drury delivered again, not a game-winner, but the tying goal, with five minutes left in what had been a 1-0 game, beating Devils’ goalie Martin Brodeur, arguably the game’s best netminder. Rescued from a narrow defeat, the Rangers went on to a shootout win.

In the AHL Dan Spang scored his 8th goal of the season for the Worcester Sharks and John Curry picked up his 20th win in 28 decisions for WilkesBarre/Scranton, while reducing his goals against average to a league best 2.04.

Tuesday Linkorama: Players' Player

Freshman Nick Bonino’s momentum-changing goal in Sunday’s game three 4-2 win against Lowell was his 16th of the season, the most for any Terrier rookie since Jay Pandolfo found the net 17 times in 1992-93. Pandolfo went on to record three seasons with 40 or more points, culminating in his senior year when he racked up 67 points and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist.

As a professional for eleven years with the Devils, Jay’s role has been as a defensive forward, usually matched up against a high-scoring right wing. This season, given the chance to focus more on offense, he is poised to post his best point total as pro, despite missing 29 games due to an injury. On Monday, his teammates recognized him with his third consecutive Players’ Player Award (video) and also his fifth Unsung Player Award.

Congratulations to senior co-captain Pete MacArthur who was named Hockey East Player of the Week for the second consecutive week, sharing the latest award with UNH’s Jerry Pollastrone. Hockey East’s weekly release also notes:

The Terriers have now won at least one game in the Hockey East playoffs in each of the last 16 years, the longest streak of its kind in league history...With senior Kevin Kielt’s (Brick, N.J.) assist on Sunday, 25 different players have earned at least one helper this season, tying the school record set in 1988-89...BU has come out on top in each of its last four best-of-three quarterfinal series that went to a third and decisive game...Senior Pete MacArthur is the first Terrier in eight years (Carl Corazzini, 1999-00) to accumulate 20 goals and 20 assists in a season...MacArthur, who ranks 25th
all-time at BU in goals with 64, needs three more points to become just the 18th player in program history to tally 150 points in a career.

HockeyEastOnline has posted transcripts of comments from all four seminfinalist coaches during today’s media teleconference.

Last month we reported the commitment of Trail Smoke Eaters goal Grant Rollheiser to BU for 2008 and posted a link to part 1 of a radio interview with Rollheiser just after his commitment. It took a while, but we now have a link to part 2 in which he reports that Northeastern was recruiting him for 2009-2010 and that many other schools also sought his verbal. A article in the Trail Daily Times explains how Rollheiser became a Terrier and points out how impressed he was with the atmosphere at the BU game he attended during a fly-down to Boston.

Another 2008 recruit, defenseman Ryan Ruikka, finished his junior career with a championship as the Jersey Hitmen swept New Hampshire in two games at Holy Cross to win the EJHL title. Both teams will participate in the USA Hockey Tier III Jr. A National Championships at NESC in Marlboro, Mass., beginning March 25.

More milestones for Mac

Last night’s 5-3 win over UM-Lowell in the first game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series featured a 3-point night for Pete MacArthur and some news milestones for the Terrier captain. He moved into a tie with two-time All American Herb Wakabayashi for 19th on the BU career scoring charts with 145. His 18th and 19th goals of the season raised his career total to #62, tied for 28th with Carl Corazzini. NESN Video highlights.

Game 2 of the series is a 7 p.m. start tonight with senior Karson Gillespie in goal for BU.

Goalie Kieran Millan’s Spruce Grove Saints are becoming the Cinderella story of the AJHL playoffs. After losing all six regular season games with Grand Prairie and then dropping the first two in the second round playoff series, Millan has backstopped the Saints to three straight wins, including last nights’s 3-2 overtime victory.

But for the Stouffville Spirit, it was the end of the line as they were eliminated by Aurora, 3-2 in overtime, from the OPJHL playoffs, despite the efforts of Corey Trivino and Ethan Werek. Trivino had a goal and an assist, bringing his team-leading post-season totals to 5-17-22. Werek, who edged out his future Terrier teammate by one point in regular season scoring (70 to 69), assisted on both Spirit goals.

Chris Connolly’s 24th goal of the season, in Omaha’s 5-2 loss to Waterloo last night gives him 52 points in 52 games, good for eighth on the USHL leader board. Who’s in first? Chris’ younger brother Jack, a Minnesota-Duluth recruit. Earlier in the week Connolly had two assists and a key shoot out goal in a sdsdsd win.

Curry speaks and fights (sort of)

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins fans are learning what BU fans know well: that John Curry is a superb and clutch puckstopper. Curry turned in another strong effort last night in a 4-1 win over Bridgeport, boosting his record to 18-8-2, to go with a 2.15 GAA. They’ve also learned that fighting is not Curry's strong suit, as this video clip demonstrates. With 7 ½ minutes left in the third period, a fight broke out and Curry skated out of his crease to square off with the Sound Tigers' goalie and the results weren’t pretty for the ex-Terrier All-American. Lost the fight (but not the game) and received a game misconduct for his trouble. Curry assesses his first pro season in a Q&A interview from the Pens Web site.

Catching up with a few other alums

Sean Sullivan, BU’s captain in 2006-07, spent much of the early season in the ECHL, but has been recalled to San Antonio, the Coyotes’s AHL franchise. In 27 starts, Sullivan has four assists.

David VanderGulik, in his second season in the Flames organization has reached the 30-point mark for Quad City.

Ken Roche, who began the season playing for Joe Sacco on the new Lake Erie Monsters club, now is skating in the ECHL for the Johnstown Chief, recording 17 points in 21 games.

Another 2007 grad, Kevin Schaeffer began his pro career with Reading in the EHL, but was acquired by the Bruins’ AHL club in Providence in December. Kevin has a goal and an assist in 24 games with the P-Bruins

Much traveled Tom Poti is thriving in Washington with the surging Capitals, after several seasons in New York with both the Rangers and Islanders.

Gameday: Hockey East Quarterfinals

The Terriers begin their second season tonight with Hockey East quarterfinal action against Blaise MacDonald’s UMass-Lowell River Hawks. Links to games notes, game tracker and the radio Web cast are now available. NESN is telecasting tonight’s game. Subsequent quarterfinal games are available as pay-per-view Web casts on the B2 Networks. Series previews have been posted by USCHO’s Dave Hendrickson and College Hockey News.

In his comments during this week’s Hockey East teleconference, Coach Jack Parker announced that sophomore goalie Brett Bennett (photo) will start game one and that senior Karson Gillespie will be in net for the second game.

Congratulations to senior Pete MacArthur, whose hattrick against Providence College earned him Hockey East Player of the Week honors, and freshman Colin Wilson, who was named INCH's Hockey East Rookie of the Year. INCH also named MacArthur to its conference all-star team.

Kieran Millan’s Spruce Grove Saints hadn’t beaten Grand Prairie once in the regular AJHL season and the first two games of the second round playoff series continued the pattern. But Millan led his team back with a particularly strong effort in a 3-2 overtime win on Tuesday, followed by a dominating 8-1 win on Wednesday. Game 5 will be played on Friday.

Stouffville, with BU recruits Corey Trivino and Ethan Werek, is on the brink of elimination, trailing in its conference finals series, 3-1 following last night's 5-2 loss to Aurora.

Defenseman David Warsofsky picked up his 10th goal of the season in the USA NTDP U18's 3-2 win over Alpena/NAHL this week. With 30 points, he's now tied for second in scoring on the U18s with fellow BU recruit Vinny Saponari. Warsofsky also scored a shootout goal (not included in his total) in the U18s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Bandits last Sunday.


BU's newest recruit for 2008, defenseman Ryan Ruikka, was at Agganis Arena for last Friday's regular season final against Providence. Ruikka and the Jersey Hitmen face of with the New Hampshire Junior Monarch's in the EJHL finals at Holy Cross this weekend with games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Freshman Joe Pereira was the top goal scored last season for South Kent School. He was succeeded this season in that role by brother, Mike, who racked up a 27-25-52 line. His 27 goals tied 2008 BU recruit Andrew Glass of Nobles for 4th best in the Northeast prep ranks.

Looking back: Band of Brothers in Scarlet and White

30 years ago this month, the Terrier hockey team completed the first 30-win season in program history, winning the 1978 NCAA Championship at the Providence Civic Center with a 5-3 win against BC. And to complete this little jaunt into numerology, the man in the net for BU that night, Jim Craig, wore number 30. BU's third national title followed four years of semifinal losses and was the first and only time the Terriers and Eagles met in the Final (now, Frozen) Four.

A 30-2 record and a national title hardly tell the entire story of a remarkable season that included a 21 game winning streak that lasted from the opener until February, a 10-0 record in 1-goal games, the Blizzard of ’78 Beanpot, a shocking upset in the ECACs and redemption in the NCAAs. However, Terrier Hockey Fan Blog contributor mh82 comprehensively chronicles “That Championship Season” in a feature article also posted under Terrier Tales in the sidebar to the right.

Brian Durocher, now coach of the Terrier Women’s Hockey team—and recently named Hockey East Coach of the Year—was a co-captain and one-half of a goalie rotation on the 1977-78 team, posting a 14-2 record.

“To win a title and be the last one standing takes talent and a little luck,” he explained. “We may have gotten that small amount of luck and positive confidence in some of those close wins.

”We had stars and we had excellent role players. Goalie Jim Craig, defensemen Dick Lamby and Jack O’Callahan and forwards Dave Silk and Mark Fidler were elite players. The likes of Billy O'Neill, Marc Hetnik, Mickey Mullen, John Bethel, and Bob Boileau were excellent in their roles. We were not as talented as the BU teams [in the years] before this group, but the personalities and team play meshed quite well.”

“One of the things that was special about the ’78 team is that it didn’t matter what we did away from the rink,” said Silk, later a member of 1980’s Miracle on Ice. “When we came to the rink and played in that game, we were family. We were all brothers. We had something special.”

March 25, 1978 Providence, R.I.

Boston College 2-0-1---3
Boston Univ. 3-1-1---5

First Period
BU-Mark Fidler (Dick Lamby, Jack O'Callahan) PP 0:38
BC-Joe Mullen (Joe Augustine) 11:00
BC-Bobby Hehir (un.) 13:26
BU-Dave Silk (O'Callahan) 14:44
BU-Tony Meagher (Lamby) 17:24

Second Period
BU-Meagher (Bob Boileau, Marc Hetnik) 7:05

Third Period
BU-Fidler (Silk, Lamby) 1:01
BC-Steve Barger (Mark Switaj, Bill Kennedy) 3:30

Saves: BC (Paul Skidmore) 31; BU (Jim Craig) 28

Dealing goose eggs

Karson Gillespie returned to the Terrier lineup Friday night, following a two-month layoff due to a high ankle sprain, and turned in his best effort of the season, blanking Providence, 2-0, as BU locked up the second seed in the Hockey East Tournament.

The senior netminder from Saskatchewan stopped 33 shots including 15 in the final period to record his third career shutout. Two seasons ago, Gillespie shut out defending NCAA champion Denver, 1-0. Last year, he blanked Dartmouth, 3-0.

A link to video highlights of Gillespie’s heroics and goals by freshmen Joe Pereira and Nick Bonino can be found here.

BU’s quarter-final round opponent in the Hockey East playoffs is UMass-Lowell with the best-of-three series beginning at Agganis Arena on Friday, March 14 with a 7:30 p.m. game that will be broadcast on NESN. The Terriers took two of three games from the Rivehawks during the regular season.

Gillespie’s shutout, following on the heel’s of the 6-0 blanking of the Friars on Thursday, doesn’t comprise the first time BU has had two different goalies pitch back-to-back shutouts. In February 1994, Derek Herlofsky was in the net for an 8-0 whitewashing of Northeastern. Five days later, BU and Maine played a scoreless overtime time with J.P. McKersie between the pipes. [Note: BU was later credited with a forfeit win because Maine used an ineligible player.]

News of the recruits:

Kevin Gilroy had a hot hand for the South Shore Kings in their EJHL semifinal series against Jersey, but couldn't prevent the Hitmen from sweeping two games. The right wing, who was 2nd in the league in regular season goal-scoring, registered his 35th goal on Saturday in a 4-2 loss and a hattrick today as the Kings were eliminated, 5-3. Gilroy finishes with a combined 38 goals in 45 regular season games and four playoff games. BU's newest recruit, Ryan Ruikka ,wasn’t in the lineup for Jersey, probably due to an injury since he played 41 of 45 regular season games and played in the league all-star game.

Corey Trivino and Ethan Werek each had an assist as Stouffville drew first blood in its conference final series with Aurora, but the duo was held scores when Aurora won the second game today.

Kieran Millan's post-season winning streak ended at three when Grand Prairie took the first two games from Spruce Grove in the second round of AJHL playoffs. Sunday night's game was a 3-2 overtime loss in which Millan stopped 29 of 32 shots. Spruce Grove has yet to beat Grand Prairie this season.

Senior Night at Agganis Arena

The Terriers’ regular season finale is on tap tonight as they take on Providence College in the second half of the home-and-home series. It’s also Senior Night with nine members of the Class of 2008 to be recognized.

Links to gamenotes, gametracker and the WWZN Webcast are now available for the contest which also airs on NESN beginning at 7:30 p.m. BU All-Access, which covers all BU sports, can be heard at 6:30 p.m. on WZZN. Senior Ryan Weston and Coach Jack Parker are among the scheduled guests.

Last night’s 6-0 shutout of the Friars included several milestones for senior Pete MacArthur, whose hattrick gave him 60 career goals, tying him with Clark Donatelli and Steve Stirling. It also pulled him into a tie for 24th on the all-time Terrier scoring list with Terry Meagher. And it made MacArthur BU first 40-point scorer since Mike Pandolfo in 2001-02. Brett Bennett, who recorded his third shut out in his past six starts, gets a rest tonight as senior Karson Gillespie returns to action following an ankle injury back in January.

Last night's win clinched home ice for the Terriers who can finished 2nd, 3rd or 4th depending on the outcome of the rest of the weekend's games. Quarterfinal action in the Hockey East Tournament begins next Friday night against a to-be-determined opponent.

A Hitman for the Terriers

BU has received a verbal commitment for 2008 from Jersey Hitman (EJHL) defenseman Ryan Ruikka, who joins NTDP U18 blueliner David Warsofsky in the next recruit class. Ruikka, a 6’0”, 180-lb right-shot defenseman from Chelsea, Mich., played on the top blueline pair for the Hitmen, who finished first in the EJHL’s Southern Division and tied for the league’s top record. He finished the regular season with a 5-25-30 line and 60 PIMs and played in the league’s all-star game. “More importantly,” according to the EJHL report, “the defensive-minded defenseman ended the regular season with a +35 rating.”

Ruikka, who made the Michigan High School “Dream Team” as a senior in 2006, played in the USHL during the 2006-2007 season. Ironically, he was traded from the Lincoln Stars to the Des Moines Bucs just a few weeks after Colby Cohen had joined the Stars.

Following his USHL season, a USHL blog described him as a defenseman who “won't put up the big points or make the flashy play, but he will do his job and that's to keep the puck away from his goalie.”

Ruikka attracted attention in the past two Beantown Summer Classic events.

Another Hitman defenseman, Kevin Clare, is regarded as one of top blueline prospects in the East for 2010. Clare, who USHR reported has visited both BU and BC and also is interested in Michigan and Notre Dame, is from New Rochelle, N.Y., hometown of BU freshman Kevin Shattenkirk.

Trivino sends Stouffville to Conference finals

2008 recruit Corey Trivino’s overtime goal gave the Stouffville Spirit a win tonight in the decisive seventh game of its OPJHL North conference semifinal, 5-4. The 6-1 center assisted on three other goals as the Spirit eliminated favored Huntsville, a team that had lost just seven times in the regular season. Spirit took a 3-1 lead, fell behind, 4-3, then tied the game late in the third period. 2009 recruit Ethan Werek assisted on Trivino’s gamer and on the Spirit’s second goal. Trivino leads his team in playoff scoring with 4-14-18, followed by Werek at 6-10-16. Next up: conference final against Aurora.

Another 2008 recruit, goalie Kieran Millan continue his strong play over the weekend as Spruce Grove (AJHL) finished off first-round opponent Lloydminster in a 6-3 win. In three games, he’s yielded four goals—just one at even-strength—and sports a 1.33 GAA and .957save percentage.

BU’s other goalie recruit, Grant Rollheiser didn’t fare as well as his Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL) were overpowered in three games by the Vernon Vipers.

The season also ended for 2008 recruit Ross Gaudet, whose EJHL Bridgewater Bandits fell in the first round to the Jr. Bruins. Gaudet, a former Boston Globe All-Scholastic from Austin Prep who scored the last goal of the year for the Bandits, finished the regular season with a 13-15-28 line.

Terrier reshman Colin Wilson was named Hockey East’s Rookie of the Month for February.

BU Today takes a look at Chris Drury, the New York Rangers’ $35-million man.

The Globe's Jim McCabe examines the phenomenon of the vanishing 18 year old freshman hockey recruit, with Coach Jack Parker extensively quoted.

Finally, The Boston Globe’s fine hockey writer Fluto Shinzawa returned to the Daily Free Press for a guest column, reflecting on his time spent at BU as a Terrier hockey fan and reporter.

Jack Kelley tribute photo #2

Coach Jack Kelley with his likeness (see photo from 1966 Beanpot) dedicated at Agganis Arena last Friday.

A bio of Kelley, who is a member of the BU Athletics Hall of Fame, has been added to our list of Terrier Tales in the sidebar to the right. The first of two photo galleries from Friday's event has been posted on the GoTerriers.com Web site.

Jack Kelley tribute photo #1

Some two dozen former players and managers rejoined Jack Kelley at Agganis Arena on Friday when a bust of the legendary Terrier "Mentor" was dedicated. Video highlights of the dedication were shown on the scoreboard screen between the second and third periods of BU's 3-0 win over Don Cahoon's UMass squad and Coach Kelley, who was joined on the ice by Jack Parker and Athletic Director Mike Lynch, addressed the crowd and electrified the Terrier faithful.


Front: L-R: Bob Brown, Larry Davenport, Dave Wisener, Paul Giandomenico (in front of Ed Walsh), Ed Walsh, John Cooke, Jim McCann, Dick Toomey.

Back: L-R: Joe Robillard, John Danby, Rich McLachlan, Pete McLachlan, Bill Hinch (behind Pete), Brian Gilmour, Jack Parker, Darrell Abbott (behind Jack Parker), Statue, Coach Jack Kelley, Chris Henes, Lyman Carter, Rich Green, Tom Ross, Dennis O'Connell, Bob Murray, Jack Ferreira

Playoff time for Terrier recruits

Playoffs are under way in most of the U.S. and Canadian junior leagues and Terrier recruits have been at the center of the action. In the OPJHL, Stouffville tied its division semi-final series with Huntville at three games apiece today behind a pair of Ethan Werek goals. In nine playoff games, Werek has a team-high 14 points (6g-8a), tying him with Corey Trivino, who had an assist in today’s win.

In the first round of AJHL playoffs, Spruce Grove goalie Kieran Millan is at the top his game, shutting out Lloydminster 4-0 Friday and stopping 36 shots. The next night, he held the Bobcats in check again, in a 5-1 win, earning his coach’s praise.

BU’s two newest recruits will playoff action, too. On Friday in first round BCHL play, Grant Rolleheiser stopped 37 of 40 shots, keeping Trail in the game against a bigger, and more-high powered Vernon Vipers team in a 3-2 loss. Last night, the Vipers put a thumping on Trail, 7-2, chasing Rollheiser after two periods. Details on Shawn’s Smoke Eaters’ Blog.

Note: Trail Blogger Shawn Mullin advises Terrier fans that "when the Smokies play at home in the playoffs [Monday night] there should be a live video feed of the game on the BCHL website. You just have to sign up for a free Fanzone membership and apparently they'll have at least one home game you can watch."

In the EJHL, Kevin Gilroy netted a pair today to lead the South Shore Kings to a 6-3 win over Syracuse, tying the first round series at one game apiece.

Vinny Saponari had a goal in the NTDP U18s 3-3 tie with Nebraska-Omaha Saturday and an assist in a 4-2 loss to Alpena/NAHL today. Saponari’s 30 points (13g, 17a) are second best on the U18s.