Senior Week: Captain Garrett Noonan

This is the final post in our series thanking the BU hockey class of 2014. You can read the posts about Matt Ronan, Jake Moscatel and Patrick MacGregor in the enclosed links.

                                              Photo Credit to Brooke Canaday/ BU Today

Garrett Noonan came onto campus and quickly became a fan favorite partially due to his awesome last name. His fan boy/girl nation only grew each game there. Fans learned to love how he played on the ice and how he acted off of it.

Noonan committed to BU and legendary coach Jack Parker along with co captain Patrick MacGregor as NHL bound defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen left campus to begin their professional careers. Noonan was coming off a season with the Vernon Vipers(BCHL) with classmate Sahir Gill after 4 years at Catholic Memorial which also happens to be the alma mater of his coach. He was the co-captain of a Catholic Memorial team that won the Super 8 Championship.The Norfolk, MA native recorded 34 points (12-22) in 30 games for CM and was named co MVP of his conference.

He would make the move to Vernon of the BCHL at the recommendation of his high school coach and former teammate Mike Collins. Noonan joined Vernon and contributed right away as his 27(6-21 points helped lead them to a second straight RBC Cup title. Noonan then had to make the decision between BU and PC which he said came down which school would make him the best player along with the coaching staff and being a BU heavy school in Catholic Memorial. He certainly made the right choice in our eyes.

Weekend Recap - Blind Squirrels are Still Blind

- 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.

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

UVM Preview: They came to play hockey...and then they got high

The BU Terriers host the UVM Catamounts for two games this weekend at Agganis Arena. BU looks to get back on track and pick up some much needed Hockey East points while UVM does the same. UVM is coming off a split last weekend with Northeastern at Matthews Arena. The Catamounts are 2-2-2 in their last 6 and are fighting for an at-large berth in the pairwise rankings. They are lead offensively by  forwards senior Chris McCarthy(11-14-25) and freshman Mario"I look like I need to shower" Puskarich(10-12-22) along with defenseman Chris Paliotta(3-14-17). They also have two capable goaltenders as freshman Mike Santaguida and sophomore Brady Hoffmann both post save percentages north of .915 and GAA sub 2.4.The Terriers took 2 out of 3 matchups from the Catamounts last season.

The biggest key for the Terriers success this weekend is health. They need Evan Rodrigues and Jake Moscatel to get back in the lineup after both suffered injuries on 1/4 at Harvard. This is even more important as it is evident that Dillon Lawrence is less than 100% and Coach Quinn alluded to Danny O'Regan being less than 100% as well in press conference after Lowell on Saturday. Ahti Oksanen went down in what looked like an ugly injury at Lowell but there is always a chance, it could just be a bad bruise or something minor.  I would expect to see both goaltenders get a game this weekend but Maguire could possibly get both starts if he performs well Friday night. He was an absolute stud in net last weekend and will be huge for this team going forward if he continues that play.

BSRS Weekly Awards 1/21

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- The sophomore goalie played like the goalie who backstopped BU on a run to the Hockey East Tournament Final last year. Maguire seems to be over the back problems that plagued his first half as he was amazing both night this weekend. He gave up 5 to BC on Friday but anyone who was at that game, knows BC could have scored more than that. Maguire robbed Benedict Bill Arnold twice in the second period. Mags backed it up with another great game against Lowell Saturday night. While he did not face as many quality chances, the quantity was still there as he was forced to make 40+  saves. If Maguire keeps playing this well, BU is going to have a chance to win every game they play for the rest of the year.

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- Garrett Noonan,D- Noonan easily lead the Terriers in ice time this weekend as he was taking every other shift with only 5 healthy dmen available each night(4 after Oksanen went down on Saturday night). He has been an absolute workhorse for this team when they have needed him most. As the injuries continue to pile up, Noonan has picked up his own play along with his minutes. There is no chance he was under 30 minutes of ice time either night. Despite the recent struggles, he continues to battle every shift out there and he is a great example for the rest of the team to follow. 

BSRS First Half Awards

MVP
Matt O'Connor, Soph, G - Pretty much a no brainer here. OC has been one of the  bright spots in the first half, putting the team on his back more nights than not. Playing in 13 of 17 games (12 starts), Matt posted a 6-4-2 record with a 2.61 goals against average and .929 save percentage. He faced 467 shots and made 434 saves, good for 3rd and T-2nd in Hockey East, although he played over 100 fewer minutes than the two players ahead of/tied with him (Gillies and Mastalerz). The sophomore made over 35 saves 7 times, including 37 and 55 against North Dakota (win/tie) and 37 in an epic 3-2 win over Cornell at Red Hot Hockey.

Best Freshman
Robbie Baillargeon, Fr, F - While Nick Roberto and Doyle Somerby put up a good fight, Robbie takes this one by the length of a carrot. Bugs Bunny Baillargeon leads the team with a 5-8-13 line in 17 gp, and also has a team best plus/minus of +6. He's had 3 multi-point games, and in each of those games he registered an assist on the game winning goal. Robbie has the 2nd most face off wins (81) and the 2nd best face off percentage on the team (.482), trailing Danny O'Regan in both categories.



-Live footage of Baillargeon when he runs across some carrots in the dining hall

Guest Post about Red Hot Hockey from Powerplay with CJ

Editor's Note: We would like to thank CJ for writing this piece for us. It is better than anything we could have written about Red Hot Hockey for sure.

What’s up everyone, it’s CJ from the world renowned Power Play with CJ guest blogging at one of the finest hockey media outlets in the world this week! After a solid 3 point weekend against the Fighting Sioux  University of North Dakota, the Terriers are taking their talents to the “World’ Most Famous Arena” (Haven’t New Yorkers ever heard of the Roman Coliseum?) to faceoff against former ECAC rival Cornell (Yes, the “Big Red”, not the big “Big Head”, that’s BC fans in a nutshell). As someone who has attended two of the first three installations of “Red Hot Hockey” and will be there Saturday I will say this it is worth travelling to as the combination of high end, high octane hockey and the NYC/MSG vibe makes it a one of a kind experience. Not to toot my own horn, but at the 07 and 09 BU/Cornell showdowns I saw current NHLers Colin Wilson, Ben Scrivens, Kevin Shattenkirk, Nick Bonino Colin Greening, and Erik  Gryba to name a few. To lay it out bluntly if you like future NHL players, large metropolitan areas and the color red MSG the Saturday after Thanksgiving every odd numbered year, is the place to be. 

This year the big matchup will be between Terriers' captain, defenseman and all around great American Garrett Noonan and Cornell winger/ Bruins prospect Brian Ferlin in what can most aptly be described the “Power Play with CJ Faceoff”. Both players are lifelong Power Play fans and will be trying to one up the other with myself in attendance, it’s only human nature. On a (slightly) more serious note both players have been playing amazing hockey and having the best two years of the respective  collegiate careers, if Quinny’s crew wants to shutdown the Jacksonville, FL native (6-6-12 in 10 games) it’ll behoove them to ensure he sees plenty of the former CM Knight Noonan(3-8-11 in 13 games) shift in and shift out.

BSRS Weekly Awards 11/26

Another Week of Awesome Awards. Enjoy.

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,G- OC stole the show this weekend making 92 saves on 96 shots and frustrating Sioux of North Dakota all weekend long. This was the first time this year that Coach Quinn has broken the goalie rotation and O'Connor rewarded him with two great performances. You would expect Quinn to ride OC as the hot hand to see what kind of run the Terriers can get on for the final 4 games of the first semester. His play along with the sweet stache that he is rocking currently made his choice a no-brainer.

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- Garrett Noonan- Noonan not only produced on the scoresheet with a goal and two assists over the weekend. He also was the emotional leader for the Terriers as he stood up to the goons from North Dakota without taking any stupid penalties. At one point Saturday night, he had ongoing battles with Luke Johnson, Drake Caggiula, and Stephane Pattyn. Noonan leads the team in points and knows the time and place to stick up for himself and his teammates.

Weekend Recap- Terriers win,tie vs North Dakota

                                           

The Terriers welcomed the North Dakota {Redacted}  this weekend to Agganis Arena  for a pair of nonleague games and came out with a win and a tie. The Terriers were lead by sophomore goalie Matt O'Connor who made 92 saves on 96 shots over the weekend. Friday night he made 37 saves on 38 shots as he frustrated North Dakota all night long. BU got on the board in the first period off of a 2 on 1 rush where Cason Hohmann froze the lone defender and NoDak goalie Clarke Saunders before ripping a wrister low short-side. Hohmann, who is typically a pass-first guy, used that to his advantage as everyone in the rink though he was going to try to feed O'Regan who was flying to the far post. BU would make it 2-0 before the end of the first on a greasy ,power-play  O'Regan goal that just got tucked in the near post off a deflected pass from Noonan. BU had a goal called back early in the second as it was ruled that Mike Moran tipped the Doyle Somerby wrister with a high stick. I honestly couldn't tell if he did or didn't but there certainly didn't seem like there was enough evidence there to overturn it but the refs, Benedetto and Miller, disagreed with me.

Weekend Recap- Terriers sweep opening weekend

                                         -It is funny because UMass sucks


The Terriers started the Quinn era the ideal way this weekend, earning victories over UMass and Holy Cross at Agganis Arena. Friday night, the Terriers got out to a 3-0 lead during a 7 minute span in the second period thanks to goals from Garrett Noonan, Tommy Kelley(his first collegiate goal) , and Evan Rodrigues. The Terriers were badly outshot in the game and Coach Quinn was clearly not thrilled(presser below) with the team's play overall. He certainly seemed relived to get the victory. The older guys carried the team with the freshman chipping in such as Kelley's powerplay goal which was a great shot from the slot. Captain Garrett Noonan had gotten the scoring started on a nice pass from sophomore blue liner Ahti Oksanen(+3, 4 assists on the weekend). Noonan beat UMass goalie Steve Mastarlez high blocker which is where all three goals beat him on Friday night. Kelley's powerplay goal gave BU a two goal cushion that they would not give up. Evan Rodrigues added the third goal in a seven minute span with a sweet toe drag and top shelf snipe which reminded everyone how dangerous of a scorer he can be for this team. The third period was mostly uneventful as Maguire made save after save(39 in all). Maguire certainly made it easy on his freshmen defensemen(Somerby and MacAfee) on Friday night.




Saturday night saw changes to the lineup as Coach Quinn wanted to see all of his guys in real game action. Defenseman TJ Ryan came in for fellow freshman Doyle Somerby who was a late scratch after being real good Friday night against UMass. It appears to be a lower body injury for Somerby and hopefully he will be ready to go for this weekend against two ranked teams. Ryan was joined by forwards Mike Moran and Keith Duane in their first action of the season and both looked quite good for the Terriers. Duane had his first collegiate point with a second period assist on Nick Roberto's first collegiate goal for the Terriers in the second period. It will be huge if Roberto and Kelley can regularly contribute scoring from the third line for the Terriers.

The Terriers first goal of the night was on a great stretch pass from Noonan to sophomore Danny O'Regan who got in and made Holy Cross goalie Matt Ginn look silly as he crossed him up and easily scored. Cason Hohmann added the third goal on the powerplay which was good to see that those top 6 forwards are ready to contribute in a big way. Sam Kurker struggled Friday night but I thought he was much better Saturday night. He was at the top of the crease multiple times working hard and drew a penalty with his strong play. While he didn't register a point, he certainly improved from Friday to Saturday night. Matt Lane also played better Saturday night with an assist on Hohman's goal along with being one of your best if not the best penalty killing forward you have. Matt O'Connor was very good in net as well making 21 saves on 23 shots. It is great to see both goalie start their season strong as they will each have a stiff test in RPI and Wisconsin this weekend.




3 stars of the weekend
1. Garrett Noonan 1-2-3 , +2 - Noonan was the force defensively and offensively that this team needed
2. Ahti Oksanen 0-4-4, +3- Ahti was passing the puck well and has improved in his own zone as well which could make him one of the best two way dmen in the league by the year's end.
3. OC/Maguire- The goalies were all you could have asked for in the opening weekend for a young team. They are a comfort to have back there for sure.

Garrett Noonan and Patrick MacGregor named captains of 2013-2014 BU Terriers

                                          

                                                         -photo credit to Steve McLaughlin

                                                  -photo credit to Matt Dressens/BU Hockey Blog
Senior defensemen Garrett Noonan and Patrick MacGregor were named co-captains of this year's team this morning. According to the news release, they were selected after a team vote. Both have strong leadership qualities with Noonan seemingly being the more vocal while MacGregor has worked hard and made huge improvements to his game since arriving on campus. No assistant captains were named at this time but it would be expected that one or two could be added throughout the season as Coach Quinn sees it earned.

St. Francis-Xavier Preview

It's the wonderful time of year again where actual college hockey games will be played. Granted that they will not count in the standings until next weekend but they will give fans things to talk about for the next week until the regular season begins a next Friday. The BU Terriers host the St. Francis-Xavier Xmen this weekend in an exhibition game which, will be their only tune-up for the regular season. I don't know much about the Xmen besides that their nickname might be the worst of all-time. Xmen just sounds awful and doesn't roll off the tongue at all but hey, they're a canadian school, you can only expect so much from them. If you want to learn more how college hockey works in Canada, you can read this solid interview from our fellow BU blog Bloggin' on Babcock.  It is better written than anything we throw out there and is good to explain the differences between college hockey in the US and America's hat also know as Canada.

For the regular season game previews,  I will be focusing mostly on why the other team sucks and the areas where BU can take advantage of them in each game. For this game, I am going focus on what Terrier fans should be looking for from the team this weekend as they prepare for the regular season.

The Captain Candidates

                                                        Last Year's Captains(minus Noonan)


Due to the coaching change in BU hockey this offseason, the captains of next year's squad was not named at the Friends of Hockey Banquet this past weekend as is typically done. Retiring coach Jack Parker said that he thought this should be something incoming coach David Quinn should decide. Quinn will be arriving on campus once the Colorado Avalanche's season ends this week. Quinn will have plenty of work to do right away as he needs to finish up his recruiting class for next season and get to know his team as summer workouts begin. We have been told that he has stated that he isn't firing any members of the staff so it would seem that both assistant coaches, Buddy Power and Mike Bavis, are welcome back as part of his staff next season. One would assume volunteer goalie coach Mike Geragosian would also be welcome back with open arms considering the work he has done with goalies over the years.

Quinn will most likely listen to what his staff and the players say about each other when considering his choices but we figured we would break it down and make a case for each of the upperclassmen. There are guys who will be favored over others but there are no bad choices in this group. This is according to our completely unbiased opinions and no knowledge of what happens off the ice.  All of the guys listed below will be leaders next year. These are just our guesses for captains. You can vote yourself on the right in our current poll.

Seniors(Next Year)

1. Garrett Noonan- Noonan is the only returning captain from last season's team. He wore an "A" for the second half of last season. He is always one of the most passionate players for the Terriers and would be a great fit to fill a leadership role again next season. I would go as far to say he is a lock to wear some type of letter despite the coaching change. He came back to his school and team when he had an opportunity to go pro this past spring. That dedication to the program and leadership should be rewarded with a C or A when those decisions are made.

2. Sahir Gill- Gill is another senior who has filled a top 6 forward role in each of the last two seasons. He is crucial killing penalties and will be a guy this team relies on for some scoring next season. He has always come across as a team-first guy to us and I would give him a good chance to wear a letter.

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.

Weekend Recap

HS has your interesting Maine recap from Saturday night here. BU knocked off #1 UNH back on Thursday night by a 3-2 score. BU jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind goals from Wade Megan, Sahir Gill and Sam Kurker. Megan's goal was a typical goal for the captain as he kept poking and jabbing at a rebound from a Matt Grzelcyk shot and eventually put it past Casey DeSmith. It remained 1-0 until Sahir Gill scored his 2nd goal of the season off a great pass from Cason Hohmann on a 2 on 1, which was set up by a nice pass by Garrett Noonan.  BU made it 3-0 later in the second when freshman Sam Kurker bounced a shot past DeSmith to give BU a 3-0 lead. This was exactly what they needed as I said in my preview. They needed to get out to a lead because UNH just doesn't allow goals in the 3rd this year.  UNH added 2 goals from Kevin Gouma and John Henrion but could not score over the last 8:06 as BU killed 8 of 9 powerplays including one with 2:07 remaining. The team competed extremely hard and has to be happy to get out of Durham while handing UNH their first home loss of the season.  Matt O'Connor was once again huge for this team and together with Sean Maguire's second consecutive shutout on Saturday, there is alot to like about this goalie tandem. O'Connor has been seeing more time but I would think it is going to become a true rotation for the second half as it has become a healthy rivalry.

UMass recap Game 2- BU sweeps, gets all 4 ponies(points) on the weekend

The BU Terriers finished off the home and home sweep of the UMass Minutemen with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at the Mullins Center in Amherst. The game was played in front of a hostile 7,300+ fans. BU put itself in an early 2-0 hole after a power play goal by Shane Walsh and a penalty shot goal by Rocco Carzo. On both of the goals, BU goalie Matt O'Connor was in position and got a piece of each shot but was unable to make the save. It certainly is promising to note how well he is consistently positioned. He made a great glove save late in the first to keep the team in the game at a time when UMass had momentum. Walsh's goal came on a powerplay, which was a result of a weak call on Ahti Oksanen.

BU bounced back quickly after the penalty shot goal by Carzo when the top line of Evan Rodrigues, Cason Hohmann, and captain Wade Megan produced once again. Megan banged the puck in the net in the middle of a pile as the self-proclaimed "leader in greasy goals" banged in another one to cut the UMass lead in half in the middle of the second. BU tied it up at the end of the second when Matt Nieto made a great tip off a pass from freshman Danny O'Regan who had a coming out party this weekend. O'Regan posted a 2-2-4 line over the two games over the weekend. He really has played well on that new second line with Nieto and Sahir Gill who is playing the off-wing. This line was on the ice for the game-winning goal which defenseman Sean Escobedo banged home off a rebound over UMass goalie Kevin Boyle with 1:22 remaining.

BU Hockey Line Projections Take 1

So posting has been a little slow around here which is typical of the summer months. I figured I would take this chance to take a stab at some new line combination for the coming season. Technically, the recruiting class is not filled and has not been officially announced because Adam Clendening's scholarship has not been officially filled. The 2012 recruiting class as of now looks like this:
Forwards: Sam Kurker(2nd 2012 Stl) , Matt Lane ,Wes Myron(6th 2012 Van), Mike Moran, and Danny O'Regan(5th 2012 SJ).
Defensemen: Matt Grzelcyk(3rd 2012- Bos), TBD(Marc Hetnik?- wouldn't require a scholarship since his father is employed by BU)
Goalies: Sean MaGuire(4th 2012-Pitt), Matthew O'Connor

So now that the incoming class is as established as we could hope here is what I think the lines will look like on opening night vs PC without having seen most of these guys play yet.

1- Nieto-Gill- Cisse  - Cisse is obviously the guy who I have jumping from the 4th line to the 1st so he has to have a big summer  but I think since this is his first healthy summer in 3 summers, he certainly is a guy capable of making this type of jump. Gill seems like the best option at center with his hands and Nieto is the fastest guy in Hockey East and I would expect 40-50 points from him this year.

2 Megan-O'Regan-Kurker  - This line has the captain with two very skilled freshmen who I think can compete in Hockey East right away and will need for success. Megan can make their lives much easier with how hard he drives to the net and opens up space for his linemates.

3 Lane- Hohmann- Myron  -This line could easily include sophomore Evan Rodrigues on right wing depending on how Myron looks in camp along with Lane but I see both of them being successful collegiate players.

4- Courtnall- Rosen-Santana - This is really the only line that is set in stone in my mind. This is going to be the most experienced, grinder line in Hockey East easily. They will give this team depth as they are able to roll 4 lines in important games.
Extra forwards: Evan Rodrigues, Mike Moran,  Matt Ronan, Jake Moscatel,

D-Pairs
1 Noonan- Privitera - This d-pair is going to be a force throughout Hockey East as Privitera had a strong second half minus the wrist injury and Noonan will be all Hockey East first team.
2. Escobedo- MacGregor- Coach Parker usually puts one offensive D and a "stay at home" dman together but I don't see him forcing that this year unless he wants to break up Noonan and Privitera. Escobedo will be one of the most steady dmen in Hockey East this season and I think MacGregor will have a coming out party as an upperclassman(maybe even score a goal...nah).
3. Grzelcyk- Ruikka- This pair will be solid to begin the year as Ruikka is a veteran to help lead Grzelcyk as he gets accustomed to the speed of the college game.

Extra dmen- Marc Hetnik, TBD?

Goalies
1a. Sean MaGuire- These top two goalies are going to split starts fairly regularly until winter break and probably beyond unless one of them separates themselves as the clear starter.
1b. Matt O'Connor
3. Anthony Moccia

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+

Guest Post - Why Garrett Noonan Deserves ALL THE AWARDS

So this week, we have opened up BSRS to any BU fans willing to write a post for us. This is the first one we received but we will have 4 (or more) coming your way throughout this week. Here is the post straight from Future Mrs. Noonan... No it's not me or GW. We promise.

Everyone has a favorite player. It is almost impossible not to have one. Garrett Noonan is my favorite player (along with half the Dog Pound, I suspect). This post might be completely biased, but Garrett Noonan deserves all the awards this season and these are the reasons why.

Merrihack Preview

The BU Terriers will open up the second half of their conference schedule against the #7 ranked 11-3-3(7-2-1) Merrimack Warriors. Merrimack went undefeated in their first 10 games including a 3-2 OT win at BU in November. Since then, they have struggled due to injuries and an increase in the strength of schedule. Since the beginning of December, the Warriors have struggled with a 2-2-3 record against less than stellar opposition. The highest ranked team during that period was t13 Pairwise Colgate who Merrimack tied. Merrimack has struggled through injuries to most of their team and have not been able to gel since their sweep at the hands of Providence in the beginning of December.

Merrimack is led in total points by senior, trash talking forward Ryan Flanigan who has posted 14 points in 17 games so far this season but also had a little extra to say to Garrett Noonan in the handshake line in November. That will certainly be something to watch during the game and afterwards to see how bad Noonan beats up on the little punk from Rochester,NY.

The Terriers come into this game coming off a 5-2 loss at Notre Dame on New Year's Eve. The Terriers will be getting sophomore defenseman(and our next interview hopefully) Adam Clendening back from WJCs which should give the team a boost along with the elevated roles of Sahir Gill(who gets a shoutout on USCHO) and the hero from Canton Wade Megan. The Terriers look to prove to the nation that the new revamped lineup is just as effective as the lineup from the first half.