Alumnus Update (11/19/09)

Catching Up With Last Year's Favorites

Matt Gilroy
NHL -- New York Rangers

Matty Ice has had more immediate success than any other 2009 Terrier.  Gilroy has played in all 21 Rangers' games so far this season.  He has put up just 2 goals and 2 assists so far for the Blueshirts, but never missing a beat right out of college is impressive in itself.  One of the complaints about Gilroy is that he is putting aside his offensive prowess in favor of concentrating on defense.  Blueshirt Banter expands on this concern:

"I lumped [Marc Stall and Matt Gilroy] together because I think they are two heads of the same coin. I think Staal's game is regressing because he is a defensive defenseman worrying too much about his offense, and Gilroy is an offensive defenseman worried too much about his defense. I've said it a hundred times, I think these two should be paired together so they can both focus on doing what they do best."

As time goes on and Matty gains more confidence at the pro level, he should be able to slide into his game more effectively and do what he does best.  I would imagine that even as this season goes on he will shift more toward the role of offensive defenseman that we all know and love.

Checking In With John Curry and Brian Strait

It's been a while since we went down to the farm in Scranton to see how two of our favorite alums are handling pro hockey. 

John Curry continues to play well for the Baby Pens, and he's going to have to in order to fend off Brad Thiessen from taking his job.

Thiessen made his AHL debut on October 24 at Bridgeport in a 2-1 overtime loss.  Thiessen also got a start on November 1 at Toronto, where the Pens lost 4-2.  He made 51 saves while surrendering 5 goals in those games.

Since Thiessen made that start, Curry has played well, but has also fallen on some hard luck.  He earned a shutout win on October 29 atManitoba, but lost the next night in Manitoba, 2-1.  Most recently, last night, John and the Baby Pens fell on their home ice to Norfolk, 2-1.  More or less, Curry needs to toss a shutout to win on this damn team.

Checking in on Brian Strait shows a typical, solid season for Strait to this point.  In 11 games, Brian has 2 assists with a plus/minus of 3 and just 8 penalty minutes.

Scranton has another chance to right the ship tonight at 7 PM in Worcester.  If you're bored, drive on up there and watch these guys do work. 

Johnny Curry Pushes Scranton To Big Weekend

 John Curry headlined a four-point weekend for the Scranton Wilkes Barre Penguins, playing two tough games to get a 6-3 victory in Binghamton and a 4-3 Shootout victory over Syracuse.

Friday night's game saw Curry record 38 saves on 41 shots, while fellow BU baller Brian Strait added an assist and went +3 on the night.

On Saturday, Curry made 29 saves on 32 shots, enough to push the game to a shootout.

As we know, Johnny Curry is at his best in ridiculous breakaway situations, so the shootout was pretty much built for him.  Syracuse apparently didn't get the memo that you DO NOT go low glove slide on Johnny Curry, as each of their first two attempts tried to deke in a goal pas Curry's left leg.  Curry made two sprawling kick saves (5:45 and 6:30 in the video) and then knocked down Syracuse's final attempt with his glove to ice the win.





On the year, Curry is 3-2 with a 2.56 GAA.

Curry, Strait Shine in Baby Pens Victory

BU Alum Come Through As Usual

The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Penguins climbed back to .500 with a 6-3 victory over the Binghamton Senators.

John Curry stood on his head as usual, turning away 38 of 41 shots to get the win.  Brian Strait also played his part, setting up Scranton's fourth goal with a nifty pass that led to a teammate's breakaway.

AHL Boys Find Success

McCarthy, Curry Working in the Minors

Congratulations, John McCarthy, you got on the scoresheet.  McCarthy scored a goal for the Worcester Sharks on Friday night to give the team a 1-0 lead.  The Baby Sharks, however, would go on to lose to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Over in Scranton, Goalie Johnny Curry registered an assist and 29 saves, but the Baby Penguins ALSO fell to Bridgeport.  Brian Strait had a relatively un-eventful night.

Meanwhile, we await the debuts of Colin Wilson and Brandon Yip.

BU Reunion in Scranton

Three Recent BU Grads Play in AHL Season Opener


The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Penguins beat the Syracuse Crunch 4-2 last night in each team's season opener.

Goaltender Johnny Curry stopped 26 of 28 shots and Brian Strait assisted on a goal.  Strait also took a two-minute minor just two minutes into the game for hooking.

Chris Higgins didn't get on the scoresheet in his first professional game, but he did record two shots on goal.

Former Northeastern Goalie Brad Thiessen is Curry's back-up in Scranton.

The next time the teams meet, there could be a fourth Terrier in the mix.  The Penguins organization claimed Chris Borque off waivers.  He could be added to Pittsburgh's NHL roster.



Scranton Penguins Game Story
Penguins Game One Photo Gallery

Brian Strait Realizes He's A Professional Athlete

There was a funny article about Brian Strait today in a Pennsylvania newspaper about how surprised he was to see fans show up to watch the Penguins practice.

“I’ve never practiced in front of 3,500 fans in my life,” said last year’s captain of the Boston University Terriers. “It’s pretty interesting going out there and hearing them start roaring when (Marc-Andre) Fleury came on the ice.”

Remember what it felt like to play in front of 18,000 fans at the Frozen Four?  Well get used to it.  You now play sold-out shows for a living.

Read the rest of Tom Venesky's Article in the Times Leader.

Brian Strait Drops the Gloves

Former Terrier Brian Strait seems to be following Colin Wilson's lead by using physical play to try to make his new team.

According to nesn.com Brian Strait fought Bruins prospect Scott Feltcher in the final game of a rookie tournament in Ontario.

Strait's Penguins walked away the winners, beating Jason Lawrence's rookie Bruins squad, 3-2.

It's good to see that teams all over the NHL are learning that the Terriers aren't all just fancy puck handling and goal scoring. Jack Parker taught these boys how to play some serious blue-collar hockey.