Saturday, December 29, 2007

Wilson powers USA past Switzerland; next up is Russia



Colin Wilson’s pair of power play goals propelled Team USA to a 4-2 win over Switzerland in preliminary round play yesterday at the World Junior Championships. Team USA has a 2-0 record. Named USA player of the game, Wilson now is tied for the tournament lead in goals scored with three. At last year’s World U18 championships, he was co-leading scorer of the tournament (5-7-12) and USA player of the game in the gold-medal game

USA Today’s Kevin Allen reports that Wilson has performed like the top-10 draft selection he’s expected to be. This afternoon at 2 p.m. ET, Team USA takes on Russia, which also has a 2-0 record. The link for the audiocast can be accessed at USA Hockey Web site.

Good reading

Check out the Cape Cod Times’s nostalgic look at pond and river hockey, with former Terrier All-American and captain John Danby featured. In the article, Danby, former coach at Barnstable and Harwich/Provincetown and now, co-owner of the Top Shelf Hockey School in Hyannis, reflects on his childhood in Port Credit, Ontario, skating for hours on the Credit River.
One of the most deadly snipers ever to wear a Terrier uniform, Danby earned MVP honors in the Beanpot, ECAC Championships and NCAA Championships, leading BU to its second national title in 1972

Former BU captain Terry Meagher recorded his 400th career win as coach of the Bowdoin Polar Bears last night and it came at the expense of a Terrier teammate. The Polar Bears won the Salem State Ice Hockey Classic championship, 6-3, beating Bill O'Neill's host team Vikings, 6-3. Terrier coach Jack Parker was among those watching Meagher's milestone win (photos) in his 25th season at Bowdoin.

Former Terrier John Laliberte, who enjoyed a four-goal game for Augusta (ECHL) last month, scored only half that number last night, but the second was the game-winner in the Lynx’s 4-3 win over Gwinnett. With 15 goals, Laliberte is now 10th in goal-scoring in the ECHL.

2009 recruit Ethan Werek trades his Stoufville jersey for Team Ontario as he begins play today in the World U17 Challenge in London, Ontario. Tied for third leading scorer on the Spirit with 15-28-43 in 24 games, the 6-2, 185 lb., left wing is one of only two non-OHL players on the Ontario U17 squad.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Wilson scores in USA win at WJCs

Freshman center Colin Wilson was one of five American goal-scorers in Team USA's 5-1 win over Kazakhstan in first day play at the World Junior Championships. Wilson re-directed a powerplay slapshot early in the third period. Game recap and boxscore. Next up for Team USA is Switzerland on Friday.

Strait with a “C”



BU junior defenseman Brian Strait (media guide, pg. 25) has been voted captain of the U.S. Junior National Team by his teammates. Assistant captains include Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion, Denver’s Tyler Ruegsegger and Michigan’s Chris Summers.

Team USA began play in the IIHF World Junior Championships today against Kazakhstan. Audiocast link. Strait is paired on defense with New York Rangers’ draft choice Bobby Sanguinetti. Colin Wilson (media guide, pg. 29) is centering UNH’s James Van Riemsdyk and Minnesota recruit Jordan Schroeder. Coach John Hynes reunited the trio, which was the top U.S. line for the silver medal-winning squad in last Spring’s World U18 Championship. Two seasons ago, Strait was captain of the Team USA squad that earned the gold medal in the World U18 Championships.

Strait’s progress on the Terrier blueline has been monitored by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted Brian in the third round of the 2006 NHL draft. In an assessment of Penguins prospects, he was ranked 5th with Pens’ director of player development Tom Fitzgerald, a former Providence and NHL standout, noting:


"He's kind of listened to everyone's advice: Just keep it simple, be a first-pass defenseman, hold the blue line, get it out, change, jump over the boards, do it again. In my last report, I really thought that he looked like an NHL defenseman. He did everything well, and he didn't make any glaring mistakes. He just kept it simple, and that's all he's going to do. He knows what he is."

Monday, December 24, 2007

Looking back: Deja vu ? Let’s hope so !

Blog contributor srsterrier has prepared a look back to another Terrier hockey season which, like the current one, was faced with a more-than-bumpy start. The ’87-’88 squad also had just four wins at semester break, but turned things around to finish third in Hockey East. The newest Terrier Tales feature, “Déjà vu? Let’s hope so!” details the team’s reversal of fortune that helped set the table for BU’s run of NCAA tournament seasons that began two seasons later. You also can access this article from the list of Terrier Tales in the sidebar to the right.

Wearing the red, white and blue

Last week, we noted that Colin Wilson (photo), now preparing with Team USA for the World Junior Championships, was a projected first round draft choice in 2008. Hockeysfuture.com takes a detailed look at Wilson’s strengths and weaknesses in an interview that includes some very candid and self-aware comments from Wilson. We’ve also come across a recent Q&A interview with Wilson, written by a contributor to the futureconsiderations.ca Web site and posted on the Hockeysfuture.com message board.

Meanwhile, Wilson’s Team USA teammate, Brian Strait’s leadership skills are the subject of a USAHockey.com profile, while New England Hockey Journal looks at the region’s four Team USA representatives.

USA Hockey has posted an All Access Pass to its comprehensive information about and links to the IIHF World Junior Championships that begin this week in The Czech Republic and a link to a USA Hockey-WJC blog. All of Team USA's games, beginning with Wednesday’s first-round match against Kazakhstan, will be audiocast on the USA Hockey Web site . Medal round games will be broadcast on the NHL Network. Team USA Coach John Hynes, current NTDP U18 coach and a member of BU's 1995 national championship team, is profiled in the Team USA media guide, along with all team members.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Looking Forward: Trivino & Werek


Future Terrier Corey Trivino got a nice plug from EJ McGuire, head of NHL Central Scouting, at the Canadian Junior A Prospects game this last week week, where Trivino (left in photo) and Ethan Werek (right) played for Canada East and also participated in the skills competition.

McGuire said: "There are players in this game, Corey Trivino of the Stouffville Spirit, and Joe Colborne of the Camrose Kodiaks, that will be first-round draft picks in Ottawa this summer. They'll be on our list as first-round selections.”

Trivino's future teammate at BU, Colin Wilson, also is projected to be a first-round choice in the 2008 draft.

After a red-hot preseason followed by some injuries, Trivino has come on strong and has 39 points, including 11 points in the past five games. Werek has been even hotter of late –14 points in the past five games-- and has nearly caught Trivino.

Werek is one of only two non-Major Junior players named to the Ontario U17 Team for the World U17 Challenge in London, Ontario later this month . The NTDP U17s are in this event, too.

In other news of Terrier recruits:
  • David Warsofsky is acting captain of the NTDP U18s, as noted in a recent feature article in The Patriot Ledger. Next season, he'll join the two previous U18 captains, Brian Strait and Kevin Shattenkirk, on the BU blueline.

  • Another 2008 recruit, left wing Andrew Glass, is the leading scorer at Noble & Greenough School with a 6-3-9 line after six games. Glass, a Washington draft choice in 2007, participated in last summers' Caps development camp.

And some some updates on BU hockey alums:

  • This article, a few weeks old, updates the pro career of John Laliberte, now playing for the ECHL Augusta Lynx. It details his four-goal, two-assist game for the Lynx in a 9-1 win over Pensacola.

  • Mike Grier is thriving in San Jose, where he is an assistant captain, but he isn't forgotten in Buffalo., where he teamed with another former Terrier, Chris Drury, for several years.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Hynes live chat at 1 p.m. ET today


NTDP U18 and US World Junior Championships coach John Hynes participated in a CSTV live chat earlier today. The transcript is here. Two current Terriers, defenseman Brian Strait and forward Colin Wilson, have earned spots on the US WJC team that will compete in The Czech Republic later this month. Both are products of the NTDP program.

Hynes, who was a member of BU’s 1995 National Championship team, recently spoke with College Hockey News about the U18 team.
2008 recruit Vinny Saponari, one of Hynes’ current U18 players, has had the hot hand of late. He scored a goal at Agganis Arena in the Dec. 8 exhibition game against the Terriers, matching the goal scored for BU by his brother Victor, a freshman. Both brothers were on the ice for the opening faceoff.

This past weekend, Vinny netted an unassisted game-winning goal for the U18s in their 3-2 win against Minnesota Duluth.


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Four suspended players return

We have received word that the four suspended players,returned to practice yesterday. While they will not play Thursday against Dartmouth, they are eligible to play on December 30 against Merrimack.

Here is the official announcement. We'll catch up on the past weekend's doings later today.

Four Suspended Men’s Ice Hockey Players to be Reinstated Ewing, McGoff, McGuirk, Yip to return on Dec. 30 vs. Merrimack

BOSTON – The four Boston University men’s ice hockey players who were suspended last week for breaking team rules have resumed practicing and will be reinstated for the team’s home game against Merrimack on Dec. 30, according to head coach Jack Parker.

Seniors Bryan Ewing, Dan McGoff and Brian McGuirk, along with junior Brandon Yip, returned to the ice for practice on Monday (Dec. 10).

After they play host to Dartmouth this Thursday (Dec. 13), the Terriers will take an extended break from their schedule for exams and the holidays before returning to action on Dec. 30 for the Merrimack game.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Gameday: A few good men



With a bench shortened by four suspensions and two injuries, BU will have the minimum number of skaters available for tonight’s game with UMass-Lowell and tomorrow’s exhibition game against the NTDP U18s, featuring future Terriers David Warsofsky and Vinny Saponari. Vinny might find himself colliding with a familiar face as older brother Victor moves back into the Terrier lineup.

The expected lines and defense pairings are:



MacArthur-Higgins-Weston
Wilson-Bonino-Pereira
Cohen-Popko-Saponari
Sanders-McCarthy-Smolinsky
Strait-Gilroy
Kielt-Shattenkirk
Monaghan-Gryba

Another change will be in goal as Adam Kraus (photo), the first-ever BU player from Texas, gets his first NCAA start. We’ll add BU's gamenotes to this post when they become available.


Freshman defenseman Colby Cohen joins Jason Lawrence on the injured list. He suffered a broken finger when slash by BC forward Nate Gerbe, the same player whose slash broke David VanderGulik's hand in the 2006 Hockey East championship game.

More reports about the suspensions of Brian McGuirk, Bryan Ewing, Dan McGoff and Brandon Yip have appeared in the Boston Globe, USCHO, and The Daily Free Press . (Second Free Press story.)


Among the recruits

Newest recruit Ross Gaudet celebrated his verbal to BU with his first two-goal game for Bridgewater in the Bandits’ 8-5 win over Green Mountain.

Meanwhile in the OPJHL, Ethan Werek rang up five assists in Stouffville’s 11-4 win. Corey Trivino added three assists.

In the AJHL, 2008 recruit goalie Kieran Millan, recently returned from an injury, kicked out 45 shots as hard-luck Spruce Grove lost in overtime to Lloydminster, 4-3.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Four suspended for rules violations

To paraphrase Thomas Paine in his 1776 pamphlet The Crisis, these are the times that try Terrier fans' souls.

On top of a disappointing 4-9-2 start punctuated by last weekend's sweep at the hands of Boston College, continuing uncertainty in goal with neither veteran 'tender taking control at the the position and an injury that will keep Jason Lawrence out until sometime in January, four members of the Terrier hockey team have been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules. The four are seniors Brian McGuirk, Dan McGoff and Boomer Ewing, and junior Brandon Yip.

The official news release below offers few details and none about the rules violation. For now, senior Pete MacArthur will wear the captain's "C" while senior Ryan Weston and junior Matt Gilroy will be assistant captains. With Lawrence already sideline by injury, the Terriers will have only 12 forward available for this weekends games with UMass-Lowell and the NTDP U18 Team.

Four Men’s Ice Hockey Players Suspended by Team
BOSTON – Four members of the Boston University men’s ice hockey team have been suspended indefinitely by head coach Jack Parker due to a violation of team rules.

The suspensions, which are effective immediately, were issued to three seniors — captain Brian McGuirk (Danvers, Mass.), Bryan Ewing (Plymouth, Mass.) and Dan McGoff (Winchester, Mass.) — and junior Brandon Yip (Maple Ridge, B.C.).

"I’m disappointed that these four chose to break one of our team rules," said Parker. "This is strictly a team matter."

In light of the suspensions, senior Pete MacArthur (Clifton Park, N.Y.) has been named captain of the Terriers. Senior Ryan Weston (Henniker, N.H.) and junior Matt Gilroy (North Bellmore, N.Y.) will serve as assistant captains.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Looking forward: Another recruit for 2008


BU has a fifth forward for next year’s recruit class. Ross Gaudet, a 6-0, 200 right wing with the EJHL Bridgewater Bandits, will walk on next season. In 21 games for the Bandits, he has 14 points, having scored his 7th goal Sunday in a win over the Jr. Bruins.

Gaudet previously played for Austin Prep, leading the Cougars to the Super 8 semifinals as a senior with 24-20-44 scoring line. He was named to the 2007 Boston Globe Super Team, chosen as a Globe All Scholastic as a junior, and selected 2007 Catholic Central League MVP.

His coach at Austin Prep said Gaudet was among the the "top one, two or three players in the state," describing him as a strong and fast skater with good vision of the ice. Globe: “one of the MIAA’s most intelligent and confident skaters…Unstoppable at times as a physical presence for the Cougars."


  • Also in the EJHL, Kevin Gilroy, younger brother of Terrier defenseman Matt Gilroy, has been a hot scorer of late with six goals in the past five games for a total of 15, good for fourth best in the league. Kevin is a right winger for the South Shore Kings.

  • The other forwards in BU's 2008 class are Corey Trivino (Stouffville/OPJHL) Vinny Saponari (NTDP U18s), Andrew Glass (Nobles) and Chris Connolly (Omaha/USHL). Blog contributor srsterrier posted a preview of Saponari and fellow BU recruit David Warsofsky yesterday, after watching the U18s play Yale over the weekend. Connolly collected his 11th goal of the season tonight in the Lancer's 5-4 OT win over Des Moines. He also added a goal in the shootout that decided the game.

  • In a November 16 post, we reported that Justin Fox, son of ex-Terrier John Fox, was a freshman a Salem State, playing for his dad’s BU teammate, Coach Bill O’Neill. The generational connection will be duplicated next year when Aaron O’Callahan, son of ex-Terrier All-American defenseman, co-captain and 1980 U.S. Olympian Jack O’Callahan will be a first-year player for his BU teammate and another former Terrier co-captain, Terry Meagher at Bowdoin. The younger O’Callahan, a forward, is a senior at Taft.

Strait and Wilson named to U.S. WJC team


Sophomore defenseman Brian Strait (photo, left) and freshman forward Colin Wilson were named today to Team U.S.A. for the upcoming World Junior Championships, beginning Dec. 26 in the Czech Republic. The 39th and 40th Terriers to play in the WJCs, both are products of the U.S. NTDP program and in 2006 were members of the gold-medal winning World U18 Championship team. The 2008 U.S. team is coached by ex-Terrier John Hynes, a member of BU’s 1995 NCAA championship team and current NTDP U18 head coach. Sophomore Luke Popko (photo, right) and freshman Kevin Shattenkirk also had been invited to the WJC tryout camp in August.

Meanwhile, the USA Hockey Web site takes a look at the playing and coaching careers of Hynes’ predecessor in the NTDP program, David Quinn, now the Terriers’ Assistant Head Coach. Quinn, a standout BU defenseman for three seasons, was also a member, in 1986, of the first 1986 WJC squad to win a medal, taking him the bronze.

In the pros
After finding the back of the net just twice in his first 21 games this season, Mike Grier scored in both of the Sharks' 3-2 wins over the Avalanche, yesterday and Friday.

Another ex-Terrier, Adrian Aucoin scored his fourth goal of the year Saturday in Calgary’s overtime loss to Columbus. Jay Pandolfo’s ironman streak of 307 consecutive games played for New Jersey ended after he suffered a pelvic/abdominal injury. He’s now missed two games and isn’t expected to play Wednesday against the Bruins.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Honoring one of BU's own: Bob Crocker

It’s hard to find something positive to say when your arch-rival has swept your hockey team. But during Saturday night's 4-3 BC win, BU honored a very important contributor to its long hockey tradition: Bob Crocker—former BU freshman and assistant coach and recruiter extraordinaire, current “Dean” of New England pro scouts, longtime friend of Terrier hockey, and simply one of the best people you'll meet anywhere in hockey.

While Jack Kelley was the “director-producer” of BU’s hockey resurgence during the '60s and early '70s, culminating in the back-to-back national championships in 1971 and 1972, Bob Crocker was the “casting director” whose dogged recruiting efforts established pipelines from Canada that year-after-year delivered top-notch talent to the Terrier program.

The names go on forever: Fred Bassi, Brian Gilmour, Pete McLachlan, Wayne Ryan, Serge Boily, Mickey Gray, Larry Davenport, Mike Hyndman, Steve Stirling, Wayne Gowing, Bob Brown, Ric Jordan, Mike LaGarde, Jake Danby, Bob Gryp, Dave Wisener and Dave Warner, to just scratch the surface. While BU was a heavily Canadian program for much of that time, Bob secured considerable domestic talent as well, including: Tom Ross, Jack Ferreira, Dick Toomey, later head coach at Brown, Don “Toot” Cahoon, now head coach at UMass, Paul Giandomenico, Dan Brady and Tim Regan—the goalies for the two title teams—Steve Dolloff and Jack Parker.

Crocker’s duties also included coaching the Terrier Pups during those no-freshman eligibility days. He led one squad to a 15-0-1 record and then the 1968-69 freshmen, the group that would backbone the two national title teams, to a 17-0-0 mark, making them the first undefeated/untied athletic team in BU history.

Crocker’s influence at BU didn’t end after 1972 when he assumed the head coaching job at Penn. His recruits—Bill Burlington, Bill Bishop Bill Buckton (all from Owen Sound) Vic Stanfield, Peter Brown, Ed Walsh, Peter Marzo, Ken Kuzyk, Bill Robbins and Terry Meagher—now in his 25th year as Bowdoin’s head coach—were the core of the Terrier squads that ran off four ECAC titles in the 1970s.

Among the former Terriers who returned to BU on Saturday to honor Coach Crocker and his family were: Joe Meehan, Mark Fennie, Jim McCann, Frank D'Orio, Paul Giandomenico, Darrell Abbott, Ron Anderson and three All-Americans, current NHL executive Jack Ferreira, Bob Brown and Jake Danby

With permission from editor Chris Warner, we're posting Saturday's U.S. Hockey Report article about the Crocker recognition:

12/1/07 : Crocker to be Honored Tonight
Today, Bob Crocker is best known as the dean of the New England scouts. He’s the guy the younger scouts try to emulate, for his thoroughness, his energy level, his knowledge of the game, and, most importantly, the way he treats people.

Over 35 years ago, Crocker, who now scouts for the LA Kings, was an assistant on Jack Kelley’s staff at Boston University, and was the key guy in recruiting the players that would form the nucleus of the Terriers back-to-back NCAA championship teams of ’70-71 and ’71-72.

There were some pretty remarkable players on those teams, which went 54-6-2 over those two seasons. Steve Stirling, Bob Brown, John Danby, Toot Cahoon, the late Ric Jordan, Ron Anderson, Bob Gryp, Tim Regan, Dan Brady… and those are just the big names.

Chairman of the Friends of BU Hockey Paul Giandomenico was a forward on both of those teams and is the force behind the tribute to Crocker planned during tonight’s BU-BC game at Agganis Arena. “Bob was a major contributor to those two championship teams. He must have recruited ninety percent of the guys,” Giandomenico says.

However, Giandomenico points out, Bob did more than just recruit the kids to BU. “For the four years that the kids were there, he was everyone’s father. He helped them take care of any problems or issues they had. He was just the man. He was especially important to the guys who came down from Canada. He would help them get acclimated to the city and the life at school and he made sure they stayed in school. He kept them reined in.”

A good number of the players who will be toasting Crocker tonight in Agganis’ Mark Bavis Suite are coming down from Canada to be on hand.

Giandomenico says the ceremony will be low-key. Between periods the Jumbotron’s cameras will pan up there and a short tribute will be read. The former players have a gift for him – a Chelsea Clock – but, says Giandomenico, it’s on backorder.

The players on hand will encompass a greater range than just those two years, as Crocker’s ties with Boston University go back much further. After graduating from BU in 1955, Crocker served the school as director of intramurals. He also was head coach of the varsity baseball team. In the 1960s, Crocker coached the freshman hockey team, which one year went 17-0-0.

After the second NCAA championship season at BU, Crocker took over as head coach of the University of Pennsylvania. In his first season, the Quakers went 16-9-2 and finished fourth in the ECAC, which consisted of 17 teams then. On March 6 Penn went up to Walter Brown Arena and defeated BU, 7-3, knocking the Terriers, then coached by Leon Abbott, out of the ECAC Tournament.

Penn, however, didn’t capitalize on their hockey success, and instead tightened the team’s budget, putting a serious crimp on recruiting. By the late ‘70s varsity hockey at Penn was done.

Crocker then put in 15 years as an assistant general manager with the Hartford Whalers (NHL). After that he scouted for the New York Rangers, who won a Stanley Cup during that time, and is now with Los Angeles.

Note:
We’re printing this story as late as possible. We want people going to the game to have this info so they can stop and say hi to Crocker, but at the same time much of this is meant to be a surprise. However, he may have an inkling that something is up because his wife of 56 years, Ann, is attending the game with him tonight -- and that’s a rarity.

Looking ahead: two elite BU recruits


Saturday night December 1 at Ingalls Rink at Yale University featured an exhibition game between the USNDPT Under-18 team and Yale. This gave me the opportunity to see two of BU's recruits for next season, Vinny Saponari (photo) and David Warsofsky, as well as a few players who will be opponents in the next couple of years. In general, Yale, with less speed than Team USA, employed a "hit everything that moves" strategy. That was relatively effective but there wasn't much pinpoint passing and creative playmaking. Also, it seemed like this year's Under-18 squad is just a little less talented than what I have seen in the past couple of years. No Kessels or JVRs in the group but a very strong team nevertheless. Two of the most skilled players on the team are the BU recruits and here are my observations:

David Warsofsky - For the third consective year, the captain of the team is a BU-bound defenseman. First it was Brian Strait, then Kevin Shattenkirk, and this year it is David Warsofsky. Warsofsky is a strong skater who moves the puck up the ice with relative ease. Not only is he a good passer, he has an accurate shot from the point that makes him a good player on the PP. In the 2nd period, the puck came back to him at the point and he let go a quick one-timer that was saved by the Yale goalie. Not blessed with great size [he is listed as 5'11", 185, but Central Scouting says 5-8.25], Warsofsky plays very good positional hockey and is strong defensively. I came into the game thinking that Warsofsky might be just a PP specialist and while that may be his strength, it is clear that the coaches trust him in all situations.The coaches' confidence in him defensively was clear from the fact that he was used when the team was down 2 men in the 3rd period and again in the final minute while they were nursing a 1-goal lead. In both instances, Warsofsky came through and Team USA held on for 2-1 win. Warsofsky is currently 5th on team in scoring with 4-6-10 in 18 games.

Vinny Saponari - This might not have been one of Saponari's strongest games. I chalked this up to an incident early in the 2nd period where he came off the ice clutching the side of his head. I did not see what happened but this might have had an impact on his game. Still, I saw enough to see that he is a finesse-type player who is a very good playmaker. Saponari is 3rd on the team in scoring at 5-7-12 in 18 games. He skates well and played most of the night with two of Team USA's top forwards, Jordan Schroeder [Minnesota-bound] and Dan Kristo [NoDak]. All three are creative with the puck and they did have a couple of chances but were kept off the scoresheet. Saponari got time on both the PP and PK and is solid defensively. Not overly physical, Saponari appears to be slightly-built [listed as 5'11", 174.] Undoubtedly, Mike Boyle will work with him over the summer and he will be bulked up by the time he dons scarlet and white.

Thanks to Kevin McCarey's parents [McCarey is a talented UNH-bound D-man], I was able to find David Warsofsky's dad during the game [I don't think that the Saponaris were there]. Mr. Warsofsky was nice enough to speak with me for a few minutes. When he told me that he was from Marshfield, MA, I mentioned that this was the home of one of my all-time favorite Terriers, Mike Sullivan. Mr . Warsofsky advised that the families have actually been good friends for a long time [Sullivan's parents are, in fact, David's godparents]. He appreciated that our fans are already keeping an eye on his son - I wasn't the only BU watcher at the game - and said he is looking forward to next year.
The Under-18 team, which lost to UMass on Sunday, will play BU at Agganis on Sat. night 12/8.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Game Day: Playin' that school “up the road”

Terriers and Eagles face off this weekend for the 239th and 240th times in one of college hockey’s best and oldest rivalries. Ironically, both teams have winning records on their opponent’s current home ice. BU is 29-26-6 at Kelley Rink while BC is 3-1 at Agganis.

The BU athletics Web site has links for game notes, Gametracker, the WZZN broadcast and an ESPN 360 Webcast for those who can access the service. The Daily Free Press which has dubbed the weekend series a “Civil War,” reports that Brett Bennett gets tonight's start n goal and Dan McGoff returns to the blueline from an injury. USCHO and INCH have posted their weekly Hockey East columns.

Tomorrow night’s game from Agganis Arena will be televised by both the New England and MidAtlantic division of Comcast, and also Webcast on CN8 Live. There’s also CSTV All Access service via the BU athletics Web site. If you’ve had problems with that service, CSTV customer service can be reached at 888-870-2788.

Colin Wilson is 9th in latest ISS ranking of 2008 NHL draft eligible players. He’s the only current college player ranked. Only Junior A player, Denver recruit Joe Colborne of Camrose/AJHL, is among the top 30.

Terrier recruits Corey Trivino (2008) and Ethan Werek (2009), both playing for Stouffville/OPJHL, were named to Team East roster for CJAHL Prospects game in Mantoba on Dec. 11. The 20-man roster is comprised of top prospects from the five CJAHL eastern leagues including the OPJHL. In October, both won silver medals, playing for Canada East the World Junior A Challenge. Later next month, Werek will skate for Ontario in the World U17 Challenge with the U.S. NTDP U17s among the competitors.

Ex-Terrier John Hynes brings the NTDP U18s--to New England this weekend for games against Yale on Saturday and UMass on Sunday. Terrier recruits Vinny Saponari and David Warsofsky are both among the team's top scorers.

Chris Drury’s New York Rangers finally turned the tables on Rick DiPietro and the New York Islanders, beating the Islanders, 4-2, last night after three earlier defeats. Drury beat DiPietro five-hole on a rebound for his team’s second goal.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

A new blog feature: The coach’s mailbag


Today, the Terrier Hockey Fan Blog launches a new feature to expand your involvement with Boston University Hockey. Coach Jack Parker has agreed to answer questions submitted by readers in a "coach’s mailbag" column, which we will periodically post.

Here’s the process. Submit questions by e-mail to thfblog@comcast.net. They'll be forwarded to the coach in batches and every few weeks—the frequency is still TBD—we’ll publish questions and replies on the blog. Questioners will be identified by their e-mail ID unless they choose to provide a real name.

Obviously not all submitted questions will receive responses. There are bound to be some redundancies and, as is the case with live chats, inappropriate questions will not be passed along for a reply. And Coach Parker just might have some other demands on his time.

In other BU hockey news….
Former captain and 1980 U.S. Olympian Mike Eruzione has endowed a scholarship in his name to be given to a team member each year, based on “his merit, athletic achievement and promise.”

Another former Terrier, Shawn Bates, played in an NHL game last night for the first time since January 30, 2007 due to lingering abdominal injuries. In the Islanders’ 3-2 win over Ottawa, teammate and fellow ex-Terrier Rick DiPietro was the game’s top star, stopping 35 shots in regulation and five of six in the shootout.

Yesterday, a conference call with all ten Hockey East head coaches was held with the media. Transcripts of each coach’s responses are accessible at the HockeyEast Online site. Coach Parker’s comments.

Coach Parker also appeared on the season’s inaugural “Hockey On Campus” radio show along with sophomore center Luke Popko. Parker related that former BU defenseman Peter Ahola was in New York on business last week when he learned about the game at MSG. He asked the concierge at his hotel about getting a ticket and was advised it would cost $350. Ahola wisely opted instead to use his team connections to secure a ticket. Popko was asked about the thrill of scoring a goal on the Rangers' home ice and the Jerseyan reminded host Bernie Corbett that he is a Devils' fan.

Andrew Glass, after a strong fall season with Cape Cod Whalers U18s, began his final prep school season at Noble & Greenough, scoring a goal and two assists in the first period to lead his team to a 4-2 win over Pomfret.

Looking Back: The Game That Never Was

Dave Warner, a defenseman for the Terriers’ back-to-back national championship squads of 1970-71 and 1971-72, played an important role in wins against Wisconsin and Cornell in Boston Garden that earned BU its second crown. BU primarily used two sets of blueliners at the time, with Warner being the fifth defenseman in '71-'72. After BU’s ECAC title win, Coach Jack Kelley learned he’d be without steady defenseman Bob Murray in the NCAAs due to a kidney injury. Kelley petitioned the NCAA to allow freshman Vic Stanfield to be added to the varsity roster for the nationals, but it was Warner who saw most of the action in Murray’s place, helping goalie Tim Regan keep his net empty, save for one Badger goal, in the two games.

Warner’s senior year, 1972-73, is remembered as the season of the 11 forfeits, a surprising playoff loss to Penn and a 9-0 blowout of Cornell at Lynah Rink that became an integral part of what was called “L’affair Decloe.” Dave has authored a personal look back at the 1972-73 season, the game at Cornell and its lasting impact on BU hockey. The article also has been added to our list of “Terrier Tales” in the sidebar on the right. (Choose "The Game That Never Was" from list of articles on The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog original content site)

We’d like to also take this opportunity to thank the many former BU players and coaches who contributed their recollections to the two feature articles (BU In The Big Apple and Red Hot Hockey Since 1925) that were posted last week and listed among the “Terrier Tales.” Those articles also were included in the press packet that BU’s Senior Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Brian Kelley provided to the media this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Ultimate road trip for the Shattenkirks

While BU fans from New England and the tri-state area were making a bee-line to Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening, Kevin Shattenkirk's parents, Pat and Barbara, had an afternoon stop on their itinerary. With CSTV.com Rink Rat Elliott Olshansky bumming a ride, they first headed to Quinnipiac in Meriden, Conn., to watch their older son, Keith, skate for Princeton in a 4-2 win against the Bobcats before racing down to Manhattan for Red Hot Hockey at MSG. Olshansky’s chronicle of the road trip, with three video interviews sprinkled in, is found in his latest blog entry.

CSTV.com also has posted video highlights showing four of BU’s six goals against The Big Red.

Parker and York to guest as “Hockey on Campus” returns
WWZN-AM (1510-The Zone) will again air “Hockey on Campus,” a two-hour, weekly program on local anad regional college hockey, hosted by longtime Terrier play-by-play voice Bernie Corbett and Paul McNamara. The 2007-08 season for the drive-time program begins tomorrow, Nov. 28.

The first program, beginning at 5 P.M. will be a live remote from T’s Pub on Commonwealth Avenue. At 6:00 p.m., Coach Jack Parker and one or two of the Terriers, will arrive at T’s and join Bernie and Paul. BC Coach Jerry York will be a phone-in guest at 6:30 p.m. The program also is accessible on the WWZN Web site.

Back to CSTV.com which today held a Writer's 'Roundtable discussion about the season to date. The full transcript is here and we’ve culled out a few of the BU-related comments.

Brandon Thomas, Ithaca Journal: If Brett Bennett continues to play like he did Saturday, BU won't have many problems. For a game with nine goals, there was some great goaltending at MSG.
Dave Starman, CSTV: You are very correct...Scrivens would love to have (Joe) Pereria's goal back, that was the weak link and it opened the flood gates.
Dave Starman: BU looked like Cornell in their approach...attack the net and shoot when possible.

Dave Starman: Offensive minded defensemen can change a game. One of the best was Peter Harrold at BC. Then again, name me a better offensive defensemen than Matt Gilroy, and he will continue to improve because his instincts are just so good.
Brandon Thomas: Matt Gilroy was fantastic on Saturday.
Dave Starman: Gilroy spends more time in front of the other net than his and yet he's a very good defenseman.

Starman also included Colin Wilson among the top freshmen he’s seen this season.

Linkorama: MSG, CSTV, recruit update


Monday brought more coverage of the weekend’s success—for coaches, players and fans— at Madison Square Garden. We have game recaps and slide shows from both The Daily Free Press and College Hockey News. DPF recap. DFP slide/sound show. CHN recap. CHN slide show. (Photo right from CHN)

Freshman Joe Pereira’s goal and assist against Cornell earned him Hockey East’s Rookie of the Week honors, while Pete MacArthur made the weekly honor roll.

MacArthur also earned The Boston Herald’s college hockey “Tip Of The Hat” for his efforts in the Harvard and Cornell games. Too bad the Herald got the Red Hot Hockey score wrong and never published a game account.

CSTV Rink Rat Elliott Olshansky’s look back at some of the special off-ice moments included this exchange between Pereira and Coach Parker.

It was similar later on, when BU freshman forward Joe Pereira, talking about scoring his first career goal in Madison Square Garden, said, "I'm not a regular player," and before he could finish talking about working hard every week in practice, Jack Parker cut him off and said, "You are now, Joe," to a hearty laugh from the crowd in the press room. It was a typical Jack Parker press conference remark, and it happened in Madison Square Garden.

Legndary BU Coach Jack Kelley and his wife Ginny were among the couples featured on the MSG Kissing Cam during a timeout, eliciting a roar from Terrier fans.


But not all the reports surrounding the Red Hot Hockey game were positive. Message board posters were critical of errors of fact and omission on CSTV’s graphics during the game broadcast. And CHN editor Adam Wodon pointed out that CSTV has had even more problems, leading it to canel some scheduled games--including this Friday's BU-BC game at Conte Forum.

In particular, the game Saturday was televised, but was done so using the in-house MSG video feed. The regular broadcasters, Matt McConnell and Dave Starman, were not at the event, but rather called the game off video monitors from CSTV's studios about a half-mile away from the Garden.

It's one thing to use another organization's video feed, not an uncommon practice. But not to not have your play-by-play guy and analyst in the building is rarity that explains the broadcast quality issues and accounts for some of the mistakes and eyebrow-raising observations by the broadcast team.


While the Terriers were performing on the big stage in Manhattan, two 2008 recruits were leading the NTDP U18s to an 8-3 win against host Colby College, which is where Kelley began his coaching career in 1955. David Warsofsky contributed a pair of goals and Vinny Saponari added a pair of assists.


In two OPJHL games, Stouffville teammates and BU recruits Corey Trivino and Ethan Werek each recorded a goal and three assists. Trivino, who returned to action after being sidelined by a shoulder injury, now has 14 points in his past five game.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

White-hot Terriers rule Garden party


Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden proved to be a milestone moment for college hockey and, in particular, for BU. Energized by the spectacle and an electrically-charged sellout crowd of 18,200, the Terriers, in their white home sweaters, came out white-hot and lit up Cornell for three first-period goals en route to a 6-3 win.

Recaps from USCHO, The Boston Globe, The New York Journal News, CSTV RinkRat Elliott Olshansky and the goterriers.com site are available and we’ll add more links as articles are posted. Olshansky points out that the sellout crowd, clearly a pleasant surprise to both coaches and to MSG, already has people talking about a rematch not too far in the future. Jack Parker is fueling the fire.
"It's possible that we could bring this game back here two years from now," he said, "I'm sure that Madison Square Garden would like another packed house."


Some observations from the game and pre-game pep rally:
● Four of BU’s six goals were scored by Terriers connected to the Tri-State area: Colin Wilson, who was born in Greenwich, Conn., when his dad, Cary, played for the Rangers; Pete MacArthur, from Clifton Park, N.Y., a lifelong Rangers’ fan, West Haven’s Joe Pereira and Skillman, N.J.’s Luke Popko. Pereira, who moved into the lineup when Jason Lawrence was injured, added an assist and drew a penalty with his speed in just his fourth start of the season. Matt Gilroy, whose pass sprung Brandon Yip for BU’s third goal, found himself skating in the same arena where his father, Frank, played basketball for St. John’s a number of times in the early 1980s.
● MacArthur's goal was the 50th of his Terrier career. The previous player to reach that milestone was David VanderGulik in 2005-06.

● The crowd included a contingent from the Youth Hockey League of New Rochelle, Kevin Shattenkirk’s home, and dozens of fans in red BU T-shirts with Gilroy’s name on the back. Gilroy is from North Bellmore on nearby Long Island.

● Like the game, the pre-game pep rally, was a rousing success, with some 400 BU fans packed into the Garden’s Club Bar & Grill. The gathering featured a dinner buffet, a silent auction of hockey collectables (why was a Tony Hawk skateboard on the table?), a jazz ensemble of BU students and appearances by 1980 Olympians Mike Eruzione, Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk. The already-excited crowd, further jacked up by the BU Band and the bell cheer, heard from Coach Parker, former Coach Jack Kelley, Athletic Director Mike Lynch, President Brown, Dean Elmore and emcee Bernie Corbett.

● Parker, who joked at the pep rally that, given BU’s slow start, fans might want Kelley to take over behind the bench against Cornell, related what happened on Friday when the team dropped off its equipment in Madison Square Garden. He said:
"My guys wanted to go out on the court; the Knicks' court was down. I said, 'Hey guys, knock it off with that,' and someone said, 'Hey, let those guys do what they want. They're the only guys who can sell this building out.' "
● The win was BU’s sixth in a row at MSG—spanning two buildings—brought BU’s overall record in New York City to 6-2-1 (.722)

● Other ex-Terriers seen at the game included: Brian Durocher, Michel Larocque, Dan Ronan, Jack Baker, Pat Aufiero, Brian Collins, Mike Sylvia, Chris Mays, Dennis O’Connell, Tom Ryan and John Sabo.

● The ceremonial puck drop included Jack Kelley and famed Cornell coach Ned Harkness. The latter was accompanied by John Hughes, captain of Cornell’s 1970 national champions and father of Olympic gold medal figure skater Sarah Hughes and top U.S. skater Emily Hughes.
Note: Look for a Q&A interview with Coach Kelley coming soon to the blog.

● The Garden’s message board cited several BU birthdays, including Boomer Ewing on Friday and Victor Saponari two weeks ago.
● Sunday morning before returning to Boston, the Terriers paid a visit to the Ellis Island National Monument. CSTV had reported they'd visit the Statue of Liberty, but plans were changed apparently at the suggestion of broadcaster Bernie Corbett.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

BU-Cornell: drop the puck!

Just a few hours until BU and Cornell face off at Madison Square Garden. Game notes are available and BU has posted links to the two special feature articles that were posted on The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog earlier this week.

Also, blog contributor mh82 spotted this reference to the BU-Cornell rivalry in a passage from Ken Dryden's book, "The Game."

"As a senior at Cornell, I was co-winner of Boston University's "most honored opponent" award, given for games against BU through a college career. Though I had won other, more prestigious awards, it was one that meant much to me, for BU had meant much to me as a player. Our closest Eastern rival, they were the necessary other side in many of my most fundamental monments, the inspiration and competitve prod for them, irrevocably and fondly associated with them.

My first season, starting because of an injury to the team's senior goalie, I played through several promising but undistinguished games, on the verge of something more, yet timorously waiting. After a 3-3 double- overtime tie with BU, I suddenly felt I could make it the way I wanted to make it. I had broken through. A few months later, we played twice within a week: in the first period of the ECAC final, I survived great pressure to learn something about myself I needed to know; then, during the warm-up for the NCAA championship game, feeling skates, pads gloves, and stick move the way they never did, I could feel myself a real goalie for the first time.

There were other games other years with lesser BU teams, not quite good enough to expose new strengths or weaknesses in us, but good enough to make us confirm what was already there, which games against other teams seldom did.

What BU was, what the Bruins are now, is a good opponent, a rare and treasured thing for any team or player. For a good opponent defines a player or a team. By forcing you to be as good as you can be, such an opponent stretches the boundaries of your emotional and playing experience, giving you your highest highs and lowest lows; your best and worst and hardest moments. When you get to an age or to a moment that causes you to look back, you realize how important that is. After years of games and feelings, it is only those boundaries, those special highs and lows, that remain."

Thursday, November 22, 2007

More Red Hot Hockey

The second of our special features, a look back at milestone games in the BU-Cornell series, with an emphasis on the games in the 60s and 70s is now linked here.

CSTV's Elliott Olshansky takes a look at the upcoming Red Hot Hockey matchup, too.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A note to readers

If you tried unsucessfully to access the "BU In The Big Apple" article via the link in yesterday's "Red Hot Hockey" post or the link under "Terrier Tales," we've now fixed the problem. Either link will take you to a new Web site for original articles developed for the blog. You'll see the article title and can click on it to view the article.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Red Hockey Hockey Feature: BU in the Big Apple

With the BU-Cornell game at Madison Square Garden just days away, The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog offers several special historical articles. The first, “BU in the Big Apple” looks at the previous eight Terrier games played at Madison Square Garden III and Madison Square Garden IV—the current venue—beginning with an exhibition game in 1926 against the St. Nicholas Hockey Club and continuing with three ECAC Holiday Festival appearances. The article, prepared by blog contributor mh82, is posted under “Terrier Tales” in the sidebar to the right and you also can access it from this link.

Look at the price on your game ticket for Saturday. When Madison Square Garden held its first hockey games in 1925, the price of admission was 15-cents. In case you missed it earlier this month, here’s a link to a history of Madison Square Garden.

We'll post links to another original article, this one looking back at memorable BU-Cornell clashes, later this week. And please check back for the announcement of an exciting new feature on The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog.

Also related to the Red Hot Hockey game at MSG, we've been asked to report that there will be a gathering of BU fans, alumni and other supporters following Saturday night’s game at “Professor Thom’s” located at 219 Second Avenue (between 13th and 14th). Our sources say this is a BU friendly spot that can accommodate a fairly large crowd.

The game is no longer a “virtual” sellout; Cornell has announced that all seats have been sold.

Game Day and more

Game notes for tonight’s matchup with Harvard are here. Tonight's 7:30 start will be broadcast on CN8 in New England and can be see online at CN8 Live.

Boomer Ewing’s seven points in the two games at Vermont earned him Hockey East's Player of the Week honors and the same designation from INCH. Ewing currently leads the conference in scoring with 15 points.

Here's the transcript of Pete MacArthur's chat on CSTV.com today.

New England Hockey Journal’s look at the high school vs. prep vs. junior hockey option that many you players face, includes a sidebar on former BU All-American Dan Spang, who is the most recent high school player to be drafted in the first two rounds of the NHL draft. Spang also is the last player to skate for BU directly out of public or parochial school.

Chat with Mac


Tomorrow afternoon, before taking the ice against Harvard, senior wing Pete MacArthur, tied for second in scoring on the team with 12 points, will answer questions in a CSTV chat.

The annual Tuesday before Thanksgiving meeting with Harvard will be the 139th in the series—and second at Agganis Arena— with the Terriers holding a 71-61-6 edge. The Daily Free Press reports that senior Karson Gillespie, who relieved Brett Bennett in goal in Saturday's loss to Vermont, will get the start against the Crimson and that Craig Sanders will center the third line, replacing John McCarthy.

Six days before the Terriers visit Madison Square Garden, Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro took to the Garden ice and came away with his 100th career win, a 2-1 victory over the Rangers. Commenting on his milestone, DiPietro, who also drew a roughing penalty for trading punches with Rangers' pest Steve Avery, said "It means I've been in the league a couple of years, I guess." Hmmm, where have we heard those words before? [Hint: JP]

Go figure. Former BU captain Sean Sullivan has left the state of Arizona, but it brings him that much closer to Phoenix. Sullivan who began the season with the CHL Arizona Sundogs was promoted to the AHL San Antonio Rampage. In 13 starts with the Sundogs, Sully racked up 4 goals and ten assists. He was a 9th round draft choice of the Coyotes in 2003.

John Curry also made the jump to the AHL, joining the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins after six games with the Las Vegas Wrangers and a strong performance for Team USA in the Deutschland Cup. Sunday night, Curry stopped 22 of 24 shots, but the Pens fell to Binghamton, 3-0.

Saturday, while the Terrier were letting two points slip away up in Burlington, some former BU standouts were hitting the score sheet in AHL games. Chris Bourque, after a few starts with the Capitals, returned the AHL Hershey Bears and registered a two-goal game in a win over Bridgeport, which got a goal from rehabbing Shawn Bates. David VanderGulik scored for Quad City its 6-0 win over Iowa while Mike Pandolfo found the back of the net for Lowell in a 3-2 loss to Harford.

Omaha’s Chris Connolly, a 2008 recruit, failed to score in regulation for just the third time in 13 games, but for the second consecutive night, he beat a Chicago Steel goalie in the shootout, helping the Lancers to sweep the Steel. Connolly’s line is now 9-11-20 ,

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Friday night recaps; more catching up

Last night’s 9-1 win over Vermont in Burlington sent BU Sports Information Director and the journalists looking into the record book for the last time BU had such a lopsided road win, which the Daily Free Press addressed. The answer is a 1989 8-0 blowout at Merrimack. BU last hit a 9-spot in the 2005-06 post-season in wins over New Hampshire and Nebraska-Omaha.

With the Terriers flexing their offensive muscles, Colby Cohen scored his first college goal, Chris Higgins had his first non-ENG goals and Bryan Ewing had a goal and three assists to become, for now the top point scorer in Hockey East. Tonight’s rematch is only available on radio which can be accessed at the WZZN site.


Omaha left wing Chris Connolly, another 2008 recruit, scored a goal in regulation and another in the shootout to help the Lancers edge the Chicago Steel and 2009 recruit Max Nicastro 2-1.

Wrapping up last week’s Four Nations Tournament in Huttwil, Switzerland, the NTDP U18s lost to the host team in the finals. In the team’s 6-5 win over Finland, 2008 recruit Vinny Saponari had a goal and two assists and now the second leading scorer on the team with 5-8-13. He was assisted on his goal by David Warsofsky.

With NJ Devils goalie Marty Brodeur seeking his 500th career win Rick DiPietro stopped all 26 shots he faced and outdueled Brodeur for a 1-0 Islander win. The only goal came on a shorthander when Devils defenseman Mike Mottau fell down, allowing a breakaway.

The men's and women's basketball teams take over Agganis Arena today, with the men's game against St. Joseph's airing tonight on CN8 in both the New England and MidAtlantic regions.

Finally, a good read on CSTV.com: astute hockey analyst Dave Starman takes a look at college hockey’s greatest rivalries.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Game Day: BU-Vermont

The Terriers traveled north yesterday to Burlington, Vermont, to begin an important two-game series with the UVM Catamounts in one of college hockey’s best venues, Gutterson Field House.

The Daily Free Press reports that sophomore Brett Bennett will get tonight’s start in goal with the choice for Saturday TBD. We’ve also learned that sophomore center Luke Popko, who missed the Northeastern game with an injury, traveled with the team and expects to be in the lineup. We’ll add a link to BU gamenotes when they are posted. Catamount game notes are here.

We also have links to Dave Hendrickson's weekly Hockey East column on USCHO and Jeff Howe's Hockey East notebook on INCH.

Tonight’s game, a 7:30 p.m. start, is being televised on CN8 in Comcast’s New England division and also can be seen online. The radio broadcast on WWZN (Webcast) will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by the launch of a new weekly, one-hour Terrier athletics program. “BU All-Access,” which will cover all BU varsity sports, is hosted by veteran broadcaster Bernie Corbett, now in his 23rd season as BU’s play-by-play announcer.

Terriers in the News
Kevin Kielt discusses his hopes for his senior year with his hometown, Brick, N.J., newspaper. Kielt, like former Terrier Matt Radoslovich before him was a New Jersey Scholastic Player of the Year. Terrier captain Brian McGuirk was the subject of a USA Hockey alumni feature.article.

Friday Linkorama--Catching up


Former All-American defenseman Freddy Meyer and goalie Rick DiPietro are teammates once again. Meyer was placed on waivers by the New York Islanders earlier this year in an attempt to send him to their AHL team in Bridgeport, but was claimed by the Phoenix Coyotes. After five games with the ‘yotes, Meyer was reacquired by the Islanders. Meyer and DiPietro were both freshman at BU during the 1999-2000 season. Freddy sat out last night’s Islander-Penguins game, as did Shawn Bates, who is recovering from a long-term injury.

David Van Der Gulik got off the schneid with his first goal of the season for Calgary’s Quad City AHL club in a 3-1 win over Carl Corazzini and the Grand Rapids Griffins. Meanwhile, former All-American defenseman Dan Spang also scored his first goal in the Worcester Sharks’ 2-1 shootout win over Springfield.

Ex-Terriers Scott Young and Scott Lachance have been named to the advisory board of FASTHockey, an information site that bills itself as a “leading resource for amateur ice hockey content and player recruiting.” Both Young, who is an investor in the Web site, and Lachance, now a scout for the New Jersey Devils, have blogs within the Web site.

Generations
Salem State coach—and former BU defenseman—Bill O’Neill’s freshman class, includes Justin Fox, son of O’Neill’s Terrier teammate and roommate John Fox. O’Neill, who tonight begins his 27th season coaching the Division 3 Vikings, and the elder Fox were members of the 1977-78 national champion Terriers. The 30th anniversary of that team’s 30-2 season and BU’s third NCAA title will be marked during the current season and The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog will publish a feature article chronicling the '77-'78 team's journey to a national crown.

NHL scouting
NHL Central Scouting had now added current draft-eligible NCAA players to its list of players to watch. Of the 28 players listed, only one, freshman Colin Wilson, received an “A” ranking. He’s been projected as a first round draft choice next June. Last month, 2009 recruit Max Nicastro, a Chicago Steel/USHL defenseman who played for Team USA in the World Junior A Challenge, also received an "A" ranking. 2008 recruit Corey Trivino had received a “B” ranking from Central Scouting which roughly translates to a third-round.

Trivino, 2009 recruit Ethan Werek and two Stouffville Spirit (OPJHL) teammates. forward James McIntosh and defenseman Daniel Spivak, returned from the World Junior A Challenge in British Columbia after helping CanadaEast earn a silver medal. Trivino had his team’s only goal in the championship game and led CanadaEast in scoring with two goals and three assists.

Werek returned to the Spirit lineup last night and had an assist in a 3-2 loss to Collingswood while Trivino was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Earlier in the week, Werek, a 6-2, 185 pound left wing, was named to the Ontario U17 team that will play next month in the World U17 Challenge in London, Ontario. Werek was one of only two non-OHL players named to the squad, just as was the case last year when Trivino played for the Ontario U17s. Competing with Ontario will be the NTDP U17s who were involved in an ugly brawl (video) at the end of last week’s Four Nations Tournament championship game in Dmitrov, Russia, against the host team.

Recruiting news
USHR reports that BU is recruiting Shattuck St. Mary's defenseman David Carle, who will soon make an official visit. Carle, a 5-11, left-shot who also received an "A" rating from Central Scouting, is the younger brother of former Denver All-American defenseman and current San Jose Shark, Matt Carle. The competition appears to be Boston College, Michigan State, St. Cloud and Denver. BU also is reportedly pursuing Camrose/AJHL defenseman Andrew MacWilliam, who played for the gold-medal winning CanadaWest team at the WJAC event.
Site Meter