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On a night when Selanne was honored for becoming the 18th player in the history of the league to score 600 goals, the NHL legend didn't score, but instead helped set up Nick Bonino's first ever score as a professional.
Bonino's second period power play goal broke a 0-0 tie, and set the stage for three straight Ducks' goals en route to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars.
"It's incredible. I'm happy I did it at home. Happy we got a win. [Selanne] said he still remembers his first goal," Bonino said. "I told him I'll probably remember this one as long as I'm playing and as long as I live, too."
What a way to get your first goal. Congrats, Nick.
BC Going to 9th Frozen Four in 13 Years, Miami Advances in Double OT
The lead story here for Terrier fans is the dreadful news that the Eagles of BC have moved on to yet another Frozen Four. That means their 4th appearance in 5 seasons, and 9th in 13. They didn't exactly get by Yale the way you would have expected, though.
The Eagles won the game 9-7, in what looked more like a low-scoring basketball game than a hockey game. Cam Atkinson had a hat trick in the game, and Brian Gibbons scored two of his own to push the Eagles to a 4 goal second and 3 goal third to win the game.
After the game, Coach Jerry York told the media that he simply doesn't care how they win, as long as they get the job done. “Our objective is to win and advance. The game is always different. Would I like a 1-0 game over a 9-7 game? To me, it doesn’t matter. I just want to win games.”
The Eagles will get our old friends, the Redhawks of Miami Ohio in the Frozen Four. Miami used their own magic to get to Detroit, winning in double overtime thanks to an Alden Hirschfeld game winner. Miami beat the Michigan Wolverines 3-2 to advance to their second straight frozen four.
It wasn't easy for the Redhawks, as netminder Connor Knapp turned away a whopping 55 of 57 Michigan shots to keep Miami in the game and eventually win it. That includes an incredible 20 saves in the first overtime period.
BC and Miami will join Voldemort's Wisconsin team and RIT in Detroit on Thursday, April 8th for the Frozen Four. RIT and Wisconsin have the 5 P.M. game, and BC and Miami get the 8:30 P.M. start time. RIT beat New Hampshire in the Albany Final to move on.
"Zach Cohen scored his first goal as a Monster, and Lake Erie beat the host San Antonio Rampage on Saturday, 5-4. Cohen, a 6-3, 190-pound forward who only Tuesday signed with the Monsters' NHL parent team, the Colorado Avalanche, scored in the first period to give the Monsters a 2-1 lead. Cohen assisted on Lake Erie's first goal, which Mike Bartlett potted to tie the game, 1-1, three minutes earlier."
Zach Cohen has played in just three games for Lake Erie. Get the spot ready, Avalanche. He'll be there soon.
Nicky Bonino made his NHL Debut for the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers, and impressed his coaches in his 14 minutes of ice time. He got the call thanks to Getzlaf's faulty ankle, and is tyring to make the most of it.
Bonino Didn't Score, But He Was on the Ice For a Ducks Goal
"He's a skilled player. You can see that he knows his way around the rink. The situation we put him in, we tried to play him with our best players. Anytime a kid gets an opportunity to play with that level of player, he should feel fortunate. We feel fortunate he can slide in there and not really look out of place. He was not overwhelmed in any situation. That's always a positive for a young player."
Bonino was welcomed to the NHL by a couple of big hits early on in the game. He talked to the OC Register about getting knocked out by Oilers Big Man Dean Arsene.
"It was a good hit. I make a drop pass, and he finished his hit. Good to get it out of the way early. Woke me up a little. I'd imagined I'd get hit pretty good in one of these games. I'm happy it happened in my first one. I'll go from there and know what to expect."
Nick will remain on the first line for the Ducks tonight against Dallas.
Within a couple of seasons, the top forward line, top defensive pairing, starting goaltender and Head Coach of the Colorado Avalanche will presumably look a little something like this.
Well I guess I just found my favorite Western Conference NHL team.
All custom jersey images come courtesy of IceJerseys.com where you can customize any NHL jersey. So get ready for your Bonino Ducks sweater, too.
"Jerry York, ‘nuff said. Then again, we’ll say more. Not the superstar-laden teams we have seen in the past but kids like Jimmy Hayes and Chris Krieder make you want these guys to win. No staff in college hockey makes you feel more at home in their rink as a visitor then theirs, and when it comes to BC it’s a family affair everywhere they go. You never get the feeling they are Boston College; you get the feeling that they are just your local team you root for, which is pretty cool. There is just something folksy about them which is unique since they play in a huge city.
Boston College as a national champion is never a bad thing."
Well, Dave let me tell you what I think.
I think that Boston College as a national champion is not just a bad thing, but it is in fact the worst thing. There is nothing "folksy" about visiting Boston College. It is a pretentious, self-important, arrogant, awful establishment that reeks of "We're better than you" from start to finish.
The entity that is BC is not welcoming, nor is it pleasant. From the second you walk onto their gated, perfectly manicured, nose in the air campus, you feel as if all of the pink popped collar polo shirts are judging you for not being quite wealthy enough to fit in with the elite that stride around on Chestnut Hill.
Barstool Sports May or May Not Still Sell These Wonderful Shirts
If you want to make the case that BC could win the title because they have an experienced team and goaltender that already has a championship under their belts, or because they have one of the greatest coaches of all-time, by all means, make that case. But don't try to push the idea that Boston College is this nice little quaint place to catch a hockey game, or to visit.
Unless you are somehow connected to the legacy that is Boston College, and by association have provided that institution with money, you will not exactly be welcomed with open arms onto the campus of Newton University. I'm sure John Kerry and Doug Flutie right at home at their alma mater, but for the rest of us unwashed masses, we simply feel itchy when we walk through that gate.
So no, Dave. I do not want these guys to win. I do not feel at home in their crappy, foggy rink. It is not a family affair at BC. I know immediately when I arrive at BC that I am at BC, because the pompous asses that populate the school remind you of where you are the entire time that you're there. It is not cool to root for BC. In fact, it is downright blasphemy. There is nothing folksy about a $50,000 a year school with a $1.3 billion endowment. They are not unique in any way. Their campus is bland and lifeless.
And one more thing, Dave. Boston College as a National Champion is always a very bad thing.
The season may be over for the Terriers, but it never ends here at TMA. Over the summer we'll have plenty of new and exciting features to transition you from 09-10 to 10-11. Here are some of the things we're working on that you should keep an eye out for in the coming weeks and months.
-- End of the year awards
-- Re-capping the season that was
-- A look back at the season's high and low points
-- "Thanks For The Memories" : A Fond Farewell to the 2010 Seniors
-- "2010 Fresh Meat Series" : An in-depth look at the incoming freshmen
-- Position by position report card and needs
-- Keeping up with Hockey East: An update on the Terriers' Rivals
-- Weekly Alumni Watch Segments
If there is anything else you want to see TMA tackle, feel free to suggest it in the comment section of this page, or on the TMA Facebook Page.
So far this off-season, Hockey East has seen 5 players bolt from the ranks of college hockey in favor of getting their pro careers underway.
The latest in the growing list of talent that we won't get to watch any more is Marcou, unquestionably the biggest offensive threat on the Amherst roster. Marcou is headed to San Jose to play for the Sharks.
Marcou is the Third Minuteman to Bolt to the NHL This Off-Season
Marcou had 40 assists and 11 goals this year for the Minutemen, and his 51 points were good enough to make him the leading scorer on the UMass Roster. It was the latest in a steady upward progression for the explosive forward.
In addition to Marcou, Amherst will be forced to bid adieu to their second leading point scorer Casey Wellman. Wellman will take his 23 goals to the Minnesota Wild. Finally, UMass will have to say goodbye to their best offensive defenseman, Matt Irwin, who will join the Worcester Sharks.
In addition to BU's Nick Bonino, who skipped out on his senior year, Hockey East lost Northeastern Defenseman Jake Newton to the Anaheim Ducks.
BC, UNH, UVM Representing Hockey East on the Big Stage
After an insane year in Hockey East, three teams will be in the field of 16, repping the greatest conference in all the land. In reality, HE was lucky to get three teams into the dance.
The first Hockey East team in action will be UNH, which will face off with Cornell on Friday at 6 PM in Albany, NY. Next up, UVM gets He Who Must Not Be Named and the rest of the #3 overall Wisconsin Badgers at 9 PM out in St. Paul Minnesota. Finally, #4 overall Boston College will get to stay close to home in Worcester, playing Alaska Fairbanks at 1:30 PM on Saturday.
The UNH and UVM games will be televised on ESPNU, and the BC game will be televised on the inter-web on ESPN360.com
I'll be rooting for a Cornell vs. Bemidji State Final. Just pray that the Eagles don't find their way to the Frozen Four for the 4th out of 5 seasons.
After his senior year came to a disappointing end, Zach Cohen probably feels a whole lot better today than he did 5 days ago.
Zach has inked a contract with the Colorado Avs organization, where he will head to the AHL to play under former BU assistant coach David Quinn. At some point, Zach should have the chance to play with former teammate Brandon Yip.
Also, in the not too distant future, current (for now) Terriers Kevin Shattenkirk, Colby Cohen and Kieran Millan will all make their way west to the Rockies.
It almost seemed like a foregone conclusion, as unlike the juniors at the end of 2008, there wasn't a nagging sense of unfinished business for Bonino's class. Nick already brought home a national title, in which he scored the incredible game-tying goal, a moment that will live forever in Terrier lore.
The next logical question would be whether or not Captain Kevin Shattenkirk will opt out of his senior year as well in favor of the NHL.
As of right now, the count of departed Terriers is 4, with Bonino joining the likes of seniors Eric Gryba, Zach Cohen and Luke Popko.
It may be the Black Bears of Maine that will go down in the record books as defeating BU to end their season, but in reality, the only people that the Terriers have to blame for their early exit from the playoffs are themselves. The blame for the 5-2 loss to Maine last night falls squarely on the shoulders of the guys who lost it.
For two full periods last night at the T.D. Garden, the Terriers didn't so much as show up. It felt as if they simply didn't care, or perhaps didn't realize that this was their season hanging in the balance.
As Jack Parker told the media after the game, "The thing that jumps out at me is that we had a team out there playing at the top of their game (Maine), and we had another team that was not nearly what they had to be tonight (BU). I was very impressed with how hard, and fast and quick Maine played tonight, and I was disappointed with our efforts. The difference in the speed in the game, the difference in the focus, we were back on our heels all night. I thought we'd be a real fast game together, I thought both teams would come out flying tonight, and one of them did."
Parker's team simply didn't get the memo. They didn't seem to understand that this is it. And really, that has been their M.O. all season long. Win a few, get comfortable. Lose a few, panic and jump back up. Win a few, get comfortable. Repeat as needed to mail in a season.
Maybe it's the fact that all but 7 of the guys on this roster already wear a big scarlet ring on their fingers, constantly reminding them of their perfect conquest just a year ago. That championship seemed to breed complacency all season long in a group of players who acted like last year's win meant that they had nothing to prove this year. Now the book is closed on the under-achieving, under-performing 2009-2010 Terriers.
Certainly some came to play last night. Eric Gryba laid down his biggest hit of the season in what was, as usual, a solid effort for the big Senior in his final game as a Terrier. Kieran Millan looked better than he had for most of the season, but was hung out to dry by his shoot first, play defense later blueliners. On that subject, David Warsofsky had a solid offensive effort, but it certainly wasn't enough to maintain possession in the Maine zone, a feat that the Terriers couldn't achieve all night long.
After the loss, Gryba said of Maine, "They didn't let off the gas the whole game. They came at us, and we had a few glimpses of hope, but they just kept on coming, and hats off to them."
Eric Gryba's BU Career is Over
The semi-final game was, in many ways, a microcosm of the entire campaign. Beyond playing without much energy at all, the season-ender for BU summed up the main problem this team has battled all season long: a lack of scoring from its forwards.
Without a natural goal scorer like a Colin Wilson, a Chris Higgins, a Brandon Yip or a Jason Lawrence, BU spent much of this season searching for offense, and searching for answers.
As a result, 26 of of their 123 goals came from defenseman this season. That's a full 21% of the BU offense coming from the defense. That's not necessarily a negative, but when the forwards seem to actually lack the ability to put home goals, it's a killer.
BU's forwards were notably absent last night as well. Even if Vinny Saponari did get credit for a score after a nine minute review, the fact is that the Terrier forwards simply had no say in what happened on the ice last night. Their passes were intercepted, their shots were blocked, and they were consistently beaten to loose pucks.
Eric Gryba, Zach Cohen and Luke Popko have all played their final games as Terriers. It sure would have been nice to send them off with a better effort than this.
With March Madness in full swing, it will definitely be tough to pull myself away from the basketball action to head down to the Garden for tonight's game. But in all reality, the Madness is getting underway for the Terriers against Maine tonight.
As we all know, BU blew any shot they had at an at-large bid when they stumbled against Providence and Vermont a few weeks ago. After a loss in the middle game of last week's quarterfinals, the Terriers have used up 8 of their 9 lives, and officially have zero margin for error. While BC is in no matter what and Vermont may be able to sneak in without winning out this weekend, BU needs the Lamoriello Trophy to officially dance.
But let's be honest. The dance starts tonight.
In NCAA Basketball, it takes a string of 6 wins for a team to navigate its way through the field of 64 all the way to a National Title. The official NCAA Hockey field is just a sweet group of sixteen teams. Before BU can whittle it down to a four game win streak, they need to win two games this weekend. That makes a total of six consecutive wins to re-gain the throne atop the college hockey world.
If you were to pretend that BU's 64 team tournament begins tonight, the road to Detroit doesn't seem quite so daunting. Sure, they're a longshot, but if they can just find a way to win six straight games, it won't matter how many goals Kieran Millan let up in November, or how few Nick Bonino scored in December.
Throw out the fact that the final four Hockey East teams are fighting for the distinction of being Hockey East's best, and focus on the simple fact that all other trophies aside, a six game winning streak would mean that the Terriers, after all their trials and tribulations, would be kings of the world again.
Every game is a must win for the Terriers now, and we're going to find out this weekend what they're made of.
In hoops yesterday we saw that Texas, once a #1 ranked team, simply didn't have what it takes to climb the mountain. But Ohio, a complete afterthought in the basketball world, knocked off Georgetown, a beast of the Big East. Murray State (yes, Murray State) took down Vanderbilt. If either one of those teams can win five more games, they will be champions forever. It doesn't matter what conference they play in, or what their regular season record was.
BU needs to act like a mid-major basketball team, and start playing like they have something to prove. Because if they can win six in a row, they'll earn something that nobody can ever take away from them.
UNH's Bobby Butler Named Hockey East Player of the Year
Well this is just horrible news for Terrier fans. Bobby Butler won the Hockey East Player of the Year award, beating out fellow Hobey Baker Finalist Gustav Nyquist.
In case you were wondering, here is how Butler and Nyquist's conference scoring numbers match-up.
Point Scoring: GP PPG G- A- P
1 Bobby Butler New Hampshire SR F 27 1.52 21-20-41
Gustav Nyquist Maine SO F 27 1.52 12-29-41
Can anyone say co-player of the year?
Bobby Butler is a senior, and that is probably the reason that he was given the award over Nyquist, who is just a sophomore at Maine.
The horrible news is that now Nyquist has something to prove when he struts into the Garden for his first ever Hockey East semi-final series.
On the eve of the biggest weekend of the year so far for BU Hockey, we've got some honors and awards to get to for BU and Maine.
Colby Cohen was the only Terrier named to the Hockey East first team, and no Terriers were selected to the second team. Nick Bonino was selected to the honorable mention team.
HOCKEY EAST FIRST-TEAM ALL-STARS
G: Brian Foster, New Hampshire (Sr., Pembroke, N.H.)
D: Justin Braun, Massachusetts (Sr., Vadnais Heights, Minn.)
D: Colby Cohen, Boston University (Jr., Villanova, Pa.)
D: Blake Kessel, New Hampshire (So., Verona, Wis.)
F: Bobby Butler, New Hampshire (Sr., Marlboro, Mass.)
F: Brian Gibbons, Boston College (Jr., Braintree, Mass.)
F: Gustav Nyquist, Maine * (So., Malmo, Sweden)
* unanimous selection
HOCKEY EAST SECOND-TEAM ALL-STARS
G: Carter Hutton, UMass-Lowell (Sr., Thunder Bay, Ont.)
D: Jeremy Dehner, UMass-Lowell (Sr., Madison, Wis.)
D: Jeff Dimmen, Maine (Jr., Colorado Springs, Col.)
F: Cam Atkinson, Boston College (So., Greenwich, Conn.)
F: Stephane Da Costa, Merrimack College (Fr., Paris, France)
F: James Marcou, Massachusetts (Jr., Kings Park, N.Y.)
HOCKEY EAST HONORABLE MENTION ALL-STARS
G: Alex Beaudry, Providence College (So., Cumberland, Ont.)
D: Carl Sneep, Boston College (Sr., Nisswa, Minn.)
D: Mark Fayne, Providence College (Sr., Sagamore Beach, Mass.)
F: Nick Bonino, Boston University (Jr., Unionville, Conn.)
When BU fans think about Maine, the indelible image of a two-game romp at Agganis comes to the fore-front of the minds of most Terrier fans. Those games stick out for good reason. The weekend sweep over Maine was more or less the high point of the season for the Terriers. It culminated a 9-3 start to the new year, and at the conclusion of that weekend BU seemed poised to make a run at an at-large bid.
There was, however, another match-up between BU and Maine, one that went to the Black Bears. We look back at the BU-Maine season series.
Jack Parker talked about BU's last series and its next opponent in this week's conference call. You can listen to the entire audio here. Once again, the quality of the audio is a bit crappy, but it's there.
Parker was asked what his team's state of mind is heading into Friday night.
“If I knew that, we wouldn’t be having the problems we’ve had this year. We certainly have played much, much better in the second half. We’ve had a pretty good run, but had some real setbacks, however, at the end of the second half. We made a mess out of a game up in Vermont and certainly made a mess out a game against Merrimack... It looked like we were disinterested those two games. We had a lot of those in the first semester and we’ve only had only a couple of those in the second semester, so I’m pretty confident that Dr. Jekyll will show up, but who knows?
We know we can’t afford a Mr. Hyde. If we have a no-show type of game, our season is over. I know we have enough competitors and leadership to make sure that we are focused and ready instead of wondering 'I wonder how this game is going to go tonight?'"
So Parker sounds confident, but not exactly thrilled are where his team is at going into the semis. You can't exactly blame the guy for not brimming over with confidence, based on the fact that his team completely laid an egg in the middle game of the first round. It's the time of year when the seniors (Gryba, Z Cohen, Popko) and the captains (Bonino, Shatty, Gryba) need to man up and remind this team that they can't afford another bad effort.
Parker also talked about facing off with a tough offense.
“I expect a hard-fought, well-executed game from Maine. They can skate, they’ve got one of the best first lines in college hockey (and) they have the best power play in college hockey."
Beyond their offense, Parker touched on Maine's lack of a starting goalie.
"Certainly [Scott] Darling is having a great season, but I remember [Dave] Wilson played once against us and he was great (34 saves in 2-2 tie at Maine, 2/14/09). I’m not surprised that he stepped up and became the man for them in a crucial series because some guys are just waiting for their chance. Just because he’s the back-up goalie doesn’t mean he’s not a good goalie. He’s the back-up goaltender to a terrific goaltender. If Kieran Millan went down and we had to put [Grant] Rollheiser in, I think we’d be very confident that Rollheiser would be able to get the job done for us, and I think the same holds true for Wilson.
I don’t think that our team will think that this will be an easier game because Darling’s not there. They present a lot of problems... and not having their No. 1 goaltender will not be a factor.”
It would be difficult to poo-poo the efforts of Wilson after his solid work last weekend in the win over Lowell. But this goes back to Parker's first points about his team's mindset. All year long the Terriers have gotten cocky with just the smallest degree of success. They come out and play like they think they're better than their opponents.
The Terriers better be ready to play on Friday, because Maine is no second class team. Between their explosive offense and a solid blue-line corps, this is not a team to look past.
Last week I wondered whether or not the loss of Scott Darling for an indefinite period of time would be too much for Maine to overcome when they went toe to toe with Lowell.
You can't blame me for wondering if the Black Bears were in trouble. Heading into the playoffs, Maine was swept at home by Amherst, extending an ugly stretch of four losses in five games. Darling hasn't seen game action since being pulled with six and half minutes to play in Maine's loss to Mack back on February 26, and his back-ups had been less than stellar.
The weekend sweep to Amherst saw Maine coach Tim Whitehead start Shawn Sirman twice, and pull Shawn Sirman twice in favor of senior backup Dave Wilson. The two backups head combined for a record of 1-9 going into the playoffs.
Senior Dave Wilson Has Stepped Up In the Playoffs
Needless to say, it didn't look too good for Maine when the puck dropped on the quarterfinals.
After falling in the quarters to BU, Mack ends its season with a 16-19-2 record, tying its best mark ever since joining Hockey East. The addition of Stephane Da Costa to the team provided a spark to a team that hadn't seen playoff action in six years.
Mack will be back in the mix of things in Hockey East, and they played like a team possessed this weekend. The series was incredibly tough and physical, and you had to be impressed with the way Merrimack not only stood up to the defending national champs on their rink but how they ran into the playoffs to begin with.
They gave the Terriers all they could handle this weekend, a disappointing end to an otherwise encouraging year for the Warriors.
I'm glad the Terriers don't have to contend with Stephane Da Costa, Chris Barton and Joe Cannata any more. I'm even happier that Eric Gryba won't have to deal with the likes of Kyle Bigos and Ryan Flanigan getting under his skin. I'm not glad we can't make fun of Joe Cucci's name next weekend, but I'm pretty pumped he won't be shooting on Millan.
Now it's time for BU to turn their attention to Hobey Nyquist and the Maine Black Bears, back-up goalies and all. Story lines abound, and we'll get to all of them leading up to Friday night at 8 PM.
The Terriers closed out the Merrimack Warriors by winning the Hockey East Quarterfinal series 2-1, thanks to a 3-0 victory in the decisive game three on Sunday night. As a result, the Terriers will be advancing to a record ninth straight appearance in the Hockey East semi-finals next weekend.
Kieran Millan turned in his first shut-out of the season, while the Terriers put up three goals in support of their sophomore netminder.
Without a doubt in my mind or a moment of hesitation, Eric Gryba earns the Two Man Advantage first star of the weekend award.
Gryba showed puck handling skills I had no idea he had, and played another level of tough in the defensive end. He fired his team up by getting physical with Mack's big men, and he even put one in the net.
In Sunday's game, Gryba stood tall in a shooting lane to block a slapper that rifled off of his left leg. He was clearly hurt by the shot, but he never went down to the ice, and he finished his shift, even clearing the puck out of the zone. Gryba went to the locker room to get looked at, and before you could blink he was back on the Terrier bench. He didn't even come close to missing a shift.
It almost seemed as if Gryba realized that somebody needed to step up for this team and make sure the season wouldn't end on home ice this weekend. He took matters into his own hands and played his brand of hockey plus some to lead his team to a hard fought series victory.
Gryba certainly had already earned the "A" that dons his left chest, but this weekend he reminded us that he truly is one of the most important leaders of this team.
Second Star: Kieran Millan
Kieran showed the form that earned him the rookie of the year honors and praise that he got last season. It almost seems as if he was saving his lightning fast glove hand and his ridiculous lateral movement for the post-season. Millan was sprawling from post to post to make saves, and he kept his team in a position to win this series.
Over the course of the weekend series, Millan surrendered 5 goals on 97 shots, good for a .948 save percentage. That number doesn't even describe how good Millan was though, as three of the five goals that he gave up were essentially un-savable goals on odd man rush one timers.
Oh and by the way, Sunday night's shutout was Kieran's first of the season.
Take notice, Hockey East. Kieran Millan is back.
Third Star: The BU Penalty Kill Unit
It would be unfair to ignore the contribution of not just one Terrier penalty killer, but the entire unit.
Coming into this weekend, the Warriors were clicking at a 22.9% rate, good for third in the nation. After the Terriers were through with them, they plummeted all the way to eighth in Division I, dropping a full 1.7% to 21.1% overall.
BU held the Warriors to just 1 for 18 on the power play this weekend with the lone Mack PP Goal coming on Saturday night. The Terriers also saved the best for last, killing all 7 Mack power plays on Sunday night, and consistently kept Mack from getting into any sort of a rhythm on the man advantage.
BU finished off Merrimack, 3-0, to win the best of three series at Agganis on Sunday night.
Kieran Millan has seemingly returned to form, and don't worry, I'll be eating crow about that later.
Nicky Bonino had a goal and an assist, while Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Connolly each added scores as well.
In any case, it's on to T.D. Garden to face Maine, after the Black Bears pulled out an overtime thriller to win their series. We'll have plenty on the other teams heading to the Garden later as well.
Check back Monday for a full recap and wrap-up of this series.
The officials looked like they were on BU's payroll at Agganis Arena on Saturday night, but even 11 power plays weren't enough for the Terriers to ice Merrimack and advance to T.D. Garden. BU fell 3-2 to Merrimack in overtime when Joe Cucci beat Kieran Millan on an odd man rush for the win.
The lone bright spot for the Terriers was the netminder. Millan played an absolutely excellent game, perhaps his best effort of the entire season, and it appears that the defending Rookie of the Year has saved his best for the second season. His glove has returned, and he is smothering everything that comes into his crease. If not for his spectacular focus and poise on countless Merrimack breakaways, BU could have easily been blown out instead of losing in overtime.
Merrimack scored twice on two on one odd man rush one-timer goals, each of which was perfectly executed. Mack also broke it's considerable power play drought with a second period score from Brandon Brodhag on the man advantage.
The power play may have only put one on the board, but for the second night in a row it looked like every bit of the third ranked power play in the nation that it is. Their passing was crisp and effective, and their anticipation was far better than BU's. Mark Dennehy's odd-ball strategy also began to pay off big time, as the hanging forward in the neutral zone for Mack earned the team breakaway after breakaway, making BU look like the much slower team.
Kevin Shattenkirk played one of his worst games of his career, and Colby Cohen joined him in the category of under-performing defensemen. Shatty showed his frustration late in the game when he headbutted the boards repeatedly after returning to the bench on the tail end of another failed power play shift.
He had better be careful not to concuss himself, as the Terriers are already one blue-liner short of a full deck. Max Nicastro sustained a horrific injury in the second period when his wrist was sliced open by an opponent's sakte. Max remained down on the ice, blood pumping from a severed artery until the training staff could rush to his aid and apply pressure to the wound. Nicastro skated off the ice on his own power, but the injury required 26 stitches, and he has been ruled out of tonight's game.
Luckily, Nicastro is alright, but his presence will be missed when BU looks to win the tie-breaker tonight.
Women's Ice Hockey and Men's BBall Seasons End, Men's Hockey Season on the Rocks
Let's review shall we.
The BU Basketball team, on the brink of the America East Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth, couldn't quite close the gap on UVM. The exclamation point came at the end of the game when Marqus Blakely, Vermont's monster player of the year, absolutely destroyed Carlos Strong on a dunk.
Later on in the day, the Ladies Hockey team fell 4-1 to Mercyhurst in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament. It actually wasn't so bad considering how incredibly dominant the Lakers have been all year long en route to their number one ranking.
Finally, as you know, the banner day for BU Sports came to an end when the Men's Ice Hockey team fell on home ice 3-2 in OT to the Warriors.
The Terriers are down 42-31 to the UVM Catamounts at the end of the first half in Burlington.
Corey Lowe leads the Terriers with 12 points.
If we wanna go dancing, Pat Chambers better get his boys fired up!
Lucky for us, I gave him a motivational pep talk when I met him in D.C. so he should be ready for moments like this. Just remember what I told you Pat, because I sure as hell don't.
Warriors Want to Be Killing Penalties for 60 Minutes
For the greater part of last night's opening round game, Merrimack set up on defense with just four skaters inside their own zone. The fifth skater, a forward, would instead zig-zag through the neutral zone, hoping to receive a quick outlet pass and create an odd-man rush the other way.
While the cherry picking forward could cause a team headaches if his defenders were finding a way to get him the puck, that didn't seem to be the case last night. When Merrimack gained possession in their own end, one of the two BU defenders would skate back to center ice and prevent the odd-man from starting a rush.
Mack's Mark Dennehy Thinks He Is Smarter Than Every Other Coach Ever
After the game, Jack Parker talked about the odd strategy with Scott Wieghart of USCHO. “I’ve seen two or three coaches who have really enjoyed using it and do it a lot,” Parker said. “It’s a game of 4-on-4 in their zone, and when you get possession it’s 5-on-4 — we had a couple of power plays going for a while — but you’d better be careful because if you let it go. … In general, we did a good job of going in and then coming out again when we realized there was imminent danger."
While the cherry picking strategy didn't particularly help Merrimack's offensive efforts, it didn't really hurt them either. Despite spending the majority of the game on a makeshift power play, none of BU's goals came thanks to the man advantage in the offensive zone.
Mark Dennehy refused to comment on his odd strategy.
Parker says other coaches use this crap, but I call shenanigans. Even back to your earliest days playing sports, you don't pull this type of nonsense. If kids played the role of cherry picker out in the school yard, you just wanted to beat the hell out them for being cheap. Granted, this isn't recess, so instead of worrying about whether it's a cheap way to gain an advantage or not, you simply have to make them pay.
If Dennehy tries to steal a goal with his Permanent Penalty Kill strategy, the BU offense simply has to force the issue and burry a goal or two. Make Dennehy stop doing it, because eventually, Merrimack is going to get a breakaway out of this nonsense.
The goal is to take Dennehy's silly little strategy, and knock it on its ass. Because to be honest, I'm already tired of watching one clown in Blue and Gold just coast around the neutral zone waiting for a pass.
When you think BU-Merrimack, you may not necessarily have visions of 5 minute major penalties dancing in your head. But that's exactly what we got last night at Agganis Arena, as the Terriers 3-2 victory over the Warriors had more than its fair share of jostling and jabbing. Mack's coach Mark Dennehy called the game "a street fight." At the end of the night, the Terriers looked like the experienced prize fighter standing over the slightly overmatched foe laying on the mat.
Merrimack hasn't quite been KO'd yet, but the Terriers are half way to their ninth straight first round victory thanks to a victory based mostly on out-efforting their opponent, and partially on some late luck.
As we said in our player of the game post, Eric Gryba was a monster in this one, really setting the tone for the entire game with his tough brand of hockey. But not to be overshadowed are the efforts of his teammates.
First and foremost, Vinny Saponari played a hell of a hockey game last night. Sap scored the second and third Terrier goals to tie, and eventually beat Merrimack.
Vinny's second goal of the night was his real highlight reel score. After scooping up the puck just inside his own blue line, Vinny took off like a shot down the right wing. He outskated J.C. Robatille, who promptly gave up on the play, creating a 2 on 2 rush, with Andrew Glass driving toward the net to Sap's left. Glass went hard toward the cage and got tangled up with Mack Captain Pat Bowen, and the two went careening into the end boards. Vinny was left to beat Karl Stollery, and he did just that, cutting back through the slot and using some fancy stick handling to get all the way to the low end of the faceoff circle on Joe Cannata's stick side. Vinny ripped a back-hander that handcuffed Cannata and snuck in for the game winner.
Also playing at the top of his game was David Warsofsky, who was rewarded for his good play with a goal. Ironically, his tally was one of the easiest plays he would make all night. With the Terriers down 2-0 midway through the second, Freshman Brandon Brodhag of Merrimack sent a bad pass toward the blue line that trickled out to center ice. When a Mack defender collided with Cohen and fell down, it left Warsofsky with the puck and a clear path to the net, not to mention Nick Bonino and Zach Cohen trailing behind him with no Blue Shirts in sight. Warso made one quick deke and buried the wrister past the helpless Cannata's stick.
It was a welcome reward for a night of slick skating and puck handling for the speedy defenseman. Wherever the puck was last night, Warsofsky was. He found his way to loose pucks, and created offensive plays for the Terriers. As always, Warso was one of the most important parts of the offense for the Terriers last night.
Kieran Millan also looked a little more like the goaltender that won BU a National Championship a year ago, flashing the leather throughout the entire second half of the game, first keeping BU in it, and finally securing the lead.
There was one significant hiccup for Millan on Mack's second goal. With his defense caught out of position on a line change, Millan faced something of an odd-man rush from Mack. Leading goal scorer Chris Barton opted to drop the puck to Jeff Velleca, who simply lofted a backhander in the general direction of the cage. The puck looked as if it was going to sail wide into the corner, but Millan made a bid at it, attempting to catch it in front of his body with his blocker and smother it into his chest. The puck hopped off of Millan's right arm and right over his head, dropping directly over the goal line.
One Second Period Mistake Was Millan's Only Error in Goal
Besides that one mis-cue, Millan played an excellent game last night. Mack's first goal came thanks to a Max Nicastro disaster of a play in the neutral zone, leading to a wide open breakaway for the Warriors and a goal.
Both Nicastro and Millan recovered very nicely from their mistakes as the game went on, however. Max actually went on to play a solid game, perhaps using his one very visible mistake as a motivator to focus in on every detail of playing his position soundly.
Similarly, after Millan's mis-hap, he woke up and smelled the coffee. He snagged a few pucks out of the air that seemed destined for twine, and even earned some bows from the (sparsely populated thanks to spring break) Dog Pound. Millan was moving well from post to post, anticipating the Merrimack one-timer offerings nicely, and sliding from his left to right efficiently to prevent nice passing from turning into highlight reel scores.
Millan deserves a pat on the back for an outstanding effort late in that game.
Zach Cohen, Ross Gaudet and Chris Connolly all also deserve some credit for getting their hands dirty, along with Gryba of course. All four of these guys went out of their way to disrupt the Merrimack offense with some big hits. Their physical effort deserves some paw prints on their fresh playoff helmets.
The highly touted Merrimack power play, which is ranked third in the nation at 22.9%, looked crisp and fast but could not force the puck over the line. The man advantage even earned a post ringer late in the third, but that would be as close as they would come. They went 0 for 7 on the power play, but don't let that fool you. The high-powered unit was knocking on the door all night long, and very nearly snuck some tricky one-timers past Kieran Millan.
Absent from the scoresheet was Freshman Phenom Stephane Da Costa. The Frenchman did have five shots on goal, and impressed with his skating ability, but he could not find the net. He was able to draw a penalty when he flew toward Kieran Millan, getting hauled down from behind.
All in all, an impressive, lively effort from a team that has been neither or those things for the greater part of the year. Round two tonight.
It looks like Eric Gryba is trying to end his career at BU, and more specifically at Agganis Arena, with a bang.
GRYBA SMASH!
The senior assistant captain defenseman played one of his best, and most exciting games, in Scarlet and White last night in the win over Merrimack.
Gryba was throwing his weight around all night, drilling Merrimack forwards into the boards and tracking the puck into the corners. Gryba showed tremendous anticipation on the defensive end, and his physical play seemed to rub off on his teammates. As the game went on, more Terriers started to hit, and hit hard. Ross Gaudet made his presence felt time and time again with big hits, and even little Chris Connolly nailed a few Mack defenders on the forecheck.
Gryba also excelled at carrying the puck out of his zone and into the center ice area. On one play, Gryba's superior effort led to a transitional offensive possession resulting in a shot on net, with Gryba being the only Terrier in the offensive zone.
At the end of the second period, Gryba ramped up his physical play to another level. Following a near goal for the Terriers, a scrum erupted behind the Merrimack net. Of course Gryba was involved, and of course, he got tangled up with his penalty-taking counterpart on Merrimack, Kyle Bigos. The two locked up, and even when Gryba's helmet was torn off, he refused to yield an inch.
When the Agganis employee working the BU penalty box tried once, twice and three times to open the door and usher Gryba to the locker room, it only irritated the Big Man. Once, twice and three times Gryba reached forward and slammed the door shut, each with a little bit more emphasis. You don't mess with the Gryba.
The mini fight resulted in 9 penalty minutes for Gryba, but it lit a fire under the team. 4:11 into the final frame, the Terriers scored the game winning goal, as Gryba celebrated from the sin bin.
Gryba's hard, energetic, physical brand of play sparked the Terriers to victory last night. Let's hope he can do it again tonight.
Looking For A Win in Their First Ever NCAA Tourney
This is just the fifth season that BU Women's Hockey has been a varsity program. Coming into this season, they had won just one post-season game in program history, an opening round victory over Northeastern in Hockey Easy quarterfinal action. Today, they will be looking for their first ever NCAA Tournament victory in an opening round game with Top Ranked Mercyhurst.
The last time these teams met up in October 2008, BU played giant killer, taking down the then #5 ranked Mercyhurst. Can they pull off some of the same magic today?
The Lakers of Mercyhurst have won nine straight games, including the CHA Championship over Syracuse. Two Lakers forwards are tied for the national lead in points with 62 on the season. That's not a typo. Two Mercyhurst players each have 62 points. To make this battle even more up-hill, the Terriers will have to play the game on Mercyhurst's home ice in Erie, PA.
Vicki Bendus is One of Two Lakers With 62 Points
Oh yeah, and after Vicki Bendus (27 G, 35 A) and Jesse Scanzano (20 G, 42 A), who top the national points leaderboard with 62, Mercyhurst follows up with the fourth ranked scorer, Bailey Bram (27 G, 27A) the eleventh ranked scorer in Jess Jones (20 G, 25 A) and the 16th ranked scorer, Ashley Cockell (21 G, 21 A). So yeah, Mercyhusrt scores a shit load of goals.
Melissa Haber will be between the pipes for the ladies facing the barrage of Lakers shots, hoping that her paper-thin 1.98 GAA and off the charts .924 save percentage will be enough to slow the attack.
The Terriers muscled out a 3-2 victory over the visiting Merrimack Warriors in a surprisingly physical opening night of the Hockey East Quaterfinals.
Eric Gryba's name may not be on the scoresheet, but his solid defensive play and hand to hand combat with Kyle Bigos of Mack fired up his mates and helped spur BU to a comeback from a two goal deficit.
Kieran Millan was solid in net for BU, as one of the two goals he allowed was on an uncontested breakaway attempt.
Vinny Saponari scored two of the Terriers' three goals, and David Warsofsky scored one of his own on a 3 on 0 breakaway for BU.
Much more on this later, as the Terriers look to advance to the semi finals with a 7:05 game tomorrow night.
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