Weekend in Michigan--UPDATED

Terriers are in Michigan for the first time since 2007, taking on the #4 Wolverines tonight and Michigan State on Saturday evening.  Both games are part of the concluding weekend of the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge, which Hockey East leads 9-4.

Michigan has a 3-0-1 record that includes an opening night win against BC and a one-goal win and a tie against New Hampshire, both in overtime. Sophomore Andrew Copp and junior Phil DiGiuseppe have 6 and 5 points respectively. For the third game in a row, BU will face an opponent’s back-up goalie as sophomore Steve Racine is injured. However freshman Zach Nagelvoort stopped 39 of 41 shots in the win over UNH.

Tommy Kelley, injured in the win against Wisconsin, made the trip to Ann Arbor and is expected to return to the Terrier’s top line with Danny O’Regan and Evan Rodrigues (photo). The Daily Free Press reports it’s likely that last week’s second trio of Matt Lane, Cason Hohmann and Robbie Baillargeon will remain intact.

Kelley-O'Regan-Rodrigues
Lane-Hohmann-Baillargeon
Collier-Roberto-Kurker
Moran-Lawrence-Duane
Oksanen-Noonan
Grzelcyk-MacGregor
Somerby-MacAfee
O'Connor

BU last played the Wolverines four years ago yesterday, coming away with a 3-2 OT win at Agganis Arena on a Joe Pereira goal (video).

Terrier head coach David Quinn spent two seasons in Ann Arbor as head coach of the NTDP U17 squad from 2002 to 2004.

● Go Terriers preview, Game Notes, Game Tracker, NBC Sports Radio Webcast

● Daily Free Press weekend preview

● Michigan preview

● Hockey East Online weekend preview

● USCHO Hockey East predictions

● SB Nation: Hockey East weekend game predictions

● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape; Michigan feature

Looking back

Former Terriers John McCarthy and Matt Nieto were on the familiar ice at TD Garden in the Shark’s 2-1 loss to Boston on a goal in the final second of regulation. SharksTV caught up with McCarthy and Nieto when San Jose practiced at BU’s Agganis Arena earlier in the week.

Alex Chiasson scored the Stars first two goals--his fourth and fifth of the season-- and added an assist as Dallas defeated Calgary, 5-1. His three points earned first-star honors and brought the former BU MVP's career totals to 16 points (11-5) in 16 games. Recap and video.

Eric Gryba scored his first goal of the season in Ottawa’s 6-1 drubbing of Detroit.

Wade Megan assisted on the overtime game-winner for ECHL CIncinnati in its 3-2 win against Toledo. Max Nicastro recorded an assist for Toledo.

Women’s Team

The Daily Free Press preview’s Saturday’s home opener vs. Yale.

Wednesday Linkorama

Episode 3 of Inside BU Hockey features Bernie Corbett’s conversations with Head Coach David Quinn, junior forward Cason Hohmann and former BU All-American and NHLer Shawn McEachern (photo). 

McEachern is sixth on BU’s all-time points list with 186 (79g, 107a) and a junior rang up 82 points, second most ever for a Terrier, en route to first-team All-American honors and leading BU to the 1991 Hockey East championship (video) and the NCAA championship game.  The following season, the speedster from Waltham skated for the U.S. in the 1992 Olympic games, then joined the Pittsburgh Penguins for their run to the 1992 Stanley Cup title. In 1996, he played for the gold-medal U.S. squad in the World Cup of Hockey

McEachern played professionally through the 2005-06 season, finishing up with the hometown Bruins, and had a 256-323-579 scoring line in 911 NHL games.  A 2008 inductee to the BU Athletics Hall of Fame, he’s now head coach of The Rivers School.

Looking back

Matt Nieto and John McCarthy, co-captain of the 2008-09 squad, returned to Agganis Arena yesterday as the Shark’s practiced at BU’s home ice, preparing for tonight’s matchup with the Bruins.

Nick Bonino converted a goal-mouth pass for his fourth goal of the season, giving Anaheim a 1-0 lead, but the Ducks fell to Toronto, 4-2 on Phil Kessel’s hat trick

Brandon Yip, McCarthy's linemate at BU, also made another cross-country flight as the forward was recalled to Phoenix from AHL Portland for the second time this season.

Former Terrier netminder Kieran Millan was named CHL Goalie of the Week following a pair of Denver Cutthroat victories in which he stopped 72 of 75 shots (.960 save percentage). The second win, 3-2 over Tulsa, featured an 18-round shootout with Millan stopping 16 of 18 chances. Now in his second season with Denver, the Colorado Avalanche draft choice won the goalie of the week award twice last year.

Also in the CHL, Millan’s goaltending partner for four seasons at BU, Grant Rollheiser dished a shutout in his first start of the season as Bramption blanked Arizona, 4-0. Rollheiser stopped all 31 Sundog shots.

Looking ahead

2014 recruit J.J. Piccinich leads all USHL skaters in power play goals with five.

Women’s Team

Hockey East All Access sat down with Terrier Head Coach Brian Durocher and also talked with senior goalie Kerrin Sperry. (video)

Rankings, awards and a reunion across the pond

 

(Steve McLaughlin photo)

BU moves up two spots to #13 in the new USCHO rankings. There are seven Hockey East teams in the top 20: Notre Dame #2, BC #5, Providence #8, BU #13, New Hampshire #14, #18 Lowell, #20 Northeastern.  In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, the Terriers are ranked #15.

Five Terriers were named HockeyEast top performers: Robbie Baillargeon (3 points); Cason Hohmann (4 points); Garrett Noonan (3 points); Matt O’Connor (40 saves); and Ahti Oksanen (3 points)

Going into the season, it was expected that BU’s defense corps would have to be important contributors on offense and, two weeks in, that has been the case. Oksanen is the nation’s top-scoring blueliner with 7 points (1-6), while Noonan is tied for second with 6 (2-4)

NHL.com spoke with David Quinn about the path that led him to the head coaching job at BU

● USCHO Hockey East Blog

● Daily Free Press: Defense Provides Offense

● Hockey Easton Online video: BU-Wisconsin highlights; comments from Quinn, O'Connor and Matt Grzelcyk.

Looking ahead

2014 recruit Jack Eichel scored a hat trick to lead the NTDP U18s past Muskegon, 7-3.

● USA Hockey recap

Looking back

When Jack Parker coaches the USA Select Team in the Deutschland Cup in Munich, Nov. 8-10, he'll be reunited three high scoring forwards from his final decade coaching BU. The roster of U.S. born skaters playing in Europe will include three former Terriers— 2011-12 captain Chris Connolly, 2007-8 captain Pete MacArthur and Chris Bourque—and several other Hockey East alums.

It was another cross-country plane ride for 2008-09 co-captain John McCarthy, recalled again by San Jose from AHL/Worcester. McCarthy skated in two games for the Sharks earlier this season.

Former BU captain, All-American and Hobey Baker Award finalist Jay Pandolfo has retired from professional hockey after a 15-year career highlighted by two Stanley Cup championships (2000, 2003) with the New Jersey Devils. A defensive specialist who frequently was assigned to opponents’ top wings (Jagr, Tkachuk, Leclair) and formed the NHL’s leading penalty kill tandem with John Madden, Pandolfo scored 100 goals in 899 regular season games. He talked about the decision with the Boston Herald.

 “I haven’t officially filed papers yet, but I’m done. I didn’t try to (find a job). I didn’t even work out this summer with an eye toward possibly playing. I decided at the end of last year that that was it. I had a great career and to finish in Boston was a fantastic experience for me. I never expected that and I really enjoyed it here. It would have been great if we could have won two more game (and the Cup).”

“I’m going to take a little time, spend time with the family, and then I’ll see what kind of opportunities come along. Coaching is definitely a possibility, but it’s not something I’m ready to jump into right away. I’ve talked to a couple of pro teams, but I just wasn’t ready.”

In his four years as Terrier, Pandolfo rang up 79 goals (9^th best at BU) and 167 points (11^th best) and played in the Final Four each season, including on the 1995 national championship team.

Women’s Team

● Daily Free Press recap of weekend series with Robert Morris.