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Doyle Somerby played the most games out of any Terrier in this year's senior class with 151 games as staple of BU's defensive corps including a brief appearance at forward this season due to injuries to the roster. Somerby was a regular in the lineup ever since he arrived on campus and was easily noticeable with large size and physical play. Somerby was a regular on the penalty kill all four years on campus and was a lot of times used as BU's go to defensive d pairing especially this season with defensive partner John Macleod.
Somerby's senior leadership this year was vital to the team's success as BU was the youngest team in the nation and only had three seniors and Somerby being the most battle tested out of those three. Somerby was the leader of a team this year that was one bounce away from a Frozen Four appearance for the second time in three seasons.
The Iron Terrier Award goes to Doyle Somerby. Given for character, strength, dedication & discipline in the weight room & off-ice training.
The BU Terriers swept the Northeastern Huskies in a weekend of conference play. The Terriers took an exciting 5-4 win Friday night to remain undefeated at Agganis Arena this year followed by a more convincing 4-1 win at Matthews Arena on Saturday night. Friday night was a game of streaks as BU held a 2-0 and 3-2 lead only to relinquish it to Northeastern due to four period second goals. That was easily the worst period of the weekend as both the defense and goaltending looked shaky. Luckily for BU fans, the Terriers only allowed one goal the rest of the weekend and it was in garbage time on Saturday night. The Terriers would scramble to hold on 5-4 as Northeastern had plenty of chances late in the game but Connor LaCouvee stayed strong in net for the Terriers. The return of captain Matt Grzelcyk was a huge factor on the weekend as he committed a penalty on his first shift and then scored the first goal of the game which was eerily similar to his goal in the OT of the Beanpot final against the same little brothers of Boston. Different goalie but besides that it's basically the same goal.
Fortunato also continued to score from the point as he notches his third of the year for the Terriers. Ryan Cloonan added his fourth on a breakway goal while Brandon Hickey scored his fourth of the year to tie the game at four on a sick set up by Ahti Oksanen and Danny O'Regan. The game winner was the captain at it again as Grizz made a slick pass to Oksanen who pounded home the shot on a mostly open net. On a night where Northeastern had 8 powerplays(Thanks for nothing Goeff Miller), you have to be thankful to get a win.
The BU Terriers responded from a less than 100% effort against the U-18 team on Friday with their first win of the 2015-2016 season Saturday night versus the University of Wisconsin. The Terriers' goalie Connor LaCouvee gave up a fluke goal early in the contest but the Terriers responded with four goals of their own over the next 58 minutes. They would outshoot the Badgers 44-18 and dominate play throughout the contest. The tying goal came from senior Matt Lane who now has two goals in as many games. I'm not saying he is going to put one in the net everygame for the rest of the season but I'm not saying he won't either.
The game winner was from new found dman sniper Brandon Fortunato who scored his first goal of the season after working on his shot since arriving at BU. He was heavily criticized for his lack of a shot at times last year but that no longer seems to be an issue after he went bar down on Saturday. Chase Phelps and Bobo Carpenter added insurance tallies to make it 4-1. I thought Phelps played the best game of his collegiate career as he was all over the Wisconsin D and created numerous scoring chances before potting one off a Fortunato shot. Phelps seems set to have a big improvement in production from last year when he had 4 points in 38 games as a true freshman.
The BU Terriers dropped their season opener 5-3 to the Union Dutchmen out in Schenectady, NY last night. Union scored the first goal of the night on a rebound powerplay goal by Ryan Scarfo. after an AJ Greer slashing penalty which the coaching staff probably wasn't a fan of since it was 200 feet away from the BU goal. BU bounced back with goals from senior Matt Lane and freshman Ryan Cloonan(his first collegiate goal) on nice plays by Doyle Somerby throwing the puck on net to set up rebound opportunities. The game was a different story in the second as goalie Sean Maguire was forced to stand on his head at times and made one of the best glove saves I have ever seen. Union would eventually put two more past him, one in the late second and one early in the third. BU would eventually tie the game up on Charlie McAvoy's first collegiate goal as he jumped into the rush to bang home the game tying goal. BU's d-zone coverage would fail to keep Union off the board as senior captain Matt Wilkens scored the game winner off a rebound from Maguire and Union would add an empty netter to end the game with a 5-3 win.
Overall, I thought the team played better than they did against Acadia in the exhibition game and there were plenty of positive to take from the game. Coach Quinn seemed to have a similar attitude and he is much smarter than me so it must be correct. Union had 6 powerplays to BU's 2 which was a huge advantage for the home team who definitely got the benefit of the doubt on a few 50/50 calls. I am not saying the refs cost BU the game but they certainly didn't do them any favors. I thought Charlie McAvoy was way better than he was in the exhibition game even before he scored the game tying goal in the third. There was a sequence on the powerplay where he walked the puck in the from the point past three Union penalty killers and dished a slick pass that just missed being buried by O'Regan and Greenway. Jordan Greenway was also a huge physical presence down low as he basically did what he wanted with the puck. He is going to be a force for the Terriers this year for sure. I still love the third line of Olsson Lane Carpenter as they keep the game simply and generate scoring chances while being physical with the opponent. Coach Quinn will certainly have some tough decisions to be made on defense with it seeming that Brandon Fortunato will return to the blue line this weekend after missing the game Saturday for a violation of team rules. His fill in, Shane Switzer, was very solid in his collegiate debut and certainly did nothing to warrant being pulled from the lineup. Fortunately for Quinn, Friday night is an exhibition game so he can dress 7 D and Saturday he could dress 0 D and still beat Wisconsin since they are garbage.
- Actual footage of Northeastern trying to play hockey this weekend. Wobbly would have been their most effective forward. If you don't get the reference, read our preview from Thursday
The BU Terriers swept the Northeastern Huskies in their home and home series this past weekend. BU did so rolling three lines each night as numerous forwards were benched for a night(4 Friday, 4 Saturday) for a violation of team rules. The players who did play, played well as BU found the scoring touch that they seriously lacked in South Bend last weekend. The Terriers also got solid performances from both Matt O'Connor and Sean Maguire once again as both continue to put up solid numbers and play better than their numbers indicate.
On Friday night, BU celebrated senior night before the game and continued the celebration into the first period as Kevin Duane scored off of Colton Saucerman's leg to give the Terriers a lead that they would never give up. Danny O'Regan would make it 2-0 less than 30 second later. Both goals were shots that NU goalie Clay Witt would want back as both beat him 5-hole and were not difficult saves by any means. BU would stretch the lead to 3-0 on a Robbie"Carrots" Baillargeon breakaway goal midway through the second. NU would score once to make it a 3-1 game but never got any closer as Ahti Oksanen " finnished" the game with a 200 foot goal on an empty net. BU held on for the 4-1 win and their most convincing win since an October win vs Wisconsin.
Friday night was a big win for the team as they proved to everyone that they could beat a top 10 team with 9 forwards and 5 D(the 6th D TJ Ryan was injured in the game and did not return). It was also a big win in that it was Jack Parker's number retirement night as a ceremony took place during the first intermission(video included after the jump). It was a well done ceremony and Coach Parker certainly deserves it for all he did for BU hockey. He catches so much hate from opposing fans which makes you realize what a good coach he was. Opposing fans don't hate bad coaches. For example, we love Jim Madigan. Coach Parker's #6 is now the second retired number in BU hockey history along with Travis Roy's 24.Congrats to Coach Parker and all of BU hockey.
The 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- Danny O'Regan, F- O'Regan put the team on his back this season when they needed him most. With the Terriers trailing 3-2 to PC Friday night, O'Regan told the rest of the team to jump on for the ride because they had a hockey game to win. O'Regan potted the game-tying(on a sweet pass from Baillargeon) and game winning goals on PC sieve Jon Gillies. The Joe Pereira Trophy--given to the Terrier who through grit, hard work and determination helps the team to victory both on and off the scoresheet. Just like Joey did it(Interview with Joe Pereira)
This is part 3 of my 3 part freshmen preview(Part 1-Collier, Baillargeon, Duane & Part 2-Roberto,Lawrence,Kelley)). This post will break down the 3 freshmen joining the defensive corps this season along with a transfer who will be eligible to play in games next season.
Somerby(right) with current Terrier teammate Matt Grzelcyk
photo credit to islandersoptimism.com(hilarious website name )
From all the scouting reports on Somerby, the first thing you notice is his size and rightfully so. Somerby is the biggest defenseman to come into BU since Eric Gryba(maybe a tie with Macgregor). Well he will be until Carrabino(see below) is eligiible to play in games. Somerby came into his high school years as a forward but transitioned to defense during his freshman season at St. Mary's in Lynn and his 3 years at KUA. Somerby was drafted in the 5th round of the 2012 draft. From everything you read, Somerby's biggest challenge will be to improve his skating to compete with smaller, quicker forwards at the NCAA level. Somerby will be a physical force right away for sure with his size and I expect him to learn how to use that size to his advantage rather quickly("Doyle smash!" might become a thing-just a warning). I would expect 10-15 points from Somerby this year but expect him to contribute on defense right away. He has the size and strength to change games from the very beginning and I would expect him to do just that. The over/under on panes of glass broken from his hits this year is 2.5.
The BU Terriers Men's Ice Hockey official roster was released yesterday with the announcement of the incoming freshman class. The class includes 9 freshmen and a junior transfer. 8 of the 9 freshmen come from New England with the 9th coming from Toronto,Canada. The full roster with line projections(my first attempt is posted here) after the jump.
Last night's first round of the 2012 NHL draft was quiet on the college hockey front as a whole and that held true with BU as no current or future Terriers were drafted in the first round. Rounds 2-7 today were a different story as 8 future Terriers were drafted. That was 40% of the players taken from Hockey East schools and 12% of overall collegians or recruits drafted. That isn't a bad indicator for the quality of the classes that Coach Parker has coming in the next few years. Another cool fact is 6 of the 8 are Massholes which is always nice to have a local touch to the recruiting classes. Here are the recruits that were drafted.
Round- (Overall) 2- 56- Sam Kurker- Stl- Kurker will be arriving here this coming fall and figures to make an impact right away with his size and skill. Kurker will be joining the Blues, who currently have former Terrier Kevin Shattenkirk on their roster and will for years to come with the production he has put up thus far.
3-85-Matt Grzelcyk -Bos- The Charlestown,MA native d-man was drafted by the Bruins in the third round and called it "a dream come true". He will also be arriving at BU this fall and has drawn comparisons to David Warsofsky, who is a former Terrier in the Bruins system. Grzelcyk is now the third Bruin prospect with ties to BU as the Bruins also have former Terrier Colby Cohen in their system.
4- 113- Sean MacGuire-Pitt- The incoming goalie, who will compete with the undrafted Matt O'Connor, was drafted by Penguins. They obviously drafted MacGuire because they have deemed former Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen as incompetent, which he is.
5-125- Doyle Somerby- NYI- Somerby is a 2013 recruit but seems to be a Gryba-like big defenseman who will hopefully start laying guys out as soon as he arrives on campus next fall. Here is a video from him after he was drafted.
5-136- Robbie Baillargeon-Ott- Another 2013 recruit here who was ranked higher than where he was drafted. Former Terriers with the Sens now are Eric Gryba and Matt Gilroy. Gilroy is a UFA as of July 1st and I believe Gryba is entering the last year of his deal with the franchise.
5-138- Danny O'Regan- SJ- O'Regan joins current Terrier Matt Nieto as a Sharks prospect and former Terrier and captain John McCarthy who is playing with their AHL affiliate in Worcester,MA.
6-177 -Wesley Myron- Van - Tough luck for Myron getting drafted by the 2nd worse franchise in the NHL besides Montreal but I guess it is still nice to get drafted. He should stay at BU for all 4 years and then not sign so he can be a free agent and never play those losers up in Vancouver.
7-189- Brendan Collier-Car- The 2013 recruit was drafted late in the draft but that seems to be the MO on this kid as people continue to doubt him because of his smaller size but he has continued to produce. Let's hope that continues at BU and he continues his hard work ethic.
