BU Men's Hockey Season Recap

I know the season has been over for like two weeks now, but up until now I just hadn't had the desire to write about hockey season.  It always pisses me off when our season ends early, and I felt I probably needed to wait a little while before I wrote this to avoid ranting the whole time. This isn't going to be comprehensive, considering I'm forgetful and will leave stuff out by accident for sure...

Overview
The 2010-2011 Terriers were, for lack of a better metaphor, a roller coaster ride.  College hockey's version of Space Mountain, if you will.  They started with a title right off the bat, defeating Wisconsin and then Notre Dame to claim the 2010 Ice Breaker Invitational.  They then either won or tied their next 8 games - 4 wins, 4 ties, to put them at 6-0-4 on the year.  Because of this run, the Terriers jumped to #1 in the country for exactly one week.  It would only go downhill from here...

They then proceeded to win just 2 of their next 9 games, a stretch that included losses to UNH, BC(2), RPI and Brown, as well as ties to Brown and Notre Dame.  That left the Terriers with a record of 8-5-4 heading into the second semester, and a knowledge that if this Terrier squad was going to make any noise coming down they stretch they needed some points - and fast.  The Terriers got the boost they were looking for by going 5-2-1 to start the second half, beating UNH, UVM, Harvard, Maine and Lowell while losing to BC and Merrimack (and tying Maine).

If the hot start to the season was supposed to be good news for the 2011 Beanpot, it wasn't.  BU lost a dramatic overtime game to BC in the opening round, and then compounded that by losing to perennial Beanpot bottom dweller Harvard in the consolation game.  With only 6 regular season games remaining for BU (they beat Amherst in between the two Beanpot games), it seemed as if our hopes for a Hockey East playoff run had diminished with the demoralizing Beanpot losses to BC and Harvard...

But as this season often went, the Terriers did the exact opposite of what you expected.  In their last 6 games, they lost only one (to Northeastern on senior night) and posted a 4-1-1 record to close out the year.  That put them at 18-10-8 on the season (15-6-6 in HE) and 3rd place in the division, earning a matchup with #6 seeded Northeastern in the Hockey East playoffs.  If the Terriers wanted to advance to the NCAAs, they need to reach at least the semifinals of HE, meaning defeating N'Eastern in a best 2 out of 3 matchup at Agganis.

But as they tended to do, the Terriers dropped 2 at home against Northeastern, and not even a last minute scramble in game 3 would do BU any good - the season was done, it was time to golf.

(Lack of) Power Play
If there was one consistent problem that plagued the Terriers throughout the season, it was goal scoring - especially on the power play.  BU's power play finished the year operating at 14.9%, one of the lowest rates in the country.  Essentially, BU would convert every 7th powerplay, meaning many nights going 0-5 and 0-6 with the man advantage.  This lack of success on the powerplay often times cost the
Terriers games and cost them momentum as well.  If a team knew that they could maintain ground in the game even while committing penalty after penalty, it made it easier for them to play physically and not worry about the consequences.  Plus, it just sucks to suck on the powerplay.

Closing Time
One of the more impressive statistics from this season was BU's situational records when leading after the first or second period.  When leading after the first period, BU was 10-2-3, and when leading after the second period, BU was 13-1-4.  In conference, BU didn't lose a single game when leading after the second period.  Although this would seem to be what you would expect out of a team, it's still a testament to their work ethic and ability that once they gained a lead, they rarely choked it away.

Fresh Meat
Another positive that fans can take away from this past season is the emergence of the freshman class.  Charlie Coyle, Matt Nieto, Adam Clendening, Garrett Noonan and Sahir Gill all logged serious ice time for the Terriers.  Coyle, Nieto, Gill and Clendening all registered in the top-ten in Hockey East freshman scoring, with Coyle winning Hockey East rookie of the year awards for his efforts.  They all should be back next year, and if you're a BU fan you have to like that.

Kierantime?
I was trying to rip off "Jimmertime" but it just doesn't work as well with Kieran. Whatever. Point is that Kieran Millan was a force in the net this season, compiling numbers far better than last year with a much younger defense.  While Kieran's numbers weren't always otherworldly, he always turned in his best effort night in and night out.  He was capable of making the highlight save as well as the routine one, and if there was one thing that I worried about the least game in and game out it was the performance of Kieran Millan.  As long as BC wasn't warming up at the other end of the ice, I knew we were fine.  He was truly this year's MVP; this team would have been up a river without a paddle without him this season.  If the only loss that this year's defensive corps has is Warsofsky, expect to see Millan's numbers get even better next year with a more experienced group in front of him.

All Aboard the Departure Train!

Now I know how everybody else felt when BU was bleeding players left and right last season.  The early post-season has been filled with early departures from various HE schools, so I figured I'd get you guys up to date on a few of them...

Dave Warsofksy (Bruins) - Ok, so BU did lose one player early so far.  The junior defenseman jumped ship after his junior season to sign with the hometown club - only to be immediately sent to to Providence with old buddy Colby Cohen. Good luck with that one, Dave.

Cam Atkinson (Blue Jackets) - A 6th round pick of the Jackets, Atkinson lit it up with BC for all 3 years he spent there.  This past season he potted 31 goals, good for the second in the country behind North Dakota's Matt Frattin (who tallied 36).

Jimmy Hayes (Blackhawks) - Another BC guy, albeit a slightly less productive one than Cam. The elder Hayes was a second round pick of the Maple Leafs who had his rights traded to Chicago before the 2010 draft.  He finished second on the Eagles in goal scoring this season, and third in total points.

Gustav Nyquist (Red Wings) - This one came as a surprise to just about nobody.  Nyquist was a 4th rounder who blossomed at Maine, scoring 61 points last year and 51 this year.  Although he didn't quite live up to the hype of his sophomore season, he was still a phenomenal player this past season for the Black Bears.

Others who could leave...

Stephane DaCosta (undrafted) - The sophomore phenom from Merrimack and HE's resident socialist flew to Toronto today to discuss his NHL future with his agents. Exactly nobody would be surprised if he signed and was gone sometime later this week, but as of now nothing is official.

Chris Rawlings (undrafted) - Sophomore goalie from Northeastern could jump, but I don't have anything official on that.

Chris Kreider (Rangers) - Another sophomore who could jump, but my guess is that he sticks around for at least his junior season.

Men's Hockey End of the Season Awards

With the frozen four looming and Terrier fans sitting at home cursing the TV every time ESPNU shows highlights of BC's NCAA title run last season, I figured this was as good a time as any to reveal my choices for some end of season awards. I did this at the end of last season as well, and it was relatively fun - mostly because I can just make stuff up and not do any research.

Team MVP (last year's winner - Eric Gryba)
This one is relatively easy - Kieran Millan.  While Kieran did not have the most outstanding season numbers-wise, his role on the team was of the utmost importance and without him, BU would not have won nearly as many games this season. On the year, he totaled 1085 saves on 1180 shots, rendering a save percentage of .919 (up from .891 last season) and a goals against average of 2.68 (improving from 3.15 last season).  What makes this increase in performance even more impressive is that he did it with a relatively young defense in front of him - two freshman, one redshirt sophomore, two actual sophomores and a junior.  Only Dave Warsofksy, the junior, was left from Kieran's outstanding freshman year in 2008-2009. Kieran is expected to be back for his senior season next year, a good sign for a young Terrier team who will need steady, veteran goaltending.

7th Man Award (a.k.a. Unsung Hero) (last year's winner - Zach Cohen)
Another easy one for me to pick - Joe Pereira.  Senior co-captain Joey P played his heart out throughout his senior season and saw an upturn in production as a result.  After scoring only 5 goals last season, Pereira popped in 15 during the '10-'11 campaign to go along with 6 assists.  While he was certainly never the most skilled guy on the ice, he made up for it by being the hardest working guy on the ice every time he left the bench.  We were at the BSRSB always have liked "Bulldog" as he was known, and wish him the best where ever he happens to end up.

Rookie of the Year (last year's winner - Alex Chiasson)
This one is a little tougher, and as such I'm splitting the award between two guys - Charlie Coyle and Adam Clendening.  Coyle was probably the higher touted of the two coming into this season, after being picked in the first round of the NHL draft by the San Jose Sharks.  He backed up the hype by tallying 26 points on the year on 7 goals and 19 assists. Clendening tallied the same number of points as Coyle, potting 5 goals and adding 21 assists.  Coyle had the better first half of the two players, while Clendening finished the season strong.  Both will be looked upon next season for points and leadership as this young Terrier team will look to grow into a contender.

Best Offensively (last year's winner - Nick Bonino)
The award for most points goes to everybody's favorite french canadian - Alex Chiasson.  The sophomore added 15 points from his freshman year total of 19 to give him 34 points on the year (14g, 20a).  While he wasn't a dominant offensive force out there all the time, he certainly was our biggest threat to score every time he was on the ice. If he can add another 15 points on next season, I think we can start talking Hobey for our good buddy Chaser.

Best Defensively (last year's winner - Eric Gryba)
Although this award is significantly harder to measure than some of the other awards, I think the rest of the guys here will agree when I give this one to freshman Garrett Noonan.  Noonan was one of the biggest surprises for me this season.  He was signed late in the recruiting process shortly after Colby Cohen left early to sign, and was sort of lost in the shuffle among A-list recruits like Coyle, Clendening, and Nieto.  But Noonan let his impact be felt early, playing a very simple defensive game and not taking too many chances by jumping into the offense when he shouldn't.  He isn't afraid to take the body and certainly isn't afraid of a jawing before and after the whistle.  The one knock against Noonan is that he tends to take dumb penalties sometimes, but I think that is something that will change as he progresses here at BU.

That's all the awards I have for you for now.  I'll be doing a recap of my thoughts on the Terriers season in the next couple of days, so be on the lookout for that.

Another one bites the dust..

Merrihack's magical run ended last night up in Manchester,NH on 3 of the luckiest goals I have seen in a college hockey game...I love it! That one is gonna burn huh Dennehy?Merrihack goes down 4-3 to Notre Dame in OT. If you actually want to read about the game and how sad it is that their season is over click here. Now that UNH is the only HE team left it pretty certain that this year will end the 3 straight NC's coming from Hockey East. Unless Umile fires up the troops and somehow finds a way to beat Notre Dame today then Minnesota-Duluth in Minnesota and then the winner of a Denver/North Dakota and Michigan matchup....so yeah the run is over. Sorry to those who actually want other conference teams to do well. I personally love watching them lose. Sorry I'm not sorry at all. Bye bye Merrihack

It feels good to be right all the time... BC loses

Like I said BC didn't stand a chance against Colorado College as they mad Muse look silly and Jerry York spit out his decaf coffee everywhere. Nothing more enjoyable than watching BC's season end in an 8-4 route.  Well if it was at the hands of BU it would be better but hey you can't win them all. Now we just gotta hope Merrihack loses this weekend and wait for UNH to lose 19-0 to Miami later tonight. It just felt so good to watch the seconds tick off and watch the pain in the BC players faces. Does that make me an asshole? Probably but I don't really give a damn.

Go Colorado College!

Tonight at 9:00 I will be the biggest Colorado College fan out there as they take on Newton College in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game will be played in St.Louis in the West Regional and will be on ESPNU live. The games start at 3 today with Union/Minnesota Duluth at 3 and with games live on ESPNU at 3,5:30, 6:30, and 9. One of those game will not be on ESPNU and syndicated on a local network instead. This is the 5:30 Michigan/UNO game which will be live on ESPN3.com and a local network for those teams playing. Anyway, enjoy the hockey and go Tigers! Fuck BC!



Muse doesn't have a chance against that shit.

Terrier captain Pereira signs ATO...Warso on his way to Providence

BU terriers captain Joe "Bulldog" Pereira has signed an ATO with the Worcester Sharks,the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. Pereira told the Boston Hockey blog he was unsure about how long he would be out in Worcester on his amateur tryout contract. Pereira joins former Terriers Sean Sullivan and 09 co-captain John McCarthy on Worcester's squad. Pereira earned this tryout with all of his hard work for the program here at BU for four year. All of the students here at BU wish Joe the best in his career and know he is going to be on the top line for San Jose in no time with McCarthy as the center and Charlie Coyle on the other wing. That line will be a force to reckon with for years to come and be holding up a cup someday...



How can you not root for Joe? just going to work with his shovel each day..

Back from my dreams though...Dave Warsofsky is signing with the Bruins and forgoing his final year of eligibility according to multiple sources throughout the BU campus and hockey world. This is not official yet but should be either tomorrow or Friday. We all wish Warso the best moving forward as he plays for the hometown team in the NHL.


Warsofsky's signing opens up another can of worms with fans sure to start the speculation on other BU players. To get my opinion on this go to my article I wrote awhile back here that sums up the situation of each player pretty well. To sum it up, I think the only other Terrier leaving is sophomore RW Alex Chiasson but you will hear Kieran Millan and Charlie Coyle's names thrown around but Coyle was in class today so everyone can just chill. Any other guy leaving would just be a result of the Brian Strait fallout. He left because he was a junior and the current NHL CBA sucks if a guy stays all four years. This seems to not hold true for goalies which is why Millan stays because he can play here and he is the third rated goalie prospect for the Avalanche.

Coyle Nabs HE Rookie of Year

BU's own Charlie Coyle was named the Hockey East rookie of the year at the annual league awards dinner on Thursday night. A day earlier, Coyle and teammate Adam Clendening landed all-freshman team honors for their outstanding play in conference.

The two other major awards given out on Thursday were Player of the Year (given to UNH senior forward Paul Thompson) and Coach of the Year (given to BC's Jerry York). Personally, I'm just glad that Merrimack's Dennehy didn't get COY. That guy couldn't be a bigger jerk if he tried.

Coyle, who led Hockey East rookies in conference scoring, tallied 21 points (6g, 15a) in 27 conference games, while gathering 26 points (7g, 19a) in 37 total games.

To read the full release, check out Hockey East's official press release.

Rock Chalk Terriers: Southwest Region Bracket Breakdown

Tulsa here we come! If you haven't heard, our BU Terriers men's basketball team was awarded a 16 seed and a shot at the Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 6:50. SO I'll start the week by breaking down the Terriers' region, the Southwest, and move along as the week goes on. (Word to the wise: this doesn't necessarily represent my actual bracket BS(R)SBers whop are in our bracket pool)

Who's gonna win?:

• Notre Dame--after 12 games against the top 25 and a 7-5 record in those games, Notre Dame has proven themselves this year. Kansas has only played 5 against top teams, with a 3-2 record.

Other Contenders:

• Kansas: Coming in 32-2 with your worst loss against a tournament 5 seed is still a pretty decent pedigree. This is a team that's been deep in the tourney many times and knows how to get there.
• Purdue: Even without Robbie Hummel this team has still found a way to win this year. If they could beat OSU, they have the potential to go as far as the Final Four

Deeper Darkhorse:

• Georgetown: If Chris Wright is really better, this is a team that could beat almost any team in the region. Certainly they would not be a surprise to make it to the Elite Eight.

Upset Special:

• Richmond: Don't sleep on these guys. They are a very good 27-7 team from the A-10. If they get past Vandy, they certainly are capable of beating UL and providing a stiff challenge to Kansas in the Sweet 16.

BU season over after loss to NU

This recap is going to turn into a rant real quick...so I warned you ahead of time.
Ok actually fuck the recap. If you want to read about stats and such about the loss go to Boston Hockey Blog here.

My opinion on this game was that Northeastern once again got bounces and made plays when they needed to. They led from the first goal on and frustrated BU at times. I think overall the game was evenly played but BU just couldn't find the back of the net in the third and were forcing things which lead to the NU goals to make it 3-1, 4-2 and the empty netter to make it 5-2 before BU grabbed two late ones to make the knife go a little deeper through my heart losing by one. I love the hustle throughout the end of the game. There were no cheap shots by our guys at the end of the game despite the constant diving by Northeastern. All game long Silva, Macleod, and McNeely were flopping onto the ice and acting like they got shot anytime they were hit. This is just a cheap way to play hockey. You don't beat teams by flopping like a bunch of little bitches. Man up and play the damn game. The NU players were doing this all weekend and of course Benedetto ate that shit up tonight. Probably learned it from their cheating coach Cronin.

Now at the end of the game, Adam Clendening bumped a guy right as the horn sounded. Once again, the guy flops down to the ice and the usual post-game antics fell into place. A referee escorted Clendening to the back of the BU line when NU coach Cronin grabbed his arm, leading to Clendening yelling at Cronin forcing them both to be restrained again. NU players were then asked to leave the ice as they were more interested in taunting the BU players then going through a hand shake line like normal teams. Parker and Cronin has words before hugging while Parker had some choice words for the refs after their poor performance. NU fans were classy and creative as always and sang "Hey baby" like the fucking little bitches that they are. They had no good chants all weekend which is besides the point. They said "I believe that we will win" once they were up 5-2. Well I hope you believe you won't blow that lead even though you almost did you fucks. I'll see you all in hell. Have fun getting wrecked next weekend by the alter boys. NU is a dirty and classless team, proven when they taunted BU as they prepared to shake hands.
Time to root against everyone else in HE(except maybe UNH jk Umile is a dick)
GO BU hoops am i right? Kansas doesn't stand a chance.

Stay tuned for more on the game and the off-season starting now. As always Go BU!

BU Terriers face Northeastern in decisive game 3 of HE QF

Our Boston University Terriers take the ice tonight in the decisive game 3 of the Hockey East QF series with Northeastern Huskies. Northeastern took game 1 by a 4-2 score and BU took game 2 by a 5-2 margin. Tonight's game 3 is the only game 3 of the HE QF series as BC, Merrihack, and UNH all swept the road teams to punch their ticket for the semis at the Garden next weekend. Tonight's game should be another great one between these two as it will be the fifth game in the last two weekends and the sides having split the first four meetings. Kieran Millan will get the start for BU while NU is still to announce a goalie for the game tonight. Regular starter Chris Rawlings tends to choke in big games(7 goals allowed in the Beanpot Final) and gave up 3 goals on six shots in game 2 before freshman Clay Witt relieved him. Witt was in goal for NU's win last Saturday at the Greek and has had more success but I don't believe Cronin has the balls to to start him tonight with the season riding on this. Should be a great battle and stay tuned for postgame.

P.S. according to someone on Wikipedia, NU already won 4-3 so I guess BU shouldn't even both playing tonight right? Or hopefully they read this and come out for the kill for all sixty minutes. Let's go BU!

Rock Chalk Terriers: Rock Chalk Tourney Time!

Shall I just say the atmosphere at Agganis was abslutely amazing. Like hockey vs. BC amazing. When Holland went off in the second, the joint was absolutely jumping. And in the end, Holland put the team on his back to lead the Terriers to a (literally) last-second victory by a score of 56-54 over the Stony Brook What's-a-Seawolves.

For the Terriers to be only down by 7 after a dreadful 5-for-25 first half performance from the field (0% from 3-point land), I was pretty sure that as soon as Holland and Partin shot themselves out of their slump, they were capable of carrying the team to the final. After the SBU lead was stretched to 15 I was somewhat more worried, but it was at about that point that BU really took off with Holland's lead. He scored 23 of the team's 33 in the second, including 4 late free throws that put the Terriers ahead on drives to the lane. Down 6 with 3 minutes and change to go, the Terriers scored the last 8 points in the contest. Holland and the Terriers finally broke that impression that they cannot win the big game by winning the team's biggest game in years.

Next up will be the NCAAs, against an opponent to be determined by the selection committees and announced at 6 tonight (I'll try to blog b/w the selection and the hockey game). America Least compiled a list of possible seedings as predicted by various media outlets.

• ESPN.com: #16 vs. Pittsburgh (Cleveland, Ohio)
• CBSSportsline.com: #16 vs. Notre Dame (Chicago, Illinois)
• CNNSI.com: #15 vs. North Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina)
• Rivals.com (Yahoo.com): #15 vs. either Duke, San Diego State, UConn or North Carolina

Game Coverage Links:

Daily Free Press/Full Court Press

Game Slideshow

Chambers/Pikiell/Players Postgame Presser

Boston Globe

BU Does A Victory Dance

BU IS DANCING

John Holland put the team on his back dude. Insane victory for the BU men's basketball team, still cannot believe they came back and pulled that off. I'm sure feliz miguel will have a solid wrap up for us later today, but I had to post simply to get this picture up:

BU, NU Split First Two; Game 3 On Sunday

These dogs just don't want to make it easy on themselves.

Northeastern and Boston University have split the first two games of the Hockey East quarterfinals and will play the deciding game 3 Sunday night at Agganis Arena.  The Huskies of NU took the opening game of the series 4-2 on Thursday night, and BU evened the series up with a 5-2 win on Friday night.

On Thursday, Northeastern took advantage of some solid play in the last few minutes of the first period and the first few minutes of the second period to build an insurmountable 4-1 lead. The game was tied at 1-1 until the Huskies rattled off 3 goals from 1:55 left in the first 8:42 in the second to more or less put the Terriers away.  Ryan Ruikka scored his second goal of the season to bring the game to 4-2, but the Terriers couldn't take advantage of some powerplays on the stretch and the Huskies pulled out the win.

Friday night was a much different story.  After letting NU take a 1-0 lead only 3:25 into the first period, the Terriers scored 3 goals in under 7 minutes (Ruikka, Nieto, Gilroy) and never looked back.  The Huskies brought the game to 3-2 late in the second period on a Jamie Oleksiak tally, but two 3rd period goals by senior Joe Pereira (one being an empty netter) shut the door on Northeastern.

Game 3 will take place Sunday night at 7 pm to decide who heads to the Garden for the semifinals. I'll put up highlights and press conferences as they come, so check back for those.

THURSDAY NIGHT
HIGHLIGHTS





FRIDAY

I miss these days

In case you forgot what it was like to have a full student section... lets forget about tonight...hopefully see you all tomorrow at the game.

HE QF Preview

So here is a little Monday night preview of the Hockey East Conference Quarterfinals that begin this Thursday and continue through until Sunday night. I will include my predictions and do my best to give some unbiased analysis.

8 UMASS @ 1 BC (Fri, Sat, Sun)- UMASS dug out of a 3-0 deficit Saturday against Maine to sneak out PC for the last playoff spot by a point. They played BC tough twice two weekends ago and with a strong goaltender like senior Paul Dainton. BC is still simply too skilled for UMASS but I think UMASS finds a way to make it go 3.
Prediction- BC wins in 3 (4-0, 2-3,5-2)

7 UVM @ 2 UNH(Fri,Sat,Sun)- UNH is called the University of No Hardware for a reason...they choke in March year after year. This year's team has been no different but they do enough to get by UVM in 3 before getting killed at the Garden in the semis.
Prediction- UNH win in 3(4-3,3-4, 5-3)

6 NEU @ 3 BU(Thur,Fri,Sun)- This is a series sure to be filled with physical play and skirmishes after the whistle. BU freshman defenseman Garrett Noonan will be serving a suspension for the first game after receiving his third game misconduct against NU on Saturday. Coack Parker has said he will appeal the decision so it will be interesting to see if he or junior defenseman Dave Warsofsky will play(concussion). This series seems bound to go three as the teams always seem to play one goal games. This loss could force the Terrier to get to the final if not win the HE tournament to get into the NCAA tournament.
Prediction- BU wins in 3 ( 4-2, 2-3, 4-3).

5 Maine @ 4 Merrimack College(Fri,Sat,Sun)- This series should be filled with physical play as well as Merrihack will attempt to bait Maine into stupid penalties as they did when Maine swept them up at Alfond. Look for goon Kyle Bigos to be going full throttle and after Maine start Gustav Nyquist. This should be another interesting series...that Maine shocks the homecrowd with a win.
Prediction- Maine wins in 3( 7-3, 3-4, 5-2)

This would set up the following semifinal games

5 Maine vs 1 BC- A rematch of last year's HE tourny final should be a thrilled
3 BU vs 2 UNH- BU gets a team they matchup with well and is famous for choking so they have no excuses to no make it to the HE final for a fith matchup with BC in the final. More on this once it happens though.

Northeastern salvages a split...prepare for 2-3 more with BU next weekend

The Boston University Terriers dropped a 4-3 decision to the Northeastern Huskies last night at Agganis Arena. The Terriers held leads of both 1-0(on a Max NiCastro pp goal) and 2-1(on Chris Connolly's pp goal) but then proceeded to give up three straight goals to face a 4-2 deficit with five minutes left before KGilroy pulled the Terriers within one. BU could never scramble to grab the tying goal and lost watching themselves slip into #3 in HE and t16 in the Pairwise. With a win, the Terriers would face UVM in the HEA playoffs next weekend as opposed to 2-3 more with NU. Coach Parker descibed the team's play as casual and taking too many stupid penalties. The dumbest of which was Alex Chiasson's roughing penalty with six minutes to play. Chiasson could be seen getting chewed out by Parker while he was in the box. This was a poor effort by the Terries combined by poor officiating(who refused to call embellishment while NU players flopped all over the ice). Hopefully next weekends crew will take a better control of the game and not let it get to the chippness level it did both nights. Garrett Noonan is facing a one game suspension for his third game misconduct this season that Parker said he will appeal with the league office this week. None of this surprises me when I know how much referee John Gravalese hates BU with a passion. Here is Parker's presser below:



BU had stayed in third in conference thanks to a PC victory over Merrihack. BC also finished their sweep of UNH to grab their first regular season title since 2005. The HE quarters look like the following:
8 UMASS@ 1 BC
7 UVM @ 2 UNH
6 NEU @ 3 BU
5 Maine @ 4 Merrihack

Stay tuned for previews and predictions for the playoff hockey that awaits

Nieto, Terriers Sneak Past Huskies

Matt Nieto recorded 3 assists, Kieran Millan recorded 39 saves and the BU men's hockey team snuck by Northeastern last night 3-2 at Matthews Arena.  The two teams finish off their regular seasons at Agganis Arena tonight at 7 pm.

The Huskies outshot the Terriers 41-27, requiring BU netminder Kieran Millan to make a number of incredible, highlight reel worthy saves.  The Terriers picked up a goal in all three possible categories last night - even strength, powerplay and shorthanded. The first Terrier goal came off of the stick of Corey Trivino, who collected an Alex Chiasson rebound and snuck a wrap-around chance past Chris Rawlings.

The second goal came on the powerplay, as Max Nicastro ripped a bomb from the point that I'm pretty sure Rawlings never saw.  The shot rose glove side on Rawlings, and he never made a move with his glove, simply went down in the butterfly expecting a tip.  I'd have to see a replay to confirm, but I wouldn't be all the surprised if the puck went off a Northeastern players stick.

The game winner was arguable the prettiest goal of the night.  Sean Escobedo sprung Matt Nieto with a long pass, and Nieto drew Rawlings out before sliding the puck to Sahir Gill who tipped it past Rawlings.

After the final BU goal, Northeastern had numerous chances to put the puck home, but were unsuccessful. Their closest chance came with around 40 seconds left in the game, as Millan made an initial save before the puck slid slowly between his legs and came to rest no more than a foot from the goal line. Thankfully, a BU defender had the presence of mind to sweep in and kick the puck out before any damage could be done.

With the win and a UNH loss, the Terriers are now only two points behind UNH and could tie/pass them for second place with another win tonight and UNH loss. There are a number of scenarios that could play out tonight, which The Boston Hockey Blog has covered. The BHB will be live blogging tonight's game as well for those of you who cannot make it.

We'll be back tomorrow for a recap and breakdown of the Hockey East playoff picture. Until then, Go Terriers!

BSRS ON THE ROAD AGAIN TO NU

We the BSRS are on the road tonight to NORTHEASTERN where coaches text and call on the unlimited plan. We will have a full report on the series this weekend and the final Hockey East standings as well as player of the year, rookie of the year and coach of the year. As always GO BU!

PS- NU SUCKS

Who stays-who goes? What will the 2011-12 Terriers look like?

So I was browsing the Terrier Hockey Fan Blog today(look to your left for the link) and saw them mention that Alex Chiasson was recently rated the #3 prospect in the Dallas Stars' system so that got me to thinking(never a good thing I know)...Does he leave after this year? Chiasson would certainly be a front runner to be a captain of some sort on a team that has the talent and experience playing together to be very very good. You can ask this same question about alot of guys on this year's squad. So I am going to break down my opinion a little on each one and see where that takes us. Obviously this might change after we win National Championship#6 in April so give me some slack when Joey Pereira is holding up that trophy because this could change some guys' minds.

1. Alex Chiasson RW- As stated above, he is the #4 prospect of the Dallas starts according to hockeysfuture.com. He is the highest rated forward and wing out of the group so things don't look good for BU fans when you look at that. In the end of the day though, the choice is usually up to the player. They can "ride buses" in the AHL as Parker would say or spend another year in school in most cases. The thing with Chiasson is the Stars are only #8 in the conference and their youngest RW is 28 years old. This could be a perfect storm for Chiasson to leave and play in the NHL right away or sometime next year. The draw of playing in the NHL would be enough to lure him away from BU I think. Parker usually gives his guys honest opinions so I expect Chiasson to leave if the opportunity presents itself. Parker isn't going to beg the guy back- Jerry York style(Please Cam Atkinson don't go!).
Prediction- Chiasson leaves after two years at BU and plays in Dallas next year

2. Kieran Millan G- There was really no talk of Kieran leaving after his sophomore slump last year. After this season...different story as Millan has been lights out since the calender turned to 2011. He was recently named HE goalie of the month for Feb and has put this young Terriers team on his back at times(read Maine series). Jack Parker has said on numerous occasions how the team would have lost a game that they won if they didn't have Kieran in net. Millan is a fifth round draft choice so he has had to work his way up the ladder. He currently is the Colorado Avalanche's #12 prospect. This may be scary at first for Terrier fans but he has two goalies ahead of him on this list and he seems to be an all but lock to stay at BU for his senior season.
Prediction- Kieran comes back to win 3 titles in 4 years...ok maybe only 2.

3. Charlie Coyle C/RW- The Sharks first round pick from this year is the #3 overall prospect in the system but also the top non-goalie and only wing in the top 10. This is also known as if the Sharks need a wing this off-season and think he is ready, Coyle could be a one and done. I don't think this will be the case though because Coyle has had his ups and downs his freshman year and could benefit from a second year under the BU coaching/training staff. Look for him to go Colin Wilson style and stay one more year with a chance to win a NC.
Prediction- Coyle stays for one more year before going pro

4. Dave Warsofsky D- The junior defenseman is ranked #10 in the Bruins prospect class. Parker said at the beginning of the year that he expect "Warso" to leave at the end of the season. He also though he was going to be a Hobey Candidate so he may have changed his mind. Warsofsky has obviously had a down year for his standards but he is still a hell of a player. To be honest, I didn't think Shatty had a great year last year and he was in the NHL All-Star weekend so what do I know?
Prediction- Follows Shatty's technique and leaves for the P-Bruins at the end of the BU season.

Those are the players that were rated highest on their teams pro boards. I will go through the rest of the guys quickly and give people an idea what the pro teams expect from them
1. Wade Megan C/W- He is listed in the "other notables" category for the Florida Panthers but expect him to stay at BU for all four years.
2. Corey Trivino C- Trivino is listed as the Islanders #20 overall prospect and #4 center. This isn't enough for him to leave school early. Trivino and his awesome hair style stay for his senior season.
3. Justin Courtnall LW- Not even listed on Tampa Bay's prospect page...here for all four.
4. Grant Rollheiser G- Listed in the "other notable" category for the Maple Leafs but obviously is here to back-up Millan for another season.
5. Max Nicastro D- Listed in the "other notable" category for the Red Wings but he will be here for all four as well.
6. Yasin Cisse F- Not listed due to the two injuries he suffered from the last two seasons...has at least two great years here at BU before thinking about the pros.

-Like I said this is just because it crossed my mine and we didn't post anything else today so I went with it. We still a title to bring home though so we will worry about all of this stuff for real after the season ends. We will do some line predictions then for you but that is pointless until this season ends and the incoming class is finalized. Feel free to leave opinions below on what you think but if it is pro-BC or a troll I'll delete your comments quicker than it takes you to get from Newton to Boston which is like 30 minutes but still you get what I mean.

From The 108: BU Inks Local Legacy Recruit

Adding another member to an already strong 2013 incoming class, the Terriers and Jack Parker's staff picked up a commitment this past week from Needham's Danny O'Regan, the Boston Hockey Blog reported. O'Regan, a forward at local prep school St. Sebastian's, chose to attend BU over Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and Northeastern. His father, Tom, played for the Terriers from 1979-83, serving as a co-captain as a senior. After scoring a goal and assisting on one in a game against Thayer at Walter Brown Arena on Saturday, he boasts a 24-24-48 line in 26 games this season. According to scouts he will be a competitive, tough and committed player who is able to find others and distribute the puck well to them, to which I'd add that his statistics bear out the fact that he is quite capable of potting goals himself. In any case, another solid pickup and it's good to see that he can still snag some in-state talent, which seemingly has been a recent issue (compared to BC in particular).

Rock Chalk Terriers: Upset City Baybay!

I'm still a bit in shock after seeing our Terriers basketball team pull of an immense upset in Burlington against the Scat-amounts, winning 66-64 in OT. Granted, Evan Fjeld went down in midgame with what's turned out to be only a sprained ankle (I'm glad it's only that, it looked fucking gross when they showed the replay of his ankle Theismannesque-ally bending in twain) Still, they were highly competitive even with Fjeld on the floor and the still-injured John Holland riding the pine cushioned seating with Jake. Darryl Partin took over the leading scorer role that he's verged on at times this year, scoring 23 for the Terriers.

The main thing I got from this game on TV was just how good D.J. Irving is and will continue to be as he grows within the BU program over the next three years. He scored 18 points in addition to running the offense very efficiently and effectively, particularly in the second half of the game. When Holland comes back, I see this team as certainly being a threat to Vermont for the AE tournament title. If Fjeld doesn't come back, the Terriers are the odds-on favorite right off the bat. With Fjeld and Holland both back, we could be in for another mighty interesting championship game in a couple weeks.

I also have to own up to totally blowing my picks for the AE over the weekend. Glad that BU won, but I didn't see at all that UNH and Maine would lose. Definitely gives me some pause as far as looking at the AE Bracket. Of course, that's when I'll make up my mistakes now with a perfect bracket there, but that's a story for another day.