BU looking for big year from Chiasson

Last season Alex Chiasson (photo) came in as one of the higher ranked freshman on the team and really did not live up to his hype. He notched 5 goals 5 assist in the 20 games he played in. Two of the five goals came in  season opener at Umass. Later in the year he scored another goal against the Minutemen, some may say he looked forward to playing Umass.

Last season the Terriers were expecting a little more out of a guy who racked up 50 points (17g, 33a) for the Des Moines Bucs, in only 56 games, in 2009. Before the 2010 campaign, Chiasson was the Dallas Stars season round pick, 38th overall.

For the Terriers to get back to the NCAA tournament they will need Chiasson to put up some bigger numbers from a year ago. He will likely be on the first line, along with Corey Trivino (when he gets back from he his suspension) and Chris Connolly. Trivino would be the center with Chiasson on the left  and Connolly on the right .

2010-'11 roster and recruit class announced

Yesterday BU announced their 2011 team roster made up of 15 forwards, 8 defenseman and 3 net minders. Last season the Terriers suffered some key losses, both to graduation and the NHL. To help build the team back up the Terriers went out and added 8 fresh faces. The incoming freshman class was ranked 3rd in the nation by Red Line sports, a blog from the Wisconsin State Journal. The Class is pictured to the left, photo from goterriers.com.

The complet roster will be on the side bar as it was last season.

Incoming freshman are as listed below

#17 Matt Nieto

Parker on Nieto:"Matt is a big recruit for us, especially since he had no ties to Boston. He's a great skater who really generates offense and he'll be a big-time scorer. He'll be picked high in next year's NHL draft and we think he can be a 50-point guy for us."

#3 Charlie Coyle

Parker on Coyle: "Charlie's an NHL first-round pick with good size and great hands. He's a talented playmaker with great vision who can play either center or right wing. He's has all the attributes to make him a real good college player and give him a chance to play in the NHL."

#28 Sahir Gill

Parker on Gill: "Sahir's a very clever player who can play both center and left wing. He makes the people around him much more productive, but he can score on his own as well. It's possible that he could center an all-freshman line this year."

#27 Yasin Cisse

Parker on Cisse: "Yasin's a really physical forward with great size, but he also has good hands and can make plays and score goals from the right wing. He was held up by an injury last year, but we expect him to come right in and be an important freshman."

#13 Garret Noonan

Parker on Noonan: "Garrett's a Brian Strait, stay-at-home type of defenseman with a great sense of how to defend and how to get the puck out of the zone. He can also make some plays on the offensive side of the blue line."

#11 Patrick MacGregor

Parker on MacGregor: "Patrick gives us great size, skating ability and skill on defense. He had a great prep school career and we're really looking forward to getting him out on the ice for us and seeing what he can do."

#4 Adam Clendening

Parker on Clendening: "The best way I can describe Adam is that he's very similar to Kevin Shattenkirk. He's a real good offensive defenseman who sees the game and moves the puck well. He's a top-notch defenseman who will be a high draft pick next year."

#20 Matt Ronan

All  from goterriers.com 

Ronan had not been on the list of recruits on the side so here is his player profile from goterriers.com:

BEFORE BOSTON UNIVERSITY
, RONAN...

Recorded 12 points (6g, 6a) in 39 games for the Valley Jr. Warriors of the EJHL last season ... Former standout at Belmont Hill School, tallying nine goals and 10 assists during the 2008-09 campaign ... Also played for the Eastern Mass Senators U18 squad ... His brother, Dan (`99), and his cousin, Ed (`91), played for Coach Parker at BU.

Parker on Ronan: "Matt's a smart forward who we think will be an important player for us down the road. He's had a good prep school career and I'm looking forward to having another member of the Ronan family join the program."

Penn State close to adding a D1 hockey program

The idea is nothing new. Penn State has had successful men's and woman's club hockey team for a good number of years. Currently the two club teams play in the small 1,350 seat, Penn State Ice Rink.

"We're close," a source close to the situation told the Mirror on Thursday. "It won't be long before we'll be able to potentially make some kind of announcement. But it's not a done deal yet."-Altoona Mirror.com 


Along with the idea of adding a D1 ice hockey program, the school is also looking into building a new rink.  The school says they have a private funds donor to build a 6-8,000 seat stadium. The estimated cost of the rink is some where between 60 and 80 million.

The funds for the rink will likely come from Penn State alum Terry Pegula, the founder of East Resources, a natural gas operator. Pegula sold his company to shell in May for 4.7 billion.

The next question is what league to put them in? Hockey East? No. Way to much travel. Any ways I don't think Hockey East wants to have a western Pennsylvania school seeing how the longest road trip in the league is Amherst (Umass) to Ornio (Maine). The ECAC could work but still there is a lot of travel and having a 13 team league really would not work. The most sensible idea would be to join the CCHA. It would give the league 12 teams and the travel would not be that bad (all though Alaska to Pennsylvania would not be too fun).

Here is an other article  on the Penn State hockey idea. It comes form the Western College Hockey Blog: The Penn State Issue

In Other News

THe exhibition game against Sweden has been canceled. 

Preseason top five Hockey East power rankings

#1 Boston College
They're the champs. They lost no one (of importance). They have the 6th best recruit class in the nation. And they know what it takes to win as a team. So you do the math, they're the best team out there.

#2 Boston University
Yes the Terriers lost some key players to graduation and the NHL but with the second best recruit class in the nation, I think that they can turn it around from last season. They will be a top ten team in the nation and could make a good run at ether the Hockey East regular season title the the HE tournament title or even a National Championship. The Terriers will have a decent team this season. (Season Preview coming soon).

#3 University of Maine 
Last season Maine finished fourth in the regular season standings and went on to beat Lowell, 2 out of 3, in a hard fought series. Then the Black Bears ended the Terriers season with a 5-2 win in the Hockey East semi Finals. The next night Maine fell 7-6 to BC in overtime in the championship game, ending their season. This year could be a lot like last year for Maine. They return a very skilled Gustav Nyquist, a Hobey Baker finalist.

#4 University of New Hampshire
This season could be a slow start for the Wild Cats. The lost of starting goalie, Brain Foster, witch will leave a hole in the net. They will still make the playoffs and will still get home ice on their huge Olympic  size rink. But after that I think they are done. But it is UNH and they always know how to turn up the heat in the middle of the season and could break the top two in the league standings.

#5 Merrimack College
Rounding out the top five could be a surprise to some. Don't let it be. Merrimack last year finished 6th in the league and took BU to three games in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. They return the National Rookie of the Year in Stephan DaCasta. So watch out the Mack could make some things happen this season.

In Other News...

The Terriers picked up a goalie to add to there 2011 recruit class. Matt O'Connor was placed on the "Players to watch" list by NHL scouts. He is from Toronto and will play for Youngstown in the USHL next year. 


Last season he played for the Upper Canada Patriots and then was traded to the Burlington Cougars . Both teams play in the OJHL. For the Pats he had a .906 save percentage. To some that might not look great but he played in front of an expansion team, the Patriots. 



Clendening shines at U.S. Camp, and article from Tonawanda News.com.
This is a great article an you should check it out.

Blog Milestone
Exactly one year ago today The BU Hockey Blog was formed

After surgery, Parker should be fine

Yesterday the Boston Globe reported that head coach, Jack Parker, is recovering from bypass surgery. The operation took place on the 23rd of July. He will likely have a full recovery and is expected to be behind the Terrier bench for another season, like he has since 1973. Parker is 65 years old an is entering his 35th year of coaching

FROM THE GLOBE
"The entire BU community wishes Jack a speedy recovery and respects his privacy during this time,'' said Mike Lynch. "We look forward to seeing him lead the Terriers on the ice this fall. ''Winners of the 2009 NCAA championship, BU finished last season with an overall record of 18-17-3 (13-12-2 in Hockey East) and lost to Maine in the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament. The Terriers open the 2010-11 campaign in St. Louis against Wisconsin in the annual IceBreaker Tournament, which begins Oct. 8.-Chad Finn, Globe Staff


In Other News
Two incoming freshman, Charlie Coyle and Adam Clendening (photo), both made the cut at the USA Junior National camp. However incoming freshman, Matt Nieto did not make the cut. 


In the third inter squad game, Coyle found the back of the net twice and also picked up and assist. 


The two were part of a 28 man camp. Most of the players selected will likely go on and play in World Junior Championships in Buffalo over the holiday brake. Team USA won the WJC last year with a 6-5 win in overtime against team Canada