Economical Terriers upend BC--UPDATED

Outshot by Boston College a three to one margin, Boston University made the most of its opportunities, getting goals from five players en route to a 5-3 win at Conte Forum. Terriers leaped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on Charlie Coyle’s power play goal and Yasin Cissé’s first career goal, a breakaway ignited by Alexx Privitera’s slick headman pass.

BU had to kill three penalties in the first period and the trend continued in the middle period when BC had 6 power plays during which they put 16 shots on goal. BU scored the first goal of the period on Garrett Noonan’s knuckler from just inside the blue line.

The Eagles finally got on the board—ending a string of nearly 257 shutout minutes at the hands and feet of Kieran Millan (photo credit, Christopher Evans)—on Bill Arnold’s power play deflection.

Terriers stretch the lead to 4-1 midway through the third period on Cason Hohmann’s first collegiate goal. BC narrowed the margin to 4-2 on an even-strength goal before Corey Trivino scored on an empty netter and BC added one more man-advantage goal for the final 5-3 score.

First star Millan made 42 saves, including 22 of 23 in the second period

The win clinches the Hockey East season series between the Comm. Ave rivals and increased BU’s lead in the overall series to 127-112-17.

BU has now won back-to-back games at BC’s rink for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

Noonan’s goal—his fifth of the season—came on BU’s only shot on goal of the second period.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
● Steve McLaughlin's photo gallery
● Boston Hockey Blog recap and notebook
● College Hockey News: The Takeaway
●USCHO recap and Millan feature
● HockeyEastOnline recap and box score
● Boston Herald recap
● Boston Globe recap
● WTBU Sports recap
● Video highlights


► Continuing its growing support for Autism Speaks—the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization— the Terriers have added the organization’s blue logo to the left shoulder of their road “candycane” uniforms.

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Wesley Myron scored twice and assisted on two other goals as Victoria ripped Salmon Arm, 7-2. Myron, who earned thegame’s first star, is averaging more than two points per game with 37 points in 18 games. His Grizzlies’ teammate, 2012 recruit Mike Moran, with a pair of assists, was the game’s third star and is one point behind Myron at 36.

Looking back
Kevin Shattenkirk’s first trip back Denver after his trade last season from Colorado to St. Louis was marked by his third goal of the season. But it wasn’t enough as Coach Joe Sacco’s Avs earned a 3-2 shoutout win.

Eric Gryba’s second goal of the season sealed Binghamton’s 4-1 win against Manchester.

John McCarthy’s third goal of the season helped Worcester ease past Springfield, 4-3

Game Day: Terriers vs. Eagles

Red Hot Hockey is in the rearview mirror and a double helping of The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue lies ahead. The first game of the BU-BC home-and-home is at Conte Forum tonight, a 7:30 p.m. start that will air nationally on CBS Sports Network as part of a “rivalry week” doubleheader; Denver vs. Colorado College is the second game.

In the Hockey East standings, BU is in third place, three points behind BC.

BU will go into the game without Captain Chris Connolly who suffered a shoulder injury in the Cornell game. Freshman Evan Rodrigues will return to the lineup and freshman Alexx Privitera will replace Ryan Ruikka as Max Nicastro’s blueline partner.

Gill-Trivino-Chiasson

Nieto-Coyle-Cisse

Megan-Hohmann-Rodrigues

Courtnall-Rosen-Gaudet

Escobedo-Clendening

Noonan-MacGregor

Nicastro-Privitera

Millan

The second-ranked Eagles come into the game following a 3-2 win against Yale. They’re led by Chris Kreider (10-8-18) and Bill Arnold (7-8-15). Junior goalie Parker Milner has been in net for all but one BC game, including last month’s 5-0 Terrier win.

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes , WWZN Radio Webcast
● Daily Free Press preview
● CHN’s CHN The Week Ahead in Hockey East, Tale of the Tape, Tweetcast
● Boston Hockey Blog live blog
● USCHO’s Hockey East picks and column
● WTBU Sports: Weekly hockey notebook
● Boston Herald preview
● Boston Globe preview
● New England Hockey Journal’s Hockey East power rankings

Looking back
Colin Wilson scored a goal and two assists to lead Nashville past Vancouver last night, 6-5. The former BU All-American now has 15 points in 25 games. Video

Terrier Coach Jack Parker spoke with The Boston Hockey Blog about Mike Grier’s retirement. and how “he was a good advertisement of who a BU hockey player [is].”

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor continued his strong play, stopping 30 of 31 shots in Youngstown’s 2-1 shootout loss to Sioux Falls. The only goal he yielded in regulation came on a 4-on-2 rush.

Memorable goals, signature celebrations

Chris Drury scores in overtime, 3/22/97

In the aftermath of BU’s Red Hot Hockey win, there’s been much attention to Ross Gaudet’s “Tebowing” (down on one knee) after his overtime winner. The junior wing explained “It’s something I’ve been thinking of doing if I scored a goal. This was a good stage to do it [on] I guess.”

Gaudet is not the first Terrier to prepare a special goal-scoring celebration for a game in a unique venue. When David Warsofsky broke the ice at the January 2010 BU-BC Frozen Fenway with the game’s first goal, he also broke out an homage to the venerable home of the Red Sox with a pantomimed home run swing (video).

In BU’s 1995 NCAA championship game win against Maine, captain Jacques Joubert and tournament Most Outstanding Player Chris O’Sullivan each punctuated a goal with a personal signature celebration. Joubert followed his second-period rebound marker with his trademark fencing flourish, while O’Sullivan celebrated his second goal of the game by skating to the boards, turning his stick into a rifle and “shooting” the Black Bears' goalie. (Video: Jourbert-3rd BU goal, O’Sullivan-5th)

Two seasons later in the 1997 NCAA regional final, after converting a Chris Kelleher rebound in overtime to send BU to the Final Four, the normally low-key Chris Drury delighted Terrier fans with a hockey version of the Lambeau Leap, elevating into the glass in the corner of Walter Brown Arena. (Video)

More recently “the leap” returned as the preferred celebration of Pete MacArthur during his four years in Scarlet. (Video 2:15). And, after banging home the game-winner in the 2009 NCAA semifinal against Vermont, Colin Wilson celebrated with his “wind ‘em up” hand twirl. (Video 8:30; photo)

Of course, the milestone goals will be remembered more vividly than these celebrations. But as long as no one is pulling a Sharpie out of his boot to autograph a puck, why not add a creative punctuation to the moment?

►Episode 8 of Inside BU Hockey, now available on GoTerriers.com, is a special one. Along with Coach Jack Parker and Ross Gaudet, Bernie Corbett interviews legendary Coach Jack Kelley who led BU to back-to-back national championships in 1971 and 1972.

►Bay State Road Sports offers a Q&A interview with hard-hitting sophomore defenseman Garrett Noonan.

►College Hockey News’ Scott McLaughlin examines the recent resurgence of the Terriers’ power play and penalty kill units.

►Speculating about the final U.S. Junior National Team roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships, United States of Hockey.com suggests that three Terriers—Charlie Coyle, Adam Clendening and Matt Nieto—are strong candidates for Team USA.

Looking back
Former BU standout Mike Grier has announced his retirement following 14 NHL seasons and 1060 games. A ninth round draft pick by St. Louis in 1983, his rights were traded to Edmonton, where he began his pro career. He later played for Washington, San Jose and Buffalo, where he teamed for several season with Terrier teammate Chris Drury.
► Grier buries BC's Joe Callahan in the 1995 Beanpot Final in what ESPN's Darren Pang calls "the hit."


Like Matt Gilroy and John Curry, Grier evolved from walk-on to All-American (1995) during his three years at BU. A top forward at St. Sebastian's before arriving at BU, he became the first US-born and trained African-American player to play in the NHL. Grier issued a statement through the NHLPA:

I was very fortunate to be able to play 14 seasons in the NHL with some great players. "The memories and friendships that I have built during my time in the league will last a lifetime. I would like to thank my former teammates, family and fans for helping make my career so memorable for me. It was a great ride, and I am now excited and looking forward to my post-playing future."

2000-2001 Terrier captain Carl Corazzini is the latest alum to enter the coaching ranks, taking over the top job at Weston (Mass.) High School. A member of BU’s 100-point club (65-55-117), Corazzini’s post-BU career included 12 games and two goals for the Bruins and five games with the Blackhawks. He concluded his playing career last year with the Straubing Tigers of the German DEL and earlier this season appeared as an analyst on NESN broadcasts of college hockey.
● Video of a Corazzini shootout goal for the Peoria Rivermen in 2009

Matt Gilroy’s slick entry pass set up an easy one-timer by Tampa’s Steve Stamkos, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit doubled up the Lightening.

Tuesday Linkorama--UPDATED

Red Hot Hockey hero Ross Gaudet (photo) and goalie Kieran Millan, who has yielded just two goals in his last 182:48 minutes, were named to Hockey East’s weekly list of top performers.

BU is now 7-0-1 in its last eight games at Madison Square Garden, dating back to 1966. We neglected to mention in Sunday’s post that MSG was sold out (18,200) once again for Red Hot Hockey.

►► Video highlights of BU's 2-1 Red Hot Hockey win finally have been posted on YouTube.
Editor's note: some of the sequences in this video clip are out of order. The no-g0al call late in the third period appears in the video before Cornell's tying goal, which was scored at 11:06 of the third.


Q. What Terrier scored the most goals in a game at Madison Square Garden?
A. BU All-American Fred "The Bear" Bassi turned the red light on five times in a 13-6 drubbing of Princeton, on Dec,17, 1966. In the same game, Mickey Gray added four goals.

● Daily Free Press's hockey notebook—The future of Red Hot Hockey; resurgent Nicastro
● Terriers moved to #13 in both the USCHO and USA Today polls.
● USCHO’s Hockey East weekend wrap
● Cornell Sun recap of Red Hot Hockey

Looking ahead
2013 recruit Matt Grzelcyk assisted on the game-winning goal in the NTDP U18s’ 5-4 win against Colby College Saturday night. The Charlestown, Mass., native has a 1-7-8 scoring line, second best among NTDP defensemen.

Looking back--Familiarity breeds success
Before they were BU blueline partners on the Terriers' 2009 NCAA champs, Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen were teammates on the East Coast Selects, and NTDP U17s and 18s. Post-BU, they joined the Colorado Avs together, before trades sent them in different directions. Now the Blues top-scoring defenseman (2-12-14), Shattenkirk is still skating with familiar faces, according to a tweet from United State of Hockey’s Chris Peters. Two new members of the St. Louis defense—Ian Cole (Notre Dame) and Cade Fairchild (Minnesota) were Shatty’s teammates at the NTDP and on the U.S. team at the 2009 World Junior Championships. All three were on the ice for St.Louis 2-1 win against the Caps tonight, with Shattenkirk logging 24 minutes.

The Terriers' first on-campus hockey home turns 40 today (updated)

The Walter Brown Arena, BU’s first on-campus hockey home, hosted its first game 40 years ago today—November 27, 1971. During the next 33-plus years, the Terriers would play 528 games at the arena on Babcock Street, adjacent to BU’s West Campus. The final men’s game (video) was played on Jan. 2, 2005, a 2-1 loss to Minnesota.



BU inaugurated Agganis Arena (video) the following night, beating the top-ranked Gophers by the same score.

When Jack Kelley became head coach of his alma mater in 1962, one of the first goals he set was to bring an on-campus facility to Boston University. With the assistance of the support group he founded, The Friends of BU Hockey, Kelley was the driving force behind the arena project, a goal he pursued while returning the hockey program to top tier of Eastern hockey. In 1965, after The Friends reported a pledge list totaling $100,000, BU began a fund raising campaign that would raise $5.5 million for a complex that would house the arena, a basketball gym and a swimming pool. Financing was completed and after two years of construction, the doors of Walter Brown Arena opened as Kelley was about to begin his 10th –and final—season behind the Terrier bench. (Continue reading)

More Red Hot Hockey
● New York Times’ Slapshot blog recap
● Video of the controversial “no-goal” call

● Daily Free Press recap and Gaudet feature
● Ithaca Journal recap
● Jack Parker post-game comments
● Ross Gaudet post-game comments

Gaudet strikes in OT; Terriers edge Cornell, 2-1

(photo courtesy of Adam Wodon, College Hockey News)

Junior Ross Gaudet’s overtime deflection of a Max Nicastro shot at 2:48 of overtimes sent BU and Terrier faithful home all smiles as Red Hot Hockey 3 ended with a 2-1 BU win. It was Gaudet’s first goal of the season. Ben Rosen also drew an assist.

Terriers had taken a 1-0 lead on Adam Clendening’s power play goal—a two-man advantage—in a first period dominated by BU hard-checking that effectively tied up the Big Red. Following a middle stanza in which Cornell had the better chances, the Big Red tied the score in an otherwise evenly played third period. Kieran Millan made an initial save on a shot for the high slot, but Locke Jillson collected the puck and fired it off a Terrier skate and behind Millan on a sharp angle.

BU caught a break minutes later when a Cornell shot off the dasher behind Millan bounced high in the air. The officials lost sight of the puck and whistled the play dead before the puck came down on Millan's back and dropped into the goal. A reviewed confirmed: "No goal."

Red Hot Hockey turned white hot in a frenetic overtime that featured excellent chances at each end of the ice. Millan made one particularly outstanding save before first-star Gaudet’s slick deflection turned on the red light.

Gaudet: “It’s the most exciting goal I’ve ever scored, and one of the best moments of my athletic career.”

► BU's win was its seventh in the past 12 meetings with the Big Red and narrowed Cornell's lead in the overall series--which began with a BU win on an outdoor rink in Ithaca in 1925--
to 23-18-2.

► Like the two previous iterations of Red Hot Hockey, edition #3 was a sellout of 18,200, and there was an electric atmosphere in The Garden all night. While there may have been more Cornell fans in the building, the BU student section deliver the chant of the night—“1970”—a reference to the Big Red’s last national championship. And the BU Pep band outperformed their rivals all night.

● GoTerriers.com recap, comprehensive box score and photo gallery
● Boston Hockey Blog recap
● USCHO recap
● College Hockey News analysis of “no-goal” and winning goal
● Boston Globe recap

► Today, Sunday, Nov. 27, marks the 40th anniversary of the first game played at BU men’s hockey’s former home, Walter Brown Arena, now the home of the women’s team. Check back this evening for a new Terrier Tales feature on BU’s first on-campus arena.

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor picked up his 10th win for BU as Youngtown beat Sioux City, 5-4.

2012 recruit Sean Maguire stopped 20 of 21 shots over a little man than two periods in a relief roll as Powell River fell to Surrey, 4-3, in BCHL action.

Game Day: Red Hot Hockey 3

BU and Cornell return to New York City for their bi-annual tussle at Madison Square Garden. Both the Terriers and Big Red enter Red Hot Hockey 3 at the top of their games. BU has won three straight conference games following a 2-1 OT loss to Merrimack. Meanwhile, Cornell has dealt shutouts to three consecutive opponents, the most recent coming Tuesday, 1-0, against Niagara.

Both teams’ netminders—BU’s Kieran Millan and Cornell’s Andy Iles—were named goalie-of-the-week in their respective conferences.

Cornell, as always under coach Mike Schafer, plays physical, tight-checking hockey. The Big Red’s offensive leaders are junior defenseman Nick D’Agostino (6-6-12), freshman Brian Ferlin (5-6-11)—twice named ECAC rookie-of-the-week—and Greg Miller (2-8-10).

BU, which will be the home team for this neutral-site game and gets the last change, is led by Matt Nieto (8-7-15), Corey Trivino (8-4-12) and Charlie Coyle (9 assists, +10).

Red Hot Hockey will air on MSG Network and DirecTV viewers can watch it on Channel 634.

BU has played ten previous games at Madison Square Garden, including the two previous Red Hot Hockey games and has a 6-2-2 record there. The Terriers first appearance in New York was at MSG III (on 50th Street), an exhibition game vs. St. Nicholas Skating Club in 1926.

The New York’s College Sports Blog talks with senior Kevin Gilroy about pond hockey, playing at Madison Square Garden and other college hockey “special events.”

► Cornell leads the all-time series 23-17-2. The teams have met twice in NCAA championship games, Cornell winning in 1967 and BU winning in 1972. They also met twice in ECAC championship games the same years with the same results.
Check back for more updates

●GoTerriers.com detailed preview, game notes, MSG Network broadcast announcement, WWZN Radio Webcast
● Terriers’ stats
●CHN’s This Week in Hockey East, Tale of the Tape, Tweetcast
●Boston Hockey Blog game preview
●USCHO’s Hockey East picks
●WTBU Sports: Three Things to be Thankful for, Q&A with Matt Nieto
●Ithaca Journal preview
●Inside College Hockey’s Holiday Four-cast

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor stopped 19 of 20 shots in Youngstown’s 3-1 victory over Fargo to earn his USHL-leading ninth win of the season

Looking back
Former Terrier center Nick Bonino's two goals and an assist led the Syracuse Crunch past the Binghamton Senators, 4-1.

Former BU captain Kevin Shattenkirk has established himself as a driving force for the St. Louis Blues’ offense.

Women’s program
The #5-ranked Terriers travel West to Ithaca, N.Y., for a pair of games against #3 Cornell in what also deserves the title Red Hot Hockey. The game is a rematch of last Spring’s NCAA Frozen Four semifinal in whch BU defeated the Big Red, 4-1.
UPDATE: Cornell took the first game on Friday, 3-1, with Jill Cardella scoring the Terriers' goal. The teams meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m.

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, Radio Webcast, Video Webcast

Midweek Linkorama--updated

Episode 7 of Inside BU Hockey features interview segments with Coach Jack Parker, senior center Corey Trivino and Tim Regan (photo), a BU Hall of Famer and Olympic Silver Medalist. He was named MVP of the 1972 NCAA Championship game in which he shut out Cornell, 4-0.

College Hockey News' latest Hockey East power ratings have the Terriers moving up to #3 behind Merrimack and BC.

Red Hot Hockey
Junior Wade Megan and sophomore Adam Clendening talked with BU Today about Saturday’s third edition of Red Hot Hockey

To get focused on the BU Cornell rivalry, check out a few of the previously posted Terriers Tales articles in the sidebar to the right: BU in the Big Apple, Red Hot Hockey Since 1925 and The Game that Never Was, which was written by former BU blueliner Dave Warner.

Looking ahead
Democrat & Chronicle: 2012 recruit Matthew Lane, one of four Rochester, N.Y. area skaters who recently committed to D1 schools.
● USHL announcement of Lane commitment

2012 recruit Jarrid Privitera suited up for his first USHL game, contributing an assist in Dubuque’s 3-2 OT win over Cedar Rapids.

2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon’s scored his sixth goal in seven games in Indiana’s 4-3 OT win against Green Bay. 2012 recruit Robert Poleselo set up the game-winner for the Ice.

Looking back
Former Terrier co-captain and Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Gilroy is featured in an NCAA promo for the 2012 Frozen Four in Tampa.

Chris Bourque’s 10th goal gave Hershey an early lead that ended when David Warsofsky scored his first goal for Providence, but the Bears, who also received an assist from Bourque, earned a 4-3 win.

Red Hot Hockey's special "guest;" recruit news

The third installment of Red Hot Hockey, matching BU and Cornell, is a few days away. We’ve learned that the Stanley Cup will be traveling from Boston to New York for the game. All fans who are registered for BU’s pre-game Pep Rally in the Delta Sky 360 Club luxury lounge are invited to get their photograph taken with Lord Stanley's Cup prior to the game.

On Saturday, Pep Rally attendees must enter Madison Square Garden through the South Concierge Entrance to the left of the main Will Call ticket entrance. This entrance will be open at 6 p.m. The arena will open at 7 p.m.

● The MSG Network broadcast of Red Hot Hockey will include WTBU Sports’ play-by-play announce, Paul Ryan, who will contribute as a reporter in the first intermission.

● Former New York Rangers and BC standout Brian Leetch talks about Red Hot Hockey.

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor earned the USHL’s designationat Goaltender of the Week for backboning the Phantoms’ win against Chicago and Cedar Rapids.

O’Connor posted a 1.46 goals-against-average and a .957 save percentage in two wins for the Phantoms. He equaled a USHL season high with 44 saves in the 4-1 win over Chicago on Friday. The second-year goaltender then made 23 saves in the 3-2 overtime victory against Cedar Rapids on Saturday, which tied him for the USHL lead with eight victories this season. The 19-year-old from Toronto, Ontario has won each of his last three starts and is fifth overall among League netminders with a 2.36 GAA while ranking tied for third with a .923 SV%.

O’Conner is the only netminder to capture the USHL’s Reebok Goaltender of the Week award twice this season. His coach, Anthony Noreen, noted:

“Matt’s gotten better fundamentally and technically as a goaltender and also stronger physically. But I think the biggest jump since last year has been his mindset from a leadership standpoint. He’s definitely a leader on and off the ice. The guys look to him for stability and he’s given that to us day in and day out.”

The Terriers' newest 2012 recruit, Sean Maguire, reveals his reasons for committing to BU in a Powell River Kings' news release, while his coach, Kent Lewis (also his coach for the World Junior A Challenge), discusses the netminder’s strengths.

"This year he has proven to be one of the elite goaltenders and showcased at the WJAC. Sean’s strengths are his character, his willingness to compete and athleticism"

Among several roster moves made by the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints, 2012 BU recruit Jarrid Privitera was “called up” for this weekend’s games against Omaha and Des Moines. Privitera was a 25-goal scorer last season at The Gunnery School where is a senior.

In other roster news, Jarrid Privitera, a Fighting Saints affiliate list player, will suit up for the team this weekend. Privitera currently plays for the Gunnery Prep, which is the where former Fighting Saint Nick Luukko played his prep hockey. Privitera, a Fighting Saints Futures Draft selection in 2010, is a 5’6, 150 pound forward. He is committed to Boston University, where his brother Alexx is currently on the team. Alexx Privitera played in the USHL for the Muskegon Lumberjacks last season.

“Jarrid has been someone we have been excited about since we drafted him last year,”[Coach Jim] Montgomery said. “He’s a dynamic skater who is a proven scorer as well. We are excited to have him in town, and we welcome him to the Fighting Saints family for this week of games.”

Terriers snare top goalie from World Junior A Challenge

BU took a major step toward completing its 2012 recruit class when it received a commitment from Powell River Kings/BCHL netminder Sean Maguire. The 6’1”, 203 lb. goalie, a Feb. 1993 birthdate, was the all-tournament goaltender at the World Jr. A Challenge earlier this month, where he posted a 1.49 GAA and a .942 save percentage in four tournament games to help Canada West to the gold medal.

Maguire outdueled highly regarded Swedish netminder Oscar Dansk in the semifinal game, won by Canada West, 2-1 in OT. He turned aside 28 shots. Then in the gold-medal game, he stopped 18 shots in a 4-2 win against Canada East. Future Terrier teammate Wesley Myron of the Victoria Grizzlies also played for Canada West.

● Maguire video interview at the World Junior A Challenge


USHR reports that Maguire's pro stock has shot up thanks to his sharp tournament performance. It went on to say that Terrier assistant coach Buddy Powers has been scouting Maguire since last season, when he was co-winner of the league’s Wally Forslund Memorial Trophy (lowest combined GAA—1.88). In ten games for the Kings this season, Maguire has a 2.55 GAA and an .897 save percentage (numbers skewed somewhat, USHR notes, by a 5-3 loss last Friday.

Maguire had a 2.50 GAA and a .903 save percentage in his first year with Powell River and previously played for the North Island Silvertips. He’s the fourth member of BU’s 2012 class now playing in the BCHL, joining Myron and Mike Moran of Victoria and Marc Hetnik, Jr. of Vernon. And he joins Matt O'Connor, now at USHL/Youngstown, as BU's goaltending tandem of the future. All current recruits are listed in the sidebar to the right.

Linkorama
Terriers were named Hockey East Team of the Week following victories against Vermont and New Hampshire. Senior goalie Kieran Millan earned Hockey East recognition as Defensive Player of the Week for his 33 save effort in BU’s 4-1 win against the Wildcats. Wade Megan, Matt Nieto and Corey Trivino all were named to the Top Performers list for the week.

Both Trivino and Nieto have been held pointless only once this season. Charlie Coyle is the conference leader in plus/minus with +10.

In the USCHO national poll, BU moved up a notch to #15. Merrimack, the only remaining undefeated D1 team and the only team to beat BU the past two weekends, has risen to the top of the rankings. Congratulations to the Warrior program for making enormous strides under Coach Mark Denehy.

● Daily Free Press feature: Megan’s improvement
● USCHO Weekly Hockey East Blog: BU is Back
● College Hockey News Weekly Hockey East Blog: Coyle

Women's team
With Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenelle Kohanchuk out of the lineup, freshman Kayla Tutino has stepped up to fill the scoring void. After scoring the shorthanded game-winner in Saturday’s 4-2 win against Connecticut, the right wing from Lorraine, Quebec, scored twice Sunday against Providence, including another GWG, leading BU to a 3-2 win. Tutino is averaging a point a game with nine goals and five assists in 14 games. Senior captain Jenn Wakefield scored her 10th goal as BU improved its record to 9-4-1 and 4-1 in conference play.

Tutino, who is first in the conference and third nationally in rookie goal-scoring, was named Hockey East's Player of the Week, while Isabel Menard, Kerrin Sperry and Tara Watchorn all made the Hockey East Top Performers list for the week.

Terriers lead the nation in penalty killing with a 92.3 percentage and are tied for the lead in short handed goals.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
● Assistant Coach LaChapelle post-game comments
● Daily Free Press weekend recap and special teams feature

Surging Terriers tame Wildcats

Terriers earned their third consecutive win and sixth of the season, beating New Hampshire, 4-1, at Agganis Arena. BU broke open a close game with a trio of third-period goals, delivering an effort that Coach Jack Parker called “pretty thorough.” He added:

“I thought we did a good job of controlling the speed of the game and controlling where the puck was going to go. We got it out of our zone pretty well. They tried to bottle us up pretty good at center ice and we figured that out and we did a good job possessing the puck down low in their end.’’

Following an evenly played and scoreless first period, junior Wade Megan (photo) broke the ice midway through the second with a sharp angle shot that riccocheted in off Wildcat goalie Matt DiGiralomo. For the junior wing, who earned first-star honors, it was his fourth goal in three games. UNH knotted the score early in the third on a Trevor van Riemsdyk goal, but that didn’t last long as BU found the net twice in 34 seconds, the first on a Max Nicastro blueline blast and the second when Corey Trivino finished off a two-on-one rush with Chris Connolly. Trivino ran his goal-scoring streak to five games and has goals in eight of the ten games he’s played.

Leading scorer Matt Nieto (15 points) closed out the scoring with a long empty-netter. Kieran Millan earned his fourth win of the season stopping 33 shots including 22 in the final period.

BU has won the season series against UNH, having beaten the Wildcats, 5-0, in the season opener.

● GoTerriers.com recap, comprehensive box score and video highlights
● Noonan/Rollheiser post-game comments
● USCHO recap
● Boston Hockey Blog recap
● WTBU Radio recap
● CHN analysis and box score
● Boston Globe recap
● Jack Parker Post-game comments



● Wade Megan Post-game comments


Looking ahead
Matt O’Connor stopped 23 shots in Youngstown’s 3-2 OT win against Cedar Rapids. He earned his 8th victory against three defeats.

2012 recruit Robert Polesello and 2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon picked up assists in Indiana’s 4-2 loss to Waterloo.

2012 recruit Wesley Myron scored a goal and an assist in Victoria’s 6-5 OT win over Cowichan Valley. Mike Moran also contributed an assist.
● Myron talked with Grizz Roar about playing in the World Junior A Challenge and his commitment to BU.

Looking back
Former Terrier Colin Wilson scored his fifth goal of the season in Nashville’s 4-3 OT win against Columbus.
● Video

Among the former Terriers in attendence at last night's game: Marc Hetnik (whose son, Marc, is a 2012 recruit), Jerry August, Don Singer, Chris Mays, Shawn Ferullo, Dale Dunbar, Brian Durocher Bill Pierce, Brian Collins, Rich Brennan, Brad Zancanaro, Mike O'Connell, Bill Whelton, Pat Aufiero and Adam Kraus.

Women’s team
Terriers will complete their weekend action today with a visit to Providence College. Gametime is 2 p.m. The Friars are coached by former BU netminder Bob Deraney.
● GoTerriers.com recap of 4-2 win against Connecticut
● Video highlights
● Coach Brian Durocher comments

Game Day: Terriers vs. Wildcats

Terriers are back on the Agganis Arena ice tonight for their second meeting of the year with New Hampshire. BU shut out the Wildcats in its season opener, 5-0, but will be expecting a very different matchup as UNH has found its scoring legs of late. Wildcats thumped Lowell, 5-0 last night. Senior Stevie Moses and sophomore Nick Sorkin are UNH's top scorers, each with a 5-7-12 line.

Kieran Millan, who will get the start in goal tonight, was interviewed this past week for HockeyEastOnline’s Five Minute Major series.

BU's lineup for tonight:
Connolly-Trivino-Gill
Nieto-Coyle-Chiasson
Megan-Hohmann-Rodrigues
Courtnall-Rosen-Cissé
Escobedo-Clendening
Noonan-MacGregor
Nicastro-Ruikka
Millan

● GoTerriers.com game notes, WWZN Radio Webcast, All-Access Webcast, gametracker
● Boston Hockey Blog live in-game blog
● CHN’s Tale of the Tape, Tweetcast

Women’s Team
Two short-handed goals by junior Isabel Menard fueled the Terriers to a 4-2 win against Connecticut today at Walter Brown Arena. Kayla Tutino and Tara Watchorn also had goals. Braly Hiller stopped 24 shots to earn her second win.
● Box score

Power play goals ease BU past Vermont

BU made it two wins in a row with an uncomfortably close 4-3 win against Vermont at Agganis Arena. Sophomore blueliner Garrett Noonan scored the game-winner on a power play, his fourth goal of the season, earning first-star honors.

The Terriers’ resurgent power play produced two goals in five chances, with a third goal coming seconds after a man-advantage ended. Matt Nieto assisted on both power play goals, setting up Noonan for a wrister from the right faceoff circle and Charlie Coyle from the top of the crease. Wade Megan’s fifth goal of the season broke a 2-2 tie in the second period.

Senior center Corey Trivino produced BU’s first goal–for the third time in the past four games—with a wrist shot from the slot. His seven goals are one shy of his career best, achieved last season. Trivino also won some key faceoff late in the third when the Catamounts were pressing to tie the score and nearly added an empty-netter.

Grant Rolleheiser stopped 31 shots, 13 of them in the final period. He allowed a rebound, leading to Vermont’s first goal, but made numerous strong saves including one on Catamount top scorer Sebastian Stalberg in the game’s final minutes. Terrier coach Jack Parker praised the senior netminder's strong game, but was clearly displeased with his team's third-period effort.

All six members of BU’s top two lines picked up at least one point. Nieto with a team-leading 14 points (7-7) has scored in nine of BU’s 10 games.

● GoTerriers.com recap, comprehensive box score and video highlights
● Noonan/Rollheiser post-game comments
● NESN Video highlights
● USCHO recap
● Boston Hockey Blog recap and analysis
● CHN analysis and box score
● WTBU Radio recap
● HockeyEastOnline recap
● Boston Globe recap
● Burlington Free Press recap

Looking ahead
BCHL
2012 recruit Wesley Myron scored a natural hattrick for Victoria in the final period, turning a 3-3 tie into a 6-3 win for the Grizzlies against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The 6-2 center, who also had an assist and earned first-star honors, now has an 11-16-27 line in 14 games. Teammate Mike Moran’s assist gave him 32 points for the season, sixth best in the BCHL.
● Times-Colonist recap

2012 recruit Marc Hetnik, Jr., assisted on a power play goal for Vernon, which fell to Surrey, 3-2.

USHL
2012 recruit Matt O’Connor stopped 44 shots to backbone Youngstown’s 4-1 win against Chicago. The 6-5 netminder raised his record to 7-3 and has won three of his past four starts.

Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, a 2013 recruit, recorded a goal for the NTDP U18s in 4-2 loss to Green Bay.

2013 recruit Robbie Baillargeon's short-handed goal against Muskegeon was nominated for USHL top play for Weeks 6 & 7. It appears 1:18 into this video clip:



Looking back—injury update edition
Former Terrier Brandon Yip, MVP of the 2009 Hockey East tournament, returned to the Colorado Avalanche lineup Thursday and Friday nights. He’d suffered a broken arm in the Avalanche’s final pre-season game.

Penguins defenseman Brian Strait, who hyper-extended an elbow in his first NHL game this season, has been fitted for a brace and has begun skating and some light passing. He hopes to return to action after the holidays.

Game Day: Terriers vs. Catamounts

BU begins an important two-game weekend tonight against Vermont in a 7 p.m. start that will air on NESN. Whether they’re up or down, the Catamounts seem to always bring their best game against the Terriers. Senior Rob Madore will be goal for the Cats who are led offensively by forwards Sebastian Stalberg and Connor Brickley.

Senior Grant Rolleheiser (photo) makes his second start of the season in goal. He was between the pipes for BU’s 5-4 OT win against UMass and then relieved Kieran Millan during the loss to UMass-Lowell. The Daily Free Press reports that freshman Cason Hohmann will replace Evan Rodrigues on the third line tonight. Garrett Noonan (ankle) is a game-time decision. If he doesn’t play freshman Alexx Privitera, whom Jack Parker says had his best game thus far against BC, will start in Noonan's spot. BU's lineup:
Connolly-Trivino-Gill
Nieto-Coyle-Chiasson
Megan-Gaudet- Hohmann
Courtnall-Rosen-Cissé
Escobedo-Clendening
Noonan-MacGregor
Nicastro-Ruikka
Rollheiser

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, WWZN Radio Webcast, gametracker
● Daily Free Press preview of UVM and UNH games
● WTBU Sports preview
● Boston Hockey Blog live in-game blog
● HockeyEastOnline live scoreboard
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape, Tweetcast
● Boston Globe College Hockey Notebook feature on BU
● Burlington Free Press preview
● Vermont Athletics preview

Red Hot Hockey
BU’s semi-annual holiday matchup with Cornell at New York’s Madison Square Garden is just eight days away and Terrier fans who are attending the pre-game pep rally have something special to look forward to. This year, the rally will be held in the newly renovated Garden’s 10,000 square foot The Delta Sky 360 Club. It’s the new luxury center normally open to fans in the top 800 seats in the building, offering spectacular views, and something unique: the Club is so close to the locker rooms that the players have to actually cross in front of fans in the Club to get to the ice.

Online registration for Red Hot Hockey is closed, but tickets can still be purchased by calling 800-800-3466. Check back for more information about Red Hot Hockey.

Looking back
Former Terrier captain Jay Pandolfo registered the 100th goal of his NHL career in the Islanders’ 4-3 win against Montreal. It was the first goal since February 2010 for Pandolfo who was not in the NHL during the 2010-11 season. Goalie Rick DiPietro replaced injured Evgeni Nabokov eight minutes into the game and earned the victory.

● Video link