Photos of the Year

Back In Action: BU Heads West To Take On Notre Dame

Finally, the strangest most unexpected Holiday break is over. In the course of five days, BU lost 22% of their total offense when Charlie Coyle and Corey Trivino departed the team for various reasons. Coyle is now absolutely lighting it up in the World Junior Championships, but remember, BU would have been without Coyle for this game no matter if he left for the Q or not. Trivino is gone, which means people have to step up. Now we all get to see what the new look Terriers are all about as the make the trip to South Bend Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Adam Clendening will also not be with the team in South Bend, as he is in the WJC, as well. Notre Dame also has two players in Alberta at the WJC. Leading scorer T.J. Tynan and a defenseman Stephen Johns are both representing they're country in the WJC.

From The Vault: Alex Chiasson (9) cuts to the front of the net 

in a game against  Notre Dame at Agganis on October 20th, 2009.

(Photo By Matt Dresens)

Notes On The Irish
Before beating Ferris State on December 10th, ND lost four in a row, including two at home against Northeastern. The Huskies actually ran Notre Dame out of their own building, defeating the Irish 9-2 in front of a sell out crowd, at the new Family Center Arena. Notable wins for the Irish include a 5-3 win at current number one, Minnesota Duluth... A 5-2 win over PairWise number one Ohio State and a 3-2 overtime victory over Boston College at home.

Scoring Leaders 
Without Tynan in the lineup, ND's leading scorer coming into this game is Anders Lee. In 20 games, Lee has 12 goals, 8 assists for a total of 20 points. Riley Sheahan, a Junior from St. Catharine's Ontario, comes in as the team's second leading scorer with 5 goals, 13 assists for 20 points in 18 games.

Between The Pipes 
Notre Dame has two pretty solid goalies. Mike Johnson has played the bulk of the games thus far and has a 7-5-3 record with a .889 save percentage. He has allowed 38 goals on 303 shots. Steven Summerhays is the back up, but has seen action in 7 games. He has a .878 save percentage and has a record of 4-1-0. BU will likely see Johnson in goal on Saturday night.

The Last Time They Met...
was October 10th of 2010 in St. Louis in the Icebreaker Invitational Championship Game. BU's Sean Escobedo found twine past Summerhays with just a minute and seven seconds left in the third period to put BU past Notre Dame 5-4.

Team USA Rolls Past Denmark

Coyle's three goals equals his goal
tally for the his entire first semester
at BU. Of course Coyle is not
coming back to BU following the
conciliation of the tournament as
he left for Juniors a week earlier,
but it's still nice to see the guy
succeed.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Tonight, after a surprisingly close first period, Team USA routed the Danish 11-3 in their first game of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships (WJC). Former Terrier, Charlie Coyle lead the US attack with a hat trick, scoring his first goal just 24 seconds into the first period. Terrier defenseman, Adam Clendening picked up two assists in the win. Clendening also had some considerable time on the US power play.

Scoring:
First Period:
1. USA .24 Coyle
1. DEN 3:12 Bau-Hansen [pp]
2. USA 4:41 Jason Zucker (Denver)
3. USA 8:26 Jarred Tinordi
2. DEN 9:04 Bau-Hansen
Second Period
4. USA 1:25 Bjugstad (Minnesota)
5. USA 7:12 Coyle [pp]
6. USA 9:07 Rau (Minnesota)
7. USA 10:21 Arnold (Boston College)
8. USA 10:51 Miller
9. USA 16:01 Rau [pp] (Minnesota)
Third Period 
3. DEN 4:05 Spelling [pp]
10. USA 10:04 Coyle
11. USA 15:56 Johns (Notre Dame)

Final USA 11, Denmark 3


Around The WJC (Day One)
Canada trounced Finland 8-1... Sweden rocked Latvia 9-4... The USA steamrolled Denmark 11-3... Russia is currently up 1-0 on Switzerland.

Clendening Named To USA Junior Team

In 16 games played at BU, Clendening
has one goal and eleven assists. His
lone goal came against Cornell on a
five on three power play at Madison
Square Garden.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Today, USA Hockey released it's 2012 World Junior Championship (WJC) Final Roster, and BU Defenseman Adam Clendening will be the only current Terrier making the trip to Alberta, host region* of the WJC. Former Terrier, Charlie Coyle also was named to the team. Coyle scored a goal in the American's 7-3 win over Sweden in an exhibition game last night.

Clendening was one of the final cuts from last year's roster and after a strong Junior Camp was selected to help lead the USA back to the gold medal. Last season, the US claimed the Bronze Medal after defeating Sweden in the third place game in Buffalo, New York. Two years ago, former Terrier Dave Warsofsky and the rest of Team USA defeated team Canada in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the Gold Medal game. It was only the second time ever the United States has won Gold. The other was in 2004, in Helsinki, Finland.

All of Team USA's games will be televised on NHL Network. The US's first game is December, 26th against Denmark, starting at 8:00ET.

*Games are being played in both Edmonton and Calgary. Calgary being the city in which the championship game will be held.

In Other News
BU picked up a walk-on player for the second semester. Jake Moscatel will now be a member of the Boston University Hockey Team. Moscatel played the first semester on the BU Club Team and spent the '09-'10 season with the University of New England, a Division Three school in Western Mass. Prior to attending UNE, he played at the Bellmont Hill School, where he was named a two time all league selection in the Independent School League, commonly known as the ISL. After Bell Hill, Jake played with the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL). In 25 games with U of NE, Moscatel had seven goals and six assists.

(Below the page break is the entire Team USA Roster)

Midseason report Part One: Red Light District

Sahir Gill plays the puck during a game
in October against UNH.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

With Charlie Coyle and Corey Trivino no longer on the team, BU has lost 22% of its total offense. Who will make up for that gap remains to be seen, but here is a review of players who have been lighting the lamp for BU all season long.

Matt Nieto
Nieto leads the team in goals with 8, and has 8 assists. Many of his goals came in the first few games of the season where he had a five plus goal scoring streak in October. Nieto was recently denied the chance to participate in the USA World Junior Camp, so he will have something to prove. Look a Tyler Seguin of the boston Bruins. He did not make Canada's WJC team. After that, the kid exploded and look what he's doing now. If Nieto can do half of what Seguin did, he will surely put BU in good hands and that will help to close the gap with the loss of Coyle and Trivino.

Stats:
Games Played: 14... Goals: 8... Assists: 8... Points: 16

Sahir Gill
Gill will be one of the guys who Parker will look at to really step up in the absence of Coyle and Trivino. Gill has had a decent year so far and I think after scoring against UMass in late October, he has played very well. Last weekend he tipped in the game winning goal against Maine, on a shot from the point.

Stats:
Games Played: 16... Goals: 5... Assists: 9... Points: 14


Alex Chiasson 
The junior forward only trails Nieto by two points, but has three less goals. Alex has had a solid year so far, but will need to step up and find the scoring touch down the stretch, which is what got him drafted in the second round by the Dallas Stars back in 2009.

Stats:
Games Played: 15... Goals: 5... Assists: 9... Points: 14

Wade Megan 
A great second half by Wade will be huge for the teams success. He is having his most productive year as a Terrier by far, and it all started in the team's exhibition game back in October. Megan had two goals in a 6-4 loss to St. Francis Xavier. He also had a goal disallowed in the same game. Megan has had a very constant start to the season.

Stats:
Games Played: 16... Goals: 7... Assists: 1... Points: 8.

Midseason part two will be up sometime tomorrow. It will be all about the defense. 

My, How Things Have Changed

Yasin Cisse has played 10 games
this year. He has just one goal, his
lone point on the season. Don't let
the numbers fool you, this kid can
really play, and will be vital for BU
down the stretch.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

One week ago, BU throttled Maine at the Alfond and nothing could have been better in Terrier Nation. A week later, BU is without their two best offensive weapons. Clearly by now everyone should know that Corey Trivino and Charlie Coyle are no longer on the Boston University Hockey Team and that means there is a huge gap to fill.

Does anyone remember the 2006 season?

You might ask, why is he going back to 2006?  That season happened 6 years ago. Well, there is a potential huge comparison to that magical year and this season's Terriers. Prior to the '06 season, Captain David Van Der Gulik was sidelined for the entire first half of the year. BU was 6-7-2 at the break. Vandy came back and the team lost just three more games all year, en route to the Hockey East Championship in which Van Dur Gulik was named tournament MVP. BU lost the NorthEast Regional Final to Boston College 5-0 and that is where the season ended. Van der Gulik closed out the season with 11 goals and 11 assists in just 25 games. Now your probably thinking, where is he going with this?

Well, this year BU has a guy named Yasin Cisse. Since coming back from a severed tendon, BU has lost just three games. If BU can salvage this season, they're going to need a lot of guys to step up and play really well. Cisse, I think has the capability to explode in the second half and make up for a lot of what BU lost in Trivino. Cisse could be this year David Van der Gulik and really cary this team.

Now who makes up for Coyle is an entire different story. Sahir Gill and Alex Chiasson, along with Cisse could more than likely be the new first line. The second line could be Matt Netio, Chris Connolly and Freshman center Cason Hohmann. Third line may shake out to be Wade Megan and Evan Rodrigues, centered by Ben Rosen. What's left over is Ross Gaudet in between Justin Courtnall and either Kevin Gilroy or Ryan Santana, who is expected to rejoin the team after missing the first half of the year with a shoulder injury.

This was BU's line up against New Hampshire in last Thursday night's game:

Connolly-Trivino-Gill
Megan-Coyle-Chiasson
Courtnall-Hohmann-Rodrigues
Gaudet-Rosen-Cissé

The lines I just drew up could look a whole hell of a lot different, as Parker may want to put more experienced players on the top two line, which may look something like this:

Connolly-Gill-Chiasson

Cisse-Nieto-Megan

Hohmann-Gaudet-Rodrigues 

Courtnall-Rosen-Gillroy/Santana

REPORT: Coyle Gone, Will Sign With St. John

This is the first picture I ever took of
Charlie Coyle in a BU uniform. That
night, Charlie netted a hat trick
against the University of Toronto
in an exhibition game, the first
game of the 2011 season.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Yesterday, there was a huge rumor swirling around that Charlie Coyle would leave BU in favor of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Today, according to multiple sources, Coyle will leave BU and join the St. John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. Last season, St. John won the Memorial cup, the Canadian Hockey League's championship. The Q (as the QMJHL is most commonly referred to as) is one of three divisions (the OHL and WHL being the other two) that make up the CHL. 

-------------------
The Boston Hockey Blog reports that Coyle has left School: From The Boston Hockey Blog:  "Yes, I have made my decision to leave BU becasue I'm done with being a student-athlete and I want to focus on just hockey," Coyle said via text. "I was not failing out.

-------------------

NHL.com report

College Hockey News report

My Thoughts

Well what else is there really to say? BU has lost arguably their two best scorers in one week. Charlie, though not putting up the number of goals we all though he would, has still been a major factor in the team's success this year. There is a reason that he is on a plane to Edmonton today, and it's not to sign with the Sea Dogs. It's to represent his country in the WJC.

It's Coyle's play away from the puck and what he does when he does not have possession of the black rubber disk, that make him and the guys around him so good. BU is royally screwed now. I thought they could get by when Trivino was dismissed, but without Coyle this season could be completely lost.

Coyle was the 28th pick in the 2010 NHL by the San Jose Sharks. Coyle was then traded to the Minnesota Wild over this past summer. In 16 games played, Charlie has 3 goals, 11 assists that make 14 points, good for 3rd on BU. 

The thing that baffles me the most is that Coyle is a "BU Boy". His uncle, Tony Amonte, is a BU legend. Charlie dreamed of playing at BU his whole life and now it really seams he just pissed that away. Good Luck Charlie, the Wild will someday need you.

Rumor: Coyle To The Q?

Charlie Coyle from Red Hot Hockey
at Madison Square Garden
(Photo By Matt Dresens)

Today, there is s huge rumor circling around saying Charlie Coyle has flunked out of school. Reports say that he is headed to St. Johns Newfoundland and could skate for the Memorial Cup Champion St. John SeaDogs of the QMJHM. Remember this is just a rumor, but expect much more in the coming days. I'm personally not really buying into it, but it's worth noting incase it is the truth.

Note: Coyle is headed to Canada for the World Junior Championships,the tournament begans in the coming days.

UPDATE
The Boston Hockey Blog has said that they have talked with Charlie and he said that he is still at BU and he is still on the team.

The Globe's Article About Trivino

BU star arrested for assault
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell

Corey Trivino
(Photo By Matt Dresens)

Boston University center Corey Trivino, the team’s leading scorer, was arrested by campus police Sunday night and charged with forcing his way into a female student’s dormitory room and forcibly kissing and groping her. Coach Jack Parker dismissed Trivino from the team and revoked the senior’s scholarship.

Trivino was arraigned yesterday morning in Brighton District Court and released on his own recognizance, but was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and the BU dorms. Trivino, a Canadian citizen, was ordered to surrender his passport.

An administrative hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18.

According to the police report, obtained by the Globe, Trivino was described as “very intoxicated.’’

Parker said it isn’t the first time Trivino has been involved in alcohol-related incidents.

“I had to get rid of Corey Trivino from our hockey team because I’d given him a warning in September that if he had another alcohol-related incident on or off campus, I would remove him from the team and take away his scholarship,’’ said Parker.

Parker said he tried on more than one occasion to get Trivino to agree to alcohol counseling, but Trivino refused.

“I tried to get him to get some help,’’ said Parker. “I tried to get him to talk to some people regarding an alcohol problem. He wouldn’t do it, he didn’t think he had an alcohol problem.’’

Parker said he told Trivino he had a problem but Trivino disagreed.

“[I said] One of us is going to be right,’’’ said Parker. “I’m betting you’re going to be sitting in front of me before the semester is over and I’m going to be telling you, ‘You’re out of here.’ ’’

Parker said the situation is painful.

“He’s a terrific kid,’’ said Parker. “I can guarantee you, he has no recollection what he did that night. He knew what the consequences were if he got into an alcohol-related problem again. Unfortunately, he got into a problem that is way bigger than I ever thought he could get himself into. I got the call at 1 o’clock on Monday morning that he was arrested and at the BU police station, drunk, and was arrested for sexual assault.’’

Parker said he elected to take swift action.

More on the Trivino Situation

Since I don't really want to get into the legalities of this issue, here is a link to the Boston Hockey Blog, which fully explains what Corey was charged with: link

With that being said, here is my reaction to it all. Corey had a drinking problem and this was not the first time he has been suspended. Prior to the start of last season, Trivino and Alex Chiasson were both suspended for skipping a mandatory team bike ride, the punishment for the Beer Bash before the 2010 Hockey East semi finals against Maine.

Trivino and Chiasson were suspended for the Icebreaker Invitational in St. Louis, but both still made the trip.

Corey is now the fourth player in three seasons to be booted from the program. Both Vinny and Victor Saponari were dismissed following the Beer Bash of 2010. Last year, Andrew Glass was shown the gate after missing a team practice following a tough loss to RPI. Now Trivino is gone and along with him, the team's leading scorer.

Reaction throughout the day has been much the same: BU is screwed and the season is over. I think the Fake Jack Parker from Twitter put it best by simply say (and I quote)"Uh Oh". In a more serious note, the real Jack Parker had this to say about it all:"This will be a big hole to fill and there's also an emotional hole to fill."




I agree with Parker that it will be a big hole to fill, but it might not be as big as some may think. Yes, Trivino is the leading goal scorer in Hockey East. I get that. But coming into last weekend Matt Nieto was the team's leading scorer. Nieto did not play in either of the team's two games, while Corey racked up three goals including the game winner against New Hampshire. 


The point I'm trying to make here is that the team can play without one of it's best players. Yes, it will be very tough to overcome the fact that Trivino is not on the team any longer because of an alleged sex crime and not just a shoulder injury like in Nieto's case. Also, BU has time to regroup over the Holiday Break and try and overcome all of this. 


Since the incident, The Islanders second round pick has been kicked out of to his dorm. Parker also openly said that Corey had a drinking problem and that this was the last draw in a long line of drinking related incidents over Trivino's career and time as a Boston University student. Thats what led to his decision to boot the Senior forward. 


More Trivino Links:


College Hockey News: BU's Trivino Arrested, Removed From Team
USCHO: Boston University’s Trivino arrested, booted permanently from team

Daily Free Press: Dismissal of hockey star Trivino right move, students say
Boston Hockey Blog: BREAKING: Corey Trivino kicked off BU hockey team

Boston Hockey Blog: Parker: Trivino's actions leave 'no question in my mind it's an alcohol problem'

Trivino Kicked Off Team

(photo by Matt Dresens)

Late sunday night Corey Trivino was arrested for sexual assault and has since been kicked off the team. According to reports, the  intoxicated senior forward "pushed his way into the room of a female student at 10 Buick St. and started kissing her and fondling her against her will.”


In 15 games played this year, Trivino lead the team in goal with 13 and had 4 assist. It was his best season at BU at the break.


Much, much more to come in the following hours.


Story from USCHO:

Boston University senior and Hockey East leading goal scorer Corey Trivino was arrested Sunday night (Dec. 11) and charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery after he allegedly entered the room of a female student and attempted to kiss and grope her, according to a report in BU Today.

Trivino, also charged with two counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime and one count of assault with attempt to rape, is no longer a member of the hockey team, head coach Jack Parker said in the article.

Trivino, a Toronto native, pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment Monday in Brighton District Court. Judge David T. Donnelly set bail at $25,000 or surrender of Trivino’s Canadian passport and ordered Trivino to leave his dorm room by 3 p.m. Monday.

“This will be a big hole to fill,” said Parker in the report. “And there’s an emotional hole, also.”

The article further stated Trivino may attend classes until he is officially suspended or expelled.

Back in May 2010, Trivino was suspended for an alcohol-related incident before the Hockey East semifinals and missed time at the start of the 2010-11 season.

Trivino had 13 goals and 17 points in 15 games this season and ends his Terriers’ career with 73 points in 112 games. He was also drafted by the New York Islanders in 2008.

Weekend In Review

Player of the Week
Corey Trivino scored three goals
in two games over the weekend.
Against UNH, his tally was good
for the game winner and he put
BU on the board in Orono, scoring
the teams first goal of the game. He
added his second of the game in
 the third period,  putting distance
between  BU and Maine.

(photo by Matt Dresens)

This past week, BU won two games against UNH and Maine, respectively. It may have been the best two games the Terriers have played all year. They pretty much dominated UNH from start to finish, despite only scoring two goals. That may have been in large part to UNH being on the power play for basically the entire second period and BU hitting two or three pipes on shots that cleanly beat UNH goalie Chris De Smith. BU killed all five New Hampshire power plays.

Up in Maine, the two teams fought a hard battle in the first period. Maine took a 1-0 lead on the power play, before BU proceeded to score five unanswered goals in a 5-1 thrashing of the Black Bears. The game was not only important because league points were at stake, it was also significant in terms of the PairWise. Maine was (and still is) a Team Under Consideration(TUC) and the game was in their barn.

Some history was also made up in Orono. Kieran Millan set the program record for saves in a career with 3,057 over his three and a half seasons at Boston University. After picking up the win at Alfond, Millan has now won 8 games against Maine, also a team record. He only has lost twice to the Black Bears; twice in the Hockey East tournament, the quarterfinals in 2009 and the semis in 2010. He has never lost to Maine in a regular season league game or in Orono.

At The Polls 
I don't really know why I always start with the meaningless polls in this segment. Both the USCHO and USA Today polls are cool to look at, but have no bearing whatsoever on the NCAA tournament like the PairWise does.

So here's a look at the PWR:

BU is currently in 5th, one place out of a number one seed in the Tournament. This ranking, (it's not a poll) unlike the other two, changes after every game is played and not just on the Monday after. Anyway, Ohio State is currently in first with an RPI of .5985, with Minnesota Duluth, Boston College, and Merrimack closely behind. BU is a bit further back, but still well in the mix at 5 with an RPI of .5664.

Hockey East is very well represented in the PWR. Along with BU and BC, Lowell (10), Northeastern (18), Providence (20), Maine (27), and UMass (30) all have an RPI above .5000, the criteria for being in the PWR. FYI, 70% of the league is considered a TUC at the moment. So, not only are league games important in terms of points, but also in the national picture in terms of the NCAA tournament.

On to the meaningless polls.

USCHO has BU ranked 9th, three spots up from last week. Duluth is still the overwhelming number one, despite tying unranked Wisconsin. The Bulldogs took 49 of the possible 50 first place votes. Ohio State had the other. Minnesota was second with BC, OSU, and Merrimack rounding out the top five. The only other Hockey East team in the poll was Lowell, who came in at 17th.

In the USA Today rankings, BU is also 9th, with the top five looking identical.

Around Hockey East
Tuesday Night: BC trumped Providence 4-1 at home.

Wednesday Night: Merrimack slipped by Vermont 5-3 at Lawler Rink... UMass upended overrated Yale 3-1 at home.

Thursday Night: BU beat UNH at the Whitt 2-1.

Friday Night: Lowell stayed hot by knocking off Boston College 3-2 at Tsongas Arena.

Saturday Night: BU rocked Maine 5-1 at Alfond... Northeastern defeated Lowell 3-2 at Matthews Arena.. Colgate and Merrimack skated to a 1-1 draw in a non conference matchup.

Honored 
Kieran Millan was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. He stopped 58 of 60 shots he faced in the two games played. The Terriers were named HE's team of the week for sweeping their two game slate over the weekend.

BU Rolls Past Maine

Alexx Privitera scored his first collegiate
goal in the third period of last night's
5-1 win. It was one of four third period
goals for the Terriers.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

In their final game before the Holiday break, BU went up to Maine and did exactly what they needed to do: take two points from the Black Bears.

Before BU tacked on five unanswered goals, Maine struck first on the power play. Justin Courtnall was tossed from the game after he (apparently) hit a Maine player in the back of the head. Upon further examination, it really looked like it was a solid shoulder on shoulder hit by Cournall, but the refs did not see it that way and showed the Assistant Captain the gate. Maine, then went on a five minute power play. Mark Anthoine gave UMaine the lead with about three and a half minutes left on the man advantage. He took a pass from Kyle Beattie in the slot, where he was wide open. He used a BU defenseman as a screen and wristed one over Millan's shoulder and into the back of the net.

Brian Flynn was the culprit of a five minute major for Maine, while the Black Bears still were up a man. Off the face off following Anthoine's goal, Flynn dumped Wade Megan into the side-boards next to the BU bench from behind. Flynn was also kicked out, but BU did not score on the power play.

After carrying the five on five play throughout the first and most of the second period, BU finally got on the board in the closing minutes of the second on a 4 on 3 power play. With the puck bouncing around in the crease, many Terriers took their whacks at it, but it was Corey Trivino who got the final touch on the puck before it crossed the line, good for his 11 goal of the season. 

Maine held an early advantage in chances in period three, but it was BU who erupted for four third period goals, which led to the lopsided score in an otherwise closely fought game. 

BU took a 2-1 lead after Sahir Gill put his backhand on Adam Clendeing's point shot, tipping it past Maine goalie Dan Sullivan, who made 27 saves in a losing effort. BU started pouring it on towards the middle of the stanza. Clendening took a shot from the blue-line, it was deflected, and hit Sullivan, who could not control the knuckling puck. Trivino was denied on his first attempt to put home the loose puck, but his second effort forced it over the line, upping the BU lead to 3-1.

Freshman Defenseman, Alexx Privitera essentially put the game out of reach when he scored at the 14:08 mark of period three. He made a great move to get around a Maine defender and then tossed a backhander past Sullivan's blocker. It was Privitera's first career goal as a Terrier.

For good measure, Sahir Gill slid in an empty netter with about three and half minutes left. It was technically a shorthanded goal, BU's nation leading seventh shortie of the season. 

With the holiday break ahead of us, BU will be off until December 31st, when they travel out to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame in a huge non-conference showdown.

BU Heads to Maine Before The Break

Before the Terriers head off for their holiday break, they will first have to go up to Orono and take on a scrappy Maine team. BU comes into this game winners of six of their last seven games. Maine, on the other hand, is riding a hot streak. After a five game winless skid that ended on November 26, the Black Bears have yet to lose a game. 

Maine has won three straight coming into tonight's game with victories against Clarkson and a sweep at Vermont last weekend. Maine is currently four points behind BU in the Hockey East standings with 11. The Black Bears have won enough games against notable opponents and find themselves in 25^th in the PairWise rankings. BU actually is in a tie with Notre Dame for 6th in the PWR.

Scouting the Black Bears

Seniors Spencer Abbott and Brian Flynn are both having monster years for the Black Bears. Abbott has 10 goals, 14 assists, and 23 points in 14 games this year. Not to be over-looked, Flynn has 21 points, but has considerably less goals than Abbott with only 6. Possibly the leagues most hated player, Joey Diamond has 9 goals and 7 assists, good for 16 points and third on the team in scoring.

In net, Maine has two goalies that have both played considerable time in the cage this year. Dan Sullivan has played ten games, with a 5-3-2 record. He has given up 28 goals, holds an .896 save percentage, and has a 3.01 goals against average. Fellow Sophomore Martin Ouellette has just one win in 7 games. Ouellette has only started four games and that's where he picked up his lone win, a 5-4 overtime victory over Providence. My guess is that Sullivan will get the start, but it would not surprise me if Ouellette were the starter, either.

The Last Time They Met...

was in a two game series at Maine towards the end of January. BU won the first game 4-3 and then hung on for dear life and salvaged a 1-1 tie in game two, despite being vastly out-played.

Blog Note: There will be no twitter updates tonight and the recap will be up late because I have a family commitment. I’ve taped the game so I will watch it, but just not live, please no one tell me what’s going on. Sorry for the inconvenience... Go Terriers!

College Hockey Picks Week 10

BU Skates Past UNH, Sweep Season Series

Chris Connolly captured his 100

career points as a Terrier tonight.

He is the 78th play in BU hockey

history to accomplish the feat, the

frist since Nick Bonino did it in

2010.

(Photo by Matt Dresens)

The Wildcats pulled ahead minutes into the first period. A BU skater tried to force a cross ice pass to Wade Megan, the pass was intercepted, taken into the BU zone and Greg Burk roofed a loose rebound, up over the shoulder of BU goalie Kieran Millan.

BU generated great pressure following a beautiful penalty kill in which they never allowed UNH to set up and cleared the puck at every opportunity. After the kill, BU controlled the play for the remainder of the first stanza and Alex Chiasson nicked the post in the closing seconds of the period. But, New Hampshire took the 1-0 lead to the dressing-room.

Less than five minutes into the second, BU finally got on the board. BU wiped out a shorthanded UNH rush and turned it into a quick two on one. Chiasson found Wade Megan and the two broke away from the pack, two on one into the Wildcat zone. Megan dished to Chiasson, who tried to deek De Smith and did, sneaking the puck through the Freshman goalie's legs. Before the puck crossed the line, Megan put the final touches on the goal by chipping it into the net. It was Megan’s 7^th goal of the year.

BU continued to dominate the period and about three minutes later took the lead on a great passing play. Sahir Gill found Corey Trivino wide open in the top of slot. Trivino had virtually the entire goal to shoot at, as the pass seemed to confuse De Smith, who never went into the butterfly to attempt to stop the shot. Instead, he stayed standing the whole time and Trivino fired a shot into the center of the net. On the play, Chris Connolly picked up his 100th point as a Terrier.

BU carried the play for the whole period and had many chances to extend their lead, but De Smith made some nice saves. Also in the period, Charlie Coyle drilled the post while on the power play.

The Wildcats had the upper hand in shots in the third, but it was BU's "defense first" mentality that held UNH scoreless in the final two frames. Millan did make one very impressive save while UNH was on the power play. BU's penalty kill was the story of this game, though. The Terriers blanked the UNH power play, which went 0-5 on the man advantage. BU was one for two on the PP.

Milan was a tad shaky in the first. He was giving up large rebounds and that’s exactly how UNH took the 1-0 lead. In the final two period though, he was simply stellar in shutting down the Wildcat attack in the final 40:00 minutes.

This marks the first time since the 1997 season in which BU has swept the season series with New Hampshire. 

BU will have Friday off before heading up to Maine to take on the Black Bears in Orono on Saturday night.

Knowing The Enemy: New Hampshire

Photo from the last time the two teams
played, back on November 19th.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Tomorrow night BU will head up to Durham and play a mid-week game against the University of New Hampshire. This will be the third and final meeting of the regular season between the two teams and that to me is a little bit strange. After Thursday's game, BU will have already wrapped up the season series with both Boston College and New Hampshire before the Holiday break. That’s odd because if you take in to consideration that BU has yet to even play Northeastern, another Hockey East foe.

In the two games played earlier, BU has had the upper hand against the Wildcats, winning both tilts 5-0 and 4-1, respectively. Seventh place UNH comes into this game four points behind second place BU in the Hockey East standings with 9 points. BU has 13 points.

After BU ended their seven game unbeaten streak, UNH has won just one game in their last five tries. That lone victory came against dreadful Alabama Huntsville, 9-1 at home. The Wildcats should have beaten Harvard two days after playing BU when they were up 4-0 in the first, only to have the Crimson storm back and win 7-6 at home. Last weekend, New Hampshire was swept by Lowell in a home and home series. 

Scouting the Wildcats

Stevie Mosses still leads the team in total goals -11- and total points -19- in 16 games played. Sophomore, Nick Storkin also has 19 points with a 5-14-19 line. 

Matt Di Girolamo has an .885 save percentage, 48 goals allowed, one shutout, a 3.36 goals against average in 15 games played.

BU Injury Report

According to the Boston Hockey Blog, Matt Nieto is out Thursday night with a shoulder injury, suffered in practice earlier this week. It is still uncertain if he will play Saturday at Maine. 

Stat of The Day

The top 10 scorers in the AHL all come from college backgrounds. Number two on that list,  former Terrier Chris Bourque. In 26 games played with the Hershey Bears, Bourque has 11 goals, 21 assists for a total of 32 points, four behind AHL leading Keith Aucoin, from Norwich Academy (DIII). Aucoin also plays for the Bears. 

A Closer Look: The BC Weekend

Cason Hohmann is my player  of

the week. In Friday's 5-3 win over

arch rival BC, Cason picked up
the game winning goal on the
power play. It was Hohmann's
first career goal as a Terrier. No

better time to accomplish that

feat than against BC. Yasin Cisse

is my runner up, as he also 

scored his first collegiate 

goal Friday night.

(Photo by Matt Dresens)

By now you should know that BU and BC split their series over the past weekend, with BU coming away with a 5-3 win on Friday night and BC rebounding on Saturday, posting a 6-1 victory at Agganis.

This was a very strange series, to say the least. Both nights the team with more shot attempts lost. BC out shot the Terriers 45-15 at Conte Forum on Friday. BU picked up two goals on eight shots in the first period and converted on their lone shot of the second period. In fact, BU had more penalties -17- than shots in the game.

Now, to win a game, score five goals, only have 15 shots and take 17 penalties, one of two things has to happen. Either the victor gets great goaltending and an opportunistic offense, or the other team's goalie and defense absolutely don't show up. In BU's case, both took place. Kieran Millan made 43 saves and BU scored two power play goals. Boston College also had an anemic power play, going a dismal 2 for 11. BC goalie Parker Milner also continued to prove how he can't beat BU, as he lost his third straight home game to the Terriers. In three games played against BU, Milner has a .773 save%, a 4.97 Goals Against Average and 15 goals allowed... All three games were BC home games.

Saturday night was a completely different story for the Terriers. Despite out shooting the Eagles by a 41-31 margin, BU came out on the short end of a 6-1 shellacking. After Corey Trivino tied the game at one at the tail end of the first, BC scored five unanswered goals, including four goals in the second stanza on just eight shots. Millan, unlike the night before, was way off his game. One goal in particular stands out as being an incredibly weak goal. That would be Bill Arnold's slap-shot from the the top of the far hashmarks. The shot was no more than a foot-foot and a half off the ice and (as I recall) the puck went right by the senior netminder and into the center of the net.

I now bring up the question of what was more impressive: Kiran Millan's 42 save performance at Boston College or Brian Billett's 30 save performance at BU in his second career start as an Eagle?

At The Polls
After splitting the weekend series with the the Eagles, BU jumped up two slots from 13th to 11th in the USCHO ranking. With previous number one Merrimack being swept by Providence, it was time for the defending National Champion Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to become the sixth team to climb to the summit of this poll. If six teams have been ranked number one so far this year, that proves no one really knows who the best team out there really is. Anyway, coming in at number two this week was Minnesota, followed by Boston College, Ohio State and Merrimack rounding out the top five. Hockey East now has five teams in the top 20, as Lowell (18) and Providence (20) join BU (11), BC (3), and Merrimack (5) in the poll.

In the USA Today Poll, BU finds themselves one place up at 12th. The top five is identical.

PairWise: Some may say it's still to early to look at this, but I'm not one of them. BU gained some major ground this weekend, moving up from 16th to 11th. Now that is only four slots, but four spots is the difference between watching the NCAA tournament from a dorm room or being part of it. BU actually moved up to 11th after Friday's win and stayed there despite the loss on Saturday. It was more important to beat BC at Conte then it was to win at home. Why? Because a team gets more PWR points for road wins against "Teams Under Consideration" than it does if the game is at home.

Currently, Hockey East has six teams in the PairWise rankings. BC and Merrimack are tied at second. Lowell is tied with Northern Michigan for the ninth position, BU is 11th, while Providence comes in at 19th. Maine is sitting in 26th. Remember though, the NCAA tournament is only a 16 team field.

Around Hockey East
Friday night: Maine topped Vermont 6-4 in the Green Mountain State... Providence handed Merrimack their first loss of the year 2-1 in overtime... Lowell snuck by New Hampshire 3-2 at home... BU upended BC 5-3... Northeastern steam rolled over and kicked Notre Dame square in the crotch, defeating UND 9-2 in South Bend... Harvard and UMass tied 4-4 at the Mulins Center.

Saturday Night: Maine completed the sweep against Vermont, winning 5-2 at the Gut... Providence waxed Merrimack 6-1 in MC's barn... Lowell capped off the sweep of UNH, winning 5-3 on the road... BC dominated BU 6-1... Northeastern again beat Notre Dame, this time by a score of 2-1.

BC Destroys BU, Ends Terrier Win Streak

BC goalie Brian Billett was the game'
Number One Star

One night after BU escaped with a 5-3 win at Boston College, the Eagles turned the tables and routed BU at Agganis. Last Night, BC's goaltending was quite shaky, but tonight, it was solid. It was the other way around for BU. BC starter, Brian Billet, made 40 saves and was named number one star, Kiran Millan was off his game to say the least.

BC jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Danny Linell's first collegiate goal. Kieran Millan made the initial save and the puck kicked around the crease before Linell put home the rebound at 5:51.

BU evened the score with little over a minute to go in the first. The puck deflected into the corner after BC goalie Brian Billett stopped Ryan Ruikka's shot from the point. There, Corey Trivino attempted to make a pass to the front of the net. The puck hit off a sliding BC defender and banked into the goal behind Billett. 

BU had a load of chances in the second stanza, but could not convert and it was BC extending their lead just a minute and fifty seconds into the frame. Tommy Cross skated through (what seemed like) the entire BU defense and cut right to the front of the net where he shoveled a back-hander past Millan, off the cross bar, and in. Prior to the goal, Chris Connolly appeared to have put BU on top, but his shot hit the post (?). The BU crowd (my self included) all thought it was in. Cross scored before the refs could review the play. After Cross’s goal, the refs did look at it and said that it was not a goal.

BC broke the game wide open in the latter stages of the period. Chris Kreider picked off a BU pass and used Terrier defensemen, Patrick MacGergor as a screen. Kreider reeled off a shot from the top of the dot, past Millan, off the post, and into the goal. Little over two minutes later, Johnny Gaudreau potted a rebound making it 4-1. At the 18:24 mark, Bill Arnold blasted a slapper from the far-side hash marks by Millan, upping the lead to 5-1. The shot completely beat the BU goalie as the puck hit the center support beam inside the goal. 

Paul Carey added another goal about four minutes into the third period, beating Grant Rollhieser, who came in relief of Millan at the start of the period. 

This loss ended BU's five game win streak and it was also the first time BU lost to BC this year. The Terriers have not beaten Boston College at home since 2009.

More reaction coming on Monday, as usual. 

Next up for BU: a road trip up to Durham to face off with New Hampshire, then Saturday at Maine.

Goaltending; It's Why BU Won

Last night, BU came away with a 5-3 win despite being out shot 45-15. That was in large part because Boston College was on the power play for practically the entire second and third periods. To prevent goals of any kind the goaltending had to be superb and that’s exactly what Kieran Millan was for BU.

Kieran Millan kicks out a shot on a BC power play in the
second period.
(Photo by Matt Dreens)

The senior netminder stopped 42 of 45 shots he faced. Two of the three goals he allowed were tipped past him by Eagles out in front of the net. Millan pulled out all the stops when he needed to, especially in the second period, when BU was out shot 23-1. Fortunately for the Terriers, that one shot found twine making it 3-0. Millan made big save after big save and his usually shaky glove was excellent in denying the Eagles all night long.

Parker Milner, BC's starting goalie, was terrible to put things nicely. Milner gave up two goals on eight shots in the first period, and to be honest it could have been worse. The one bright spot for the junior netminder was a sensational stop on Ben Rosen, seconds after Charlie Coyle's power play goal. Milner's second period save percentage was 0%, as he let in the lone BU shot of the period by Garrett Noonan. This was Milner’s third loss against BU in as many tries.

Because of Millers less than sub-par effort, The Boston College Hockey Blog is reporting that back-up goalie Brian Billett will start in goal, tonight for the Eagles. Billett won his only start of the season, when BC defeated Yale 3-2 last weekend. He stopped 31 of 33 shots he faced.

In Other News

The Boston Hockey Blog is saying that Captain Chris Connolly could very well be back in the Lineup for BU. 

BU Gets Badly Out Shot, But Still Wins

BU defeats BC 5-3 despite being out shot 45-15

Tonight, was a strange game to say the least. BC, a team that usually dominant on the power play, went 2 for 11, and one goal came in the final minutes on a six on four man advantage when BC pulled goalie Parker Milner for the extra attacker.

Towards the end of the game there was some good old nastiness
between the long time rivals. Here, Bu's Charlie Coyle and BC's
Tommy Cross have to be separated by the refs.
(Photo BY Matt Dresens)

 Usually when a team generates only 8 shots on goal in a period, they tend not to score very often. Well that was not the case here as BU scored twice in the first. BU got on the board with first of two power plays goals. Charlie Coyle picked the top corner on Milner from about ten feet out in the slot. The shot was a classic goal scorer’s goal, a shot that just nips the red goal post and banks into the net. It was Coyle's third goal of the year from Matt Nieto and Max Nicastro at 10:15 of the first.

In the closing minutes of the period, BU doubled their lead. Alexx Privitera sprang Yasin Cisse in on a break a way. The red shirt freshman sniped on Milner high glove side, beating the goaltender clean. Tonight, Cisse was playing on the second line with Nieto and Coyle and also got some hefty power play time. I don't know if that was all because Chris Connolly was out of the line up, but I really like the way that line played tonight, and I think it much better suites Cisse. That goal was Cisse's first career goal as a Terrier and it was also Privitera's first point in a BU uniform.

The second period was dominated by failed BC power plays, but the Eagles carried the play and dominated the time of possession. But, it was BU’s lone shot of the Period that put the Terriers up 3-0. Garrett Noonan picked up a bouncing puck and the point and teed up a drive. The puck knuckle-balled into the net behind Milner, who looked to have gotten crossed up on the play. The goal went in the books as and unassisted mark at 13:21.

Finally, with three minutes to go in the second, BC converted on the power play and finally solved Kieran Millan who played arguably his best game of the year tonight. Bill Arnold put one past Millan in a scrum in front. Originally, I though Chris Kreider had scored, but the goal was awarded to Arnold, instead. Literally seconds later, BC nearly made it a one goal game, but BU was again fortunate for getting quick whistle before the puck crossed the line.

Cason Hohmann (23) celebrates after
his goal that would prove to be the
eventual game winner.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

BC once again controled the time of position and shots in the third, but like in the second, it was BU picking up the period's first strike. Cason Hohmann grabbed the game-winning goal on the power play exactly 8:00 into the stanza. Hohmann took a slap-pass from Sean Escobedo that was wide of the net and corralled it before sliding it into the goal behind Milner oh his back hand. This was Hohmann's first collegiate goal. 

Now we get to the garbage goals. The game's ending seemed to be more dragged out then the final minutes of an NBA basketball game. Penalty after Terrier penalty prevented the clock from running down and BC made things (at least for me) very tense in the closing minutes. Kreider made an excellent tip on Edwin Shea's shot from the point and re-directed the puck past Millan, cutting he BU lead to 4-2 with about five minutes to play. 

Corey Trivino eased most of the tension I, and the other hundreds of BU fans that made the trip over, when he converted on an empty net short handed goal from about 130 feat out, making it 5-2 with there minutes to play. All was clam for 16 seconds, that is when Barry Almedia scored on the power play at the 17:16 mark of the third for BC. BU hung on though, despite being way out shot and taking way, way to many penalties down the stretch. The 5-3 victory was BU's 5th win in a row and it clinched the Hockey East season series against Boston College for the Terriers. 

Parker had this to say about the game and some of the actions that both team’s players were taking: “They were diving all over the place. It’s pathetic that stuff that’s going on out there".

The two teams go at it again tomorrow night at Agganis Arena starting at seven. 

**PairWise update: with that win, BU jumped all the way from 16th to 11th in the PWR**