Wednesday, February 8, 2012

1971-72: Repeat Champions—Season Highlights


Nov. 22—Terriers played the U.S. Olympics team at a Boston Garden fundraiser. Goalie Tim Regan’s strong play in the 4-4 tie catches the eye of U.S. Coach Murray Williamson and he later takes a sabbatical to join the U.S. Olympic team.

Nov. 27—BU doubles up Yale, 6-3, in the first game played at Walter Brown Arena with Ron Anderson scoring BU’s first goal.

Dec. 1—Two Bob Gryp goals led BU to a 3-0 blanking of Brown—with Dan Brady and Regan sharing the shutout.

Dec. 8—Preseason favorites BU and Harvard skate to a repeat of their 4-4 overtime tie of 1970.


Dec. 11—BU bombards Princeton with 50 shots, dominating the Tigers, 6-1, at Hobey Baker Rink. Terriers get goals from Captain John Danby (2), Steve Dolloff, Bob Brown, Ric Jordan and Anderson.

Dec. 21 & 22—Terriers win the ECAC Christmas Tournament, beating Northeastern, 4-1, and RPI, 4-0. Brady earns MVP honors.


Dec. 29—In a rematch of the 1971 NCAA title game, BU edges Minnesota in double overtime, on Danby’s goal, in the first round of the Syracuse Invitational Tournament.

Dec. 30—Terriers' undefeated streak ends at nine, with a 3-2 loss to Cornell in the Syracuse Invitational final.

Jan. 26—Guy Burrowes first varsity hattrick powers BU past Providence, 7-3.

Feb. 2—Don Cahoon’s breakaway goal in the final period is the game-winner in a 5-3 win against Colgate. After being stymied for 40 minutes, BU scored four times in the final period. Bob Brown netted a pair and junior goalie Ed Walsh got the win, filling in for Brady.

Feb. 8—Two Danby goals and scores by Mike LaGarde and Paul Giandomenico power BU to a 4-2 win against BC in the Beanpot opener.

Feb. 11—Dave Wisener scores off a faceoff to lift the Terriers past New Hampshire, 6-5. Three third-period goals erase a 5-3 deficit.

Feb. 14—BU beats Harvard, 4-1, for its third consecutive Beanpot title. Two more goals by Danby and spectacular Brady netminding earn each a share of the tournament MVP award.

Feb. 18—In his first action since returning from the Sapporo Olympics with a silver medal, Tim Regan backstopped the Terriers to a 7-3 win against RPI. The victory was the 200th of Coach Jack Kelley’s tenure at BU.

Feb. 26—A Ron Anderson hattrick and single goals by Giandomenico, Burrowes and Bill Flynn gave BU a 6-4 win against Providence.

March 1—In the regular season finale, Cornell beats BU, 3-2 again, dealing the Terriers their first loss at Walter Brown.

March 7—BU rips RPI, 8-2, in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs, led by Bob Brown’s two goals and three assists.

March 10—The ECAC semifinal jinx is broken. Terriers, who had lost in the semis to Clarkson in 1970 and Harvard in 1971, gain a berth in the championship game, dumping the Crimson, 3-1. Danby accounts for all the BU goals with a hattrick and becomes the second Terrier ever to record three 20-goal seasons.

March 11—BU wins its first ECAC title, defeating Cornell, 4-1 on goals by Danby, Brown, Wisener and Peter Thornton. With five goals in the tournament, Danby is the unanimous MVP.


March 13—All-American goalie Brady injures a knee in practice, joining defenseman Bob Murray (bruised kidney) on the sidelines. Regan steps in at goal and David Warner moves up to the second defensive pairing, while freshman Vic Stanfield joins the varsity for depth.

March 16—In the NCAA semifinal at Boston Garden, Terriers spot Wisconsin a one goal lead before Regan’s save on a Pat Lannan breakaway turns the momentum around. Paul Giandomenico knots the score at 1-1; then Danby delivers his second post-season hattrick for the 4-1 final score.

March 18—Terriers play the perfect game, blanking arch-rival Cornell, 4-0, the first shutout suffered by the Big Red since 1964. Ron Anderson and Ric Jordan each score twice, while Regan, unbeatable in goal, stops all 39 shots and is named Most Outstanding Player. Danby takes the NCAA trophy on a victory lap around Boston Garden to the cheers of the SRO crowd of 14,995.


● Video highlights
● Sports Illustrated title game coverage


► Terriers became the first Eastern team to claim back-to-back NCAA titles.
► BU yielded just five goals in five post-season games.
► Three Terriers—Brady, Brown and Danby—earned All-American honors, Brown for the second time.
► The national championship game at Boston Garden set a new record for attendance at an NCAA game.
► Kelley concluded his ten-year tenure as the Terrier mentor with a 206-80-8 record (.714)

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