Northeastern Preview- Even the blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while

The BU Terriers wrap up the regular season with a home and home with cross town rival opponent Northeastern. Northeastern is currently having their best season(all luck) since 2008-2009 with a record of 18-10-4(10-6-2). They are lead up front by sophomore Kevin Roy(17-25-42) (Pronounced: wahhhhhhhhhhhh), senior Braden Pimm(18-13-31), and freshman Mike Szmatula(12-24-36). Freshmen Dalen Hedges and John Stevens have also chipped in 20+ points each. The strength of Northeastern is their goaltending as redshirt junior Clay Witt has put the team on his back( he would have gotten a lot of Greg Jennings awards if there was a NU blog cool enough to give those out) with a .940 save % and 2.17 GAA.

                                         
                                            * Northeastern hockey finally found the nut this season

BSRS Weekly Awards 2/25

Greg Jennings Award- given to the Terrier who best exemplifies the qualities of Greg Jennings through doin' shit and putting the team on his back. (YOU CAN'T STOP HIM).


Winner- Sean Maguire, G- Mags made 38 saves on 40 Notre Dame shots Saturday night and was perfect through two periods before Notre Dame finally got one past him. He has only allowed 4 goals in his last two starts and seems to be picking it up just as he did last season before the HE playoffs.

Joe Pereira Trophy- Given to the Terrier who, through grit, hard work, and determination helps the team to victory on and off the scoresheet. Just like Joey did. (Interview can be read here)

Winner- Kevin Duane,F- Duane has been playing very well as of late and Quinn rewarded him by putting him on the first line on Saturday night in South Bend. He had the Terriers best chance of the night on Saturday out front on the powerplay. He has shown some great hands this season and great knowledge out on the ice. He certainly knows where he needs to be 99% of the time out there and has been using his big body to be more physical as of late without taking dumb penalties. He works his ass off and is certainly a player that is easy to cheer for.

Weekend Recap

                                                           

Photo Credit to my phone

The BU Terriers were shutout 2-0 on both nights in South Bend this weekend versus Notre Dame. The Terriers were solid(for the most part) defensively both nights(especially Friday) as was the goaltending. Matt O'Connor would most likely want the second goal he gave up back from Friday night but besides that, the work by himself and Sean Maguire once again gave the team a chance to win. BU had quality chances at the beginning of the game Friday as Danny O'Regan missed high on what would be one of BU's best chances of the night within the first 5 minutes of the game. Mike Moran also beat ND goalie Steven Summerhays but the puck was cleared off the goaline by an ND defender before Kevin Duane could knock the trickling puck in. BU only allowed 20 ND shots on net Friday night but only generated 19 of their own with very few quality chances which left them unable to solve Steven Summerhays.

BU allowed limited ND shots on Friday night(19) but were severely outshot(40-22) Saturday forcing Maguire to make many solid saves which he did. ND did not get on the board until early in the third on the powerplay(Jeff Costello) after the refs made a very questionable call on Garrett Noonan after he was crosschecked after the whistle by an ND player. The refs told Coach Quinn that Noonan said something to a ref which I doubt considering he went right over to Notre Dame defenseman/goon Stephen Johns away from the officials. The ensuing man advantage lead to be the difference maker. Notre Dame added an insurance marker late in the third on Ahti Oksanen defensive zone turnover. Overall BU played well defensively both nights besides a few breakdowns but could not generate enough offense to come away with any points on the weekend.

BSRS Weekly Awards 2/18

Greg Jennings Award- given to the Terrier who best exemplifies the qualities of Greg Jennings through doin' shit and putting the team on his back. (YOU CAN'T STOP HIM).



Winner- Collier/Moran/Duane line- Friday's night contest(a 4-3 loss @ UNH) was dominated on the scoresheet by the first line of Rodrigues-Baillargeon-O'Regan as they combined for 7 points in a game where the Terriers deserved a better fate than they got. The third line went unmentioned for the most part as the top 6 played so well but they had a very underrated effort Friday night creating a few chances for themselves while keeping the game simple. They were then easily the best line in yesterday's 3-1 loss while also scoring the only goal for the Terriers. Sean Maguire was also in the conversation for the great game he had in Monday's contest.

Joe Pereira Trophy- Given to the Terrier who, through grit, hard work, and determination helps the team to victory on and off the scoresheet. Just like Joey did. (Interview can be read here)

Winner- Brendan Collier- Collier continues to perform better and better for the Terriers as his freshman year progresses and has continued to be rewarded with more ice time as a result. He is a grinder who keeps the game simple and has been part of the most consistent line of late. They will need to continue to perform at a consistent level as the Terriers head out west this weekend for two tough games at Notre Dame.

Terriers prepare for home and home with University of No Hardware

The BU Terriers look to get back in the win column this weekend with two very important league game with UNH. The Terriers need to make up some ground in the league standings to gain home ice in the opening round of the Hockey East tournament. The Terrier trail both Notre Dame and UMass for the 8th and 9th playoff spots by 2 points but do have games in hand over both teams.  UNH currently sits 5th in HE but is coming off a sweep at home at the hands of the Vermont Catamounts. UNH will be hungry to get back on track and to get in better position for an NCAA at large berth.

UNH is lead offensively by senior forwards Kevin Goumas and Nick Sorkin who both have eclipsed the 30 point plateau through 32 games. Casey DeSmith is the starter with a .920 save % and 2.35 GAA. The Terriers need to get back to the physical style they played against BC and Lowell the past few weekends which will give them a chance especially at a tough place to play like the Whitt. Coach Quinn has announced that Matt O'Connor will  get the start and he will need to remain hot to prevent UNH from getting out to the early lead and the crowd of hicks into the game. The last thing a young team wants is a bunch of hilly billies screaming early in the game.

BSRS Weekly Awards 2/11

Greg Jennings Award- given to the Terrier who best exemplifies the qualities of Greg Jennings through doin' shit and putting the team on his back. (YOU CAN'T STOP HIM).



Winner- Evan Rodrigues -As Rodrigues has worked himself back from injury, he has improved every game and has some close calls to putting up some points. He played very well Friday in BU's 2-2 tie to Lowell despite not registering a point. He recorded a goal and an assist in BU's loss to Harvard Monday and was clearly the best player on the ice for the Terriers. He generated numerous scoring chances for his teammates and was one of the few guys who had a good game for the Terriers. If Rodrigues continues to improve, he will be even more of a force next month when the Hockey East playoffs begin.

Joe Pereira Trophy- Given to the Terrier who, through grit, hard work, and determination helps the team to victory on and off the scoresheet. Just like Joey did. (Interview can be read here)

Winner- Matt Ronan- There was no other choice for this award this week as senior BOD(best offensive defenseman) Matt Ronan recorded his first collegiate goal to tie the game against Lowell. Ronan was playing a good game up to the point of his goal as he continued to grind on the 4th line with freshmen Brendan Collier and Dylan Lawrence. Ronan's goal is a nice reward for a kid who has worked his ass off in practice and limited game action over the past four years.

Weekend Preview- BU prepares for Lowell, Harvard

The BU Terriers prepare for a pair of games this weekend against in-state opponents.  Tonight, the Terriers take on the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks at Agganis Arena. BU dropped a 3-1 contest in late January at the Tsongas Center in beautiful Lowell. The biggest key to success tonight is getting an early lead. Lowell has had trouble scoring at times this season so if you can get out to a lead, it makes them take more chances they normally would.  Any fan of hockey in general should root for BU to get out to a lead as well or for the game to remain tied because as soon as Lowell gets a lead, everyone know what they will do. Clog up the defensive zone and play the most boring type of hockey known to man. The Terriers need to prevent an early Lowell lead and the best way to do that is to take the pressure off of Matt O'Connor and take it to Lowell.

Lowell is coming off a sweep of Merrimack which surprised approximately 0 people because Lowell plays Merrimack's style of play, but they're a lot better at it and have better players for the system. BU needs to be aggressive with Lowell as they were only able to get 12 shots on goal in the last meeting leaving the team frustrated throughout the matchup. I look for the keys to be Evan Rodrigues on that top line as he can change a game with his shot and Cason Hohmann on the second as he has shown the ability to beat Lowell's D in the past(He hit a crossbar late in the last matchup). The third line of Kelley-Moran-Duane was the one who put a puck in the net earlier this season versus Lowell and if they can do that again, then BU will be in good shape to get points from this conference matchup.

BSRS Weekly Awards 2/4

Greg Jennings Award- given to the Terrier who best exemplifies the qualities of Greg Jennings through doin' shit and putting the team on his back. (YOU CAN'T STOP HIM).





Winner- Matt O'Connor- OC made 75 saves over two games this week, posting a .938 save percentage. He seems to be back on track after a dip in the middle of the season and seems calm and poised in the crease. If the current goaltending continues, BU will have a shot in every game they play the rest of the way because Maguire and OC have been playing consistently well as of late.

Joe Pereira Trophy- Given to the Terrier who, through grit, hard work, and determination helps the team to victory on and off the scoresheet. Just like Joey did. (Interview can be read here)

Winner- TJ Ryan- I really liked his play this weekend in both games. He may have had his best game of the year last night against BC. He added an apple on Friday night versus UMass as well. Ryan has developed into a defenseman who knows when to be offensive and when to play it cautiously. He makes the right decision and gives his team everything he has got every shift out there. He is certainly responding well to increased playing time and should be a great asset to the team moving forward.

Weekend Recap/Beanpot Preview- Bringing home #30

BU tied the UMass Minutmen Friday night in Amherst 3-3. It was a tough tie to take after the Terriers went up 3-1 early in the third period on a Mike Moran goal. They also received goals from junior forward Cason Homann and sophomore defenseman Ahti Oksanen in the first two periods. The Terriers appeared to go up 4-1 on a Evan Rodrigues goal that was called no goal by the officials for no apparent reason. It was reviewed and called no goal which Coach Quinn would say later that no explanation was given as to why. The Minutemen made it a one goal game as a result of a missed slashing call on defenseman Ahti Oksanen which lead directly to the goal. UMass would tie the game in the last minute on a deflection goal. While the Terriers got outshot again, they got spectacular goaltending from Matt O'Connor who made 46 saves in the contest. The Mullins center is always a tough environment to win in and I thought the team played fairly well throughout the contest. They put themselves in a situation to win the game and then got some bad breaks. They need to build off this performance to have a strong showing tonight against BC in the Beanpot.

#BeanpotOrBust

#BeanpotOrBust