Previewing Tonight's Game

Get Ready to Pound the Minutemen!


As you well know, real hockey finally begins tonight at the Mullins Center in Amherst, with the Terriers facing off with the 1-0 Minutemen.  Coach Parker should have the boys pumped up and ready to go, so let's make sure you're the same.

Following the Game


If you can't get up to Amherst, like some people who have to work tonight, there's plenty of ways to follow the game online.  WTBU Sports will be streaming the game, and if you are looking for an interactive outlet, they will also most likely be live-blogging throughout the contest as well.  If you're in your car, 1510 has the call.  You could watch the game on All Access through UMass if you have an account.  Or you can follow the game on gametracker, via GoTerriers.

Now for the links!

Links


--GoTerriers.com has an extensive game preview for tonight's contest.

--In the game preview in The Daily Free Press, Coach Parker says that UMass' James Marcou is the player to watch for the Minutemen.

“James Marcou is their Nick Bonino.  He’s a real clever kid, sometimes he’s very flashy and sometimes he’s very subtle, but he makes all the right plays, can score goals and makes all the players around him much, much better.”

--On the eve of the season, Scott McLaughlin of the Freep has a great feature on Junior Captain Kevin Shattenkirk.

-- As always, you can find detailed game notes for the contest on GoTerriers.com

--USCHO released their This Week in Hockey East yesterday, so that can serve as a little more bonus reading for you.  They boldly predict the result of the game as well. I won't spoil it for you.

--UMass' Daily Collegian also has a nice preview of the game.

--Something called The Republican up in Amherst has their preview of tonight's tilt.


This should be a fun way for the IceDogs to start the season.  Not a great team, but a pesky team that has shown them some trouble in the last couple of years.  They'll be tested by a slew of returning talent for UMass, including prolific scorer James Marcou.

Last season, the Terriers faced UMass in Amherst immediately after earning the number one spot in the nation.  However, the Minutemen shocked the world and defeated the Terriers in front of more than 7,000 strong at Mullins.  It wasn't a cheapie either.  UMass won 5-1, behind a very strong 30-save effort from Paul Dainton.


Keys to the Game

BU needs to not just get shots on net, but grab quality chances.  In their first two games, the Terriers put up a tremendous 95 shots, but came away with just 5 goals.  If they want to beat a Hockey East team, they'll need to do a better job than simply tossing the puck on net.

Another key for BU is, as always, the goaltending.  Kieran Millan played like a man possessed last season, and with the huge number of departures from last year's crew, he'll need to be even better this time around.  He hasn't had a large enough sample size in the pre-season to really be judged on his performance.  Until Kieran gives me reason to believe otherwise, I am fully confident that he will be the same dominant goalie he was last season.  Adam Krauss, on the other hand, I am not so sure about.

Finally, the play of the Freshmen will decide the Terriers' fate.  There are seven newbies on the squad, and tonight will be the first chance for us all to see which of them get a chance to lace them up and get real ice-time.  Some will be role-players, some may be stars.  It's extremely exciting to watch young players develop, and tonight is our first chance to do that.