Game Photos From Last Night

For some reason, the photos are all in reverse order, so it starts in the third period and moves towards the first. 

BU Upends Merrimack 3-1

Wade Megan staples Mike Wills into the boards
in the the second period
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Tonight, two players stole the show. Freshman goalie Matt O'Connor and Wade Megan. O'Connor made 34 saves, including one highlight reel stop in the second period. Meanwhile, Megan posted a goal and two assists and also played a very physical game. 

BU looked to take the lead with just over 13 mins left in the first. Evan Rodrigues seemed to have finished on a two on one set up by (you guessed it) Wade Megan. From where I was, I thought they were kidding when the PA announcer said that the goal was under review. After a lengthy review, the goal was waved off. I still don't know why, but someone behind me said it hit the crossbar and never went in. It was a Merrimack fan so I don't know if the source was accurate.

BU eventually took the lead in the second frame, after a relatively uneventful first period. Cason Hohmann found Ahti Oksanen wide open at the point. Oksanen took two steps in before unloading a Colby Cohen-esqe bomb that MC goalie Sam Marotta had no chance at stopping. It was Oksanen's second goal of the year. Megan picked up the second assist on the play.

Later in the stanza, Megan put the finishing touches on a really heads up play by Matt Grzelcyk. Grzelcyk banked the puck off the near boards to Megan who never actually saw Grzelcyk make the pass. The puck angled perfectly to Megan at the MC blue line where the Captain burned a Merrimack defender before picking the lower corner on Marotta. 

BU's second period was one of the more dominant periods I have seen the Terriers play this year. Even so, MC did have a few good chances, including O'Connor's big save mentioned earlier. Also, in the closing seconds of period two, MC did hit the post on the power play.

That Power Play carried over into the third period and before the ice could even fully freeze from being resurfaced, The Mack had cut the lead to 2-1. John Heffernan jammed home a loose rebound to the side of O'Connor. Mike Collins and Kyle Bigos picked up the assists.

Merrimack took over the period after that, hemming BU in deep and breaking up break out passes left and right. Merrimack appeared to have tied the game 2-2 midway through the third, but the goal was disallowed. I believe this one was kicked in.

BU finally iced the game with little over five minutes to play. Matt Grzelcyk, who got the puck from Wade Megan, fired a shot low on Marotta's left leg. The shot produced a rebound that Evan Rodrigues easily shoveled past the out of position tender. It was (officially) Rodrigues first goal of the year. 

BU will have tomorrow off before taking on Boston College at the Greek Sunday.

You Be The Judge
NOt the best angle but... Rodrigues's shot go in?
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Monday Thoughts: More Please

Player of the Week
Freshman, Matt Lane 
Over the past few weeks, Lane has
shown that he is a very smart hockey
player. He does the small things right.
Saturday, it paid off as he scored his
first collegiate goal, the game
winning goal.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Wow! What a weekend. BU and North Dakota played two of the most intense and spirited November hockey games I've seen in a long time. Even though I could not make the trip to Grand Forks this past weekend, it was still brutally obvious to me that a) these teams really don't like each other and b) there is no love lost between the fans either.

All is great for the game, and it's getting better. Originally I though the forming of the Big 10 and NCHC conferences would ruin college hockey rivalries that have been around longer than anyone can remember. Also, from the start, I did not like Notre Dame coming into Hockey East and rearranging the entire league schedule. Now, I love it.

Hockey East will play 22 league games compared to 27 starting net year. That leaves room for more non-conference games against "high profile" teams from around the country. BU will have a chance to continue their "new" rivalry with the Sioux next year at Agganis on November 22rd and 23rd.

Back to this weekend. I thought BU played very well in five of the six periods played at the Ralph, the third period of game one being the exception. There, BU was dominated and the Sioux made life tough on the Terriers by hemming them in their own zone. Kinda hard to score from your own end, eh? Besides that, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the team played against a top five (going into the weekend) especially in North Dakota.

After the UNH game, I though this was going to be an easy sweep for NoDak, but BU really came to play and that is not to say North Dakota did not show up. Far from it. It was like watching a playoff game both Friday and Saturday night.

Big Steps For Mags
Although Sean Maguire did not get the win on Friday night, he looked much, much more confident in net, when compared to his other start on the year: the UNH game. He made a handful of saves on point blank opportunities from some of the Sioux sharp shooters in the slot.

The first of Conner Gaarder's three goals was a fluke as it hit off the side of his skate on a centering pass. Maguire really had no way to make this save. The second goal was a defensive break down that allowed Gaarder to take an uncontested slapper from the near circle. I my mind, this was the one goal that he may have had a shot at stopping. Gaarder's hat trick goal was on a five on three and was set up beautifully by Rocco Grimaldi from behind the net. Maguire had no chance. I think he gets the start Friday at Merrimack.

Alexx Privitera 
Coach, Jack Parker said this was Alexx's best weekend in a Terrier uniform and I can't disagree with him. Not only did he spring Matt Lane for the game winning goal on Saturday, but he was a dominant defender all weekend. Officially, he blocked 10 shots over the the two games, which is outstanding alone, but it seemed like he blocked about 110 shots. I was not the only one to pick up on this. The (I did not know it was possible to be more of a homer than Jack Edwards) play by play and color man both were full of praise for Privitera's play.

At The Polls

BU moved up one slot from 12th to 11th in the USCHO poll. Boston College was yet again number one, receiving 48 of 50 first place votes. Minnesota and Denver were two/three for the second week in a row. Cornell moved up two slots from six to join the top five and Miami moved down one place from four to five. Other Hockey East schools in the top 20 included New Hampshire at 9 and Lowell at 17. 

In the only ranking system that actually means anything -The Pairwise- BU is currently in 7th. Dartmouth is one, BC two, UNH three and Cornell and Denver round out the top five. 

Around Hockey East

Friday: Boston College took out Maine 4-1 at Alfond... Merrimack thumped Northeastern 5-2 at Matthews... UMass upset New Hampshire 2-1 in overtime at the Mullins Center... Providence skated past Vermont 3-2 at Gutterson Field House... North Dakota dropped BU 4-2 in Grand Forks.

Saturday: Vermont blanked Providence 2-0 at home... Merrimack completed the sweep of Northeastern with a 4-2 win at home... BU bounced back to knock off North Dakota 4-2.

Sunday: Boston College came back to defeat UMass 3-2 at home... New Hampshire shutout Maine 4-0 in Orono. 

Third Period Explosion Earns Split

Last night, North Dakota picked up a hat trick from a very unlikely source: Connor Gaarder, a walk on sophomore. Tonight, BU had an equally unlikely hero who scored the game winning goal with just 1:50 left in Matt Lane

Matt Lane celebrates after scoring the eventual game
winning goal, his first collegiate goal as a Terrier with just
1:50 left in the game.
(Photo by Brad Olson, USCHO)

North Dakota opened the scoring little over five minutes into the first. Stephane Pattyn un-corked a shot that rang high off the glass behind BU goalie Matt O'Connor. The puck hit O'Connor in the back of the leg as he was trying to cover the post. As it his leg, it deflected into the goal giving the Sioux a 1-0 lead on one of the strangest goals I've seen. 

ND seemed to cary the play in the first, but O'Connor stood tall stoping 10 shots to keep it a one goal game. 

BU pulled even seconds into the second period during a four on four situation. Matt Grzelcyk was able to get the puck to Wade Megan at the top of the far dot. Megan let go a high wrist shot the went up over the shoulder of UND goalie Zane Gothberg to tie the game at 1-1. 

Midway through the period, NoDak would regain the lead. Danny Kristo took a shot a missed the net and the puck ended up in the corner.  There, Matt Nieto had the puck for BU and instead of going high off the glass to attempt to get it out, he turned it back down on the Terriers. This lead to a turn over where Corban Knight grabbed the puck and found Kristo all alone at the far post. Kristo out waited O'Connor before beating him five hole.

With about ten minutes to play in the game, BU started to gain some momentum as they strung some quality shifts together.  With less than six minutes to play, Danny O'Regan made a slick drop pass to Matt Nieto in the top of the slot. The pass drew the Sioux defender toward O'Regan, while Nieto was left unaccounted for in the slot. Nieto then proceeded to rip a snap shot high blocker side on Gothberg to knot the game at 2-2.

BU kept pouring the pressure on and with less than two minutes to go and there they were living life in the fast Lane. Alexx Priviteria, who played one of his better games as a Terrier sprang Matt Lane into the North Dakota zone. Lane cut to the front of the net before roofing a quick wrister from the low slot over the shoulder of Gothberg to put BU ahead. 

11 seconds later, Danny O'Regan picked off Nick Mattson's pass right in front of his own goal. O'Regan made a few shifty moves before depositing the gift turnover into the back of the net. The initial deke left Gothberg flopping around the crease like a beached whale which was easy picking for O'Regan, who has now scored four goals in four games. 

BU will take on Merrimack next Friday night at Lawler Rink. This is an interesting scheduling quark because BU will have played in what some say is the best rink in the nation a week before playing in what I consider the worst arena in the country. 

Gaarder Tricks BU, Sioux Take Round One

Ahti Oksanen scored his first
goal as a Terrier last night.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Last night was a pure battle. It had the feel of a playoff game. Play was up and down, really fast moving, and BU played very well until they just ran out of gas in the Third.

UND almost went up 1-0 midway through the first when Corban Knight tossed a back-hander off the post, cleanly beating Sean Maguire. The whole play was nicely set up by Andrew MacWilliam.

BU opened the scoring with little over three minutes to play in a dominant first period. Matt Nieto found Matt Grzeclyk at the point. Grzeclyk fired a low shot that Clark Saunders kicked out right on to the tape of Danny O'Regan. O'Regan was staring at a soccer net and did not miss. It was his third goal in as many games.

North Dakota struck back less than two minutes into the second. Mark MaxMilan's centering pass from the far circle found Connor Gaarder's left left skate as he was being heavily defended by Garrett Noonan. The puck, not with a kicking motion, deflected off of Gaarder's skate, over the shoulder of Maguire and into the back of the net.

Gaarder was not done in the second, as he ripped home his second of the game at the 7:08 marker. He caught a long stretch pass from Nick Caggiula at the BU blue line. From there, he blew by the BU defenseman and let go a low slap shot, about a foot off the ice that beat Maguire to the far side. All in all, just a poor goal to give up if you are the Terriers.

With little over half the period to go, Andrew MacWilliam was kicked out of the game for a cheap shot hit on Ahti Oksanen. Oksanen was cutting across the ice after the whistle blew and MacWilliam popped him in the head. Oksanen got his revenge, as he scored his first collegiate goal with a blast from the point the 12:12 of the second. It would be the only goal and really the only good chance BU had to score on the five minute power play.

Gaarder capped his hat trick with a five on three goal, less than five minutes into the third. Rocco Grimaldi swooped in behind the net and made a heads up centering pass to Gaarder who was camped out down low on the post. Gaarder shoveled it home, regaining the Sioux lead.

Grimaldi sealed the deal in the closing seconds with an empty net goal.

North Dakota badly out played BU in the third period. In addition to NoDak hitting two posts, both teams had a disputed goal. Neither counted. ND's was in the second stanza and that would have up them up 3-1. BU's came with about five minutes left in the game that would have tied the game at 3. UND definitely had a case for their's. The puck was clearly loose, but the whistle did blow.

---> Tonight will be a bloodbath, as it was pretty clear that these two teams don't really like each other.

---> Matt O'Connor will get the start in the BU net tonight.

The Siouxper Series

Finally, it is here, a weekend series that I have been looking forward to since I found out about it back in July. BU will travel to North Dakota (undoubtably, my second favorite team) and take on the no longer politically correct North Dakota (I'm still calling them) Sioux starting tomorrow at 8:30 on NESN.

For a while now, I have been following the Sioux pretty closely. I try to watch as many games as I can, as my TV for some strange reason, picks up the broadcasts from the Sioux Sports Network. Last year, I was really hoping BU and NoDak would meet in the NCAA tournament in the West Regional Final,  but it was not to be, as Minnesota beat BU in the first round and then went on to take out the Sioux in round two. I have only seen North Dakota play a handful of games in person, two of which were out in St Paul last March. The other was the 2009 Icebreaker Invitational at BU.

Unfortunately, that is where the list will stay because I can't make it to Grand Forks this weekend. There were several attempts to go on a "college visit" but that was quickly shot down. I guess the Ralph will have to stay on the Hockey Bucket-list for another day.

As far as I know, this will be BU's first trip to the new Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Scouting the Sioux
So far this year, UND is 2-1-1, playing only the Alaska schools through the first two weeks of the season. NoDak blanked Alaska-Anchorage 5-0 in the opening round of the Alaska Goal Rush Tournament. The following night, tournament host Alaska-Fairbainks, dropped the Sioux 2-1 in the finals. Last weekend, North Dakota took three points from Anchorage at home. A 4-1 win lead to a team that looked almost bored tying 3-3 the following night.

Currently, Rocco Grimaldi, who if I'm not mistaken is a red-shirt freshman after he missed almost all of last year with a lower body injury, leads the Sioux with two goals and two assists through four games. Senior Danny Kristo, who is a serious stud up front, has four assists already. Derek Forbort (who's hockey stick I use in games) and Andrew MacWilliam are undoubtably the team's best two defenseman. MacWilliam is one the team's Assistant Captains despite being suspended for the first game of the year for a drinking incident. MacWilliam has two points in the three games he has played. Forbort is more of an offensive defenseman, scoring two goals last weekend.

Other players to watch include Mark MacMillan, Corban Knight, Carter Rowney, Stephane Pattyn, Joe Gleason and Colton St. Clair. In goal, like BU, the Sioux will likely start two goalies. According to some goon, Clark Saunders, former University of Alabama Huntsville goalie will get the start Friday night. Saunders has played three games, posting a .940 save percentage with five goals allowed and a goals against at 1.64. Freshman Zane Gothberg, a Bruins draft pick, has played one game with a .994 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against.

The Last Time They Met...
was in the 2009 Icebreaker Invitational. BU won convincingly 5-1. Nick Bonino had a three point game, posting two goals and an assist. Brad "Miller Time" scored the lone goal for UND.

Video Preview From The North Dakota Side