Looking back on BU hockey this decade

The decade started with a bang, when the Terriers saw rookie Rick Dipietro emerge as one of the best goalies, not only BU has seen but the NCAA has seen The '99-00 Terriers won the Hockey East regular season title but than lost to Maine 4-2 in the semi final of the Hockey East tournament. The season ended in a game that will go down as one of the longest game in NCAA hockey history. The Terriers lost to St. Lawrence in the fourth overtime of the Northeast Regional final.
Photo of Rick Dipietro after the loss to St. Lawrence


'00-2001: The Terriers lose a lot of players from the year before including Rick Dipietro as the first over all pick in the draft. The record showed as BU went 14-20-3. The two best games of the season came in tournament play when Terriers upset number three North Dakota 4-3 in the Badger Showdown and beat Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot. Once again the Terriers lost a thrilling long game to end their season when Providence College downed BU 4-3 in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East play-offs.


'01-2002: BU turns things around and goes 25-10-3. During the season the Terriers had a nine game win streak starting with a win over Merrimack and ennding with a lost to Maine. Maine proved to be a problem for the Terriers the entire season when they beat BU 4-3 in consecutive game. One comming in the Hockey East semi finals and the other in the NCAA tournament. On the season the Terriers went 1-3-1 against Maine.


'02-2003: The Terriers started the season off on the right foot, when they won the Icebreaker tournament in October. Rookie Brad Zancanaro won the first game in a shootout over Northern Michigan. In the Icebreaker final the Terriers beat RPI 5-1. BU would win another in season tournament, this time coming in the Great Lakes Invitational. BU downed Michigan state in the opening round and then beat Michigan in the final. The Terriers would win their third in season tournament when they beat Boston College 3-2 in the Beanpot final. Even with all the tournament success BU finished in 5th place in Hockey East. With that BU had to go to #4 Providence and there the Terriers won two games and moved on to the semi finals in the Boston Garden. There, BU won a thriller over Boston College in two overtimes. Second year man, Justin Maiser scored a hat trick, including the game tieing (video) and game winning (video) goals. The Terriers would lose the Hockey East Championship game in  overtime to New Hampshire 1-0. Terrier goalie Sean Fields stopped 40 of 41 shots that he faced and was named tournament MVP. The season ended in the NCAA playoffs when the Terriers fell to New Hampshire 3-o. 


'03-2004: BU had their worst season of the decade, when they went just 12-17-9 and finished 8th (the final spot to get in the playoffs) in the Hockey East regular season standings. To finish 8th BU had to beat New Hampshire in their rink, in the last game of the regular season. BU won the game 4-3 in overtime when David Van Der Gulik scored (video of the goal) off a rebound. In the Hockey East playoffs BU beat #1 Boston College three games to two. Once BU reached the Garden they face Maine and lost 1-0 and the Terriers season was over.


'04-2005: Terrier head coach Jack Parker locked up his 700th win on December 3rd 2004, when the Terriers beat arch rival Boston College 3-2 (video highlights). The '04-'05 season saw the closing of Walter Brown Arena and the opening of Agganis Arena, when the Terriers took on the #1 Minnesota. BU lost the final game at Walter Brown 2-1 (video highlights) but then won the opener at Agganis 2-1 as well (video highlights). Brad Zancanaro scored the last goal at Walter Brown and the first goal at Agganis. Later in the season the Terriers would win the Beanpot in yet and other thrilling game. BU beat Northeastern in overtime of the championship game when Chris Bourque dove across the crees and nocked home a rebound (video highlights). The season ended after a 5-2 lose to New Hampshire in the Hockey East semi final and a 4-0 lost to North Dakota in the NCAA playoffs. 
Photo of the opening night at Agganis arena


'05-2006: The season stared slow, but did it ever pick up. After the winter break the Terriers rolled and went on a 14-2 run. In that came the beanpot championship when the Terrier downed Boston College 3-2 in the final. In the Hockey East playoffs BU faced Umass in the quarterfinals and won the series two games to none. In the Garden BU destroyed New Hampshire 9-2 to move on to the final. There, they once again met arch rival Boston College, and the game lived up to is hype. BU won their first Hockey East Championship sine 1997 when Brandon Yip scored on a pass from Chris Higgins with about six minutes left in overtime (video highlights). After winning the that game BU had locked up the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. There the Terriers played Nebraska-Omaha in the first round. BU fell down 1-0 but after that it was all Terriers. BU would go on to score nine goals including three from Chris Higgins. The BU season would end  the next night, when they met Boston College for the sixth time. BC blanked the Terriers 5-0 in the North East Regional Final.
photo of the Terriers celebrating Brandon Yips overtime winner to beat BC 


'06-2007: BU started the season as the number 4 ranked team in the country. They did not stay that way for long thought, when they failed to win a game in five straight games. The season was not a total loss thought, BU did win the Beanpot, yet again over Boston College in overtime, when Brain McGuirk picked a conner on Boston College goalie Corey Schneider (video highlight). In the Hockey East playoffs BU beat Vermont 3 games to 2 and the third came in over time when Brandon Yip wristed home the game winner to send BU to the Garden. In the semis the Terriers faced Boston College and got waxed 6-2. The season ended the week later in the NCAA tournament as Michigan State rolled past the Terrier on their way to the National Title.
Photo of the Terrier celebrating the Beanpot championship  

'07-2008: BU started slow once again, not winning their first game till the first of November when they beat Providence 5-3 at home. The Terriers did turn things around and claimed the second seed in the Hockey East playoffs. To get the number two seed, BU had to go on 9-1 streak, starting on the 8th of February and ending on the 7th of March with a win over Providence (video highlight of the PC game). The next week was the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, where the Terriers faced the River Hawks of Umass Lowell. BU beat Lowell 3-2 in three game to move on to the semis (video highlight of the third game vs Lowell). In the Garden the Terrier fell to Vermont 3-1 ending any hope of going to the NCAA tournament and also ending the Terrier 2008 season. 

'08-2009: This season did not start slowly  for the Terriers, it started with a bang. Week one saw the Terriers win the Ice Breaker Invitational with a 2-1 win over Michigan State. Two weeks later BU waxed then #3 Michigan 7-2 at home. The Terriers went on a impressive unbeaten streak starting with a win over Merrimack on January 16. With that win over Merrimack BU head coach Jack Parker claimed his 800th win, all coming at BU. The unbeaten streak ended when the Terrier fell to Maine in quarterfinal, game two of the Hockey East playoffs. The Terrier rebounded and beat Maine (video highlight) the next night to move on the semi final round, where they once again faced Boston College. BU found them selves down a goal in the third but it only took 44 seconds for the Terrier to have a two goal lead (video highlight). BU went on to win the game 3-2 and move on to the Hockey East Championship game. There BU Beat Lowell 1-0 (video highlights part 1/part 2) on the back of goalie Keiran Millan who stopped every shot the River Hawks through his way. BU was the number one overall seed in the NCAA playoffs, where they faced Ohio State in the first round. BU rolled past the Buckeyes beating them 8-3. The next night the Terriers played Hockey East foe New Hampshire. BU won the game with 14 seconds left when Jason Lawrence tried to pass the puck over to an open Colin Wilson.
Instead of the puck getting to Wilson it deflected UNH forward Jerry Pollastrone and in to the back of the net. With the win the Terriers moved on to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1997. There, they faced Vermont in the first round on the Final Four. BU beat Vermont 5-4 in one of the best game I have ever seen. To days later Bu played Miami University for the National Title. BU was down two goals with less than a minute left when Zach Cohen scored off his one rebound to cut the Red Hawk lead to one. Just over 30 seconds later Hobey Backer winner, Matt Gilroy made a perfect pass to a wide open Nick Bonino who found the back of the net with 17.4 seconds left in regulation. In overtime it was Coly Cohen,, who took a slap shot that was deflected and then floated over the shoulder of Miami goalie Cody Reichard and into the back of the net, giving BU their 5th National Title in school history.     

First photo is of John McCarthy (15) and Matt Gilroy (97) hoisting the NCAA Championship Trophy.

Second photo is of the puck sliding in to the UNH goal off of Jerry Pollastrone  

The top 5 games from the last decade


2/27/09 The Terriers found them selves down 3-0 to unranked Umass going into the second period. Once the second period began it was all Terriers, scoring six unanswered goals and sending home once a loud Umass crowed, very disappointed. 


#4: 3/6/04 BU avoids not making the Hockey East Playoffs when David Van Der Gulik scored off his rebound in overtime to beat New Hampshire. (video highlights)


#3: 3/18/06 BU claims the Hockey East Championship in overtime when an all freshman line of Chris Higgins, Brandon Yip, and Jason Lawrence, has a 3 on 2 and Yip scores the game winner. (video highlight)


#2 3/14/03 Terrier forward Justin Maiser posts a hat trick, including the game tieing goal and game winning goal in double overtime to beat Boston College, to move on to the final against UNH. (video highlight Tieing goal, winning goal


#1 4/11/09 BU wins its 5th National title in school history when, Colby Cohen took a slap shot that went in the net with 8:54 left in the first overtime. (video highlights) 


BU Hockey All Decade Team
Defense: Matt Gilroy (AM '08 '09) (career stats)
                    Freedy Meyer (AM '03) (career stats)
              
Offense: Peter MacArthur (career stats)
                    Brandon Yip (career stats)
                    Chris Higgins (career stats)
                    Colin Wilson (career stats)
                    David Van Der Gulik (career stats)
                    Brad Zancanaro (career stats)  


Goalies:John Curry (career stats)
               Sean Fields (career stats) 

Team USA destroys Latvia

Boston College's Chris Kreinder nets hat trick in 12-1 win


It only took three minutes for the US to get on the board, Danny Kristo (UND) took a wrist shot that went in on the glove side of Latvia goalie Janis Kalnins. From then on the US did not look back, scoring 11 more goals including a penalty shot goal that gave Kreinder his hat trick.

The Terrier's David Warsofsky did not score a gaol or register an assist but did get called for slashing and roughing in the second period

USA Hockey.com recap and photos

US blanks Switzerland in game two

Team USA picks up the second shut out of the WJC


Team USA got their first two goals from Chris Kreider (BC), Matt Donovan (DU). USA goalie Jack Campbell stopped all 22 shot that he faced and the Americans improved to 2-0 in the World Jr. Championships in Saskatoon.

“I thought we stuck to our game plan and eventually wore them down,” U.S. coach Dean Blais said in a press release.  “Both goaltenders played extremely well. I thought Jack really made some key saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless.” *WTBU*

Boston University and St. Louis Blues prospect, David Warsofsky notched his second assist of the WJC, on team USA's second goal. With the assist, Warsofsky is now tied for the plus minus lead with a +4.

USA.com recap and video highlights (coming later)
WTBU recap

Teams USA's next game is Wednesday at 4:00 ET against Latvia.

Team USA wins round one of the WJC

Team USA defeated Slovakia 7-3 on Saturday night in Saskatoon 
The Americans found them selfs down two goals early in the first. Team USA bounced back and scored four second period goals and ended any chance of a Slovak comeback.

"I was happy with our resiliancy after falling behind early," said Dean Blais, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. "We created a lot of scoring chances, and showed a lot of poise after those two quick goals." -USA Hockey.com- 

Terrier D-man, David Warsofsky played well and worked the Americans power play. Warsofsky did not make the score card but had a solid game. Also in the game Warsofsky served as the alternate captain

Team USA's next game is tomorrow against Switzerland at 4:00.

Click Here for a full recap from USA hockey.com

Something to chew on

On Tuesday the USA Today came out with a list of the Decade's Top Sports Breakouts. On the list was former Terrier stand out and captain of the 2009 national championship team, Matt Gilroy. Gilroy came to BU as a walk on freshman that coach Parker did not even want on the team. Gilroy worked his way up and when he was a junior many people thought that he would not come back and leave to go to the NHL. Luckily he did come back and was awarded the Hobey Backer award (the Heisman Trophy of college hockey).

The USA Today wants people to vote for your favorite. To vote for Gilroy, or any others, for the Biggest Sports Breakout of the Decade CLICK HERE. 

Here are the other on the list

Tom Brady

Alex Rodriguez
Phil Mickelson

Matt Gilroy

MMA (mixed martial arts)

The BCS (Bowl Championship Series)

Funny Side

THe Boston Red Sox

The Chicago White Sox

The Tampa Bay Rays

Did You Know?

Boston University has never had a game on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Yip nets first goal

Last night former Terrier stand out Brandon Yip, playing in just his third NHL game, scored his first goal. With the goal, Yip becomes the third Terrier from
last years national championship team to score a goal in the NHL. Colin Wilson and Matt Gilroy where the others to score.

Yip scored when he got a pass from Matt Hendricks, then snapped a shot off that beat Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller, glove side.
Click hear for a video of Yips goal 

There is only one left:
David Warsofsky is the only terrier, that you will see in the World Jr. Championships, on the USA National team. Max Nicastro was one of the final cuts , even though he played well in the two exhibition games he took part in.
Final Roster
U.S. Game Schedule

Two out of three aint bad

David Warsofsky and Max Nicastro (photo) made it past the first round of cuts for Team USA's World Jr. team. The decision was made Sunday to slim the roster from 30 players down to just 25. Vinny Saponari was one of the few that failed to impress Dean Blais, the head coach of the US National team. Team USA just played the North Dakota Fighting Sioux and beat them 4-2. Warsofsky was Co- Captain. Also in the Sioux game, Max Nicastro had some very big hits. One that stood out was when he hit UND's Ben Blood into the boards in the second period. Team USA will make the final cuts to its roster Wednesday. 

During the course of the WJC's I will cover team USA's games with game recaps and game previews.


Catching Up With Recruits
Matt Nieto and Adam Clendening, both on the US Under 18 team played Youngstown Saturday night and won 9-3. Clendening posted two goals, while Nieto notched two assists, one on Cledening's second goal. Nieto now leads the U18's in scoring with 12 goals and 14 assists in 29 games. 

Charlie Coyle netted his 12 goal of the season for the South Shore Kings against Bridgewater on Saturday night. Currently the Kings are tied for the top slot in the EJHL. 

Other News
Former Terrier captain Matt Gilroy was call up from AHL Hartford by the Rangers. Gilroy played only five games for the Wolfpack 

Yip, Yip, hoo-ray

Tonight former Terrier standout Berandon Yip will make his NHL dubet with Colorado.

In his first season with the Terriers, Yip was named Hockey East Freshman of the year. Also in his first year (2006) he scored the game winning goal against Boston College to win the Hockey East Championship Game in overtime. Last season was Yip's best season. He scored some very cluch goals during the season inculding another Hockey East Championship game winner. This time he ended Lowells season when he found the puck in a scrum in front of the net and jammed it home.

Yip will be on the forth line of former BU stand out Joe Sacco's Collorado Avlanche. The Avs take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 7pm.

In other news the "The X-mas Skate" for season ticket holder was moved from Sunday to saturday Jan 2nd after the Umass game. This was do to the blizzard of '09 which is on is way to the Boston area right now.

Watch'en Recruits

Sunday night Coach Jack Parker was at Williams College to see 2010 recruits Matt Nieto and Adam Clendening (photo).Both play on the USA U18 team who that night took on Ephmen. The U18's won the game 6-1 and both players scored. Nieto as of late has been on fire scoring three goals in his last five games. On the season Nieto has 10 goals and 10 assists. Clendening has three goals and nine assists.

~ In other news the Fenway game against Boston College on January 8th will now also be shown on the NHL Network. The game will also be on NESN

Goaltender stats from the first semester

#	Player Name	GP	W	L	T	GA	MIN	save %
35	Grant Rolleiser	4	1	0	1	13	254	.870
32	Adam Kraus	1	0	0	0	1	17	.917
31	Kieran Millan	12	3	9	0	41	698	.826

It is clear that the the goaltending has SUCKED this season. Last season Kieran Millan was named National Rookie of the year. He posted a 29-2-3 recored with a .921 save%. Millan did not lose his first game on the road till opening day at Umass this season. If the Terriers want to have any shot at turning this season around it starts with the goaltending. 

Stats ftom the first semester

#	Player Name	GP	G	A	PTS	SHG	P min
3	Kevin Shattekirk	16	3	11	14	1	22
12	Chris Connolly	14	5	7	12	0	0
13	Nick Bonino	11	4	6	10	1	6
27	Vinny Saponari	16	3	7	10	0	16
10	Corey Trivino	16	3	7	10	0	0
6	Joe Pereira	15	3	6	9	0	0
11	Zach Cohen	16	6	2	8	0	10
5	David Warsofsky	13	4	4	8	2	28
9	Alex Chiasson	13	4	3	7	0	14
25	Colby Cohen	15	3	4	7	0	32
7	Max Nicastro	16	1	5	6	0	16
18	Wade Megan	14	1	3	4	0	4
22	Ross Gaudet	13	3	0	3	0	4
2	Eric Gryba	16	1	2	3	0	59
16	Kevin Gilroy	13	0	2	2	0	2
26	Luke Popko	15	0	2	2	0	4
15	Ryan Santana	10	0	1	1	0	4
14	Andrew Glass	13	0	1	1	0	2
17	Victor Saponari	3	0	1	1	0	2
19	Justin Courtnall	8	0	0	0	0	2
21	Sean Escobedo	16	0	0	0	0	20
8	Ben Rosen	6	0	0	0	0	2