A Freshman's Guide To Dog Pound Chants

It's finally here, Terriers. The second installment of the burgeoning Dog Pound Hockey for Dummies series, all about Dog Pound chants. A rundown of the best ways to use the air in your lungs for the betterment of BU hockey, whether by supporting our Terriers or heckling the opposition. Let's get to it.

This first section will focus on all the miscellaneous chants you'll see and hear during games at Agganis. This is not comprehensive - there are chants in the original post that I didn't bother to recopy here. 

Dog Pound Hockey for Dummies

[second installment here: Dog Pound Chants] FAQ: What is the Dog Pound?
We are The Dog Pound. Founded in 1972, we are a group of rabid and passionate fans who support BU's athletic teams.

What does the Dog Pound do?
We show up in droves at Agganis Arena, Case Gym, Nickerson Field, Walter Brown Arena, and anywhere BU is competing, near or far.

What are the goals of the Dog Pound?
Our main objectives are to stand, be loud, go crazy, and have fun while supporting Terrier athletics.

How does the Dog Pound describe success?
2012 longtime BU Head Coach Jack Parker stated "I think they think they help us win, but I don’t think they know how much they help us win." In 2005, CBS College Sports recognized The Dog Pound as the best student section in all of college hockey. The players agree... AS DO OUR ENEMIES.

What are the most important things for the Dog Pound?
That the opposing team knows when they come to play BU, they will be hearing us the whole time.

What does it mean to be in the Dog Pound?
The only requirement for being a member of The Dog Pound is the willingness to show up at games, be loud, and passionately support our Terriers.

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BU hockey schedule officially released

The BU mens' hockey schedule was officially released by BU athletics today and is full of the usual quality Hockey East action and some great non-conference matchups. Non-conference games include matchups at North Dakota(x2), at Denver, St. Lawrence, RPI, and Harvard to go along with the Beanpot games on the first two Mondays in February. There also is no Holy Cross on the schedule which is always good with that high octane offensive attack they brought into Agganis last year...Ok but seriously should be a great season full of games and here is a look at the games I am circling as the Terriers prepare to go 43-0-0 en route to their 6th national title in program history.

Sat 10/13 @7pm - home and season opener against PC and their incoming goalie recruit Jon Gillies. It will be interesting to see what the Terriers youthful group of forwards can generate in Game 1.

Sat 10/20 7pm @UNH- I've never been up to Durham and want to make the trip for this game so therefore it is important enough to mention

11/2-11/3- @North Dakota- This would be a great road trip to be able to make(does North Dakota even have an airport?) and should be a great atmosphere out there if it is anything like St. Paul was in March.

Sunday 11/11 5pm vs. Newton University aka BC- Going to be an awesome afternoon with Pats/Bills playing at 1

Friday 11/30-Sat 12/1- The home and home with BC ends in early December once again which makes no sense except that they will most likely see each other on that second Monday in February once again

Sat 12/29 @Denver- Another nice roadie to do, if you have the funds hanging around and want to spend part of winter break and the holidays in the Mile High City and drink a lot of Coors

Mon 2/4, 2/11- Beanpot Mondays. Not much needs to be said here #becauseitsthepot. It's funny because you could say the same thing on 4/20

Fri-Sat 2/15-2/16 @Maine- What better way to spend Valentine's Day weekend than to go to Maine where all the locals will bring their dates/sisters/mothers/grandmothers to Alfond?

3/8-3/9 NU home and home- There is always something relying on these games so I'll let NU feel relevant for a few minutes anyway.

That's all I got for now until the official incoming recruit class is announced. I believe they still have Clendening's scholarship to fill which could be the hold up. Keep enjoying your summers people.

BU banned from AE conference tournaments, NiCastro signs with Detroit

We typically only blog about hockey here at BSRS but, there was some major athletic news this past week affecting the majority of the remaining athletic teams at BU. America East has decided to ban BU teams from post-season conference tournaments this coming year as a result of BU choosing to leave the conference for the 2013-2014 season. BU has belonged to the conference since it was founded in 1979 so this coming season will be BU's 33rd in the conference and yet, the conference members have enacted some by-law that allows to ban BU from conference tournaments which destroys many teams chance of making the NCAA tournament. This is the same school that has won 12(or some other large number) straight Commissioner's Cups, which is awarded to the best athletic program in the conference based on a points system in each sport. This is also the first time in America East history that a school leaving the conference has been banned from conference tournament play due to the school's departure. This seems to be a reaction to the CAA putting similar bans on Georgia State and Old Dominion for leaving their conference. 12 other programs have  left America East since its founding in 1979. More than half of those were after less than 15 years in the conference. None of those schools were banned from conference tournaments. Northeastern left for the CAA as recent as 2005 and were not dealt with in such a manner. BU will be leaving for a league , in the Patriot League, where they belong and are an overall better fit. BU will be with other private schools with similar academic programs and standards. What was BU athletics gaining by dominating America East in most sports year after year? If anything, this gives other schools a chance to gain NCAA tournament bids and allows BU to continue to develop as an athletic program. Banning BU for this season benefits no one. America East just gets to feel good about itself. The ruling to ban BU and punish the athletes for an administrative decision is ridiculous and just flat out wrong. It seems like other schools are just bitter that BU beat up on them for the past 33 years. Get over yourselves and let the kids play.  You can support the group started by BU fans on facebook by liking this page or just continually tweet at America East like we are.

In other news, former BU Terrier hockey player Max NiCastro has signed with the Detroit Red Wings, who drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft. NiCastro had sexual assault charges dropped against him earlier this month and seems to be getting his life back in order. He will be assigned to their AHL Grand Rapids team and I would expect him to see regular ice time there as he certainly has the physical tools to play in the NHL someday if he can continue to develop and stay healthy. We wish Max all the best in his professional career and hope to see big things out of him.

Guest Post #6

So we suck and haven't gotten around to posting this last guest post(for now) until now so sorry about that. Feel free to continue to submit guest posts and we will keep posting them because they are more popular than our own posts anyway. Here is your post from "Mrs. Hartnell"

Welp, here it is; my attempt at providing a recap of the season. I thought it would be neat to try to summarize this season in one word (that’s what sporty people do, right?). After about 5 minutes of zoning out in math lecture the other day, I’ve decided to name the 2011-2012 men’s ice hockey season…(drumroll please)…The “Really” Season. Weird, I know, but hear me out.

Disclaimer: I don’t know jack about hockey. Really. I pretend like I know what I’m talking about, and sometimes I can pull it off, but seriously. Don’t even try to make sense of my hockey “knowledge.” I just know what uniforms I like/don’t like and who has the best looking team (cough cough Boston University cough cough).

Really number 1: Really!

Really 1.1: “How excited are you for hockey to start again?” “Really!”

This one’s pretty much a given. As soon as one hockey season ends I start looking forward to the next one, doesn’t everybody? I had always been a bit of a fan of hockey while I was growing up (Go Flyers! Yeah, judge away…), but I really became a fan/fanatic/freak/whatever when I came to BU. I still remember sitting at home, flipping through the channels on tv and stumbling upon the National Championship game. I had just submitted my deposit to BU and thought, “Hey, that’s where I’m going to school – might as well watch.” Well damn, I was hooked a few minutes in. I knew I would be coming into something bigger than not just myself, or a bunch of guys passing a puck around on some ice, but a team with an incredible history and culture.

But enough with me reminiscing about my innocent youth. Back to the season.

Really 1.2: “Your team really made it to the national tournament after not being in it for two years?” “Yeah, really!”

Ok, we all know it. The team hit a bit of a slump after the 2008-9 Championship year. As a junior, this year was the first year that I got to see the Terriers in the tourney. Yeah, blah blah blah the team actually played together this year. Yada yada yada we finally got our shit together. I just loved being able to go out to Saint Paul and root on my team.

Really number 2: Really?!

Things happened with people named Corey Trivino, Charlie Coyle, and Max Nicastro. Moving on.

Really number 3: Really.

Really 3.1: “Your team went through all of that drama and still made it to the national tournament?” “Yes. Really.”

So, I felt like a bit of a copout for brushing off this topic earlier, so I’m going back to it. You’re welcome.

Look, I’m not going to recap every single adversity that happened this season. We were all here. We all know it sucked. But you know what, it’s damn impressive that our team made it through that storm. If I may make a ridiculous analogy:

Our team was smoothly sailing down the Charles River when a wild wind picked up the boat and brought it to Shit Creek. With no paddles, the team just picked up some sticks and made their way home.

That makes sense, right? Right. In summary, this team proved that if life gives BU hockey some lemons, they turn right around at life and squeeze those damn lemons into its eyes. Yeah, take that, life.

But seriously, this year was a bit…weird, but I have never been more proud to be a BU fan. Let’s put the past behind us, and look forward to the new season. We have a great group of guys coming up next season (and some of them are pretty attractive, if I may add…) and I really hope that we can continue with this upward slope that we’re currently on.

Really 3.2: “Your fan section really did (insert ridiculous stunt here)?” “Really.”

If you even went to one game this season, you saw how much the Dog Pound really stepped their game up. Yes, I’ve always thought that they were great, butt seriously. Did you see them this year? They were creative, funny, and incredibly passionate fans that made their presence known at just about every single game of the season (if not EVERY game). I had the pleasure to go along with them to games at Lowell, Harvard, Northeastern, BC, and even Minnesota. Just like the team, they did not give up in difficult situations, and they just let the flack that they may have gotten from opposing fans just roll off their shoulders (well, maybe not). What really impressed me about The Dog Pound this year was that they never stooped to the level of opposing fans to make low blows about scandals opposing teams may have faced. That’s incredibly honorable. And although he is way too shy to take the credit he deserves for making this year the best The Dog Pound has ever seen, I really hope that Will stays in the memories of all students who were active fans during his time at BU (sorry for the embarrassment, Will, but it had to be done).

So, recap of the recap: The team did well and made it through a bunch of shit. The fan section was fabulous. Can’t wait for next season.

Guest Post #4

So we apologize for being late on posting our last two guest posts but we have been busy ignoring the existence of college hockey and anything that happened this past weekend. With that being said, we would like to send out a sincere and heartfelt fuck you to Boston College and anyone associated with the school. Back to business, we have Trout Slayer talking about some roadies from a fan's persepective and the team's ability to pick up ponies at will on the road this past season. We have one more guest post for you sometime this week and at some point, we will assign grades to the team in our usual biased fashion. Should be a good time. Without any further delay, here is the one and only Trout Slayer.

Guest Post #1

Guest Post #2

Guest Post #3

No Place Like the Road

When I think back about the year, the one thing that stands out is the amazing road trips I’ve been on. This team played incredible hockey outside of Boston this season, going 11-4-1 on the road, outscoring opponents by 24 goals. To go along with the great play on the ice were some of my favorite adventures and experiences off the ice. This year’s road fan support was incredible, with 200+ fans making it out to Newton, and 315 bringing life to Matthews Arena.

1.BC

The crowd for both games was incredible, but especially surprising for the 1^st. The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant, with a great t-storm on the way there and even better on the way back. On the ice, Milner looked lost in net for Newton and BU capitalized on its scoring chances well. The second away game also saw freshmen Yasin Cissé and Cason Hohmann tally their first goals. There is no doubting that the atmosphere at these games was one of the best I have ever seen, no thanks to those fickle superfans. Seeing Conte empty out midway through the 3^rd not once, but twice in one season is the definite highlight of the year.

2. NCAA Tournament in St. Paul

The Terriers didn’t play their best game and were taken out by a hot Minnesota team. Attending the game was still a great experience. Getting chirped at by some bro in a “Flag Guy” Jersey, enjoying the overalls of Minnesota, and standing with the band did not make the loss any less painful, but I won’t forget it any time soon. Eating in the diner where Coach Bombay walked was just one of many gems away from the rink. This weekend re-assured me that I’m crazy, but I’m enjoying the ride.

3.Harvard

On the heels of a comeback victory at Northeastern the night before the Terriers came out flat and needed a 2 goal rally in the 3^rd to force OT. Chris Connolly potted his first two goals of the season and played a crucial role in the overtime winner. The fans were right on top of the BU bench, and it was certainly an interesting atmosphere without a home student section to yell at. The energy during the comeback was palpable and the fifty or so fans that came back from break early exploded with the Noonan winner.

4.Vermont

This is just personal bias, since nothing really matches a good “We have mountains” chant thrown in your face. Rollie shut out the Catamounts in the first game where the Terriers played a pretty complete game of hockey. Courtnall even had a slick backhand move to beat Madore. Meanwhile even Escobedo found his sights and put two in the Vermont net. The second game the Terriers came out a little careless in their own zone but a late typically greasy Wade Megan goal knotted it up with the extra attacker. Alexx Privitera, coming off a broken wrist and clearly in pain during the game stepped up in overtime to provide the game winning goal and bring home the ponies.

5. Merrimack

This tilt had major implications for the Hockey East standings, and saw Merrimack being led out onto the ice by a student/possible mascot in a Spongebob costume. Fortunately, Merrimack’s Hobey hopeful Cannata was more porous and leaked 4 goals to the Terriers. The BOD, Matt Ronan, saw the ice as team was down to 5 healthy regular blueliners.

Oh, but according to one woman with 7 teeth, “Nobody Caaahs”.

I’ve heard plenty of explanations for the Terrier’s great road record. Maybe it was the team’s heart, concentration, or whatever else you want to say. No matter what the reason, once they got on the highway there was no stopping the Pony Express.

-Trout Slayer