Conventional hockey wisdom says you build a
team from the
goal out. And, as with other positions, raw talent needs to be developed
by the coaching staff. For goalies, the tasks include helping them to perfect their technique and enhancing their ability to compete and win under pressure situations.
For sixteen seasons Terrier netminders—including Rick
DiPietro, Sean Fields, John Curry, Kieran Millan and Matt O’Connor—have been instructed,
supported, cajoled and challenged by BU assistant coach Mike Gerogosian to build on their skills, and develop the critical mental aspect of goaltending.
An All-New England goalie for Division 2 University of
Lowell in the early 1970s, Geragosian has been mentoring goalies for more
than 30 years. Before joining Jack Parker’s staff in 1999-2000 (DiPietro’s
freshman and only Terrier season), Mike had coaching stints at his alma mater,
Princeton and Merrimack. He’s also USA Hockey’s Director of Development for
goaltenders in Massachusetts and operates Mike Geragosian's All American Goalie Camps.
Geragosian,
who instructs more than 500 goaltenders annually, talked with THFB about his approach to mentoring goaltenders.
Q—Matt O’Connor attended three NHL
development camps last summer and his excellent first half has drawn the
further attention from NHL teams. What improvements has he made to his game
that have contributed to his strong performance?
A— Matt has worked hard on his leg
strength on ice with me and off ice with our strength trainer Anthony
Morando. This has led to better skating,
puck control and arrival time to positioning. Matt also has improved on his
readiness and his set position for all situations including the less
challenging ones— where sloppy play can lead to tired defense and poor rebound
control and eventually goals against.
►
Terriers
returned to the ice yesterday to prepare for Saturday’s home game against
defending national champion Union College. Sophomore Robbie Baillargeon, who
missed most of the first semester with mono, has returned to action.
Morning practice at Walter Brown... Only 4 days until we start the second half of the season vs. Union! #GoBU pic.twitter.com/MbriYBPN2Z
— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) December 30, 2014
►
From The Daily Free Press: Hockey
comes first for BU’s Evan Rodrigues, family focuses on the BU assistant
captain and his brother Paul, a Division 3 "Player of the Year" at SUNY Oswego.
Paul currently skates for the Greenville Road Warriors and is a teammate of former
Terriers Sean Escobedo and Vinny Saponari.
World
Junior Championships update
Team
USA won its third preliminary round game at the 2015 IIHF World Junior
Championships, blanking Slovakia 3-0.
Team captain Jack Eichel was held off the score sheet, but had four
shots on goal and won 13 of 22 face offs.
●
SB Nation recap
and standings
update
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NHL Network’s Steve Mears talked with Eichel about the team’s and his
performance in the first three games (Video)
► During the broadcast of the US-Slovakia game, a discussion of skilled US players from Long Island led Dave Starman to gave a shout-out to 2015 recruit Charlie McAvoy from Long Beach, N.Y., now playing for the NTDP U18s.
The long-awaited USA-Canada preliminary round match-up is today's featured game with puck drop at Montreal's Bell Centre set for 4 p.m. NHL Network and nhl.com will air the game.
Looking ahead
► During the broadcast of the US-Slovakia game, a discussion of skilled US players from Long Island led Dave Starman to gave a shout-out to 2015 recruit Charlie McAvoy from Long Beach, N.Y., now playing for the NTDP U18s.
The long-awaited USA-Canada preliminary round match-up is today's featured game with puck drop at Montreal's Bell Centre set for 4 p.m. NHL Network and nhl.com will air the game.
●
USA Hockey game day with links to preview, game notes, line chart, more
●
New York Times preview
● NHL.com preview with links to player and coach video interviews
● SB Nation preview
● NHL.com preview with links to player and coach video interviews
● SB Nation preview
Looking ahead
A
pair of 2015 Terrier recruits, Jakob Forsacka-Karlsson (left) of Omaha and Robert
Carpenter (above) of Sioux City, will
participate in the USHL/NHL Top
Prospects game on January 13 in Dubuque, Iowa. JFK, who previously played
for Linköping in Sweden, has been one of the USHL’s hottest scorers the past
two months with a 9-17-26 line. Earlier this month, he shared CCM Forward
of the Week honors and, in recent games, scored overtime and shootout winners. Carpenter,
a Boston Globe All-Scholastic forward who led Austin Prep to last Spring’s Super 8 title
game and then attended Maple Leafs development camp, also has 26
points (11G, 15A) and stands second on the Musketeers.
●
USHL.com report
SB
Nation looked at some of the top
high school performers at the Pete Frates Classic, including 2018 BU
recruit Jake Wise of Central Catholic:
Jake Wise, LC, 5-10/170, Fr., Central Catholic, 2/28/00 (Boston University) - There were a few shifts where he looked like a high school version of Jack Eichel. He's got that strong stride that allows him to look like he's coasting even though he's flying out there. He's got good hands and made a few plays happen, but overall didn't have his best game. He did have two assists including a real nice feed on the team's fourth goal in a 5-4 loss to St. John's in the consolation game.