Senior Series- Sean Maguire

This is post #2 of the annual BSRS Senior Series. You can read Mike Moran's post here.

                                       Photo by Jackie Riccardi - www.bu.edu
                                   - Classic Maguire throwing BC over his shoulder



Sean Maguire was a critical part of BU hockey from the time he arrived on campus. The netminder from Powell River, British Columbia contributed from the get go as he appeared in 62 games over the course of career on Comm Ave. Maguire sat out last season due to a concussion suffered in 2014 but still held atleast a .919 save percentage in each season that he was healthy for the Terriers. Maguire is a fourth round 2012 draft pick for Pittsburgh who will either sign with the organization before 8/15 or become a UFA at that point and be eligible to sign with any organization. He always gave me the feeling that he could stand on his head for BU at any moment to keep them in a game. This happened in the Beanpot this past year. He also was fantastic in the 2013 Hockey East championship vs Lowell in Jack Parker's last game at the garden giving BU every chance to beat Connor Hellybuyck(I don't care enough to look up how to spell his name).
       

Senior Series Post #1 Mike Moran

This is the first post in the 2015-2016 Senior Series. Posts on Matt Lane, Ahti Oksanen, Danny O'Regan, Matt Grzelcyk and Sean Maguire will follow.

Mike Moran may seem like your typical fourth line grinder but he certainly is not. Moran was destined to play on Comm Ave since he was born into a family full of BU hockey players including both of his uncles Mike and Mark Bavis. Mike, who he would play for during his freshman season and Mark, who he would honor with his jersey number.

Moran came to BU as a 21 year old freshman when most of his classmates were 2 or 3 years younger than him. He had to play a year after graduation from high school in the BCHL and EJHL for three different teams to convince the BU coaching staff including his own uncle that he belonged. his 46 points in 39 BCHL games certainly proved that. He wasn't given a spot because of his uncles. He earned it and was a critical player for BU over his four year career. He was a stable presence on the fourth line always finding a way to make a positive play whether it was a goal, a chip out of the zone or a faceoff win. Moran arrived on campus in the fall of 2011 and contributed to the team from the very beginning. He wasn't the offensive scorer of some of his classmates like Danny O'Regan or Matt Gryzelcyk but he certainly found his niche as a fourth line grinder who could play the defensive style of the game very well. His 25 career points certainly are not going to jump out at you but he always seemed to find a way to score in the biggest games. His biggest goal scored  was probably in the Beanpot Final last year to open up the game that BU would eventually win in OT. He also scored from below the goalline on BC's Thatcher Demko last season in a BU win at BC.

Weekend Recap: Terriers Season ends in Saint Paul

The Terriers 2015-2016 season ended at the hands of the Denver Pioneers this past Saturday in the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers had a good start to the game but couldn't bury any chances they got early on. The first line(Greenway, JFK, and O'Regan) were effective their first 3 or 4 shifts but didn't have anything to show for it. Denver scored two goals at the end of the opening period and never looked back on their way to a 7-2 victory. It was a disappointing way to end the season for the Terriers but in all reality, it is always a win a title or bust mentality every season on Comm Ave(either end of it).  So while this does suck, it doesn't change how I view the team this year or when I look back on the season. This is a top 10 team in the country as their record shows but unfortunately, they didn't play like it after the regular season ended.

It is always easy to point out the flaws in a team or a coach after a bad season ending loss but every other fan in the world does that so I'm going to avoid doing that here. The truth is that BU Hockey is in very good shape moving forward to build off of this season. They have 49 wins over the last two seasons and have made the NCAA tournament in both of them. This is just the beginning of a long run of NCAA tournament appearances as when you look at the recruiting trail and this team is only going to get more talented as time goes on in the Quinn era.

Now that the season is over, it will be interesting to see what members of the team sign professional contracts. We will be doing a post on each individual senior in the next few weeks but for now the attention is on where they will continue their hockey careers. Seniors Ahti Oksanen and Matt Lane are undrafted free agents and are free to sign with any team of their choosing. Oksanen is one of the more sought after college free agents and will have his options of teams. My gut tells me he will sign with NYR(and former associate coach Steve Greeley) but there will be plenty of teams interested in his services after he lead the NCAA in shots on goal. A dark horse to sign him could be Arizona as former BU associate coach Mike Bavis is an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate in Springfield and recruited Ahti to BU from Finland. Lane will have his options of suitors as well and will most likely sign an ATO with an AHL team in the next few weeks. Mike Moran will have options to pursue his career as well in either the ECHL or AHL.

Q&A with Lets Go DU Blog

Myself and the Let's Go DU blog have been exchanging minor chirps the last few days so it was time to hash out all our difference before the game tonight. Attached is the Q&A from each one of us to the other.

1. What has been the major reason behind Denver's second half dominant run?

I've had a number of conversations with Coach Montgomery and a few players about this and the answer seems to be the same. I'll paraphrase, but by and large, they've said, "It's been our commitment to each other on the ice. It doesn't matter who gets it done just so long as it gets done. There's no selfish play on this team." When you watch the Pioneers play, you notice that...and it becomes a problem at times when they choose to pass instead of shoot when they have an open lane. But more often than not, their strategy has worked since the New Year, so who am I to question it? The holiday break played a really big part in the Pios' dominant second half. Heading into the break, Denver had lost 4 straight games to North Dakota and St. Cloud State by a combined score of 20-5. They used the break to hit the reset button and get back to playing "relentless" Pioneer hockey, as Coach Montgomery likes to say. The added production by the Pacific Rim Line (Trevor Moore-Dylan Gambrell-Danton Heinen) has been a major factor as well. I honestly can't remember the last time at least one of those three didn't at least tally a point. Everything has kind of fallen into place for Denver in the second half.

2. Who outside of the first line and Will Butcher do you think can have an impact on the game and Terrier fans should keep an eye out for?

Watch for DU's 4th line ("C" Grant Arnold-Matt Marcinew-Jarid Lukosevicius). Last year, Denver's 4th line was known as the MASH Line because of their physical, energetic play. I like to look at this year's 4th line as MASH Line v2.0. No line will ever compare to the energy and physicality that last year's MASH line brought, but this year's line plays a similar role. Montgomery will often send that line out for the opening faceoff to get things going in DU's favor early. If it ever seems like things are starting to shift in BU's favor during this game, be sure to look at what players are on the ice for the Pioneers. It's likely you're going to see 39 (Arnold), 23 (Marcinew), and 14 (Lukosevicius) out there to kind of force things back into DU's favor. They don't always find the back of the net, but their energetic play often leads to a goal from another line.

3. How far into Jim Montgomery's head do you think BU is at this point? First , they ruin his perfect season as a player at Maine and now they are going to end an impressive coaching season for him?

HA! I'm sure seeing BU on the schedule doesn't exactly make Monty happy. I also believe that overtime loss on Halloween still bothers him. He said earlier this week that he felt Denver should have won that game in October. A few bad bounces cost the Pios that night. BU has certainly been a thorn in his side throughout his career, but knowing Montgomery, that only adds to his motivation.

Weekend Preview: Silent Killers

The BU Terriers will be heading on their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament this weekend as they face the Denver Pioneers in a first round matchup before beating the winner of St. Cloud St. and Ferris St to advance to the Frozen Four in Tampa in a few weeks. The Terriers and Pioneers faced off once earlier this year with the Terriers pulling out a 5-4 OT win thanks to Ahti Oksanen's first two goals of the season.

The location will be different as the regional is located in St. Paul, Minnesota but the teams will be the same as will the outcome. There are many Denver fans looking past BU to a matchup with St. Cloud St in the regional final which is an ideal scenario for BU. Getting placed out west is a blessing for BU. There will be fans who will mention BU's record isn't as good in Western regionals historically but you can really throw those records out the window. St. Paul is the only regional where BU avoids other Hockey East teams(which are the best teams) but still will be an underdog in the region for reasons unknown to me. Apparently western fans are delusional and not smart. Who would have guessed? Hopefully once BU trounces Denver, St. Cloud fans look forward to the Frozen Four semi matchup with North Dakota(if they get past lil bro Northeastern). St. Paul is also not a hellhole like Albany and Worcester are. I have only been in the Cincinnati airport so I will refrain comment and that was enough to know that it sucks too.