First Half Review- Defensmen and Goalies

Dmen

1. Matt Grzelcyk(2-10-12,15 GP)- The freshman Bruins draft pick has exceeded expectations as he performed extremely well in his first semester of college hockey action. He has settled into a defensive pairing with classmate Ahti Oksanen and they both are seeing plenty of ice time. Both of his goals this year came against BC, which makes it even better. Grzelcyk will miss the Terriers' next game on 12/29 at Denver due to being away at the WJC with team USA. He will be missed for sure but if he helps beat those fraudulent Canadians, it will be worth it.

2. Garrett Noonan(3-7-10, 15 GP)- The freshly appointed assistant captain has had a solid first half for the Terriers even if his goal total is not quite as high as last year. Noonan finished last year with a 16-11-27 line in 38 games. He isn't quite on pace to reach that goal total again but his assists have gone up which is a positive sign. Teams have actually somewhat covered him on the backdoor powerplay this year which was the source of a majority of his goals last season. He has been nothing short of solid defensively He will need to have a solid second half for this team as he is a crucial defenseman and sees large amounts of ice time. He is on a similar pace for penalty minutes from last year. This would be nice to cut down on but penalties happen when you play with as much passion and emotion as he does.

North Dakota Recap- To hell and back

I made my first ever trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota this weekend and it looks exactly how you would expect it to. Something like the picture above. The rink itself was huge and really nice. Every North Dakota fan will ask you if you like the rink because they know that it is awesome. The atmosphere was crazy as 12k packed in Saturday night to see the BU 4-2 win while slightly less(due to the opening of hunting season..not a lie) packed in Friday to watch the North Dakota 4-2 win.  First, I'm going to cover some comments on the experience watching a game in the Ralph and then get to the actual games.

The Ralph is quite large, nice and sells beer. All of these things are necessities for North Dakota. If you saw the view of the bar between periods, you would understand what I mean. There is a HIGH demand for beer. The crowd was a sellout Saturday night and it was loud during introductions and when North Dakota scored. Besides, the goals and intros, the arena itself was awfully quiet both nights besides when music was piped in or Alexx Privitera was touching the puck and therefore booed. This goes back to an incident Friday night where it is reported that he had an altercation with fans while in the penalty box. I didn't see anything myself but I'm sure the fan deserved whatever happened because UND fans suck. They did not start any chant on their own. Music had to be piped in or BU fans were loud enough to rile up the fans to start a "Let's go Sioux" chant. This is not to say they don't care about the game because they do and let me know on many occasions what a crazy liberal I am because I am from Boston. They are just too stupid to start any different chants or use their brains at all. Their goal song is pretty cool/funny as these small firecrackers/bombs go off over the goal they just scored on.  Overall, enjoyed my time there and for all the idiotic students, there were just as many welcoming fans who seemed glad to have us there. Now to the hockey.

University of Toronto Recap

The first game recap of the 2012-13 season comes to you from guest blogger and BSRS correspondent HatTrick Swayze. Enjoy...

Well, that was interesting. In a game that most will remember as an absolute circus that certainly got most of the Dog Pound riled up and chanting, there actually were some important things to take away from the 3 hour party that was held on the Agganis ice Sunday afternoon. Let’s break it down by pros, cons and a few words on the FNGs.

Terriers' Report Card- Goalies and dmen

This took a few weeks but I am finally sitting down and grading each Terrier's season as a whole. This is my opinion on the goalies and d-men and obviously no one is going to agree so feel free to whine/comment below. I am hoping to have the forwards done before the weekend as well.

Goalies

31 Kieran Millan- Millan had another solid year and wrapped a fantastic 4 year career with BU where he racked up all-time records in wins and saves. He finished this season with nice numbers 20-14-1, .923 save % and 2.60 GAA. Millan was a backbone for this team at times when they needed him to be and will go down as one of the all-time great BU goalies. Millan will sign with the Colorado Avalanche franchise in the coming weeks.
Grade:A-

35 Grant Rollheiser- "Rollie" had another solid year as the backup goaltender to his classmate Millan. Rollheiser made the most of the starts handed to him in the second half of the year. He finished the year with 3-1 record in his four starts, 7 total appearances. He posted decent numbers with .905 save % and a 2.87 GAA. Rollheiser is a pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs and could be given a shot in the ECHL or overseas if he wishes to continue to play hockey.
Grade: B

1 Anthony Moccia- The sophomore third string goalie dressed in 26 games this season but did not see action in any of them. He still led the country in GAA with his 0.00.
Grade: N/A

Defensemen

5 Adam Clendening- The sophomore d-man put up very nice numbers this year racking up 33 points(4g, 29 a) in 38 out of the team's 39 games. He was a key part of one of the best powerplays in the nation. He improved from his freshman year and was named a HE first team All-Star. Clendening does need to defend on the defensive end of the ice and make some better decisions when on the point. He was 50/50 on going pro(Chicago draft pick) to begin the off-season but it now seems like he will return for his junior season. Clendening will need to continue to improve and make his teammates better. If he does this, he could easily be an All-American next year. I am grading him off of his potential. He can be the best defenseman in the country and hopefully we will see that type of play out of him next season.
Grade: B

Garrett Noonan- Noonan was out there with Clendening for the powerplay and potted many goals off of passes from Clendening. The HE 2nd team all-star potted 16 goals and 11 assists in 38 games. He made a big jump offensively from his freshman season and was one of the nice surprises on the team this year. His team-leading +19 shows his competitive nature and his desire to do whatever it takes to win a game. Like Clendening, he needs to improve his play in his own zone before making the jump to the next level in the next 2 years. Noonan was also an emotional leader on this team and could very easily be wearing a letter next season. The fan favorite earned the respect of fans and coaches throughout Hockey East with his play this past season.
Grade: B+

Patrick MacGregor- "Truck" also made a big jump in play from his freshman to sophomore season. MacGregor dressed in 36 games and had 3 assists but that only begins to tell his impact on the ice. MacGregor is a defensive defenseman who plays defense first and worries about his own point total secondarily. He posted a solid +9 rating for the year but will need to improve his decision-making and he will most likely be pushed for a spot in the lineup consistently depending how many recruits are brought in for next season.
Grade: B-

Sean Escobedo- Escobedo really grew as a player this season and became one of the leaders for the club through adversity. He posted a solid 3-10-13 line this season with 2 goals coming one game at Vermont. He is another guy who will have a leadership role next season and has a chance to wear an A since the defense will be the strength of this team next season
Grade: B+

Ryan Ruikka- The redshirt junior performed consistently in his last year at BU posting 5 assists in 29 games played for the Terriers. He was a solid 5/6 d-man for the Terriers providing depth when they needed it most due to the off the ice issues this year.
Grade: C+(Only time he won't get an A this semester)

Alexx Privitera- The leader of the "pony express" made huge improvements from the beginning to the conclusion of his freshman year. His stat line would have been even more impressive than the 4-10-14 line he posted if not for a broken wrist that sidelined him for 4 weeks including both Beanpot games. The rising sophomore will be a key part of the defensive rotation next year and should be a top 4 dman for this club. I am giving him two grades because I feel he performed drastically better in the second half than the first.
Grades: Fall: C, Spring B+

BU sweeps UVM, back on track

The BU Terriers improved to 9-0 on the road in 2012 with a pair of wins, 5-0 on Friday and 3-2 OT win Saturday at the University of Vermont. I made the trip up to Burlington for the first time so you all are lucky enough to get a first hand recap of both games. First, on Friday night BU came out flying despite all the haters out there all of last week. The team didn't let the PR problems off the ice affect them on the ice as they beat Vermont 5-0. They broke out after a long review of their first goal which was a wrist shot that hit off a UVM d-man's leg past Madore barely. The review by my favorite referee Bunyon took several minutes but it was eventually ruled a goal. In Bunyon's defense, I was right on the goal line and couldn't tell if the puck fully crossed the line. It apparently was very close as it took the referees several minutes to figure out the call. These reviews make you appreciate the NHL system that much more where one phone call is the whole review. That was Escobedo's first goal of the season. BU poured it on from there as Cason Hohmann scored on a great low wrister that beat Madore 5-hole due to a great screen by Justin Courtnall. Escobedo scored his second of the game during a 5 minute powerplay on a questionable call on UVM. Either way, we will take the call as it put BU up 3-0 heading into the third. Wade Megan added a goal in the third and Courtnall made a great move to fool Madore on a break away. It was great to not only win easily, but also get scoring from some from unusual places. Sahir Gill and Ryan Ruikka added 2 assists each and BU sailed to a win behind senior Grant Rollheiser who made 18 saves for his second career shutout, his first of this season. Rollheiser looked solid throughout the game and had great rebound control and I wouldn't be surprised to see him this Friday on Senior night at Agganis Arena. The highlights from Friday night are below.

On Saturday night, it was a total different hockey game. Kieran Millan was in net for BU and he let in a soft goal early when Connor Brickley beat him five hole. UVM stretched the lead on a powerplay goal by Sebastian Stalberg who beat the whole Terrier defense backdoor. UVM would then play well to finish out the period and keep the 2 goal lead. In the second, the only scoring was Sahir Gill on a spectacular diving goal on the pass from Wade Megan. Gill layed out full extension and pushed the puck past Madore, who played well in his senior night. BU continued to buzz and had a goal called back after it was ruled that a rebound was kicked in the net which was a questionable call at best since it seemed the puck just came out of a scrum in front of the net. I never got a chance to see the replay so maybe I was wrong, but that is highly unlikely. The Terriers continued to play hard into the 3rd but couldn't get one past Madore until the final 2 minutes when Millan was pulled for a 6th skater and Wade Megan banged home a greasy, rebound goal which is what he does best for this team. The goal was Megan's 17th of the year and sent the game to OT even as Sahir Gill hit the post in the waning seconds of regulation. BU kept the momentum going into OT and crushed the UVM crowd's spirit as freshman Alexx Privitera sent a low slapper 5 hole on Madore and completed the gutsy comeback.

This team showed some heart this weekend taking 4 points with all the controversy heading into the weekend including the tough comeback on Senior night. Privitera played outstanding in his first games back from a broke wrist and showed some guts playing through some pain after he blocked a shot on Saturday night. This team continues to battler through adversity and prove they have what it takes to win games. They return home Friday for the final weekend of the regular season for a home and home with Northeastern. I'll get to that tomorrow or Wed though. I will leave you with the updated standings and playoff picture here. BU has clinched the 3rd seed in the conference at worst case and can still win the regular season title with a little help from UVM this weekend. BU needs to gain 2 points on BC this weekend to win the regular season title. BU also reached the 20 win plateau for the first time since 08-09 and are currently sitting 4th in all three polls(Pairwise, USCHO, and USA Today). Sean Escobedo, Sahir Gill, Grant Rollheiser, and Alexx Privitera were all named Hockey East Top Performers which is great to see heading into the playoffs. Alex Chiasson was also recognized for playing his 100th game as a Terrier. Chiasson seems to be the emotional leader of the team right now in what could be his last season if he turns pro, which seems likely at this point. He set up the game-tying goal Saturday night so be sure to recognize Chiasson on senior night as well as he is also most likely playing his last home regular season game for the Terriers.

P.S. if you're not going to the game Friday night for the return of Vinny Sap to Agganis and Senior night then you have no life and no friends. That is all.