Clawed by the Cats

Burlington proved to be an inhospitable venue for the Terriers on the first day of their long weekend in Vermont, as the Catamounts scored early and often in a 7-3 win. BU drew to within 4-2 in the second period, but the Cats pulled away in the final period and capped the win with an empty-net goal. BU goals came from Zach Cohen -13th, tying him for the team lead--David Warsofsky and Vinny Saponari. Grant Rollheiser relieved a bombarded Kieran Millan in the third period.

The disappointing effort left the Terriers tied for fourth place in Hockey East with Northeastern and UMass-Lowell with three games left on the conference schedule.

GoTerriers.com recap and box score
USCHO recap
Boston Hockey Blog recap
Hockey East Online recap with video
Burlington Free Press recap

Looking ahead
2011 recruit Cason Hohmann registered his first two-goal game of the season in Cedar Rapids's 6-1 win over Youngstown. Hohmann has an 8-22-30 scoring line in 45 games.

Looking back
David VanderGulik scored his ninth goal of the season and added a shootout goal in Abbottsford's 5-4 win over Worcester in AHL play. John McCarthy picked up an assist for Worcester.

Kevin Schaeffer, recently return to Charlotte after an PTO with Harford, scored his third goal of the season in the Checkers' 2-1 win against the Cincinnati Cyclones in ECHL action.

Olympic Update
Chris Drury and Ryan Whitney are assured of joining the list of Terrier Olympic medal winners following the USA's 6-1 win against Finland in the medal round semifinals. They'll go for gold tomorrow afternoon against tournament host and favorite Canada. Drury will be the second Terrier to earn two Olympic medals and has an opportunity to match Dick Rodeneheiser who won a silver in 1956 and a gold in 1960 as part of America's "first miracle."

Game day--BU vs. Vermont

Terriers return to the ice for yet another crucial weekend series--two games with Vermont in Burlington. BU is in fourth place and while the Catamounts are in ninth place, but only four points separate them. The teams played a 3-3 tie at Agganis Arena in December.

Wade Megan returns to the lineup after missing last Saturday's game due to illness. Tonight's lines and pairings:

Gaudet-Bonino-Chiasson
Z.Cohen-Connolly-Saponari
Glass-Popko-Pereira
Courtnall-Megan-Santana

Warsofsky-Gryba
C.Cohen-Nicastro
Escobedo-Shattenkirk

Millan

Tonight's game is a 7:30 p.m. start and airs on NESN. Sunday's rematch is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

GoTerriers.com game notes, WWZN Radio Webcast
USCHO Weekly Hockey East column
Daily Free Press preview
WTBU preview and What to Watch For
Live Blogs: Boston Hockey Blog WTBU NESN
College Hockey News Tale of the Tape

HockeyEastOnline is conducting fan votes for teams of the decade of the 10 member schools and for the conference. Cast your vote here.

Olympic auction
BU is auctioning off two autographed "Miracle on Ice" mementos. First is a BU jersey autographed by Mike Eruzione, Dave Silk, Jim Craig and Jack O'Callahan. Second is a poster of the Sports Illustrated cover from February 28, 1980, also signed by the Terrier Four.

Note: Website difficulties earlier this week prevented the posting of several Olympic related articles, including some related to the 30th anniversary of the 1980 Miracle on Ice squad. We'll get them posted over the weekend.

Looking ahead
2010 recruit Sahir Gill, a standout for the RBC Cup Champion Vernon Vipers last season, left the BCHL last summer to play for the USHL Chicago Steel. After a strong start in Chicago (8-18-26 in 28 games). Gill left the Steel and returned to Vernon. His slow start in his second tour with the Vipers drew some attention from Terrier fans. He now has 12 points in 17 games with three goals in his past four games. We asked Vernon Morning Star reporter Graeme Corbett for some insights on Gill’s play and his thoughts about some scouting reports that questioned his willingness to play gritty down low and drive to the net. His response:

Given the circumstances surrounding Gill's return to Vernon, I'm not surprised it took him a while to settle in with his old teammates. He also hadn't played in a few weeks after leaving Chicago, so I think it probably took a while to get his touch back. But he has shown steady improvement in his last few games playing on a line with Cory Kane and Robbie Short.

He turned in one of the most physical games I've seen him play as a Viper against the second-place Penticton Vees on Feb. 17, when the Snakes earn an important 3-2 overtime win to help secure the league pennant. He also started February with a six-game point streak.

In his rookie season, Gill played on the Vipers' top line with ultra- talented twins Connor and Kellen Jones (committed to Quinnipiac Bobcats). You don't earn minutes with those two if you're not willing to work the puck down low and take some abuse in the corners.

That said, Gill isn't there to be a grinder. His strength is his ability to read the play, and he has the hands to set up his linemates. And he still is only a 17-year-old, so I can only see him getting better as he develops physically.

Terriers Earn Split with 3rd Period Comeback

Down 1-0 after the first two periods, the Terriers got 3rd period goals from sophomore Andrew Glass (his first of the season) and senior Zach Cohen (pictured) for a 2-1 win Saturday night at Agganis Arena. Freshman Max Nicastro was credited with an assist for each goal, but for the second night in a row, Providence College goaltender Alex Beaudry nearly stole the game for the Friars, giving his team a great chance to win despite BU having the advantage in shots, 41-29. Kieran Millan was also strong, making 28 saves with just the one goal allowed.

BU is back in fourth place in Hockey East, jumping back over idle Northeastern, who now has a game in hand. BU controls its destiny for home ice since the final series of the season is a home-and-home with those Huskies, but first the Terriers will have a two-game road series in Burlington next weekend against the University of Vermont Catamounts.

• GoTerriers.com recap and box score
• WTBU Sports recap and notebook
• Video highlights
• Boston Hockey Blog press conference transcipts: Jack Parker, Andrew Glass & Zach Cohen
• USCHO recap
• Boston Globe recap
• Boston Herald recap
  

Looking ahead
2010 recruit Sahir Gill scored his second goal in three games in the Vernon Vipers’ win 3-2 overtime win against Westside in BCHL action. Gill has 11 points in 16 games since returning to the Vipers in January.

Charlie Coyle had a pair of assists in the South Shore Kings’ 4-4 tie with the Jersey Hitmen. He has 62 points for the season.

2011 recruit Cason Hohmann scored a goal and an assist in Cedar Rapids’ 5-2 win over the NTDP U17s. He has a 6-21-27 line for the season.

Friars rally past Terriers, 5-4

Paced by Kyle McKinnon's hattrick and three power play goals, Providence edged BU 5-4 at Schneider Arena. BU held 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 leads, but the Friars kept coming and aided by 12 BU penalties, wore the Terriers down with the three man-advantage goals coming in the final 21 minutes. Terrier goals were scored by Colby Cohen (team-leading 13th), Kevin Shattenkirk, Nick Bonino and Max Nicastro.

The loss dropped BU into fifth place in Hockey East, one point behind Northeastern, with five regular season games left on the schedule.

The teams meet again tonight at Agganis Arena. Click here for links to game tracker, the WWZN Radio Webcast and All-Access Webcast.

• GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
• WTBU recap and notebook
• Boston Hockey Blog recap and analysis.

-

Game day--Terriers in Providence

Terriers begin a home-and-home series with Providence tonight at Schneider Arena. BU’s last game with Providence in January, a 3-1 Friars’ win, was one of the few bumps in the road for the BU this semester. The Friars have experienced a scoring drought in recent games, but have one of the conference’s top goalies in Alex Beaudry.

Game time is 7 p.m. The only video available is for-pay through Providence College All-Access

Tonight's line combinations and defense pairings:

Z.Cohen-Bonino-Chiasson

Connolly-Megan-Saponari

Gaudet-Popko-Pereira

Courtnall-Gilroy-Santana

Warsofsky-Gryba

Cohen-Nicastro

Escobedo-Shattenkirk

Millan

• GoTerriers.com, as always, has links to complete game notes, game tracker and the WWZN Radio Webcast.

• Providence College game notes

• USCHO weekly Hockey East column
• College Hockey News Tape of the Tape
• WWTBU preview and Five Things to Watch Tonight

• Live Blogs: The Boston Hockey Blog, WTBU

• College Hockey 247 preview of all conferences

Olympic Update
Game-winning goal scored throughout his college (video) and NHL career – 47 in regular season games and 17 in the Stanley Cup playoffs— are part of the reason Sports Illustrated calls Chris Drury (photo) “The Winner”. Now in his third Olympic appearance, he scored his first goal for Team USA and, naturally, it was a game-winner, too. Drury, BU’s first Hobey Baker Award winner, banged home the rebound of a David Backes shot to put the U.S. ahead 2-0, en route to a 6-1 win against Norway.

Game photos

Ryan Whitney's Olympic Blog on the US win against Norway.
Patriot Ledger feature: Miracle on Ice Inspired Future Olympians.

Looking ahead

CollegeHockey247, which ranked Matt Nieto third among 2010 recruits, has now issued its list of the top 50 recruits for next season. BU has four recruits on the list. Besides Nieto: Charlie Coyle-15th, Adam Clendening-22nd and Sahir Gill-39th. Only Yasin Cisse, among BU 2010 recruits is not on the list and he's out for the year with a foot injury. Notre Dame led the way with seven recruits out of the 50 listed.

Fractured fibula shelves Trivino

Sophomore center Corey Trivino’s leg injury suffered against Maine on Saturday turned out to be more severe than the high-ankle sprain initially diagnosed. A fractured fibula has the Islanders’ 2nd round draft choice of 2008 in a cast and out of action for the season. Trivino has a 4-11-15 scoring line and was centering the Terriers' top line.

The Daily Free Press quoted Coach Jack Parker saying “There should be no long-term ramifications. That bone heals easily –– it’s a non-weight bearing bone. It’s almost better than the high-ankle sprain except that he’ll be out the whole year. The injury itself will heal better than a nagging high-ankle sprain.”

Parker had offered strong praise for Trivino’s play at both ends—especially on defense—in recent games. The injury means that the forward lines, which have been unchanged during recent weeks, will feature some new looks for this weekend’s home-and-home series with Providence. A WTBU article suggests some possibilities.

The Terriers not only climbed over the .500 mark with Saturday’s win, they also have made their first appearance in the USCHO poll since November, coming in 19th. BU also is in a tie for 18th in the Pairwise rankings, and would have been higher if not for Michigan dropping a pair of games to Nebraska-Omaha last weekend.

Comcast Sports New England looked at some potential Hobey Baker candidates from Hockey East including Nick Bonino.

Looking back
Forward Matt Radoslovich, who was skating for CHL Tulse earlier this year is now playing for the Allen TX Americans, currently in second place in the CHL.

Looking ahead

College Hockey 247, a new subscription college hockey recruiting information site, has ranked the top 10 recruits for 2010, with incoming Terrier forward Matt Nieto ranked third. The rankings were conducted with input from college coaches, junior hockey personnel directors, scouts and others. USA Hockey Director of Player Personnel Ryan Rezmierski's comment about Nieto:

"Matt has world-class speed and a world-class stick. He's a scorer. He accelerates in transition as well as the best in the game do and when he has to change gears to get to a loose puck, he'll beat you every time. He has a plethora of different weapons he can go to offensively. He can take you one-on-one or he can go wide with his speed, or he can send a bullet shot right past you. He's an offensive forward that is a threat every time he has the puck, and even when he doesn't."

Drury, Whitney continue BU Olympic tradition

Olympic men’s ice hockey has begun with both Chris Drury and Ryan Whitney (video) (photo) skating for Team USA. Whitney, who was a late replacement for an injured defenseman, becomes the 30th former Terrier to play in the Olympics Games. While the vast majority have been Americans, ex-BU players have represented Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Japan and France.

The largest Terrier contingent on one team—six--was in 1992 when Clark Donatelli, Scott Lachance, Shawn McEachern, Joe Sacco, Keith Tkachuk and Scott Young were on the Team USA roster.

There were six Terrier Olympians in 1980. Along with the Terriers Four (Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk) on the gold-medal winning U.S. squad, Dick Decloe skated for the Netherlands and two-time All-American Herb Wakabayahsi made his third appearance for Japan.

With his appearance in this year’s games, Drury joins Wakabayashi and Young as three-time Olympians. Drury feature Young feature

Whitney is blogging during the Olympics for the Orange County Register.

BU Hall of Famer Dick Rodenheiser, a member of the “first miracle” U.S. team in 1960 is the only two-time medal winner, having won a silver in 1956 and then the gold in 1960. Coach Jack Riley contends that a Czech penalty on a vicious hit to Rodenheiser in the gold-medal game was the key to the U.S. victory in 1960.


A documentary DVD, "The Forgotten Miracle", has been made about the 1960 team and it was the subject of a a recent "Morning Skate" column (with video) in the New York Times. Documentary maker Andrew Sherburne discussed the project with On Frozen Blog.




The Bleacher Report provides an update on members of the 1980 gold-medal winning U.S. squad, which earned Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsmen of the Year” designation that year.

Looking ahead
2010 recruit Charlie Coyle scored a hattrick and added an assist in the South Shore Kings’ 6-5 overtime loss to the Junior Bruins on Monday. It was Coyle’s second hattrick of the season and gives him a total of 60 points (21-39 in 39 games), third best in the EJHL. The loss was on the fourth of the season for the Kings.

Nieto hattrick leads USA past Czechs--UPDATED

2010 recruit Matt Nieto (photo) scored a hattrick and added an assist in the NTDP U18s' 5-2 win over the Czech Republic in the Six Nations tournament in Minsk, earning player of the game honors. Team USA finished second in the tournament with a 4-1 record, losing only to Russia, 2-1. Nieto, who previously had two shorthanded goals, finished the event with a 5-2-7 line, tops on Team USA and tied for first in goal-scoring for the entire tournament. He finished +9, best on Team USA. Nieto has a overall scoring line of 19-15-34, including international play. Teammate and fellow 2010 recruit Adam Clendening had four assists in the tournament.

• UPDATE: Nieto was voted MVP of the tournament and Clendening was voted top defenseman.

Ironically, it wasn’t a highlight reel goal like those in Saturday’s post, but Chris Drury’s empty netter to seal the Rangers’ 5-2 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday enabled him to achieve a pair of milestones: 250 career goals and 600 career points.

One more interview clip from Saturday's win against Maine. Eric Gryba and Zach Cohen from The Boston Hockey Blog . Both made Hockey East's top performers of the week list, along with juniors Nick Bonino and Joe Pereira.

Terriers go into the final three weekends of the regular season with control of the final home ice spot in their own hands. If they win out, they'll be assured of at least fourth place in the standings.

Terriers sweep Maine with 5-2 win UPDATED

One of Coach Jack Parker’s maxims for always-tight Hockey East games is “Win the third, win the game.” The Terriers won with that formula Friday night and did the same last night, breaking open a 2-2 game with three final-period goals to beat Maine, 5-2.
The weekend sweep moved BU into a fourth-place tie with UMass and within two points of the third-place Black Bears.

Senior blueliner Eric Gryba (photo) assisted on two goals and then punctuated the win with a laser blast from the top of the right circle in the final minutes of the game. It was the first three-point game of Gryba’s career. Zach Cohen scored his 11th goal and added an assist to earn first-star honors. Other goal scorers were Chris Connolly, Nick Bonino and Corey Trivino. Kieran Millan stopped 28 shots. The one negative was an ankle injury to Trivino late in the game. He’s expected to miss several weeks.

Numerous milestones were achieved:
• BU first four-point weekend of the season moves the team above the .500 mark at 13-12-3.
• Terriers have now won five season series against HE opponents: BC, UMass, Lowell, Merrimack and Maine. They’ve lost only one, to New Hampsire.
Beginning with the 2004-05 season, BU has had Maine’s number, winning 17 of the past 21 games, with one tie.
• Bonino’s goal, his eighth of the season, gives him 106 points in 106 career games.
• Zach Cohen has 19 points (11-8), exceeding his point total from his breakout junior season.

GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
All Access video highlights Jack Parker's post-game comments (video)
Inside Hockey recap
The Boston Hockey Blog grading the Terriers.
WTBU recap and notebook

BU and Maine face off again tonight

Terriers and Black Bear tangle for the back end of the weekend series at Agganis Arena with a 7 p.m. start time. BU will continue to play Kieran Millan in goal and will feature the same lineup that put up seven goals last night. Don't be surprised if things are far tighter and closer tonight. The game will air on WWZN Radio and can be seen through the subscription All-Access service.

Live blogs: The Boston Hockey Blog and WTBU

Drury the fighter?
For 15 seasons, fans have watched Terrier Hall of Famer Chris Drury win key faceoffs for his team, block shots for his team and score clutch goals for his team, whether BU (video) , the Avalanche with whom he won a Stanley Cup (video), the Sabres (video) or the Rangers. Last night, however, part of his contribution came from his fists, as Drury was involved in a fight (video)—a true rarity for him—that helped inspire his teammates to a 3-2 overtime win against the Penguins. Drury assisted on the first New York goal while Matt Gilroy triggered the second one. Following a game tomorrow against Tampa, Drury heads to Vancouver to play for the U.S. Olympic team.




A useful link
Check out www.channelsurfing.net It has links to watch a variety of professional and college sports events, including AHL Hockey where you can look in on recent Terrier standouts including John Curry, Brian Strait, Chris Bourque, Kevin Schaeffer, Kenny Roche, Pete MacArthur and others.

Terriers keep it going, upend Maine, 7-4

Terriers equaled their biggest scoring output of the season to take the opener of the weekend series with Maine, 7-4, at Agganis Arena. Red-shirt freshman Ross Gaudet launched BU’s attack his second two-goal game (he now has five in the past five contests; 10 for the year). Five other Terriers found the Maine net including Colby Cohen who notched his 12th and Zach Cohen who scored his 10th. Kieran Millan stopped 18 shots and Adam Kraus relieved him for the final four-and-a-half minutes.

The win brings BU’s overall and conference records to the .500 mark. If the Terriers can duplicate the win tomorrow, they’ll have an opportunity to reach fourth place in league plays.

Coach Jack Parker commented on the emergence of Gaudet, whose 10 goals have come on just 30 shots:

"He’s a very fast player. He’s one of our quickest skaters out there, and I think [strength and conditioning coach] Mike Boyle has made him. In one year, he’s taken him to a different body type, and it’s made him blossom.”

BU’s record vs. Maine in games at Agganis Arena now stands at 8-1-1.

Nick Bonino’s goal and assist bring him to 106 career points tying him with Doug Friedman on the all-atime scoring list.

Max Nicastro and Joe Pereira each had a pair of assists, as did Colby Cohen who has four multiple point game in the past ten.

• GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive boxscore
• All-Access video highlights
• USCHO recap
• Boston Hockey Blog recap, notebook, and grading the Terriers
• WTBU recap and analysis
• HockeyEastOnline recap with NESN video highlights
• Boston Herald recap
• Boston Globe recap

Looking ahead
2011 recruit Cason Hohmann scored his fourth goal of the season--to go with 20 assists--in Cedar Rapids' 9-6 win against Fargo.

Game day--BU takes on Maine

With the out-of-conference schedule now complete, BU faces a critical weekend with a pair of home games against Maine, which has been one of the surprise teams of the season. The Black Bears finished 8th in Hockey East last season, but currently are tied with BC for second place and they're six points ahead of the tied-for-fifth-place Terriers. The weekend's results will go a long way in determining if BU's hopes for achieving home ice for the conference playoffs will be realized.

Tonight's game is a 7:30 p.m. start that airs on NESN. Tomorrow game, a 7:00 p.m. start will air on BU All-Access.

GoTerriers.com has game notes and links to game tracker and the Radio Webcast on WWZN.
USCHO Weekly Hockey East column
HockeyEastOnline Weekly preview
WTBU: Five things to watch for and Hockey East weekend preview
College Hockey News Tale of the Tape.
Live blogs: WTBU, The Boston Hockey Blog

In the Boston Globe, Terrier Coach Jack Parker discusses a lull in hockey talent development in Massachusetts.

Looking back
The Worcester Telegram's Olympic coverage include a feature on former Terrier blueliner Dick Lamby, a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team and BU's 1978 National Championship team.

Looking ahead
After their first three games in the Six Nations' tournament in Minsk, Belarus, the U.S. NTDP U18s have a perfect record and Terrier 2010 recruits Matt Nieto and Adam Clendening have been important contributors. Nieto has three points including shorthanded goals in wins against Sweden and Belarus while blueliner Clendening, with four assists, is tied for the team's scoring lead. This event is the team's final international tournament before the World U18s next month also in Minsk.

Beanpot Charity Challenge aids paralyzed skater

Once again, the New England hockey community has responded to the plight of a seriously injured hockey player. Last month, Norwood High School sophomore Matt Brown fractured two neck vertebrae in an on-ice accident that has left him paralyzed. He is a cousin of former BU All-American defenseman Peter Brown, later a coach at Norwood High. (See details in the Boston Globe article by The Daily Free Press’s Jake Seiner.)

This past Sunday it was announced that The Beanpot Charity Challenge will match up to $20,000 for donations made to Matt Brown's Fundraising Page. The Travis Roy Foundation and the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation are prepared to match every dollar up to $20,000 given to Brown’s fundraising page from Feb. 6 through Feb. 14.

The Beanpot Charity Challenge is played at BU’s Agganis Arena. The 2010 event was played this past Monday afternoon and involved three teams of local players, including former pros and college players The public is invited to make donations in the names of the participating players.

The Beanpot Charity Challenge was initiated by Jon Loughborough. It was his idea to organize a benefit hockey game on the day of the Beanpot Tournament. As fate would have it, John worked for the same company as Dan Ronan, who as a freshman was a teammate and roommate of Travis Roy at Boston University.

Since its inception two years ago, the Beanpot Charity Challenge has raised more than $150,000 and this year's goal is to match that total. In years past the charity game has included celebrity players Ray Bourque, Bob Sweeney, Mike Eruzione, and Scott Young, among others.

A pair with the Black Bears
BU returns to conference play this weekend with two critical games at Agganis Arena against surprising Maine. The Daily Free Press previews the series.

Looking back
Nashville’s Colin Wilson’s has a two-game scoring streak going at New York’s Madison Square Garden--where his father played a few decades ago. Last night, in his second game since being recalled from AHL/Milwaukee, Wilson netted the game-winner (video) in the Predators’ 2-1 win against the Rangers and his former teammate Matt Gilroy. Several shifts found the two Hobey Baker finalists on the ice together, along with Chris Drury. Wilson’s previous visit to MSG was Red Hot Hockey I in 2007, when he scored a goal against Cornell. (video)

Brandon Yip talked with Yahoo! Sports' Puck Daddy about life in the NHL (some interesting links included). Among NHL rookies, Yip is 7th in goal-scoring and 6th in +/-.

David VanderGulik scored the game-winner in a shootout as the Abbottsford Heat edged the Toronto Marlies. VDG now has an 8-15-23 scoring line.

JustMyShow.com has posted an audio interview with former BU standout and 1980 U.S. Olympian Dave Silk. Look for more posts and features here as the 3oth anniversary of the Miracle on Ice continues.

Rally falls short, BC wins Beanpot

Lady Luck, who has worn Scarlet and White in so many previous Beanpots, changed colors last night as BC edged BU in the 58th Beanpot Championship game. The Eagles opened up a 4-1 lead early in the final period and withstood a Terrier rally that had whittled the gap to 4-3.

All three BU goals were scored by defensemen: Captain Kevin Shattenkirk in the first and David Warsofsky and Colby Cohen in the third. Warsofsky's goal--off a nifty Zach Cohen pass-- was his fourth shorthander of the year and second in two games. Sophomore forward Vinny Saponari was snakebitten all night, missing a half-open cage on a two-on-one in the opening period and then hitting iron twice in the second period, just prior to BC’s third goal. Kieran Millan stopped 28 shots while his BC counterpart, John Muse, stopped 31 and earned both the MVP and Eberly Awards.

Despite the loss, Coach Jack Parker was upbeat after the game:

“I was real pleased with our team tonight. I was pleased with our goaltending. I was pleased with our overall team defense. I was pleased with our penalty kill. I really thought that every one of my guys kept working hard.

The game was the 250th in the BU-BC series that now stands at 125-108-17 in the Terriers’ favor.

• Go Terriers.com recap
• Comprehensive box score
• Post-game comments-Jack Parker (audio)
• WTBU recap and slide show
• The Daily Free Press recap and "Karma Police"
• USCHO recap, notebook and Scott Weighart feature on Terrier defense
• Inside Hockey "The Game of Puck Luck" with Colby Cohen interview
• Boston Globe recap, features and Beanpot timeline
• Boston Herald recap
• ESPN recap and feature on Terrier defense
• College Hockey News notebook
• INCH notebook

Looking back
The Brandon Yip saga in Colorado continues as the former Terrier, who missed the first two months of the season with a hand injury, poured in two more goals--his 10th and 11th (video)--in the Avs' 5-2 win against St.Louis. Avs feature on Yip.

Beanpot and bragging rights on the line

The Terriers and Eagles meet for tonight the fourth time this season—in the fourth different venue—with the 58th Beanpot Championship at stake. Since the turn of the current century, BU and BC have met in the title game six times with the Terriers winning four times (2000, 2003, 2006 and 2007) and BC twice (2001 and 2004). The last three were one-goal games with two of them going to overtime.

More numerology: tonight’s game is the 250th meeting in the BU-BC series that began in 1918. Terriers hold a 125-107-17 edge. BU is shooting for its 30th Beanpot title and BC for its 15th.

BU is 11-0-1 in its last 12 contests at neutral sites--including last year's Beanpot and NCAA tournament and this year's games at Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park.

The game at TD Garden is scheduled for 8 p.m., but could begin later if the consolation game between Harvard and Northeastern goes to overtime. NESN is airing the game.

Kieran Millan is expected to be in goal for BU. Colby Cohen who missed Friday night's game with a lower-body injury is doubtful for tonight's contest.

• GoTerriers.com has links to game-notes, gametracker, the WWZN Radio Webcast and a feature article from USCHO’s Scott Weighart.

• Beanpot Central

• Pre-championship & Watch party
• Daily Free Press game preview
• Boston Globe game preview
• Boston Herald game preview and scouting report
• New England Hockey Journal game preview.
• College Hockey News Tale of the Tape
• In-game live blogs from WTBU and The Boston Hockey Blog

Some leftovers from coverage of Friday's win against Lowell:

--Post game comments from Jack Parker

--Post-game comments from Dave Warsofsky, Luke Popko and Eric Gryba

Blueliner Max Nicastro spoke with his hometown newspaper about his freshman season.

Looking back

Blog contributor defkit, now transplanted to Georgia, took in an ECHL game featuring ex-Terrier Chris Higgins. His report:

I took the boys to the Gwinnett Gladiators vs. Toledo Walleye game last night. Jason Lawrence is on IR, but we lucked out on timing as Higgins was back on the roster after a brief call-up to Syracuse. Higgins notched a goal and an assist and was the most offensively talented player on the ice. He had several very slick moves and created opportunities for both himself and his teamates. He has definitely elevated his game - good to see. Gladiators won 5-1.

The Beanpot’s identical twin

Journalist and Terrier fan Jon Brodkin has contributed a news feature on the history of the Beanpot trophy, which began as a ceramic beanpot and now is in its second generation as the silver prize four local college teams seek every February.

Four decades younger, the Beanpot trophy’s replica shines as bright as the original

By Jon Brodkin, BU 2000

On Monday night, a famous, sparkling trophy called the Beanpot will be awarded to the best college hockey team in Boston.

The trophy will be instantly recognizable to fans of Boston University or Boston College, but it is not the same one skated around the ice by the heroic likes of Mike Eruzione, Jack O’Callahan, John Cunniff, Wayne Turner and Chris Drury.

Although the tournament began in 1952, the actual trophy presented to modern day winners was made less than five years ago. After decades of wear and tear, and the occasional incident involving a winning team misplacing the trophy, Beanpot tournament officials decided the original pot was too precious to risk any further. Full story

Beanpot Final on tap

With the Beanpot final set for tomorrow night, The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald focused on sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky and the number of high-profile games he’s played in during the past 10 months—2009 National Championship game, Red Hot Hockey 2 at Madison Square Garden, World Junior Championships final, and Frozen Fenway.

Monday Night Beanpot Watch parties for Terriers are scheduled from New England to Florida to California. Click here for details and a special message from Coach Jack Parker.

Looking ahead

2010 recruit Charlie Coyle scored his 18th goal of the season in South Shore Kings' 4-0 win against the Jersey Hitmen. Coyle is tied for fourth in scoring in the EJHL with 55 points.

Looking back
BU’s only two Hobey Baker winners combined for a goal in the Rangers’ 3-1 win against the Devils. Captain Chris Drury was set up in the high slot by Matt Gilroy for his 9th goal (video) of the season.

Brandon Yip’s early NHL success continues to attract media attention. The Edmonton Journal and Slam Hockey both spoke with the former Terrier winger. Yip scored his 9th goal—in 21 games-- on an empty-netter in the Avs 3-0 win over the Oilers. He’s now 7th on Colorado in goal-scoring.

Short-handed goals push BU past Lowell

David Warsofsky (photo) and Zach Cohen scored short-handed goals in the first period as BU edged Lowell, 3-2, at Tsongas Arena. The win brought BU’s record to 11-11-3 and enabled the Terriers to tie the River Hawks for 6th place in Hockey East and also take the season’s series, 2-1. Lowell took an 1-0 lead that was matched by Ross Gaudet’s 8th goal followed by Cohen’s 9th and Warsofksy’s 7th. Lowell narrowed the gap in the second period, but was completely shut down in the third period when BU outshot their hosts 11-2. And after being decidedly on the short end of the face off battle for two periods, BU won 14 of 17 draws in the final period. Kieran Millan stopped 16 shots, while the Terriers had 33 shots plus Nick Bonino’s shot off the crossbar.

• GoTerriers.com recap
• Comprehensive box score
• Hockey East Online recap
• The Boston Hockey Blog recap and grading the Terriers
• WTBU recap and throrough on defense
• USCHO recap

Looking ahead
2010 recruit Adam Clendening (7-17-24 in 42 games) assisted on the NTDP U18s game-winning goal in a 3-0 win over Lincoln. Matt Nieto returned to the U18 lineup following a suspension and 2011 recruit Alexx Privitera moved up from the U17s for the game. The previous night, Nieto had skated with the U17s and scored a goal in a 5-2 win over Lincoln.

2010 recruit Sahir Gill picked up a pair of assists in Vernon's 7-3 thumping of Merrit in BCHL play.

Looking back

Former BU captain Jay Pandolfo converted a rebound (video) with 18 remaining in regulation to complete a three-goal rally by New Jersey in the final three minutes, as New Jersey edged Toronto, 4-3.

For the second time in a week, former Terrier blueliner Adrian Aucoin scored the game-winner (video) in a shootout. Last night, his goal gave Phoenix a 2-1 win against Chicago.

Gregg Johnson scored his 13th goal of the season in South Carolina's 3-2 win over Johnstown in ECHL action

Gameday - Stuck in the middle with Lowell

For the third season in a row, UMass-Lowell will be the Terriers' opponent for the Friday game between the Beanpot rounds. BU is looking for its first winning streak of 3 games tonight at Tsongas Arena, as well as a win in the season series. The Terriers won the first game against the Riverhawks, 5-4 in dramatic overtime fashion with a Colby Cohen game-winning goal, but dropped the second match of the home-and-home by a score of 3-2. The Terriers and the 18th-ranked Riverhawks, picked 1st and 2nd in the preseason coaches poll, have instead been struggling all season to stay in home ice contention. Kieran Millan will once again get the start for the Terriers fresh off of his co-defensive player of the week honors. If the Terriers won tonight, they would catch fifth-place UML in points (albeit with an extra league game played) and reach .500 on the season overall.

• GoTerriers.com with game notes and links to game tracker, WWZN Radio Web cast, and B2TV's video broadcast of tonight's game.


• Boston Hockey Blog's preview, live blog


• WTBU Sports preview


• USCHO's weekly Hockey East Column

• New England Hockey Journal Hockey East Column

Whitney joins US Olympic Team

Former BU blueliner Ryan Whitney, now skating for Anaheim, was added to the U.S Olympic team roster as an injury replacement. A former Penguins first round draft choice, Whitney represented Team USA in the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Championships.

NESN's Stephanie Wood offers her take on the 10 top Beanpot Memories, which included Tony Amonte's hattrick in a 5:24 span in 1991.

Before Monday's Beanpot Championship game, the Terriers take on Lowell at Tsongas Arena.

The Boston Hockey Blog's Jake Seiner previews Friday's key conference matchup while WTBU examines Kieran Millan's rebound from a below par first semester. ESPN Boston notices that BU's defense has been allowing fewer grade A shots at Millan.

Looking back

In Ball Four, Jim Bouton explained his reluctance to leave the game, even when he was no longer an effective pitcher: ""You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Former Terrier goalie Jason Tapp would understand the sentiment. After concluding a long minor-league career in a variety of leagues, Tapper is staying in the game as a volunteer goalie coach for Union College.

Midweek Linkorama

Junior defenseman Colby Cohen was named Player of the Month for January by Hockey East, recognizing his 6-4-10 scoring line in seven games, including three game-winning goals.

Cohen, who has thrived in BU's new power play alignment, got off to a good start in February, scoring BU's first goal against Northeastern in Monday's Beanpot game and, equally significant, playing a strong defensive game.

Cohen also was featured on HockeyEastOnline's "Five Minute Major" interview program and covered a myriad of topics including his decision to attend BU, thoughts about the Terrier coaching staff and playing in Agganis Arena, and his most memorable moment at BU ( video-- no surprise on that one!)

Kieran Millan, who appears to have regained the confidence and sharpness in goal that made him national rookie of the year last season, was Hockey East's co-defensive player of the week for his 39-save effort against UMass last Friday. Cohen, Nick Bonino, Ross Gaudet and Max Nicastro all were named top performers for the week.

Looking back

Former BU blueliner Adrian Aucoin scored in the 10th round of a shootout (video), to give Phoenix a 1-0 win against Nashville.

Tom Poti , an All-American for BU in 1997-98, assisted on two Washington goals in a 4-1 Caps' win over the Bruins.

Brandon Yip, at 25 the "greybeard" of Colorado's prolific rookie corps, registered the second two-goal night of his 19 game NHL career, including the game-winning in a 5-1 win over Columbus. All eight of his goals--on just 34 shots--including last night's pair can be viewed here. Avs game notes. Denver Post recap.

Colin Wilson notched his 11th goal for Milwaukee in a 5-1 win against Texas in AHL play. With 7 goals and 13 assists in January to go with a +5 rating, Wilson earned the AHL's Player of the Month award.

A blog reader forwarded a link concerning former Terrier forward Dave Tomlinson, a standout scorer on BU's 1990 and 1991 Final Four teams. "Smiper" pumped home 30 goals in his senior year, one of only 15 Terriers to reach or surpass that mark. He finished with 77 career goals, 13th best at BU. After playing 42 NHL games with Toronto, Winnipeg and Florida, he spent a decade playing in Europe, mostly with Mannheim and Hamburg. Tomlinson currently co-hosts a sports talk radio program in Vancouver. (Click on link to listen live to Dave).

Finally, not related to BU, but a great college hockey read is the article in last week's Sports Illustrated about the Lamoureaux family of Grand Forks with six children playing college hockey.

Terriers nip Huskies and reached BP final again

Alex Chiasson's goal with just over five minutes left in the third period was the difference in BU's 2-1 win over Northeastern in the Beanpot opening round at TD Garden. Terriers carried a 1-0 lead into the final period on Colby Cohen's 10th goal, but the Huskies pulled even, scoring just at the end of a power play. Kieran Millan stopped 26 NU shots and senior assistant captain Eric Gryba was a force all night, especially during a Northeastern two-man advantage and again in the game' final minute.

Terriers will be playing in the Beanpot final for the 27th time in the past 29 years and 48th time in the 58 years of tournament play. They'll meet BC, a 6-0 winner over Harvard, and seek to take home the silver beanpot for the 30th time.

• BU Athletics Web site

Recap

Comprehensive box score

Post-game video 1 2

Post-game audio Parker Chiasson, C.Cohen, Shattenkirk

•Hockey East Online

Box score.
Recap with video highlights

•Boston Globe

Together again

BU regains balance

Notebook: Parker upfront on hitting from behind

•Boston Herald

Terriers take care of Huskies

Notebook: Cohen's clutch again

•ESPNBoston.com

BU advances to face BU for crown

•USCHO.com

Chiasson Goal Puts BU Back in Beanpot Final (with photo gallery)

Northern Light

• Daily Free Press

Alex all the way

Colby embraces the new year

• WTBU

Chiasson propels Terriers

Photo gallery

• BU Today

BU Takes Beanpot Win (w/ slide show)

• Patriot Ledger

His goal was to rebound in Beanpot

• Inside College Hockey

BU, BC Advance to Beanpot Final

• Inside Hockey

Chiasson's game winner boosts BU to Beanpot Final Notebook

• New England Hockey Journal

Chiasson is the hero for BU

• College Hockey News

BU, Millan gearing up just in time