It looks like somebody finally told the Terriers that it's ok to win games by more than one goal. BU took care of UMass-Lowell tonight, a 5-1 victory at Tsongas Arena, paced by 2 shorthanded goals. The goals were scored by: Alex Chiasson (shorthanded), Chris Connolly, Corey Trivino, Charlie Coyle, and Sahir Gill (shorthanded). With the exception of Chiasson's tally, the other 4 goals were all scored in the 2nd period (including 2 in less than a minute). Two of the prettiest goals tonight were Chiasson's and Coyle's - both were 2 on 1 odd man rushes, both were products of pretty passes (Warsofsky on Chiasson's, Gill on Coyle's), and both featured absolute bullets past UML goalie Marc Boulanger. Perhaps one of the reasons for this prolific scoring output tonight is Parker's decision to move freshman Sahir Gill up to the first line, and junior Chris Connolly down to the 3rd line, as both finished the game with a goal and an assist. Goaltender Kieran Millan had another impressive start in net for the Terriers, standing on his head for a lot of the powerplays and taking a shutout deep into the third. BU successfully killed off all 5 penalties they committed tonight, making them 28 for their last 29 in penalty kills.
Some thoughts from the game...
Having never been to Tsongas Arena before tonight, I have to say I was impressed with how nice it is. New jumbotron, new seats, and a really nice indoor patio/bar area in one of the corners. However, the metal posts which held the boards together were ridiculously annoying and made it difficult to see some of the action clearly. Oh, and they had a mini sized remote control blimp that flew around in between periods (Quack Quack's favorite)...
Adam Clendening is Kevin Shattenkirk reincarnated. Same style of play, same passes, same "let's take the puck across my own crease" mentality. It's ridiculous how similarly they play.
Freshman Garrett Noonan was arguably BU's second best defender on the ice tonight (behind Warso, obviously). Just seems to be playing a simple style of defense, nothing flashy, nothing that'll get him on ESPN, just good solid D. I have to say that for all the press our freshman forwards get, Noonan is playing just as solid defensively as they are offensively. Plus, he acknowledged QuackQuack and I on his way into the penalty box. That's whats up bro.
Charlie Coyle is the real deal. Good lord can this kid play. Gill makes a lot of highlight reel moves, but Coyle is easily one of our best forwards (if not the best). He skates hard, passes incredibly well, isn't afraid to nail guys, and can score from almost anywhere. There's a reason he went in the first round of the NHL draft, and he's proving it game in and game out.
Alex Chiasson showed tonight that he doesn't mind taking over the role of enforcer on this year's team. He's certainly a big kid (6'4", 200 lbs) and was awful quick to jump in and defend Matt Nieto tonight. Nieto got knocked down behind the play and then punched, and as the whistle blew Chiasson flew at Nieto's attacker and honestly looked ready to drop the gloves. Wouldn't have been smart, but you have to like the fire.
Kieran Millan looks to have regained the form that he was missing last year. He continues to keep the Terriers in games every time he steps between the posts, and he definitely picks up the defensive slack on the penalty kill. If he can keep this up, he might carry the Terriers into the postseason.
Joey Pereira seems to have hit a little bit of an offensive cold streak these past few games. After starting off hot in the Ice Breaker, he's been slowing down. I wouldn't worry, cause Pereira seems to be a driven guy, I just hope he turns it around soon.
Also, the BU women's team tied PC tonight 2-2 down in Providence. Junior Jenn Wakefield scored both goals for the Terriers.
That's all for tonight. When the press conferences get posted I'll deliver them to you.
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