Friday, December 06, 2024

Four Terriers rostered for 4 Nations Face-off; Willander to Sweden's WJC squad; Pandolfo dishes on Spittin' Chicklets; The Athletic's deep dive on Wang; And more Belfast leftovers

Four Terrier NHL standouts—Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy, Jake Oettinger and Brady Tkachuk—have been rostered for the Team USA squad that will play in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The 23-man squad has 18 former D1 players: four each from BU and Michigan, three from BC and one each from Colorado College, Harvard, Lowell, Maine, Minnesota, Omaha and North Dakota.

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Currently, Eichel is tied for first in the NHL with 30 assists and is fourth in the league with 38 points, while McAvoy has a 5-5-10 scoring line and has the best plus-minus among Bruins’ defensemen. Both are assistant captains on their teams.

Oettinger is second in wins (13) among NHL goalies and has a 2.41 GAA and .912 save percentage. Senators’ captain Tkachuk leads his team with 14 goals and his 28 points are second best for Ottawa.

In addition to the those players, Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan is Team USA’s head coach and his staff includes Minnesota head coach John Hynes and Pittsburgh assistant David Quinn. The USA management team includes Rangers president/GM Chris Drury and Wild assistant GM Chris Kelleher.

● GoTerriers.com Four Terriers to Skate for United States at 4 Nations Face-Off

● USA Hockey Team USA Roster Announced

● NHL.com Projects United States’ lines, defense pairs, goalies for 4 Nations

 

World Junior Championships 

                   Photo credit Cadey Spencer

Once Again, Tom Willander will be on the backline for Sweden at the World Junior Championships. A year ago, he helped Sweden claim silver in the WJCs with a goal and two assists, as well as an impressive plus-9.

Currently, the sophomore has two goals—including the game-winner at North Dakota on Oct. 26—and seven assists along with 21 blocked shots and a plus-6. Prior to his arrival at BU, Willander won silver with Sweden at the World U18 Championship where he led all blueliners with three goals.

● GoTerriers.com Willander Named to Sweden's World Junior Championship Roster

 

Brandon Svoboda's strong performance at the World Junior Summer Showcase and with the Terriers earned him a spot on Team USA's camp roster for the WJCs.

● The Hockey News: Rising Sharks Prospect Named To USA Preliminary WJC Roster

                            Photo credit Matt Woolverton

 ►Shane Lachance, whose pair of goals and two assists in Belfast made him Hockey East Player of the Week, is the runner-up for Hockey East Player of the Month of November. The 6’5” forward from Andover, Mass., had six goals and five assists in the past month.

►A pair of Terriers were named to Hockey East’s Weekly Top Performers list.

Kamil Bednarik, BU (Fr., F; Elmhurst, Ill.) Totaled three points (1g, 2a) across two Terrier wins in Belfast at the Friendship Four. After recording two assists in Friday’s league win over Merrimack, he scored his first collegiate goal in Saturday’s victory over Notre Dame with a shorthanded goal to put BU ahead, 1-0. Bednarik, who assisted on another shorthanded strike against Merrimack, also helped the BU penalty kill hold Notre Dame scoreless across four opportunities.

Gavin McCarthy, BU (So., D; Clarence Center, N.Y.) Scored his first two goals of the season in Belfast, scoring a shorthanded goal in Friday’s league triumph over Merrimack before sparking the Terriers’ comeback against Notre Dame with a third-period goal. He now has a three-game point streak.

 

Jay Pandolfo joined former Terrier Ryan Whitney and the Spittin’ Chicklets crew for an unrestrained ramble through his college and pro careers, his return to BU and then becoming head coach. There’s no shortage of stories about his teammates and coaches, Mike Grier’s monster hit in the Beanpot and even how he would mess with Lane Hutson during practice.

Pandolfo’s interview begins at the 2:17 mark of the podcast. Click here for listening and watching options.

 

●College Hockey Inc. Men’s Notes: Terriers Hope to Build on Belfast Wins

After a choppy start to the season, the Terriers (8-5-1, 4-2-1 HEA) now roll into December having won a season-best three straight games. Positive signs are also emerging.

Offensively, BU ranks third nationally in shooting percentage (12.7%) and is tied for sixth in scoring offense (3.7 goals per game). Lachance is on a season-long five-game point streak. Freshman Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) has a team-leading nine goals in his first 14 NCAA games.

 

More SNL (Saturday Night Leftovers)

 

             L-R Jim McKenzie, Steve Thornton, Allan Vaughn

Jim McKenzie and Allan Vaughn, part of a contingent of longtime Terrier fans, traveled to Belfast for the tournament and sight-seeing that included the Titanic Museum. Vaughan had become close friends with Tournament co-founder and Belfast Giants Chief of Operations Steve Thornton during Steve's years as a Terrier, providing support for the Ontario native who was far away from family. They've stayed in touch over the years and when Allan and his group planned the trip to Belfast, Steve arranged luxury box tickets for the group of six and joined them during the game. In the photo, Allan is sporting the game-worn Thornton jersey that his wife had won at auction and he wears to BU games. 

                   Photo and video courtesy of Jim McKenzie

 

                                      Terrier fans headed to SSE Arena

Looking ahead

►The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler has authored a comprehensive article about 2026 recruit and breakout star Haoxi Simon Wang, who just this week left the OJHL for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals.  The subscription-only piece traces Wang’s path from first stepping on the ice in Beijing at four years old to moving to Toronto in 2019 where his game blossomed. It also relates how Wang’s entrepreneurial mother turned Simon’s budding interest in hockey into a business opportunity, opening several rinks in Beijing and now owning the OJHL team Simon played for.

He also went to the summer camps of some NCAA programs, attending Merrimack’s, and then Harvard’s, and then Boston University’s, initially just for fun to see if he could get anything out of them.

He was a standout at a couple of them but played his best at Boston University’s, catching the eye of Terriers associate head coach Joe Pereira in particular. After a visit to BU’s facilities he said, “Yeah, this is the place.”

● The Athletic Inside Haoxi Simon Wang’s journey to the top of the 2025 NHL Draft from China (subscription)

● The Hockey News Oshawa Generals Sign Intriguing NHL Draft Prospect

 

►Hockey scout and journalist Gabriel Foley has published evaluations of the 2025 draft-eligible talent on the NTDP U18s, including four future Terriers: forwards Conrad Fondrk and Jack Murtagh and defensemen Carter Amico and Charlie Trethewey.

Foley noted that “the NTDP was not well-represented by the recent CHL/NTDP games, but added that “they’re still a class worth highlighting.” Click here to read his take on each of the four. 

 

Looking back

Evan Rodrigues scored his seventh goal--unassisted--and added his eighth assist in the Panthers' 7-5 win against the Flyers. Joel Farabee had a helper for Philadelphia.

►Chatter about the top candidates for the Calder Trophy for top rookie is focused on San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini and Philadelphia’s Matvei Michkov. Morning Cuppa Hockey podcaster Colby Cohen weighs in.

►On Monday, Celebrini was named NHL Rookie of the Week with four goals—two game-winners—and three assists in three Sharks wins. He had also been named Rookie of the Month for November.

Celebrini is tied for fourth among rookie scorers with an 8-7-15 line, two points behind #2 Lane Hutson who has 17 points, all on assists.  Assist #17 came Wednesday night in Montreal's 3-0 win against Nashville.

● NHL.com Celebrini, Smith giving Sharks good look at promising future


►The Athletic’s Cory Pronman has published his annual list of NHL prospects he was wrong about. And it begins with Terrier standout and now Blackhawks defensive mainstay Alex Vlasic.

I was worried about Vlasic’s hockey sense and whether he would have any offense at higher levels. You can be a good NHL defenseman without offense, but you need to be able to make a pass at least. Vlasic’s tools were always obvious. He’s huge and quite mobile for his size and he would tease you with flashes of skill, especially during his U.S. NTDP days. I thought he was an NHL player at the time; it was his college career that worried me. I thought he looked average in Hockey East and lowered his projection. I don’t think that assessment was off. He wasn’t amazing in school, but the tools still looked excellent and I shouldn’t have moved the needle so drastically from a guy I projected as a No. 4-6 NHL D to someone who wouldn’t play.

After putting up 16 points in his first full NHL season, Vlasic has 11 points in 26 games this year which leads the team’s blueliners. He’s averaging 23:30 TOI/game and has taken just 2 penalty minutes, remarkable for a physical defenseman.

Vlasic scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to Boston.

Women’s Team

#13 Terriers ((10-5-1, 8-2-1 HE) resume Hockey East play with a one-game trip to Maine for their final outing of the semester. Puck drop at Alfond Arena is 6 p.m. for the game that will live stream on ESPN+.

BU will seek to put last week’s speed-bump loss to Princeton in the rear-view mirror and maintain its position atop the Hockey East Standings. The Scarlet & White are one point ahead of local rivals BC and Northeastern, but have a game in hand vs. the Eagles and two vs. the Huskies.

The Terriers swept the Black Bears back in October, 2-1 and 2-0, with senior Callie Shanahan stopping a combined 37 of 38 shots.

Lola Reid (13 points), Christina Vote (12), Julia Shaunessy (12) and Clara Yuhn (10) pace the attack. Sydney Healey has seven goals as do Reid and Yuhn.

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats

● Live Stream ESPN+

● Coach Tara Watchorn Media Call

● Boston Hockey Blog Women look to bounce back at Maine 

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Grad student Shaunessy was named Hockey East’s Defender of the Month for November, She succeeds Captain Tamara Giaquinto who won the award for October.

Shaunessy tallied eight points off one goal and seven assists in November and leads Hockey East defenders in points in conference play.

●GoTerriers.com Shaunessy tabbed Hockey East Defender of the Month


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