New polls: BU climbs to #6

The BU men's ice hockey team has climbed to #6 nationally in the USCHO poll while we wait on the USA Today polls to come out later this afternoon. The team is coming off a big win over now #7 Merrimack. The other Hockey East school in the top 10 is Newton University(BC) coming in at #4 after their 2-2 tie with Merrimack yesterday afternoon. The rest of the top 10 and Hockey East teams look as follows

1. Minnesota-Duluth 14-3-3

2. Ohio State 14-4-3

3. Notre Dame 13-6-3

4. BC 13-7-1

5. Minnesota 15-7-1

6. BU 11-6-1

7. Merrimack 11-4-4

8. Colorado College 12-7-1

9. Cornell 9-4-2

10. Western Michigan 10-7-5

11. Lowell 12-5-0

Receiving Votes

Northleastern

Maine

Harvard

The Pairwise rankings are the only relevant rankings and currently have BU in 5th there right behind BC at 4. Merrimack and Lowell would also be in the NCAA tournament if it started today with NU, Maine and PC all missing out despite being considered Teams under consideration.

INCH also came out with their power rankings which only have BU at 11 but hey haters gonna hate I guess. I don't see how you can put both Union and Colgate ahead of BU but apparently these guys think the are better than BU.

BU prepares now for two away games within Boston this week as they travel to Northeastern and their always classy fans for the first game against former Terrier Vinny "Party like a Puckstar" Saponari before traveling to Harvard Saturday night for a game that will have big implications on the Pairwise. Matthews will be packed Friday night and trash will probably be thrown on the ice or at the BU fans per usual. I guess you just have to do whatever it takes to get some attention when you're the the 3rd most relevant hockey program in Boston. I'm looking forward to their "HateBU" week this week. Should be some A+ material coming out of Huntington Ave this week. "Sucks to BU hahaha we're so funny and intelligent". Cue the Vinny Sap music already!

BU doubles up Merrihack 4-2

The BU men's ice hockey team got back to their winning ways last night with a big 4-2 win over conference foe, Merrimack. The win temporarily moves BU into first in Hockey East with one more game played than BC and one more point. The win also moves BU to its highest place in the pairwise rankings as they moved into t4th with the win. It was huge win for the confidence of this team as they attempted to rebound from a bad 5-2 loss at Notre Dame last weekend. The return of sophomore d-man Adam Clendening was a welcome site to see and a boost for the Teirriers.

The game did not start off ideally as Merrimack jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on Josh Meyers' first collegiate goal. Junior assistant captain Justin Courtnall tied it up 14 seconds later for BU off a rebound of his own shot. This was the second goal in as many games for the junior who seems determined to lift the team and his own play after the two mid season departures. Alex Chiasson took the lead for good for BU on a great powerplay goal on great passes from Chris Connolly and Adam Clendening to set up the goal. BU then hit again on the next man advantage on a great pass through the crease by Matt Nieto to freshman Alexx Privitera who banged home the goal.

In the second period, Merrihack lead goon Kyle Bigos made it 3-2 with a slapper from the point through traffic. That is the last mistake Millan would make though on his way to 42 saves on the night. Sophomore forward Sahir Gill made it 4-2, which was the final, on a great pinch interception and pass from Max NiCastro. The third period was scoreless and the Terriers walked out of Agganis Arena with their 11th win of the year. Millan was solid with 42 saves as was the entire roster. BU was lead by Justin Courtnall as he had a goal and responded to Merrimack goon Kyle Bigos after he took a cheap shot at former Vernon Viper teammate Sahir Gill.

The Terriers improved to 11-6-1 and will return to action next Friday against another hot team in Northeastern who is currently 17 in the pairwise. Matthews Arena will be jammed with the usual class acts who threw trash on the ice at the end of last year's BU win. Saturday night will be another road game at a Boston school, as the Terriers travel to Cambridge to take on Harvard.

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.

First polls of 2012

The National polls have come out for the first time in 2012 and despite the fact that they mean shit, they are fun to look at. Here is a breakdown of the top 10 and other teams I deem significant in the USCHO and USA Today polls.

Note- The USA Today poll place is in parentheses if different than the USCHO poll.

1. Minnesota-Duluth 12-3-3- The defending champs are playing like it heading into the second half and certainly are on of the teams to beat.

2. Ohio State 14-4-1-

3. Minnesota(5) 15-6-1- Minnesota stays high in the rankings despite losing to Northeastern in the Mariucci Classic. They will receive a big boost when Kyle Rau and Nick Bjugstad return from the WJC this week.

4. Boston College 13-7-0- Those fairies stay high in the rankings despite losing to Michigan this past week and squeaking by Michigan Tech.

5. Notre Dame (3) 12-6-3 - Notre Dame looked really good this past weekend against BU and seem ready to start a run in the second half

6. Colorado College(8) 12-6-0

7. Merrimack(6) 11-3-3- The hack is back moving up the rankings with a win and a tie this weekend up in NH against some great competition...oh wait nevermind

8. Western Michigan(9) 10-5-5

9. Colgate(7) 12-4-2

10. BU (11) 10-6-1- BU drops 1 and 2 spots with the loss at Notre Dame this weekend, but look to right the shit against Merrihack this coming Friday.

11. Denver(10) 10-7-3

12. UMass- Lowell 12-5-0- UML fans can finally relax and know they are in the top 15 in the meaningless polls.

13. Cornell(14) 8-4-1

16. Michigan(13) 11-8-3

Receiving votes:

Northeastern

Harvard

- Looks like there is a chance for all 4 Beanpot schools to be ranked when the tournament starts up in a little bit over a month.

- Here are the only meanings that mean anything with the pairwise rankings. Usually the top 14 or 15 from the pairwise make the NCAA tournament field. BU sits at 7 currently. Also, here is the HE weekly performance release with no love for BU whatsoever.

Happy New Year to All Our Loyal Readers and Fans

Last night was a great night to say goodbye to crappy 2011 and Hello to 2012. I highly suggest that you all attend a NYE in NYC, so many concerts, bars packed, & clubs pumping.
But on a serious note, on behalf of all of us, I hope New Year brings all of you great joy, great health, and more Ws in hockey than any other year. So Happy New Year to you, your family and your friends. As Always, GO BU! #bsrs4life