Exhibition Game Recap: BU trounces St. Thomas 12-1, on to UMass

The BU Terriers destroyed St. Thomas in an exhibition game at Agganis Arena on Saturday. The preseason affair was the first chance for most Terrier fans to see the extremely talented 10 man freshman class that coach David Quinn and Co. have brought in for this season. It was also the first chance for many to see Ahti Oksanen as a left wing but he certainly did not disappoint as he potted 4 goals past Tyson Teichmann in the first 25 minutes of the game. All four goals were setup by freshman stud Jack Eichel who made the game look easy against the outmatched St. Thomas Tommies. Freshman Nicholas Olsson, Chase Phelps, AJ Greer and John Macleod also added goals for the Terriers throughout the rout. Returnees Kevin Duane, Nick Roberto, Robbie "Carrots" Baillargeon, and Dillon Lawrence also added goals to complete the 12-1 route.



The outcome of the game was obviously less important than how the team looked throughout the contest. 4-5 goals would not have gone in against a D-1 goalie especially some of the goals that went in after Techmann appeared to suffer a concussion but remained in the EXHIBITION game for reasons only Canadians may understand. The most encouraging part of the game was the absolute control of the game with puck possession and forward play. BU seemed to be on a powerplay the entire game whether they were on the PP, even strength or short handed.  Coach Quinn seems intent on keeping that Oksanen-Eichel-Rodrigues line together for UMass on Friday so that will certainly be fun to watch,

The young dmen made some questionable plays in their own zone which would be the biggest concern going into the regular season opener this Friday at UMass but some of those plays can be chalked up to nerves during this first collegiate hockey game. I thought overall all four freshmen dmen looked pretty good out there  as they are all very talented and can make plays to start the transition game. The bigger concern would be the health of Danny O'Regan, Matt Lane,Doyle Somerby and TJ Ryan. None of them played Saturday and Quinn described the team's health as "A bit banged up" in the press conference after the game.

Friday is a big game for momentum to start the season against another young team in UMass in a place that is tough to win at in the Mullins Center. With that said, I'm going with a BU 5-2 win