The score in a pre-season game is far from the most important thing. The coaches are not coaching to win, lose, or draw, but rather to get their teams ready to play the games that matter, and to figure out who plays well together. You also get a first look at your goaltenders and your freshmen. All things considered, it wasn't a bad way for the Terriers to start off last night.
Lines and Pairings
The starting five for last nights game was the forward line of Chris Connolly, Nick Bonino and Kevin Gilroy with the defensive pairing of Kevin Shattenkirk and Sean Escobedo. The first line played well throughout the game, generating a ton of chances, including the Terriers' first score. The starting three forwards has 13 of BU's 53 shots on goal.Here are the other lines and pairings.
Forwards
Zach Cohen, Corey Trivino, Alex Chiasson
Andrew Glass, Luke Popko, Joe Pereira
Justin Courtnall, Wade Megan, Ryan Santana, with Ross Gaudet cycling in
Defense:
Eric Gryba with Ben Rosen
David Warsofsky with Max Nicastro
Shots, Shots and More Shots
BU took 19 shots in the first, 15 in the second, 18 in the third and 1 in the OT for a total of 53. However, a great deal of those shots were not efforts that you will generally see from the boys in Scarlet and White. They didn't exhibit a great deal of patience in trying to create opportunities, and when they did Joe Perricone of St. Francis did an outstanding job keeping their shots out of the net. Terriers' fans hope that with time, the Terriers will take fewer shots, but more quality chances.The First of Many
Alex Chiasson assisted on BU's second goal. On the play, he collected the puck from behind the net, spun and backhanded a nifty pass out in front to Corey Trivino who buried it for the goal. Chiasson should have many, many more points this year, and the Terriers need him to step in and replace some of the points they lost from Wilson and Lawrence. He looked extremely comfortable last night, and his a tremendous skater, especially for a player of his size. Chiasson is a ridiculous six foot four, and he looks even bigger than that out on the ice. At one point, he was skating alongside Eric Gryba, and it really was an impressive sight to see. Alex Chiasson should be able to contribute tremendously to this offense immediately.
A Tad Bit Rusty In Net
Adam Krauss didn't see a whole lot of playing time last year, and it is the first exhibition game, but that being said, Krauss still looked unreasonably rusty. He surrendered both goals despite facing only nine shots. The biggest problem with Krauss last night was his apparent inability to prevent big rebounds from bouncing out in front. If he wants to be considered for the back-up spot, he'll need to do a much better job smothering those shots and not giving up second and third chances. St. Francis didn't do much with them, but I know some guys at BC and UMass Lowell would be licking their chops at the sight of those loose pucks.Speaking of Rust...
Physical Freshman
Zach Attack
Nice Gear
Feels Like the First Time
Notable Absences
Victor and Vinny Saponari both missed the contest, mourning a death in the family. National Title game hero Colby Cohen and sophomore (presumably backup) goaltender Grant Rollheiser each missed the game due to injuries.
Check Your Programs
Some numbers being worn this year that belong to players from last year:Max Nicastro -- 7 (Brian Strait)
Ben Rosen -- 8 (Steve Smolinsky)
Corey Trivino -- 10 (Chris Higgins)
Ryan Santana -- 15 (John McCarthy)
Wade Megan -- 18 (Brandon Yip)
Sean Escobedo -- 21 (Jason Lawrence)
Next Up
The Terriers next contest is on Saturday, October 10th against the US U-18 Team. The team will be raising their National Champions banner before the game, with a ceremony scheduled for 6pm.
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