The First Real Test

Tomorrow, BU travels up to Durham, New Hampshire for the first of three games with the Wildcats this year. I have a feeling this will be a much tougher game for the Terriers than last weekend's tilt with Providence. With all due respect to the Friars, I was expecting a little more. UNH, on the other hand, is coming off an impressive home sweep of St. Cloud State. Granted, St. Cloud is not the second coming of the Soviets, but it's still a quality weekend sweep.

From The Vault
Former Terrier and current Northeastern Captain, Vinny
Saponari just misses scoring on a rebound against New
Hampshire in a game during the 2010 season.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

I picked New Hampshire to finish fifth in the league and if I could, I would probable swap them with Providence right now. The Wildcats return the bulk of their roster from a year ago and have a poised goaltender in Casey DeSmith.

For the Terriers, I figure the lines will closely resemble the Providence game. In goal, Sean Maguire will be making his first collegiate start.

Scouting the Wildcats
After one weekend of play, Senior Dalton Speelman leads the Wildcats in points with four, posting 2 goals and two assists a week ago. Defenseman Connor Hardowa also boasts four points, all coming the way of assists against The Cloud. Forwards Nick Sorkin and Grayson Downing both have three points and were factors in last year's Hockey East Quarterfinal series.

Go Figure
BU is the only team in Hockey East that holds a winning record (11-8-5) at the Whittemore Center.

The Last Time They Met...
was back in March in the Hockey East Quarterfinals at Agganis. UNH took the opener 2-1 in double overtime, only to see BU win game two 4-2. That set the stage for one of the better BU games I've ever seen in game three. BU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. UNH then went on to score four straight goals before the second period ended. BU chipped away, cutting it to 4-3 before the end of the second. Wade Megan knotted the score 4-4, 30 seconds into the third. The teams then went scoreless until half way through the second overtime, where Alex Chiasson banged in a rebound goal, sending BU to the Garden. Oh, did I mention Kiran Millan made 68 saves in game three?