Terrier Hockey Fan Blog II

The Terriers' first on-campus hockey home turns 40

2011-11-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

by Terrier Blogger

The Walter Brown Arena, BU’s first on-campus hockey home, hosted its first game 40 years ago today—November 27, 1971. During the next 33-plus years, the Terriers would play 528 games at the arena on Babcock Street, adjacent to BU’s West Campus. The final men’s game (video) was played on Jan. 2, 2005, a 2-1 loss to Minnesota.

BU inaugurated Agganis Arena (video) the following night, beating the top-ranked Gophers by the same score.

When Jack Kelley became head coach of his alma mater in 1962, one of the first goals he set was to bring an on-campus facility to Boston University. With the assistance of the support group he founded, The Friends of BU Hockey, Kelley was the driving force behind the arena project, a goal he pursued while also returning the hockey program to top tier of Eastern hockey. In 1965, after The Friends reported a pledge list totaling $100,000, BU began a fund raising campaign that would raise $5.5 million for a complex that would house the arena, a basketball gym and a swimming pool. Financing was completed and after two years of construction, the doors of Walter Brown Arena opened as Kelley was about to begin his 10th –and final—season behind the Terrier bench.

Who was Walter Brown?
Walter was the son of BU’s first athletic director, George V. Brown, for whom the hockey team’s MVP award is named. In 1937, he succeeded his father as manager, then president of Boston Garden, a post he held until 1964. He founded the Boston Celtics, later purchased the Boston Bruins, and was a leading figure in U.S. amateur hockey circles. He was the visionary who created the Beanpot Tournament and also founded USA Hockey. Brown is the only person to inducted into the Basketball, Hockey and International Hockey Halls of Fame. His family also contributed to the building of the arena that bears his name.

Adversity yields unity
The Arena had been scheduled to open in time for the 1970-71 season; however construction delays and an ironworkers strike slowed its completion. The Terriers were forced to spend one more season sharing Boston Arena with Northeastern and practicing at Harvard's Watson Rink.

But, as the 1971-72 captain, John Danby, points out, “The van rides to Harvard in many ways brought our team together even more. We felt if the team, could deal with having to ‘shuttle’ back and forth daily to Harvard mostly dressed and sweaty, anything else we faced the rest of the year would be "a piece of cake" And it virtually was, as BU posted a 28-2-1 record en route to its first NCAA title.

Danby, a deadly sniper, would lead the ‘71-72 team in scoring (26-24-50) and earn MVP honors for the Beanpot and ECAC tournament as well as being named the Terriers’ MVP.

Chris Henes, manager of the 1971-72 team recalls: “Amid the hammers and drills, Coach Kelley became the first person to skate on the ice surface [of Brown Arena] in October of 1971, just before the first practices began. Later, members of both the varsity and freshman squads would assist in painting the lines as well.”

During the first few practices, defenseman Dave Warner remembers, “there was still a big hole in the wall in Section 1 that was used by the construction crews finishing up the work inside. They had a big piece of plastic taped to the walls to keep the hot air out.”

One amenity immediately appreciated by the Terriers was the locker room, which Warner described as “unbelievable with individual player stalls, director chairs, scarlet carpet and showers with hot water. Anything was better than the [locker room at] old Boston Arena." (Link-scroll to pg 57.)

Opening night
Even though Section 1 of the stands was still not completed and unavailable for seating, the curtain was finally raised on the Terriers’ shiny new on-campus home on Monday, November 27. BU was the defending national champion, but there was no banner-raising that day; that tradition wasn’t established until years later.

BU’s first opponent on Babcock Street was ECAC rival Yale, and the Elis quieted the Terrier faithful by scoring the game’s first two goals. But before the first period ended, junior wing Ron Anderson scored from the left faceoff circle, Danby fired home a 15-foot backhander and defenseman Ric Jordan converted a rebound to give BU a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. [Current Umass coach] Don Cahoon, Steve Dolloff and Peter Thornton added second period goals.

The Boston Globe: Boston University’s hockey team dedicated its
ultra-modern Walter Brown Memorial Rink in fine fashion as the defending national champions defeated Yale, 6-3, before 2511 yelling, screaming fans.

From the very start, WBA was a unique environment with its low metal ceiling—in contrast with the high arched ceilings in old hockey barns—that “fired the sounds of the game, the band and the fans back onto the ice,” Anderson points out. “That was especially intimidating for visiting teams. When I coached Merrimack College, it was very hard to communicate with my players at Walter Brown. You really had to be prepared for that noise”

BU finally enjoyed a true home-ice advantage.

Not surprisingly, student support for the hockey team spiked with the opening of WBA.

“BU hockey became a much bigger deal, with a real campus atmosphere,” Anderson adds. “And that really added to the players’ enjoyment.” The Arena seated more than 3,500.

Home sweet home
Besides being a state-of-the-art facilty, the new arena removed onerous time constraints from the players’ schedules.

“Living at West Campus meant a home game was really a home game,” Warner explains. “No waiting around in the cold slush to catch a ride to get to Boston Arena. With a short walk, practices were even better. After practice dinner meals were a breeze to get to unlike the previous year when we had to hop out of a van, wet from practice at Harvard, take a quick shower and rush to the cafeteria for food.”

Walter Brown Arena began its existence as the home of the NCAA champions and, at the end of its first season, that hadn’t changed. BU successfully defended its title with a 26-4-1 record, culminating with a 4-0 win against Cornell in the NCAA final at Boston Garden, making the Terriers the first Eastern school to win back-to-back championships.

“That team was on a mission to repeat and nothing was going to stop us from accomplishing that very prestigious goal,” says Danby.

“That season set the bar for future BU teams,” Anderson added, noting that BU was the most successful Eastern college hockey team in the 1970s, reaching the Final Four another five times, as Walter Brown Arena became synonymous with the dominance of Terrier hockey.

Today, Walter Brown Arena is the home of BU’s women’s team, which, just a few years into its existence, emerged as a national power, reaching the NCAA championship game in 2011. It also is home ice for Catholic Memorial High School.

For a look back at some of the most memorable games played at WBA, read Burn The Boats author Scott Weighart’s 2005 feature for USCHO, Remembering Walter Brown Arena.

Red Hot Hockey Since 1925

2011-11-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

Originally posted Nov. 2007
by Terrier Blogger

Saturday night’s Red Hot Hockey matchup at Madison Square Garden resumes the rivalry between two of college hockey’s most storied and successful programs, Boston University and Cornell. The teams have met 40 times in six different venues. Madison Square Garden will be the seventh. The Big Red hold the upper hand with 23 wins. The Terriers came out on top 16 times and there was one very memorable tie, which we’ll get to soon.

The series began 82 seasons ago with BU in its seventh year of varsity hockey and Cornell in its 17th. On January 10, 1925, Terrier Coach George Gaw, in the first of his four seasons at the BU helm, brought his squad, captained by Maury Kontoff, to Ithaca where they skated to a 7-2 victory on Beebe Lake. A year later, BU returned to Ithaca, but was blanked by the Big Red, 1-0. The same week, the Terriers made their first-ever visit to Madison Square Garden for an exhibition game with the St. Nicholas Hockey Club (see “BU In The Big Apple”)

And then, the series went on hiatus until the 1960s. In the late 1940s when the NCAA Championship tournament began, BU, under Coach Harry Cleverly, was an Eastern power, playing in three of the first six tournaments—two of them with Jack Kelley playing wing. Meanwhile, Cornell, which had continued to play on Lake Beebe throughout the 30s and 40s, didn’t field a team from 1948 until 1957 when Lynah Rink opened its doors.

The Big Red didn’t become a force in college hockey until Ned Harkness became head coach in 1963. In his third season, 1965-66, Cornell rose to the top of the Eastern elite, running up a 22-5 record and reaching the ECAC championship game.

Meanwhile, BU, after a few lean seasons in the early 60s, had turned the reins over to Kelley who quickly engineered a return to prominence for BU hockey. 1965-66 was Kelley’s fourth season and his Terriers finished 27-8, reaching both the ECAC and NCAA tournaments. It was in the ECAC semifinal that season that BU and Cornell finally met again with the Big Red taking winning easily, 8-1.

Let’s take a look a some of the memorable games among the next 38 played with an emphasis on some of the earlier games in the series.

Dec. 30, 1966— Boston Arena—BU played two three-game tournaments in December 1966. A week after sweeping Princeton, Minnesota and Clarkson at the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, the Terrier skated on their home ice, Boston Arena, in the Arena Christmas Tournament
They beat Harvard and Northeastern to improve to a 12-0 record and a #1 ranking. Meanwhile, Cornell dispatched the same two teams and was also undefeated at 11-0 and ranked #2, setting up what is considered one of the greatest college hockey games ever played.

Both squads were far from fresh as they were about to play for the third time in as many days before a capacity crowd of 5,450. The officials for the game were Giles Threadgold and Bill Clearly, later coach and athletic director at Harvard.

According to the Ithaca Journal, “Cornell had a wide edge in territorial play in a penalty-marred first period, but the Terriers capitalized on their opportunities and thwarted the Big Red\'s power plays.”

All three first-period goals came on power plays. Cornell drew first blood just 2:13 into the game. With two Terriers in the penalty box, Harry Orr took a pass from Mike Doran and beat goalie Wayne Ryan.

BU senior Jim Quinn scored the equalizer four minutes later, converting a feed from Fred Bassi. Then, with half a minute left in the period and BU up two men, a Brian Gilmour slapper whizzed past Cornell goalie Ken Dryden for a 2-1 Terrier lead.

The Big Red was a man down when Jim Quinn scored the equalizer at 6:35 on a feed from Fred Bassi. The Terriers went ahead, 2-1, at 19:29 with Cornell two
men down, on Brian Gilmour\'s slapshot.

Cornell regained the lead early in the second on a pair of goals by Bob Ferguson and Skip Stanowski. Ryan got a glove both shots but couldn’t keep them out of the net. Play raged up and down the ice throughout the period with 33 shots taken, but no further goals.

The pattern continued well into the third period with Dryden keeping BU’s high-scoring ”Pinball Line” of Herb Wakabayashi, Mickey Gray and Serge Boily off the scoresheet. Finally, in the latter part of the period, BU got the tying goal from an unlikely source, sophomore defenseman Darrell Abbott.

“I think there were about 3 or 4 minutes left in the third period and we were losing 3-2 when either Pete McLachlan or Brian Gilmour—our two veteran, all-star defensemen—got a penalty, and the other, shortly before that penalty, had been injured,” Abbott recalls. “Coach Kelley had no choice but to put the two rookies—Billy Hinch and me--out together. It was the first time Billy and I had played together as a pair so I\'m sure Coach was more than a little concerned.

“Cornell dumped the puck into our end in the process of making a slow line change. Billy set up in front, while I picked up the puck behind our net, fully expecting to look up and ice it, seeing as how we were a man short.

“But when I looked up there was only one Cornell player standing at center ice and the others were just coming over the boards. With no pressure I began to skate up ice only to realize that I could beat this guy. At this point everything happened so fast. There I was, going in on a partial breakaway and, contrary to all logic, I roofed a backhander into the net over Dryden’s shoulder on the short side to tie the game.”

The game went to a 10-minute overtime and, the Ithaca Journal reported, “Cornell had the edge in the first three minutes of the first overtime with Ryan making a sensational save on Doran from in close, but BU outskated the Big Red during the last seven minutes. Dryden had brilliant saves on Boily and Bill Hinch late in the period.”

The two coaches agreed to play one more overtime period, but neither of the weary teams mounted much of an attack in the second overtime and the teams were declared tournament co-champions. Goalies Ryan (32 saves) and Dryden (40 saves) shared the MVP award.

Abbott added that “It was the first game that my Father had attended at BU so it was even more special for me. He was sitting in the first row balcony, right above our bench. Of course having seen the success that Ken had subsequent to his days at Cornell, I feel I was very fortunate to have scored at all, but it is amazing how many people remember that goal even to this day. I was especially honored by the fact that Ken still remembered me years later, even after all the Stanley Cups and the Russian experiences. His comment to me was ‘I always remember the big ones’.”

March 11, 1967— Boston Garden—The long awaited rematch between the Terriers and Big Red came in the ECAC championship game, played before 14,300, which at the time was the largest attendance ever for a U.S. collegiate hockey game.

BU dominated the first two periods and held a 2-1 lead on the strength of a pair of Jim Quinn goals, the first assisted by Mike Sobeski, then second by Gilmour. Dave Ferguson scored for Cornell. BU nearly had a third as McLachlan rang one off the post early in the middle stanza.

Cornell tied the score early in the third on Doug Ferguson’s goal and then took control when Pete Tufford and Doran scored. Gray brought BU within one with just over five minutes left, but Dryden slammed the door and Cornell was crowned ECAC champs.

A week later the two teams would meet again, in Syracuse, for the NCAA title, with the Big Red repeating their victory, 4-1.

McLachlan points out that “BU owned the territorial and shot advantage in both the ECAC and NCAA games, and without a goalie the stature of Cornell\'s Ken Dryden, I think the results may have been different. Dryden was a class act as a player and as an individual

Forty years later, McLachlan insists that BU was the better team and that, even with Dryden in goal, BU probably would have won both games if goalie Wayne Ryan had been fully healthy.

“Wayne injured ligaments in his knee during the season and when he came back for the playoffs he didn\'t have the same level of mobility moving in the crease from side to side,” McLachlan adds. “He just was not at full strength. Cornell was able to take advantage of that on some of their goals."

March 7, 1969— Boston Garden—Cornell ended BU’s NCAA hopes edging the Terriers, 3-2, in overtime in the ECAC semifinals. Trailing 2-0, the Terriers tied the score on third period goals by Serge Boily and Ed Wright, but Cornell’s Kevin Petit scored 30 seconds into the extra session.

Jan. 23, 1971—Lynah Rink— BU was the top ranked team in the nation with a 13-0-1 mark that included wins of Minnesota and Boston College. Other than the 4-4 tie at Harvard, none of the games were close. The ’70-’71 Terrier squad, led by Captain Steve Stirling, forward John Danby and defensemen Bob Brown and Ric Jordan, was both talented and young, with just three seniors on the team. Consequently, most of the team had never before experienced Lynah Rink where the Big Red and their enthusiastic fans regularly made visitors uncomfortable. The defending national champion ended BU’s unbeaten streak with a thud, laying a 5-1 pasting on the Terriers. Only junior winger Don “Toot” Cahoon was able to find the back of the net. But it wasn’t the last meeting of the season for the teams.

March 13, 1971—Boston Garden—ECAC Tournament: The Terriers, after their reality check in Ithaca, reeled off a dozen straight wins, and then, in the ECAC semifinals, disaster struck in Crimson jerseys. Harvard played a near-perfect, penalty-free game, keeping BU’s 40% powerplay off the ice and beating the Terriers 4-2. Instead of rematch with Cornell in the title game, as many expected, BU would face off with the Big Red in the consolation game, after Clarkson had dumped Cornell. BU’s scant hopes for an invitation the four-team NCAA field required a win over Cornell.

Team manager Chris Henes recalls that the game proved to be a shootout with more than 90 shots on goal.

“Cornell led 3-2 after one, and we scored three unanswered goals—Steve Stirling, Ric Jordan, and John Danby—to make it 5-3. Cornell got one back before Stirling’s second became the eventual game winner. Goalie Dan Brady was hit with a stick in the eye right on Cornell\'s last goal, which narrowed the lead to 6-5 with 14 seconds remaining in the second in the second period.”

ECAC rules at the time allowed BU to take 15 minutes to prepare backup goalie Tim Regan, but Terrier Coach Jack Kelley suggested that instead the final14 seconds be added on to the third period. Cornell Coach Dick Bertrand would have none of that, so the BU skaters warmed up Regan blistering him with shots, followed by 14 uneventful seconds. While Henes took Brady to BU Hospital in a police cruiser to have his eye examined, Regan stopped 16 third period Cornell shots and the game ended 6-5.

“Making Regan play those 14 seconds after the warm-up period backfired on Cornell,” Kelley says. “It enabled us to hold on for what would prove to be an important win.”

Harvard beat Clarkson in the ECAC title game and with BU having beaten the Golden Knights earlier in the season, the league elected to send BU and Harvard to the NCAAs in Syracuse where the Terrier earned their first national championship.
March 11, 1972—Boston Garden—BU and Cornell were once again the iron of the East and this time both reached the ECAC championship game. Cornell’s recording going into the game was 22-4 and BU’s was 23-4-1. The teams had met twice during the season, at the Syracuse Invitation Tournament and in BU’s final regular season game at Walter Brown Arena. The Big Red earned 3-2 wins in both.

So, BU came into the game seeking revenge, as well as its first ECAC championship. Dave Wisener and Brown gave BU a 2-0 lead after heavily outshooting Cornell in the first period.

After Cornell narrowed the lead to one, Captain Jake Danby continued his hot post-season scoring with a power play goal from Jordan and Ron Anderson. While All American goalie Brady held the Big Red at bay, Peter Thornton, assisted by Steve Dolloff and Paul Giandomenico, closed out the scoring in a very one-sided, 4-1 win.

Team Manager Henes remembers that one of keys to the victory was that ““We matched them line for line which included a great effort by the 4th wave of Bill Flynn, Ray Cournoyea, and Larry Abbott.”

March 18, 1972—Boston Garden—Just as in 1967, the teams quickly met for a rematch in the NCAA finals. But BU had some lineup changes. Brady, injured in the first practice after the ECACs, was replaced by Tim Regan, who had missed part of the season to play on the U.S. Olympic team. And steady defenseman Bob Murray’s kidney injury left BU short on the blueline. So Kelley obtained permission to play a freshman, Vic Stanfield, while Dave Warner stepped up to take Murray’s spot on defense.

BU took a first period lead on Anderson’s first of two goals and Jordan doubled the lead in the second period. Each would score again in the third.

Meanwhile, Regan was stopping all 39 Cornell shots to record just the second ever shutout, 4-0, in an NCAA championship game. During the two-game tournament, the red light shone on the back of his helmet just once.
BU became the first Eastern school to win back-to-back national championships. The Terriers had won three major titles at Boston Garden—the Beanpot, ECACs and NCAAs—and Danby was the MVP in each one. The 4-0 win was Kelley’s final game behind the Terrier behind as he became coach and general manager of the New England Whalers.

Brown adds that “Part of the enjoyment of this particular rivalry from my point of view is that I had played with and against a number of the players who went to Cornell throughout my time in Canada. And, I had traveled to Cornell as one of my trips to various schools before I made up my mind to come to BU.”

Dec. 13, 1972—Lynah Rink—The most controversial game in the BU-Cornell series was 9-0 blowout win for BU on the ice, but later became a 1-0 forfeit loss. Terrier sophomore Dick Decloe scored a hat trick, six other Terriers scored goals and goalie Ed Walsh stopped 31 shots. A week later, the ECAC began investigating eligibility issues concerning Decloe—reportedly at the request of Cornell. Eventually, Decloe was declared ineligible because his junior team in Canada had paid a local school tax of $132 after Decloe had taken other precautions to protect his eligibility. BU forfeited the win over Cornell and ten other wins in which Decloe had played.

March 8, 1974—Boston Garden—BU and Cornell were matched up in the ECAC semifinals, and the Terriers came away with a one-side 7-3, sparked by what Coach Jack Parker called “an unbelievable goal by Vic Stanfield,” win en route to what would be the first of four consecutive ECAC titles.

Parker, in a recent media call regarding the 2007 game, revealed that the 1974 semifinal was his most memorable game coached against Cornell. That was, he said, because it was his first year behind the Terrier bench, and because Cornell had beaten BU in the ECACs in all three of his years as a player.

Feb. 26, 1975—Lynah Rink—This game was as memorable for the trip to the game as for the game itself, according to several Terrier players.

BU goalie—and current women’s team head coach—Brian Durocher says “In those days we had the luxury of flying by charter (a DC 3) to Cornell the day of the game and returning home right afterwards The flight may well have been the roughest one I have ever encountered. The travel party included about 30 people and I am guessing that approximately 22-25 people vomited.[Note: defenseman Gary Fay recalls that everyone except Vic Stanfield lost their lunch]

“We landed in Ithaca, slept in the barracks next to the football field, ate pre-game meal, took another nap and then beat the Big Red 6-4. We jumped back on a plane and returned home by midnight. That night also included the longest goal I ever surrendered when a Cornell player scored from the far blue line. That was before the Red Line icing came into the college game so those shots did come on a more regular basis. I saw it all the way but just plain missed it. I am constantly reminded of that goal by our facilities director Alan Weinberger who had made the trip to Lynah Rink that evening.”

Fay adds “I remember the area behind the Bench being very small. Coach Parker was standing on the bench impeding the people’s view right behind him. They were heckling him the entire game and he kept his cool until the game was over, then turned and said, "Can you see now?"

Jan. 8, 1977—Lynah Rink—When BU next returned to Lynah, the result was a shootout with BU eeking out a 7-6 win in overtime on All-American Rick Meagher’s second goal of the game. His linemates, Mike Eruzione and Dave Silk, each registered a pair of goals, too. It was a milestone game for power play specialist Fay, as well.

He explains: “This game is etched into my memory because I played a regular shift due to injuries to Jack O'Callahan and Dick Lamby. For me personally, it was a validation that I could play at 5'6” and be a defensemen for BU and, moreover, do it in a hostile atmosphere. I know I was a + on the day and I remember Bob Murray, our then defense coach, coming to me after the game with a sly smile saying to me, "good game". That game really propelled us that year into believing in our young team and winning the ECAC's....again for the 4th year in a row.

“Four of us, Eruzione, Rick Meagher, John McClellan and me, are the only players in ECAC history to win 4 straight league championships.”

Dec. 3, 1983—Walter Brown Arena—In BU’s final season as a member of the ECAC, the Terriers upended Cornell, 4-2, ending a string of six consecutive Big Red wins.

Nov. 23, 1993—Lynah Rink—BU wins an early-season contest, 4-3, behind Mike Pomichter’s game-winner and goals by Jay Pandolfo and Jacques Joubert. Pomichter went on to earn All-American honors in 93-94. JP McKersie was in goal for B.U.

Nov. 21, 1995—Walter Brown Arena—Defending NCAA champion BU beat Cornell 7-1 behind a pair of Jay Pandolfo goals and with Mike Sylvia, Shawn Bates, Mike Grier, John Hynes and Chris Kelleher also finding the back of the Big Red net. Tom Noble was in net for what was Coach Jack Parker’s 500th win behind the Terrier bench.

Nov. 24, 2001—Walter Brown Arena—Exactly six years before the this week’s Madison Square Garden game, BU registered its most recent win over the Big Red, winning 5-3 behind Jason Tapp’s goaltending. Mike Pandolfo netted the winner in the last minute of the third period. Jack Baker scored twice and Pat Aufiero and Ken Magowan added goals.

2011-12 Game Highlights

2011-10-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Oct. 8--BU 5 New Hampshire 0
Oct. 14--Providence 5 BU 3
Oct. 15--BU 4 Denver 3
Oct. 22--Holy Cross 5 BU 4
Oct. 28--BU 2 UMass 2 OT
Oct. 29--BU 5 UMass 4 OT
Nov. 11--Merrimack 3 BU 2 OT
Nov. 13--BU 5 BC 0
Nov. 18--BU 4 Vermont 3
Nov. 19--BU 4 New Hampshire 1
Nov. 26--BU 2 Cornell 1 OT
Dec. 2--BU 5 BC 3
Dec. 3--BC 6 BU 1
Dec. 8--BU 2 New Hampshire 1
Dec. 31--Notre Dame 5 BU 2
Jan. 6--BU 4 Merrimack 2
Jan. 8--BU 3 NTDP U18s 3 OT
Jan. 13--BU 4 Northeastern 3
Ja. 20--BU 6 Providence 1

Q&A with Chris Connolly: A dozen for number 12

2011-09-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

As Chris Connolly approaches his senior season, he is the total points leader among current team members with 89 and, for the second season, team captain. When he arrived at BU in 2008 after a standout USHL season scoring 55 points and leading Omaha to the Clark Cup title, he joined a freshman class that included three NHL draft choices and so was flying under the radar of BU fans. That changed quickly. His dynamic offensive play, speed, and effectiveness breaking up opponents' power-play rushes before they could begin made Connolly an instant fan favorite. He rang up 30 points,including a goal and an assist in the 2009 NCAA championship game overtime win against Miami. While the team hasn't matched that success the past two seasons, Connolly's offensive production has remained consistent with 31- and 28-point seasons. He's expected to be a key cog in the Terrier attack this season. With the 2011-12 opener a week away, Chris answered our questions about leadership and what to expect from the Terriers.

Q. With one season as co-captain under your belt, how will your leadership differ this season?
A. Being one of the captains last year was an amazing experience. I never would have expected to have this opportunity, not only for one season let alone two. I'm very honored to be in this position. As far as leadership goes, I don't think it will really change. It's nice to have almost the exact same team back this year, so that makes my job much more enjoyable; I just plan on working my hardest and setting a good example.

Q. What do the two assistant captains, juniors Alex Chiasson and Justin Courtnall bring to the leadership team?
A. Both Alex and Justin were great choices as assistant captains. They both have emerged in the past year as leaders and are well-deserving of the position. We seem to compliment each other well in the leadership aspect. We all try to work our hardest and set good examples, at the same time there seems to be plenty of vocal leadership when needed.

Q. With only two lineup regulars gone from last season, BU will be a veteran team. In what ways do you expect this team to be different from last season’s squad?
A It's exciting to return so many players from last year’s team. With everyone having another year under their belt and maturing as both players and persons, it can only benefit our team.

Q. Conference games seem to be closer than ever, so that makes one of Jack Parker’s keys to victory—winning the third period—even more important. What can a captain do to reinforce this, especially among younger players?
A. Third periods are, no doubt, deciding factors in a lot of hockey east games. I have been fortunate enough to play in many of them and I think that experience and confidence I’ve gained will help the younger guys get an idea of the importance of those games.

Q. What does the team have to improve over last season if it’s to realize some of the early predictions for a top-ten season?
A We don't try to concern ourselves with preseason polls, even though they are an inevitable part of the beginning of each year. If everyone can take on a little more responsibility than last season and be held accountable for their duties, we will be just fine.

Q. You’ve played both the point and up front on power plays in the past. Given David Warsofsky’s departure, where do expect to be when BU has a man-advantage?
A. Wherever the coaching staff decides is the best position for me to play. I'm comfortable playing either position.

Q. We always ask this in the captain’s Q&A: which returning player (or players) will surprise BU fans by taking his game to a higher level?
A. There are quite a few players that are poised to have breakout years. One who I see picking up where he left off last season is Matt Nieto, who had a really strong second half for us last year.

Q. Tell us about Cason Hohmann. Like you, he’s a smaller forward who put up big scoring numbers in the USHL before arriving at BU.
A. Cason is a smaller, quick, smart hockey player who I think will contribute a lot for us this season.

Q. Do you expect the other freshmen to be early contributors? And how is Yasin Cisse’s health?
A. All of the freshmen have a lot of talent and I would expect them to contribute a lot this year. As far as Yasin goes, he looks strong and healthy this preseason. I'm excited for him because I know he has had a tough last couple of years that were plagued with injury. He is a big, strong kid and I hope he stays healthy for us because he could be a real force out there. [Note: interview done prior to Cisse’s concussion]

Q. There are now two NCAA championship titles in the Connolly family. How exciting was it to see your younger brother, Jack, win with Minnesota-Duluth last season? How intense does the sibling rivalry get?
A. It was an indescribable feeling to watch my brother win the National Championship last year. I'm so happy for him and his teammates. To see it from a fan's perspective and know how they felt after they won is an experience in itself. Jack and I are really supportive of one another and we don't have much of a rivalry. It's more of the drive and push from each others accomplishments that challenges us to be the best players we can be.

Q. How often are you in touch with teammates from the 2009 NCAA championship team who are now in the NHL?
A. I see almost all of them during the summer. Our team stays and takes classes and works out during the first summer term and a good amount of guys from the '09 team come back to Boston in the off season to train with Mike Boyle. It's fun to be able skate with some of them and catch up on each other’s previous seasons.

Q. Minnesotans playing for BU are a rarity. John Curry, Ryan Priem and you are the only ones in recent memory. What would you tell a Minnesota high school player about your experience at Boston University?
A. I would tell them that if ever given the opportunity to come to Boston University to jump on it. I have absolutely loved my time here, not only as a hockey player, but also as a student. The city of Boston alone is enough of a reason to come out here. You get to enjoy four years at a great school, in an awesome, historic city.

The 1990-91 Terriers: One Glove and Two Caroms Shy of a Load

2011-04-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

By mh82

And so it goes, and so it goes
And so it goes, and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows
Nick Lowe

Ed Carpenter, the Boston University Sports Information Director, reached across his desk to answer the ringing telephone, but when he picked up the receiver, the voice on the line didn’t sound familiar.

Perhaps that’s because the caller was a high school teacher hailing from the town of Chicago Heights, located 30 miles south of the City of Big Shoulders.

“I just called to tell you that I watched your game against Northern Michigan last Saturday,” he informed Carpenter. “I have no ties to BU, but I just wanted to say that watching that game was an exciting, absorbing experience. It was just great.”

That game.

The caller’s reference to “that” game was the 1991 NCAA hockey championship game between the Terriers and Wildcats at the St. Paul Civic Center in Minnesota, the rink that featured clear boards and the venue that once served as the home of the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the defunct World Hockey Association. It was also where Harvard had won its first and only NCAA title two years before, defeating Minnesota in overtime.

The BU-NMU game took more than four hours to complete (ending past midnight on the East Coast), featured comebacks from three goals down by each team over the final two periods, went to three overtimes and had 88 combined shots on goal. It showcased continual shifts in momentum on the ice, endless swings of emotion on the benches, in the arena and for those watching the dramatic game unfold on television. And finally, there was one euphoric team creating a pile of bodies in celebration on the ice where the winning goal had been scored while the losing squad simply watched in silence, slumped in exhaustion against the boards or mostly motionless on the bench.

It is a game still remembered and dissected two decades later, in arena corridors, over beers at a bar, on message boards and wherever else there is talk about the history of the NCAA Hockey Tournament. Whenever chatter about the greatest NCAA hockey championship games surfaces, the 1991 final rightfully earns a place in the discussion. Although it’s a fruitless exercise to determine what the “best” NCAA hockey championship game of all time is, simply because there have been so many enthralling ones down through the years, it’s difficult to come up with a more compelling back-and-forth clash than the one that took place on March 30, 1991.

*****

Before recalling the details of the NCAA title game, however, it’s worth a look at the journey that the 1990-91 Boston University hockey team took just to get in position to win the school’s fourth NCAA crown, and first in 13 years.

The 1989-90 Terriers (25-17-2) ended a long drought of BU not advancing to the NCAA Final Four when they knocked off North Dakota at Walter Brown Arena in the opening round and then top-ranked Michigan State in the quarterfinal round in East Lansing, a pair of thrilling best-of-three series that went the distance. That landed the Terriers in Detroit for the Final Four, along with Colgate, Boston College and Wisconsin. BU drew Colgate in the semifinals and suffered a gut-wrenching 3-2 defeat. BC had a similar fate, losing to Wisconsin 2-1 before the Badgers claimed the NCAA title with a 7-3 blowout win over the Red Raiders.

BU coach Jack Parker lost three players off that Final Four team as he prepared for the 1990-91 campaign: inspirational captain and forward Mike Sullivan, whose leadership proved as valuable as his 11 goals and 20 assists; forward Joe Sacco, who left school a year early to pursue an NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs after leading the team with 28 goals and finishing third in points with 52; and forward Rob Regan, who chipped in with 12 goals. Sacco and Regan had played in all 44 games while Sullivan played in 38, missing some time due to an ankle injury.

While those losses were felt, Parker had a tremendous amount of talent returning on his roster, including four of the top five scorers, a deep defense and both goalies. In addition, BU was getting back two players—sophomore center David Sacco, younger brother of Joe, who had played only three games in 1989-90 due to a shoulder injury after scoring 14 goals and dishing off 29 assists as a promising freshman, and junior defenseman Tom Dion, returning after missing most of the season due to knee surgery. Add in a small but talented freshman class that included skilled power forward Keith Tkachuk, a physical grinder in Doug Friedman and heralded defenseman Scott Lachance.

Not that the Terriers would be a shoo-in to win Hockey East, what with Boston College, the defending regular-season and league tournament champions, and Maine also have rosters bursting with talent, but given what BU had on paper, the national media deemed Parker’s squad the preseason No. 1 team in the nation.

Parker was cautiously optimistic that the Terriers would be able to match their success from the season before that included a Beanpot championship and an exciting run in the NCAA playoffs.

“Our team worked very hard last year both on and off the ice. And the success that we enjoyed was because of the commitment the players and staff made,” Parker said in his preseason assessment of his team in the media guide. “We need to have that same commitment this year.

“I don’t think our being number one in the preseason poll will affect us. We know that we are in a tough league. Just winning Hockey East will be a challenge, let alone winning the national title. The players can’t be distracted by any preseason polls or any other outside forces. They must be committed to their goals and the work that will be needed to achieve those goals. I’m excited about this season and I know the players are as well.”

The season opener on the road at RPI made two things abundantly clear: BU would have one of the nation’s most potent offenses, one that thrived on speed and skill, but at the same time, the defense was going to be a work in progress. The Terriers jumped out to leads of 4-2 and 6-4 before the Engineers twice came back to tie up the game. Third-period tallies from the freshman Tkachuk (two goals), sophomore defenseman Kevin O’Sullivan (his first career goal) and sophomore Finnish forward Petteri Koskimaki (two goals) helped BU escape Troy with a 9-7 victory, giving Parker his 350th career win behind the bench. The win came at the expense of one of Parker’s former BU players from the 1970s, Buddy Powers, who was RPI’s coach. Sacco and Dion also each chipped in with a goal, marking a successful return from an abbreviated 1989-90 season for both.

“We had a lot of team speed and we were deep,” said Shawn McEachern, a swift junior center on BU’s first line that season who now serves as the varsity hockey coach and assistant athletic director at the Rivers School. “The emphasis on speed was our strength. [Strength and Conditioning coach] Mike Boyle had become established at the school and he really helped us as a team with our conditioning. We had quite a few guys from that team go on to play in higher levels of hockey after BU.”

Another ECAC opponent, Colgate—the team that had ended BU’s season in Detroit just a little over seven months earlier—was up next in the home opener. Much like the RPI game, the Terriers had problems holding the lead. Ahead 6-4 after two periods, BU’s defense fell flat over the final 20 minutes and the Red Raiders shot five pucks past senior goalie John Bradley to walk out of Walter Brown Arena with a shocking 9-6 triumph, spoiling a three-point night (two goals, assist) for sophomore defenseman Peter Ahola, another import from Finland. The disappointing setback dropped the Terriers down to the sixth spot in the polls.

A trip to Schneider Arena to face Providence followed the Colgate debacle. The Friars had won six straight games against BU at home, dating back to the 1986-87 season, and if not for McEachern’s two goals and an assist the streak may have continued, but the two teams skated to a 3-3 overtime tie.

Just two days later the Terriers were off to Chestnut Hill for their first meeting of the season with Boston College. The Eagles were coming off a nine-day break in the schedule and BU had the better of the play in the first period, with senior forward David Tomlinson’s two goals giving the Terriers a 2-1 edge after 20 minutes. Then it was time for BC’s HEM Line (Steve Heinze, David Emma and Marty McInnis) to take over the game and a second-period goal by Emma and a third-period score by McInnis off a rebound lifted the Eagles to a 3-2 victory. Sophomore goalie Scott Cashman—who had been named the Hockey East Freshman of the Year the previous season after winning 23 games with a 3.22 goals-against average in 39 games—had 25 saves in the BU net while BC’s Scott LaGrand stopped 22 shots. After starting against the Eagles, however, Cashman would miss the next three games due to blurred vision.

“I thought we played real well all over the ice,” Parker told The Boston Globe. “We moved the puck well coming out of the zone and the goaltenders put on a pretty good show. We played a great college hockey game and got beat. That happens sometimes.”

Emma felt it was a matter of the Eagles getting their legs back after a long layoff.

“BU is the type of team that always comes out in the first period and they’re fired up,” Emma, who would go on to win the Hobey Baker Award with 35 goals and 46 assists, said in the Globe. “They try to intimidate you because they’ve got some big guys. They try to, in a sense, lay down the law. We knew we had to come out and play, and having not played in a game in over a week, we weren’t sure how we were going to react. I thought we reacted really well. We played tough in the first period and then took it to them the rest of the way.”

*****

On Nov. 16 and 17 the Terriers hosted the University of Denver and it would turn out to be a turning point of the season for the BU offense. It was in the opening game of the two-game set with the Pioneers that Parker shuffled his lines around and moved Tkachuk, the freshman left wing, onto the top line with center McEachern and the right wing, sophomore Tony Amonte. With Joe Sacco skating at left wing during the 1989-90 season, McEachern and Amonte had thrived, with the latter leading the team in scoring (25 goals, 33 assists) and the former contributing 25 and 31. Although they would only skate together for one season, the Tkachuk-McEachern-Amonte line would leave an indelible mark on BU hockey history with a combined 170 points for the season.

McEachern, for one, was happy to have the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Tkachuk to skate alongside.

“He gets the puck up real quick. He’s a fast skater, he’s big and he can hit people,” McEachern told the Globe. “Joe Sacco was quick and fast, and he could do a lot by himself. Keith’s real fast, can knock people down and he opens up the game for me and Tony.”

Although having arrived on campus a little over four months earlier, Tkachuk, who moved up from the third line, was showing maturity beyond his years by striving to play the type of complete game at both ends of the ice that Parker was looking for.

“I don’t think the coach is pressuring me to score goals. He’s really concentrating on playing defense first,” Tkachuk noted in the Globe. “If you play defense, the offense will come. You’ve got to concentrate on keeping them out of the net, that’s where you win games.”

The Pioneers didn’t have a prayer the first night with eight different BU players scoring goals in a 12-0 rout. Sacco alone accounted for seven points with two goals and five assists, sophomore center Mark Bavis had two goals and three assists, his twin brother and forward Mike Bavis added two goals, and McEachern scored twice and had an assist. Bradley picked up his first career shutout with 18 saves. The Terriers climbed over the .500 mark in the second game of the series which was another rout of embattled DU, this time by a 9-2 score. Nine different players had goals for BU and the new first line produced 11 points for the weekend. The 21 goals scored over two games was the highest BU total in a two-game set since February of 1978, when the Terriers swept BC by scores of 12-5 and 10-5.

BU ran its winning streak to five games with road victories over Harvard (4-0) and Princeton (7-2) and a home win over Northeastern (8-5). McEachern had a pair of goals against the Crimson and Bradley pitched a shutout with 23 saves. It was the Terriers’ first road game in Cambridge since the 1981-82 season and the first regular-season meeting between the two teams in eight years. Seven different goal scorers and McEachern’s three assists were enough to tame the Tigers. Three nights later, McEachern stayed red hot with a hat trick (NU’s sophomore forward Sebastien Laplante also scored three times) and senior defenseman Phil von Stefenelli picked up a trio of assists to help down the Huskies.

The five-game winning streak led up to a much-anticipated matchup with CCHA-leading Michigan at Walter Brown Arena on Nov. 30. BU exploded for six consecutive goals in a time span of 5:17 of the first period to open up a 6-2 lead at the first intermission. After that first-period scoring surge, however, the momentum began to slowly change and started to tilt in the Wolverines’ favor. And, in a virtual redux of the Colgate loss, Michigan scored five third-period goals (left wing David Roberts, a Connecticut native, had a hat trick) while keeping BU off the scoreboard, as the Wolverines posted an 8-6 victory in front of 3,383 stunned patrons on Babcock Street.

“What you saw is that college hockey is a game of emotions and momentum” Michigan coach Red Berenson told the Globe. “I think what we saw is what makes college hockey so good. You saw dramatic change, and that’s something you don’t see in the pros.”

To Parker, it was a pretty simple equation.

“They played like they didn’t know how to play hockey in the first period and we played like we didn’t know how to play hockey in the third period,” he said in the Globe.

There was no time for the Terriers to dwell about yet another third-period collapse, though, as a second-ranked Maine team that was on a 9-1-1 roll through its last 10 games paid a visit to WBA the very next night.

A four-goal second period helped the Terriers take charge, turning a 2-2 game into a 6-2 lead. Tkachuk put a shot past Maine goalie Garth Snow to give BU a 3-2 advantage and less than two minutes later Mark Bavis scored off a perfect feed from Sacco. McEachern brought the WBA crowd to its feet when he stole a puck at the blue line, motored away from the pursuing Black Bears, and beat Snow to finish off a shorthanded goal. Koskimaki also scored on a breakaway before the period ended to give BU a four-goal bulge. Less than a minute into the third period Koskimaki struck again to make it a 7-2 lead en route to a 7-4 triumph, an encouraging sign after the downer against Michigan.

“We broke down defensively. I think BU did a lot of jumping and caught us flat-footed a lot of times,” Maine coach Shawn Walsh told the Globe. “Their speed was most notable.”

It was a satisfying win for Parker and the Terriers, who had beaten Maine just once in the previous 14 meetings.

“I thought we played with a lot of poise,” Parker noted in the Globe. “We were real quick. It was a real team effort and we made some nice passes.”

McEachern, who increased his totals to 14 goals and 13 assists through 11 games, felt the Terriers learned their lesson well in a space of 24 hours.

“The loss to Michigan can hurt your confidence, but this win over Maine brings it right back up,” he told the Globe. “It teaches you a lesson about how to play defense. We were beating Michigan 6-1 and we stopped playing our game. We started trying to force the offense too much instead of playing defense and working off the defense. If they touch the puck, you’ve got to hit them and take them off the puck.”

Wins over Merrimack (7-1), Providence (6-2) and Lowell (6-1) were the warm-up to BU’s final weekend of play in 1990, a two-game road series against Minnesota-Duluth. Parker had to make some lineup adjustments for the series with the Bulldogs, since Tkachuk, Lachance and Koskimaki were all off playing at the World Junior Championships in Canada. To make matters worse, Amonte went down with the bruised shoulder on the first shift of the first game, forcing him to miss the rest of the series.

In the first game the Terriers were clinging to a 2-1 lead after two periods before the Bulldogs struck for three goals in the final period to record a 4-3 victory. Senior forward David Tomlinson lived up to his nickname of “Sniper” and carried the Terriers the next night when he struck for a career-high four goals, and with Sacco handing out three assists and Cashman making 32 saves, BU earned a split of the series with a 6-5 victory, closing out the first 16 games of the season with an 11-4-1 record.

*****

The Terriers climbed to 10 games over .500 (15-5-2) with a 4-1-1 mark to start off January. The only loss during that stretch was on home ice to Clarkson by a 5-3 count. It wouldn’t be the last time the two teams would meet during the season, with a postseason rematch in late March on the horizon. It was also during that six-game stretch that the Terriers would lose a valuable defenseman, sophomore Alexandre Legault—who led all BU defensemen in scoring as a freshman with nine goals and 21 assists—who left school and returned to his native Quebec to play junior hockey with Drummondville. A few highlights of the successful run included Cashman making 33 saves in a 3-3 overtime time with UNH in Durham; Bradley blanking Merrimack 4-0 and picking up his third shutout of the season, the first BU goalie to do that since Jim McCann in 1968-69; and the Terriers coming back to defeat UNH 8-4 at Walter Brown Arena for the program’s 200th all-time victory at the rink, in the 301 games that had been contested there. McEachern’s two goals against the Wildcats was his eighth multiple-goal game of the season.

After picking up the milestone WBA win against UNH the Terriers would face the iron of Hockey East, Boston College and Maine, in three of the next four games. The outcome of those games would prove that this BU hockey team still had plenty improving to do if it was going to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

At the Conte Forum against BC, Amonte scored his ninth goal of the season to stake BU to a 1-0 lead, but the Eagles would have the upper hand the rest of the way, with Sandy Galuppo making making 29 saves, McEachern being held without a point and David Franzosa scoring the game-winner in the Eagles’ 5-2 victory in an overall lackluster performance by the Terriers.

A 7-4 win over Lowell with Ahola scoring two goals and McEachern dishing off a trio of assists (the one negative was the broken jaw suffered by Mike Bavis, sidelining him for eight games) preceded BU’s trip up to Orono for a crucial two-game series with the Black Bears. The Terriers took a 2-1 lead early in the first period of the opener on goals by McEachern and Amonte, but Maine would score the last four goals of the game in a 4-2 victory. The next night proved to be no better, and was in fact worse for the Terriers, as Snow stopped all 28 shots he faced and Maine registered the series sweep with a 4-0 win. The shutout ended a school-record string for the Terriers of playing in 248 consecutive games without being blanked, with BU last being kept off the scoreboard on Nov. 16, 1984 in a 6-0 setback against the University of Toronto. Maine owned the better of the special teams play during the weekend, scoring on six-of-17 power play opportunities while the Terriers were a dismal 0-for-14 with the man advantage.

“We didn’t have much success against Maine in my time at BU, especially when we played up there in Orono,” McEachern recalled. “Shawn Walsh did a great job building that program and they really had some great players on that team.”

Having suffered losses in three of their last four games, BU, now ranked eighth in the country, returned to WBA to host Northeastern. The Terriers found themselves down 3-2 after two periods, largely because NU goaltender Tom Cole, who finished the game with 40 saves, was doing a solid job of keeping pucks out of his net. Nonetheless, BU scored twice in the third period, with the game-winner coming off the stick of senior forward Darin MacDonald, who had been sidelined earlier in the season for 13 games due to a knee injury. The goal also happened to be MacDonald’s first in 33 games.

A trip to Durham for a meeting with UNH would be the Beanpot Tournment tune-up game for the Terriers, and when they took a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Tkachuk and Amonte, things were looking up. But from the second period on, BU was outplayed and outscored 5-1, as its record dropped to 17-9-2 with its fourth loss in six games. Cashman was called on to make 32 saves while UNH’s Jeff Levy only had to make 15.

*****

The Terriers’ first-round opponent in the Beanpot was Harvard, with the teams having played each of the previous three years on the Boston Garden ice, including squaring off in the championship game each of the last two seasons. Harvard took home the Pot in 1989 with a 9-6 victory but the Terriers grabbed it back in 1990 with an 8-2 rout. After experimenting with moving Sacco up to the first line and McEachern down to the third line to try and create a little more offensive balance for a few games, Parker returned the lines to their normal look and McEachern was once again centering Tkachuk and Amonte.

Although the Crimson took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Matt Mallgrave, BU was all business and proceeded to put five pucks by Harvard goalie Allain Roy in the first period. The goal scorers were Tkachuk, Sacco, McEachern and senior forward Ed Ronan, who had a pair. Up by four goals entering the second period BU kept the pressure on and took complete control with two more scores to lead 7-2 after 40 minutes. Bradley had a 28-save night in his first-ever Beanpot game while Ronan and Sacco each had a pair of goals and McEachern and Tomlinson three assists each.

“I said when we lost earlier [4-0 in Cambridge in November] they’re one of the best teams I’ve seen,” lamented Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni in the Globe. “They have so many weapons. I wish we could’ve given them a better game. We didn’t.”

Shaking off the recent slump was a welcome change for Ronan and the Terriers.

“What our coaches try to do is have us peak at the end of the season,” Ronan told the Globe, “but it’s nice to peak for the Beanpot. I think we solved a lot of our problems tonight.”

BU moved back to 10 games over .500 (19-9-2) after dispatching Merrimack 6-2, with Amonte scoring his ninth goal in 10 games and reaching the 100-point mark in his second season, McEachern notching a pair of goals and Cashman making 29 saves.

Three days later the calendar hit the second Monday in February, meaning it was time for BU and BC to play for the Beanpot title at the sold-out Boston Garden. It had been five years since the Terriers and Eagles had last met with a Beanpot title on the line—BU topped BC 4-1 in the ’86 final—and for the Chestnut Hill crew, it had been eight long years since they had skated to victory in the Pot and they were saddled with a five-game losing streak against BU in the tournament. But the Eagles had won both matchups at Conte Forum during the season and were ready to carry that success over to the Garden.

BC’s leading scorer, Emma, got the Eagles off to a quick start by putting a backhander into the net just 54 seconds after the opening faceoff. BU answered a short time later when senior defenseman and captain Mark Krys whipped a shot over BC goalie Scott LaGrand’s shoulder for what was the only goal of his collegiate career. Heinze scored on a nice move around O’Sullivan and then Bradley, but Koskimaki tied the game at 2-2 scoring off a feed from Ahola.

Later in the period Amonte carried the puck into the Eagles’ zone and was cutting to his left when BC’s Joe Cleary caught him with a shoulder on a thunderous check. The hit not only knocked Amonte off his skates but knocked him cold for a few seconds as well. He slowly skated off the ice and went to the locker room for observation but would return to the game after the first intermission to earn a place in the Beanpot record book.

Cleary gave BC a 3-2 lead on a 5-on-3 power play, but then it was time for the kid from Hingham to get the Terrier fans energized. Amonte evened the score at 12:18 of the second period by scoring on a rebound off a shot by von Stefenelli. Just 45 seconds later Amonte struck again on the power play by scoring on the rebound of a McEachern shot. After Franzosa pulled BC into a 4-4 tie, Amonte finished off the fastest hat trick in Beanpot history (5:24)—a feat that would earn him the tournament MVP—when he shot a loose puck by LaGrand for a 5-4 Terrier advantage, one they would not relinquish. Goals by Friedman and Mark Bavis wrapped up BU’s five-goal blitz in the second period. Senior forward Chris McCann closed out the scoring on a slapper from the left wing at 14:43 of the final period and the Terriers cruised to an 8-4 victory.

The Eagles kept Bradley busy in the BU net, as he finished with 34 saves (including 14 in the first period) to LaGrand’s 22. Sacco had a pair of assists (along with McEachern) to match Amonte’s feat from three days before and reach the 100-point career mark in his second full season in Scarlet and White.

“The puck was bouncing in the net for us,” Parker commented in the Globe. “We played so hard. We played with a lot of intensity. I knew we were in good shape because Bradley played so well. The MVP was deservedly Amonte’s, but the big plays all night were made by our goaltender.”

“We played an up-tempo game on the small Boston Garden ice and it was a lot of fun to play in that building,” McEachern said. “Even though he took that big hit in the first period, Tony Amonte came back and played with a lot of confidence and we just fed off him.”

After the Beanpot victory the Terriers prepared for the three-game home stretch of the regular season. Providence made its last trip into Walter Brown Arena and BU won going away, 9-5, with nine different players scoring goals and Ronan notching three assists as the Terriers outshot the Friars 49-19. Next up was a trip to Matthews Arena and a date with NU. The Terriers matched their season-high winning streak of five games from back in November with an 8-4 conquest of the Huskies. A four-goal first period sent BU on its way as McEachern had a four-point night (two goals, two assists) and Tomlinson chipped in with a pair of goals. McEachern’s second goal of the game was his 30th of the season as he became the first BU player to reach that milestone since Mark Fidler hit for 30 goals as a freshman on the 1977-78 national championship team. While NU scored on four of its 34 shots against Bradley, he blanked the Huskies over the final 20 minutes, the fourth straight opponent he held scoreless in the third period.

The season finale on Babcock Street had Boston College paying its final visit of the season, with the Eagles having already defeated the Terriers twice at Conte Forum. A win by the Eagles would clinch first place in Hockey East while a BU victory would allow it to pull into a second-place tie with BC behind Maine. Over 3,700 fans packed into WBA for the crucial confrontation.

BU helped create plenty of noise in the building in the opening period when it outshot the Eagles 15-9 and scored three times. Dion broke an 11-game scoring drought by beating BC’s Galuppo on a shot from the point. Amonte followed with a nifty goal off some fancy stickwork and Dion lit the lamp again at 12:05 on a power play strike to put the Terriers up 3-0. The Eagles got one back before the period expired when Bill Guerin scored his 23rd goal of the season.

Amonte, who finished with a three-point night, struck again at 7:07 of the second period to push BU’s lead back to three goals, but unlike their Beanpot defeat, the Eagles found the energy to get back into the game and take the lead by scoring the next four goals. A blast from the circle by Heinze found its way through Bradley’s pads and into the net, giving BC a 5-4 lead with 11:40 left in the third period. With just over five minutes to go in the game von Stefenelli evened the score, but BC broke the tie for the final time and wrapped up first place when Franzosa delivered the game-winner at 17:10 on a wrist shot, sending the Terriers to their only Hockey East loss on home ice for the season.

“It’s as sweet a victory as I’ve had in a long time,” BC coach Len Ceglarski told the Globe. “If you saw the kids, you’d think we won the Stanley Cup.”

Like the Colgate and Michigan games, the Terriers had let a lead slip away and suffered a disappointing home-ice defeat, made worse by the fact that this one was against the team’s biggest rival from up Commonwealth Avenue. But Parker felt his team would be able to put the loss to the Eagles behind them and prepare for the upcoming postseason games.

“I thought we deserved a little better fate,” he said in the Globe. “But Galuppo (40 saves) played extremely well. We’ve got ourselves in good position, as far as Hockey East and the national picture are concerned.”

The Terriers finished the regular season with a 22-10-2 record, the most regular-season wins since the 1985-86. Despite that, they finished in third place in the Hockey East standings with a 13-6-2 mark for 28 points in 21 games, trailing second-place Maine (15-5-1, 31 points) and regular-season champion Boston College (16-5-0, 32 points). Maine’s 110 goals was the top offensive output in the league—BC finished second with 106 goals, BU was third with 104—while BU’s 69 goals allowed was the leading defensive mark, ahead of Maine’s 73 goals allowed and BC’s 77.

*****

Third-seeded BU played host to the No. 6 seed, Merrimack (7-14 in Hockey East) in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, but before the game even started, eighth-seeded Northeastern’s stunning 6-5 upset of No. 1 seed BC the night before removed a formidable opponent from the four-team field that would play in Boston Garden for the league crown. The Terriers got off to a fast start by scoring four times in the first period to put the Warriors in a deep hole, and that was really all the scoring they needed in the 7-1 victory, which capped a 4-0 record for the season against Merrimack.

“Falling behind BU makes it very tough,” said Merrimack coach Ron Anderson, who played on BU’s back-to-back NCAA championship teams in the early 1970s, in the Globe. “If you fall behind those guys, you’d better have an offense to get back in it. We wanted to get through the first period with the game still close. We didn’t.”

Friedman put a shot off goalie Yannick Gosselin’s glove and into the net for BU’s first score and Tomlinson followed a short time later with his 23rd goal to make it 2-0. Before the period ended linemates Amonte and Tkachuk each lit the lamp to extend the lead to four goals. The second period, which was scoreless, featured an altercation between Amonte and Howie Rosenblatt that eventually earned six Warriors and four Terriers penalties. The minor dust-up was punctuated by Gosselin, who, according to Joe Concannon in the Boston Globe, “left the crease and skated out to the blue line to conk Tomlinson on the head with his stick as referee Ned Bunyon looked on.”

Order was restored in the third period (a total of 27 minor penalties were called) with McEachern (who also picked up his 100th career assist), McCann and Tomlinson wrapping up the scoring for BU. Cashman finished with 18 saves and Gosselin, the wandering netminder, had 32. Ahola picked up three assists.

A matchup with the No. 4 seed, Providence College, which had defeated fifth-seeded New Hampshire 4-1 in another quarterfinal series, awaited BU in the semifinals at the Garden. The Friars had certainly given BU all it could handle in the Hockey East playoffs the previous six years, having won four of five games.

Tomlinson maintained a hot hand on the offensive end, scoring two goals and dishing off two assists to help power the Terriers to a 7-5 victory and a spot in the Hockey East championship game for the first time since 1986. For Tomlinson, it was just more of the same at the Garden, who in 10 career games there increased his offensive totals to six goals and 13 assists.

“I like playing in the Garden” Tomlinson noted in the Globe. “I find it easy to get pumped up and easy to find the puck here.”

BU scored the only two goals of the opening period on a shot from Ahola at the left point and a power play tally from Tomlinson in close.

PC didn’t back down, though, and tied the game at 2-2 at 7:13 of the second period when the skilled Rob Gaudreau beat Cashman on a shorthanded bid. The two teams then exchanged goals, with Tkachuk scoring on a rebound off the boards and PC’s Larry Rooney scoring on a slap shot during the power play.

It was obvious that the Friars weren’t going to go away as they matched BU chance-for chance, but the Terriers countered with a pair of quick goals late in the period to regain control. Ronan struck first with a 35-footer at 17:33 and Amonte followed with a goal at 19:29.

Tomlinson hit the net from 10 feet out to make it 6-3 just under five minutes into the third period, but Gaudreau answered again for PC to pull the Friars within two. McCann delivered the decisive blow for BU when he stole the puck, skated in on goalie Brad Mullahy and shot it home at 8:54 to make it 7-4.

“We played pretty well for a young team. We didn’t lose any face,” PC coach Mike McShane told the Globe. “We skated with BU, but they are bigger and more physical than we are. I don’t think the small rink helped our game, but BU has a lot of guns.”

Northeastern almost pulled off another big upset in the other semifinal before falling to Maine in overtime 4-3 on a goal by Steve Tepper. That set up a clash between the Terriers and Black Bears for the Hockey East title, with Maine coming off that sweep of BU in Orono at the end of January. Befitting of a matchup between two of the most talented offensive teams in the nation, the game would pulse with excitement from the opening face-off to the winning goal, and it would take more than 60 minutes to decide the outcome.

The Black Bears, who by season’s end would win more games (32) than any other Hockey East team, featured a line-up that had six 48-point scorers, including forwards Jean-Yves Roy (37 goals, 45 assists), Brian Downey (29, 34), Scott Pellerin (23, 25) and Martin Robitaille (23, 25), center Jim Montgomery (24, 57) and defenseman Keith Carney (7, 49). The goaltending was also very strong with Garth Snow (18-4, 2.98 goals-against average) and Mike Dunham (14-5-2, 2.96 GAA).

Ronan broke BU’s scoreless drought against Maine that had carried over from the shutout loss on Jan. 26 at the 6:44 mark of the first period when he took a feed from Tomlinson and shot it off Snow’s pads and into the net. Maine pulled into a tie in the second period when the dangerous Roy took the puck away from Krys and snuck a shot into the corner of the net past Bradley. The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 through two periods.

After the teams combined to score just two goals through two periods, four would be put on the board in the final period. The Black Bears edged ahead when Dave LaCouture tipped a shot from the point by Matt Martin past Bradley, but BU answered less than three minutes later after Amonte took a pass from McEachern from behind the net and shot it by Snow. The Terriers looked like they had picked up the game-turning goal at 17:45 when Ahola took a pass from McEachern on the left wing and popped it into the net on the near side, but an interference penalty on Ronan just 17 seconds later put Maine on the power play. Carney tied the game back up at 3-3 just six seconds later when he took a shot through traffic that found its way into the net. The tense final two minutes passed without any scoring and the game headed to overtime.

With just over two minutes having elapsed in OT, von Stefenelli picked up a loose puck at center ice, stickhandled around a defender and pushed it ahead to Amonte at the right wing boards. Amonte spotted a red jersey and sent a cross-ice pass onto the stick of the streaking McEachern, who was flying into the Maine zone. Martin made a futile dive and extended his stick to try and slow down McEachern, but it was too late. McEachern moved in on Snow at the left side of the net, and when the goalie opened his pads, he tucked the puck through the opening to give BU its second Lamoriello Cup in the seventh year of Hockey East, and its 23rd tournament championship all-time on Boston Garden ice. The venue on Causeway Street had been a perfect match for the Terriers down through the years, as they had won 73 of the 113 games they had played there. And, to go along with the Beanpot, ECAC and NCAA titles it had captured at the Garden, BU now added a Hockey East championship to that collection.

McEachern’s goal (video) set off a wild celebration as Snow dejectedly skated away from the crease, Montgomery slumped over the net with his head down, and the tournament MVP eluded an attempted hug from Tkachuk and was finally mobbed at center ice by his joyous teammates. At the other end of the ice, Bradley and Dion embraced and fell to the ice.

“Even though playing against Maine in the championship game was a challenge, we always felt confident as a team playing games in Boston Garden,” McEachern said. “Tony made a great pass to me in the overtime and it was very satisfying to be able to score the winning goal. Even my kids have seen a tape of that goal, when I ducked under Keith and went jumping around the ice in celebration. You look back at that game and at the guys who were on the ice, and it’s just amazing how much talent there was on both teams and how so many guys went on to play in the NHL.”

Although he allowed three goals, Bradley did make 24 saves and played his finest game of the season. He made half a dozen clutch saves in the third period to keep BU in it, and Parker pointed out that the play of his goaltender was the key to the victory.

“I knew it was going to be a one-goal game,” Bradley told the Globe, “and I knew I had to be at my best. It’s as good as I’ve played in goal.”

For the captain, Krys, the Terriers had achieved one of the major team goals for the season in winning the Hockey East title.

“This is something we’ve worked for all year,” he said in the Globe. “All the hard work really came to bear. We had a couple of rough minutes in there [in the third period], but John Bradley played great.”

*****

With a 25-10-2 record the Terriers earned a first-round bye and the No. 2 East seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they would host a best-of-three quarterfinal round series at Walter Brown Arena. The opponent was Michigan, the No.3 West seed, which had defeated Cornell in three games in the opening round. This was the same Wolverines team (34-8-3) that had overcome a five-goal deficit at WBA at the end of November to hang a hard-to-fathom 8-6 defeat on BU. Michigan had some big offensive contributors in Denny Felsner (40 goals, 35 assists), David Roberts (26, 45) and Brian Wiseman (25, 33), as well as a top goalie in Steve Shields (26-6-3, 3.24 goals-against average).

What would transpire on Friday and Saturday nights at Walter Brown Arena was nearly hard to believe, but nonetheless, BU fans ate it up. The Terriers shot out to a 3-0 lead over the Wolverines the first night and never looked back. This time there would be no defensive collapse and there would be nothing even resembling a comeback by the Maize and Blue. Instead, Parker’s club put the pedal to the metal from the get-go and blew Michigan’s doors in, sweeping Berenson’s embattled team back to Ann Arbor by a combined score of 12-2. Eighteen different players figured in the scoring over the two games, and in the words of radio play-by-play announcer Bernie Corbett, the Terriers “went through Michigan like a buzzsaw.”

In the opener, first-period goals by Tkachuk, Tomlinson and Sacco put the Terriers in command, and Cashman (20 saves) did his part, and gained sweet revenge for the November defeat, by keeping the Wolverines off the scoreboard until the third period. BU’s penalty kill snuffed out all seven of Michigan’s power plays and Dion’s empty-net goal with 39 seconds left put the finishing touches on a 4-1 triumph.

It was expected that a team as skilled and as proud as Michigan would come out on fire on Saturday night, but BU was even more dominant than the night before, scoring the first eight goals (and chasing Shields from the crease in the process) and owning every facet of the game. The Wolverines’ frustration continued to build throughout the night as they were whistled for 16 penalties. Amonte, with a pair of goals, and Mike Bavis, with a pair of assists, were the only multiple-point scorers (14 other players had one point) as BU posted an 8-1 victory. The Terriers, who came back out onto the ice from the locker room for a curtain call for the fans, were heading to Minnesota to play in the Final Four for a second consecutive year, something that BU had last accomplished in 1977 and ’78.

“I think we sent out a message to all the teams when we beat Michigan,” Ronan told the Globe. “We played team hockey and every guy played his role just perfect. We’re not individuals, we’re a team, and we’re looking ahead to playing our two best games of the season [at the Final Four].”

“Playing in such a competitive league like Hockey East against teams like BC and Maine helped prepare us for the NCAA Tournament, and I think it really showed in that series at home against Michigan,” McEachern noted.

In the NCAA semifinals the Terriers would be matched up against an old ECAC foe who had come into Walter Brown Arena in November and beaten the home team—Clarkson. Even more impressive, however, was the fact that the Golden Knights (28-8-2) had knocked off the school with the most regular-season wins (35) in the country and had been ranked No. 1 in the polls for 10 straight weeks, Lake Superior State, on the Lakers’ home ice in three games in the quarterfinals.

Clarkson had captured first place in the ECAC standings and then won that league’s tournament title at Boston Garden on the same night that BU had knocked off Maine in overtime. The Golden Knights had a Hobe Baker candidate in Hugo Belanger (32 goals, 43 assists) and other skilled offensive players including Dave Trombley (31, 38), Mike Casselman (19, 35), Mark Green (21, 24) and Scott Thomas (28, 14). Goaltender Chris Rogles had won 16 of 21 starts and had a goals-against average in the low threes. He was the one who had made 37 saves in the November win over BU.

As Jack Parker told the Boston Globe’s Bob Monahan, “Clarkson is an excellent team and plays well in all facets of the game. It has the best power play in the country, which is working at 39 percent. No weak spots. They have a super goalie in Chris Rogles and Hugo Belanger is one of the best scorers around. They have it all.”

Clarkson may well have been a well-rounded team that took down the nation’s No. 1 team on its home ice, but the Golden Knights buckled under the offensive pressure that BU threw at them in the first period.

Things actually started out on a positive note for the Golden Knights when Casselman tipped a shot by Sylvain Lapointe past Cashman for a 1-0 lead just 31 seconds after the game began. But then BU’s offensive skill broke the game open behind a flurry of five first-period goals.

Amonte got it started at 5:15 by taking a feed from Tkachuk, who was positioned behind the net, and firing it past Rogles to tie the score. The sophomore winger, who was known as “Broadway” to his teammates—and who following the game announced that his BU career would be drawing to a close after the last game of the season, as he turned his attention the Olympic team and later an opportunity to play in the NHL with the Rangers—got his second goal of the night on a spectacular shorthanded effort when he maneuvered around a defenseman, skated by Rogles and deposited the puck behind the surprised goalie as his momentum carried him beyond the goal line.

McCann increased BU’s lead to two goals when he redirected a pass through the crease by Sacco. The bad luck for Rogles continued when, with under five minutes until the first intermission, Tomlinson’s passing attempt from behind the net bounced off the back of the goalie’s leg and found its way into the cage. At that point Clarkson coach Mark Morris decided to pull Rogles from the game (he would later return to play the second and third periods) and insert backup Jason Currie, hoping to get out of the period down 4-1.

It didn’t happen. Amonte, like he had done to BC in the Beanpot final, completed his one-period hat trick by scoring off a setup from McEachern at 17:45 to give BU a commanding 5-1 lead. After scoring his third goal Amonte gathered up the puck and skated back to the bench to present it to his coach with the satisfaction of having completed a preseason ambition.

“He has a lot of determination,” Parker said of Amonte in the Globe. “He has great linemates. We were really struggling in January [after losing three of four to BC and Maine]. We had a team meeting. I thought we were getting too individualistic. I said to Tony. ‘This is January. You have only nine goals [after the 5-2 loss to BC on Jan. 18 in BU’s 21st game]. You’re probably not going to get 30. Let’s accept it and do something else.’ He said, ‘I’ll do that, but I’m also getting 30. When I get 30, I’m giving you the puck.’ ”

Clarkson scored the only goal of the second period to cut the deficit to 5-2, but third-period strikes by McEachern and Friedman put the finishing touches on the 7-3 rout as the Terriers won their season-high sixth straight game. Cashman had 18 saves to pick up the win, as BU held the Golden Knights to 21 shots. Including the sweep of Michigan the weekend before, the Terriers’ penalty-killing unit had killed off 15 of 16 power play attempts by their NCAA Tournament opponents. Not to be outdone, Amonte’s four-point night gave him 19 points (12 goals, seven assists) in 11 career NCAA playoff games.

“I started scoring [after the Beanpot] and the team took off too,” Amonte observed in the Globe. “Since my career is winding down at BU, I want to end it on a good note. We’re in the finals, and that’s where we wanted to be all year. I think it’ll be my last game.”

And in Amonte’s last game in a Scarlet and White jersey, the Terriers would be trying to follow in the successful footsteps of the likes of Jack O’Callahan, Mark Fidler, Dave Silk and Jim Craig, all members of BU’s last national championship team in 1978. Playing for an NCAA title would also have special meaning for BU’s seven seniors—Bradley, Krys, MacDonald, McCann, Ronan, von Stefenelli and Tomlinson—considering that their first two years on campus produced a 28-38-4 record, an 0-3 mark in the Hockey East playoffs and no Beanpot crowns.

In their path would stand Northern Michigan, the No. 2 West seed and the regular-season and tournament champions from the WCHA, with the 37-5-4 Wildcats having taken down Maine in the other semifinal by a score of 5-3, avenging a sweep by the Black Bears in Orono earlier in the season. The victory over the Black Bears raised the Wildcats’ record to 23-0-2 in their last 25 games, with their last loss having come before Christmas. If BC, Maine, Michigan and Clarkson all had what was considered to be strong offensive attacks, the Wildcats’ offense was downright scary. They were the highest-scoring team in the country, averaging 5.7 goals per game, and had scored seven or more goals 17 times during the course of the season.

NMU’s biggest offensive threat was center Scott Beattie, a First Team All-American who had a nation-leading 45 goals and 40 assists for 85 points. Beattie received plenty of support from forwards Jim Hiller (22 goals, 41 assists), Tony Szabo (39, 20), Dallas Drake (22, 36) and Kevin Scott (27, 30). Not to be overlooked was defenseman Brad Werenka, another First Team All-American, who chipped in with 20 goals and 43 assists. Goaltender Bill Pye, a Second Team All-American selection, was 31-3-4 with a goals-against average of 2.76.

Since first meeting on the ice in 1984-85, the Wildcats had won five of seven games against the Terriers, with four having been decided in overtime. That trend would follow in the eighth meeting.

*****

Given that Northern Michigan could crank up its potent offense at just about any time during a game, three important factors loomed for BU as the puck dropped: having the ability to create offensive pressure of its own on Pye, playing a thorough defensive game through center ice and in its own end, and receiving a steady effort from Bradley in goal.

Some nice stick skills displayed by Ronan helped the Terriers jump ahead 1-0 just one minute in. Ronan knocked down a knee-high pass from Tomlinson at the blue line, beat his man into the zone, skated in on Pye and shot the puck over the goalie’s left pad and inside the right post.

Right after that BU goal, however, the Wildcats turned up the heat and took the next seven shots on goal, with Bradley thwarting good attempts by Ed Ward, Hiller and Beattie.

It was during that flurry by NMU that Wally Shaver, the University of Minnesota’s play-by-play announcer who was serving as color analyst alongside play-by-play man Tom Mees on the ESPN broadcast of the game, chillingly remarked, “Boy I tell ya, the way this game has started it could be 8-7 before it’s over with.”

BU upped its lead to 2-0 at the 8:24 mark on one of the more bizarre goals in tournament history. Sacco was skating toward the NMU net with the puck when he was tripped up, landing on his stomach with the puck in front of him. He took a swipe at the puck while sliding on his stomach and missed, but he stayed with the play and while leaning on his right shoulder he connected with the puck and swatted a backhander by the surprised Pye’s right skate and into the net. Sacco then proceeded to raise his arms for a goal while on his back and looking up at the arena’s ceiling.

Just a little over a minute after Sacco’s admirable effort, the Terriers added to their lead when Lachance took a shot from the blue line toward the net and Ronan executed a perfect tip of the airborne puck, knocking it past Pye’s left pad and into the goal. Much to the surprise of many in the arena, the first period was less than half over and BU was sporting a three-goal lead.

With Ward off for checking from behind BU almost clicked again on the power play, but Ahola’s slapper hit off the post. The period came to a close without any further scoring and BU holding and 11-7 shot advantage.

The Wildcats had last been down 3-0 in a January road game at Minnesota-Duluth, but they had fought back to win that contest 5-4. Forty minutes still remained for NMU to get its offensive game in gear, so it went to the locker room to regroup and find ways to turn the pressure up on Bradley and his defense corps.

It was the second period that had turned into the fatal flaw for two other BU teams playing in NCAA championship games in the 1990s. In 1994, in this very same St. Paul building, Lake Superior State outscored BU 5-1 in what was the beginning of an eventual 9-1 rout. In 1996 in Milwaukee, North Dakota outscored the Terriers 5-1 to overcome a 2-0 deficit at the end of the first period, helping propel the Sioux to a 6-4 victory.

The tide of ’91 championship game would shift sharply in the direction of the team in Green and White in the middle period, but unlike Michigan and Clarkson that had fallen behind the Terriers in the three previous NCAA games, the Wildcats had the offensive chops and the will to turn the game around and put BU in a hole.

BU began the period shorthanded, with Ahola having drawn a high-sticking penalty as the first period expired. The Wildcats cashed in on the opportunity when Dean Antos—part of NMU’s checking line, along with Darryl Plandowski and Joe Frederick, that was assigned to slow down the Tkachuk-McEachern-Amonte unit—got to a loose puck in the crease and backhanded it into the net.

It appeared that NMU had cut the margin to one goal when Werenka crashed the net, literally, as he, the puck, and Bradley all ended up inside the cage on an apparent goal, but the it was waved off when the referees ruled that they had lost sight of the puck and had blown the play dead.

Having the goal called off seemed fire up the Wildcats, and they kicked their offense into another gear, spending a good chunk of the period in the BU end. The persistence finally paid off at 14:36 on a carbon copy of BU’s third goal when Lou Melone’s shot from the point was tipped by Mark Beaufait under Bradley’s glove.

With the Wildcats continuing to apply pressure, Parker called a timeout to settle his team down with 5:22 left in the period. It took NMU all of six seconds after the stoppage to tie the game when Beattie scored on a rebound. The Wildcats took the lead 54 seconds later when the checking line struck again, with Plandowski shooting the puck inside the right post off a feed from behind the net from Frederick.

Beattie then scored the final goal of the endless period for the Terriers, who were outshot 16-7, when Dion tried to pass the puck out of the BU zone but had it hit off the heel of his stick. The puck was scooped up by Beattie, who used O’Sullivan as a screen, and fired it into the net. It was Beattie’s 47th goal of the year, a new school record, and chased Bradley from the crease as Parker made a switch and sent Cashman into the game.

The Terriers, having wasted a three-goal lead and now trailing 5-3, found themselves trailing after two periods for only the seventh time in 42 games. In the previous six games it had trailed after 40 minutes, BU had won only once. Meanwhile, the Wildcats had not lost in 34 games while holding the lead after two periods, going 32-0-2.

A little over three minutes into the final period it was NMU’s turn to move out to a three-goal lead when Cashman made a pad save on Steve Carpenter’s drive, only to have Beattie pounce on the loose puck in the left circle and shoot it five-hole past Cashman for the hat trick.

Tomlinson cut the deficit to 6-4 when he got tangled up with Werenka, started to fall to the ice and whipped a forehand shot between Pye’s pads for his 30th goal of the campaign. But when Plandowski hit the back of the net at 8:24 to make it a three-goal game again, it was looking more and more like the Wildcats would win their second championship at the Civic Center in a matter of weeks, having already defeated Minnesota in the finals of the WCHA Tournament.

It would take Amonte three minutes to alter that perception when he received a McEachern pass in front of the net and popped the puck over Pye’s left shoulder. That tandem would then officially help turn the game into nailbiter at 14:59, when Amonte carried the puck up the right wing, and as two defenders converged on him, he made a one-handed pass across to McEachern who was skating toward the crease. McEachern only had to tap the puck into the open net to make it 7-6 with sufficient time left to give BU hope of tying the game.

“Neither of the teams were playing a lot of defense in that game,” recalled McEachern, “and we were able to come back in the third period because we just kept playing hard on offense and kept creating chances.

“The NHL had become such a high-scoring league in the 1980s that it carried right over into the college game. The real emphasis in college hockey in those days was on scoring.”

As the game clock continued to wind down Cashman stopped Szabo from in close and Pye denied MacDonald on a wraparound attempt.

With just 50 seconds left in the game and the Wildcats clinging to a one-goal lead, Cashman skated off the ice and Parker sent a sixth skater over the boards to give BU a 6-on-5 advantage. The Terriers got the puck in the NMU zone and a bang-bang play followed that brought BU fans out of their seats. Lachance was pressured by two Wildcats inside the right circle, but instead of losing the puck and having it head the other way for a possible empty-net goal, he dove and extended his stick and pushed it over to Sacco who had found some open space in the left circle. Sacco chipped a quick shot over Melone’s stick and into the open net—Pye had moved against the left post when Lachance had possession of the puck—to tie the game at 7-7 with 39 ticks left on the clock.

For the Terriers, an unlikely rally had turned into reality, and for Northern Michigan, the possibility of letting a championship slip away hung over its stunned bench.

“Thirty-nine seconds to a national championship and they score,” Plandowski told Sports Illustrated. “I was ill, sick to my stomach.”

With six goals having already been scored in the period, the two teams would likely spend the last 39 seconds playing carefully and waiting for overtime to take their chances, correct? Well, not exactly.

Ronan took a quick shot on net that Pye got a piece of, and then von Stefenelli retreated back into the BU zone to corral the puck with under 10 seconds left. He spotted Amonte breaking through center ice and put a pass on his stick. With six seconds left Amonte entered his own Bobby Thomson at the Polo Grounds moment, looking to give college hockey its own version of The Shot Heard ’Round the World while putting the finishing touch on an astounding BU comeback.

Amonte split two defenders at the blue line and moved in on Pye with scant little time left. Pye reacted aggressively and moved out of the cage to blunt the rush. Amonte uncorked a hard, low shot, trying to beat Pye to the glove side, but Pye saw the puck come off the stick and snared it with his glove with one second left in regulation.

“I wanted to come out on him because I knew he didn’t have much time,” Pye told the Globe. “I didn’t have time to think. I didn’t know what he was going to do but I had my glove ready. I knew I had to have my glove ready. It was probably the best save I ever made. I stopped it or we lost.”

Despite being rushed, Amonte took the shot he wanted.

“I didn’t have much time,” Amonte said in the Globe. “I knew there were only a couple of seconds left and that’s why Pye came so out on me. I wanted to get it under his glove [and shot it] right where I wanted it to go.”

So, for the second time in three years, an overtime game in St. Paul would determine the NCAA Division I hockey champion. BU owned a 1-0-2 mark in overtime games while Northern Michigan was 1-0-4. One team would suffer its first OT loss in the final game of the season.

*****

Much like they had done in the second period, the Wildcats carried the play and created the better chances in the first overtime. The best opportunities to end it for NMU came on a Phil Soukoroff blast from the point that hit the right post, Beattie being denied on a pad save by Cashman at the left side of the net, and Hiller’s shot from the doorstep being gloved by Cashman.

Under the NCAA rules at the time, one 10-minute overtime was played, and if there was no winner, a three-minute break was taken, followed by another 10-minute overtime period. If the game was not decided by that point the teams would go to the locker room for a full intermission while the ice was cleaned, and then return for a third 10-minute OT.

After the Wildcats had dominated play for the first nine minutes of the first OT (they outshot BU 8-2), the Terriers gained possession inside the final minute, creating two sudden scoring chances in an agonizing four-second sequence that left them inches from victory. Inches.

O’Sullivan picked up the puck at his own blue line and gathered some speed through center ice. He carried the puck into the NMU zone, made a nice move to get around defenseman Garett MacDonald, headed toward the left faceoff dot and let a shot fly at the net, with Pye having come out of his crease to cut down the angle. The puck flew by Pye’s right skate, smacked against the left post, and traveled across the crease. Werenka, trailing the play and covering Tkachuk to the right of the net, had the puck hit off his right skate and move left again, in the direction of the slot.

That’s where McEachern just happened to be, all by himself, with an open net to shoot at with Pye out of position after the attempted save on O’Sullivan. McEachern had a split second to react and flicked a shot at the net. Once again the left post came into play and the puck bounced off the iron, moving right while hugging the goal line. Werenka saw the puck and attempted to stop it, but it hit his left skate and headed in the opposite direction, moving left and getting closer to crossing over the line before Pye recovered and trapped it with his glove, leaving BU’s stirring come-from-behind win two posts and one skate-blade ricochet from completion.

What of McEachern’s near miss off the same post O’Sullivan hit?

“It happens. The puck went in for me against Maine in the Hockey East final but it didn’t happen in overtime in the NCAA final,” McEachern noted. “That’s the way it is in hockey. Truthfully, I don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about it, not any more than some of the other missed opportunities I had in that game.”

The Wildcats made one final rush after BU’s twin post hits, and Szabo wound up and fired a rocket from the blue line. The puck sailed over Cashman’s right shoulder and looked like it might be the game winner, but it pinged off the crossbar and over the glass for a stoppage in play. The iron remained both Pye’s and Cashman’s best friend.

With only a three-minute break after the first OT, the pace slowed in the second extra session. BU owned a 5-3 advantage in shots, but the Terriers survived a scare when Melone’s shot from the point was tipped in traffic and bounced through the crease. Pye made a stop on Ronan in front, as well as a pad save on Amonte and then Tkachuk, following up the rebound with a backhander. Beaufait also had a shot smothered by Krys at the right of the crease. The only penalties of overtime were handed out to Ward and Amonte for slashing at 9:31, when Ward hit Amonte after the whistle and Amonte reacted and went after Ward. Both teams would skate the first 1:31 of the third OT down a man.

The ice surface opened up with the four-on-four play and Lachance, who had made his game-saving pass for the tying goal in what seemed like forever ago, squeezed through two defenders and came in alone on Pye before shooting the puck over the top of the net.

Soon after the Wildcats made their final rush of the game up ice, aided by a late change on the BU bench, caused by some miscommunication, leaving NMU with a brief 5-on-4 situation which it took advantage of. Beaufait carried the puck down the right wing with O’Sullivan and Ronan giving chase, and as he nearly reached the goal line, and with Cashman putting his right pad along the ice, he spotted an open Plandowski in the slot and quickly slid the puck in that direction. Cashman had followed Beaufait’s path toward the goal and scrambled back into position as the puck arrived on Plandowski’s stick. Plandowski buried it in the open net ahead of the lunging Cashman for NMU’s second hat trick of the game and first and only NCAA title, ending the second-longest NCAA championship game ever after 81:57 of playing time. Right after the goal judge flicked on the red light the Wildcats piled on top of Plandowski in front of the net and Cashman remained face down in the crease for a few seconds, feeling the frustration of the end of BU’s season. It was a scene captured in a photo in Sports Illustrated the following week.

“I remember being awfully tired when the game ended. We felt we had the type of team to win the championship but we fell short,” recalled McEachern. “We were all very disappointed when we lost. Any time you make it to the final game and lose, it’s tough to take.”

On the other side, getting the win in any way possible was all that mattered.

“Losing that game would have been with us the rest of our lives, and yet in overtime, you don’t think about how you might blow it,” Werenka, whose skates nearly cost his team a victory, said in SI. “All you think about is winning.”

Parker had to coax his drained team to lift themselves off the ice and exit the bench area to exchange postgame handshakes with the Wildcats.

“We certainly created something different out there tonight. This was a tough loss to absorb,” Parker observed afterward. “It would have been terrific to win this one and be called national champions. But it doesn’t take away the fact that we had a fabulous year. I told the players that they should be grateful to have been around each other for the year, and that they should be grateful for all they accomplished. We had a pretty nice ride through the playoffs and an emotional one tonight.”

Being a cinema buff, Parker described an interview of Marlon Brando he had seen on television that may well have summed up the emotion-draining, back-and-forth game that had just played out.

“I was watching Connie Chung interview Marlon Brando,” Parked noted in SI, “and Chung asked him his philosophy of life. He said, “You take your last breath and you say to yourself, What was that all about?’ ”

*****

The driving force behind the success of the 28-11-2 Terriers in 1990-91 was the offensive firepower that BU overwhelmed opponents with, as three players hit for 30 or more goals and seven finished with 16 or more. For the season BU outgunned the opposition 234-142—numbers that included a 101-38 advantage in goals scored in the first period—and the 234 goals is the second-highest mark in school history, trailing only the 1995-96 club that pumped in 236 goals.

The power play hit at a 23 percent clip, with 52 goals in 224 chances. Tomlinson led the way with nine power play strikes; Ahola and Amonte had seven each; McEachern had six and Sacco and Koskimaki had five apiece. As for game-winners, Amonte had five, McEachern and Tomlinson four, and Ronan three. Of the team’s 11 shorthanded tallies, McEachern led the way with four and Amonte picked up three.

The first line of Tkachuk-McEachern-Amonte has earned a spot as being among BU’s greatest ever, even though it was only together for a little over four months, and with good reason. McEachern used his superior speed and skill to lead the team in scoring with 82 points, hitting for a team-high 34 goals and dishing off a team-high 48 assists with a team-best plus-55 rating. He was named a First Team All-American, All-Hockey East First Team and was BU’s Team MVP. His 82 points is the second-highest mark ever in a season at BU, trailing only Jack Garrity’s 84 points in 1949-50. The NMU game was the last at BU for McEachern, as he departed school as a junior and went to play for the U.S. Olympic team in France in 1992. After the Olympics concluded, McEachern played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and was a member of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 1992. He played in 911 career games in the NHL with Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, Ottawa and Atlanta, collecting 256 goals and 323 assists for 579 points.

“I got off to a good start that season and had a lot of confidence. I was playing with Tony for the second straight year and Keith joined the line that season,” said McEachern of his 82-point campaign. “Those were two pretty good linemates. To have a big season you have to play with great players and I was lucky to play with two of the best that year.

“It was also my third college season and I had worked with Mike Boyle for three years, getting stronger and faster.”

Amonte, the right winger with the slick moves that delivered hat tricks in the Beanpot final and the NCAA semifinals, finished second in scoring with 68 points on 31 goals and 37 assists and a plus-50 rating. Three days after BU’s season ended he signed with the Rangers and began a long and successful NHL career that included stops in New York—he was traded by the Rangers to the Blackhawks in March of 1994, just three months before New York broke its 54-year Stanley Cup drought—Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Calgary. He played in 1,174 games and lit the lamp 416 times and had 484 assists for 900 points. On the international level, Amonte played for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1998 in Japan and 2002 in Salt Lake City and he scored the game-winning goal for the U.S. squad in the third and deciding game against Canada at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Tkachuk, the power forward with excellent hands, was a first round draft pick of Winnipeg in 1990 and wore a BU jersey for just one season, contributing 17 goals and 23 assists. After leaving the college ranks he went on to become the most prolific scorer of any former Terrier in the NHL, playing in 1,201 games with a nearly perfect balance on the score sheet of 538 goals (including an NHL-best 52 in 1996-97 for the Coyotes) and 527 assists for 1,065 points. Tkachuk also played in four Olympics, in ’92 with McEachern and five other former BU players, in ’98 in Japan, in 2002 in Salt Lake and in 2006 in Italy.

The second line also made some significant contributions with Tomlinson, the center, finishing with 30 goals and 30 assists for 60 points, Ronan, the left wing, chipping in with 16 goals and 19 assists, and left wing Koskimaki adding 16 and 22. Although Ronan only played in 182 career NHL games, he is one of six former Terriers to have won a Stanley Cup, as he did as a member of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.

Sacco bounced back from his shoulder surgery to contribute 21 goals and 40 assists, and his game-tying goal against Northern Michigan was one of the most significant in BU’s postseason history. He finished his career as BU’s second all-time leading scorer with 74 goals and 143 assists for 217 points, and his assist total is tied with John Cullen for the BU career lead. He also wore the colors of the U.S. Olympic team in 1994 in France.

The role players, such as McCann (18 points) and the Bavis twins, Mike (23) and Mark (16), grinded at both ends of the ice, played good defense and added some timely goals during the course of the season. The Bavis twins would go on to share the Bennett McInnis Memorial Award for Team Spirit in both 1991-92 and 1992-93. Mike Bavis was also voted the top defensive forward in New England in ’92 and ’93 and has been a member of Jack Parker’s coaching staff for 13 years. Tragically, Mark Bavis lost his life on that darkest of days, 9/11, when he was a passenger aboard a highjacked United Airlines plane that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Amazingly, Krys, the former captain, was working in the same building that the United plane Bavis was aboard crashed into, but he was able to escape without suffering any injuries.

Ahola was the highest scoring defenseman, contributing 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points. He was voted a member of the Hockey East All-Decade Team in 1994.Two days after Amonte signed with the Rangers, Ahola’s two-year career at BU came to a close when he signed as a free agent with Los Angeles. He played in 123 career NHL games with Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, San Jose and Calgary. Ahola’s defense partner in BU’s top pair, von Stefenelli, pitched in with seven goals and 23 assists and was a steady presence in his own end with a plus-34 rating. The second defensive tandem included Krys and Lachance (five goals, 19 assists), who was chosen in the first round of the 1991 draft by the New York Islanders. Like Tkachuk, Lachance left BU after his freshman campaign and played in 819 NHL games with the Islanders, Montreal, Vancouver and Columbus, scoring 31 goals and picking up 112 assists. O’Sullivan (11 points) and Dion (six goals and 20 points) formed the last defense duo, with O’Sullivan nearly helping BU win the national title with his overtime rush and Dion, who would serve as the team captain in 1991-92, bouncing back with a solid season after knee surgery.

Cashman and Bradley split the goaltending duties almost evenly. Cashman, who played so well in relief in the national championship game, compiled a 14-7-1 record in 22 games with a 3.58 goals-against average. Bradley, who beat BC in the Beanpot final and Maine in the Hockey East final, appeared in 20 games, finishing at 14-4-1 with a 3.16 GAA. Incredibly, Cashman had 474 total saves to Bradley’s 475. Sadly, Cashman, who ranks third all-time in BU career wins with 60, succumbed to a heart ailment in 2008 at the age of 39.

*****

“My three years at BU were tremendous and I have a bunch of great memories,” added McEachern. “Jack Parker was a fun coach to play for and was a good motivator. The 1990-91 season was a special one, playing with a great group of guys. When you win hockey games like our team did, it’s a lot of fun.”

That it was.

The 1985-86 Terriers: BU’s First Hockey East Champions

2011-03-15T03:19:00.000-07:00

By mh82

For the Boston University hockey team, there was the troubling probability that history was going to repeat itself. Another season cut short. Another postseason trophy denied. Another NCAA Tournament bid rebuffed.

In the inaugural Hockey East Tournament, held at the Providence Civic Center in March of 1985, the second-seeded Terriers were beaten by host and third-seeded Providence College 5-2 in the semifinal round, thereby ending BU’s season (save for a consolation game against Lowell the following day) and any ambitions the Terriers had of making a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

BU had secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament the previous year by advancing to the championship game of the 1984 ECAC Tournament (a 5-2 setback against RPI) in its final season in that league before moving over to Hockey East. Playing in the NCAAs for the first time since winning it all in 1978, the Terriers, the No. 2 East seed, suffered a bitter defeat to Jerry York’s Bowling Green Falcons in the two-game total goals series played at Walter Brown Arena. BU looked to be in good shape after winning the opening game 6-3, but then the Terriers were outplayed the next night and dropped a 4-1 decision to even the series. The teams played into overtime for the right to advance to Lake Placid for the Final Four and a 40-foot shot through a screen by defenseman Mike Pikul resulted in a series-clinching goal for Bowling Green. The Falcons, the No. 3 West seed with a lineup that included future NHL players Gino Cavallini, Dave Ellett and Garry Galley, went on to defeat Michigan State 2-1 and Minnesota-Duluth 5-4 in a four-overtime marathon to capture the school’s only NCAA hockey title.

Now, in the semifinal round of the 1986 Hockey East Tournament, second-seeded BU was once again back on the Providence Civic Center ice, and the opponent was once again the fourth-seeded PC Friars. The Friars got a power-play goal from Artie Yeomelakis less than a minute into the third period to take a 2-1 lead, and Coach Mike McShane’s squad was desperately trying to hold onto that one-goal margin and send BU packing for the off-season for the second time in 364 days.

But BU kept the pressure on and took 13 shots in the period on PC netminder Chris Terreri, the same goalie who had stymied the Terriers the year before in the semifinals and the one who helped lead the Friars to the initial Hockey East crown by stopping 65 shots in a double-overtime triumph over Boston College, earning him tournament MVP honors.

The Friars, who had ridden Terreri’s hot goaltending all the way to a spot the ’85 NCAA championship game, where they dropped a 2-1 decision to RPI, had struggled through a sub-.500 campaign but were less than 10 minutes from earning another date with BC in the league championship game. That’s when BU senior forward Brad MacGregor, the son of former NHL player Bruce MacGregor, finally tied the game at 2-2 by pouncing on a loose puck in the crease and putting it into the net at 11:21. Or so it seemed. After conferring shortly after the red light went on, the officials waved off the goal, claiming that the whistle had blown the play dead before MacGregor scored. The score remained 2-1 Friars.

The Terriers were frustrated but undaunted by the no-goal call, and they continued to send pucks in Terreri’s direction. Junior center John Cullen, BU’s leading scorer, finally got the equalizer from in close with 8:21 left in the game. Spurred on by Cullen’s goal, the Terriers maintained the better of the play when sophomore center Jeff Sveen, who had scored BU’s first goal back in the second period on a high shot that caromed off Terreri’s stick, made a decisive play. Sveen skated toward the PC cage and followed up a shot from junior defenseman David Thiesing. He got the puck on his stick and pushed it past Terreri to give BU a 3-2 lead with just 1:06 left in the contest. It was a lead that junior goaltender Terry Taillefer would make stand up with six of his 16 saves coming in the final period.

After having beaten Providence just once in four tries the previous season, BU ran its mark to 4-0 against the Friars in 1985-86 with the clutch semifinal round victory, setting up a Hockey East championship game against Boston College, the first postseason matchup between the Commonwealth Avenue rivals since BU’s 6-4 victory in the 1984 ECAC semifinals at Boston Garden. Playing BC for all the Hockey East marbles was precisely where BU coach Jack Parker had hoped his club would be when it opened the season back on October 26 at Walter Brown Arena against Northeastern.

Not that the opening-night result against the Huskies was exactly encouraging. Playing before a standing-room only crowd of 3,675 fans, the Terriers got out of the gate quickly with a pair of goals from junior forward Ed Lowney and a power play tally from Cullen to take a 3-0 lead. But Northeastern kept getting shots and applying pressure and the Huskies put six of their 36 shots past BU’s junior goalie Bob Deraney to rally for a surprising 6-3 comeback win, marking NU’s first-ever victory on Babcock Street after 12 consecutive losses.

Three nights later BU picked up its first win of the season, 4-3 over Providence at Schneider Arena, with Lowney scoring twice and Cullen and sophomore defenseman David Quinn combining for five assists. Lowney’s game-winner came with less than three minutes left in the game and Taillefer made 26 saves.

A Friday night home date with Maine followed, producing a 4-1 win behind goals from Sveen, sophomore forwards Eric Labrosse and Clark Donatelli and junior defenseman Jay Octeau, and 29 saves from Deraney, but the inconsistent Terriers would not be able to put back-to-back wins together again until early December.

The weekend before Thanksgiving BU played host to Colorado College for a pair of games in the first two of 16 matchups against Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams, as part of Hockey East’s interlocking schedule with the WCHA, with the game results counting in the respective league’s standings. The WCHA-Hockey East interlocking schedule began in 1984-85 and carried through the 1988-89 season, with BU playing each WCHA squad twice during the first two years of the agreement and once a season over the last three years. In 1984-85 the Terriers opened with a sweep of Wisconsin in Madison but were also swept in road series at Colorado College, Northern Michigan and North Dakota, finishing with a 6-8-2 mark against the WCHA.

“The best part of my BU hockey experience was the interlocking schedule with the WCHA. There is no question it hurt us record-wise, and in qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, but the opportunity to play at Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, etc. were some of the best memories I have,” said Tom Ryan, a sophomore defenseman on the 1985-86 team who played in 146 career games for the Terriers. Ryan, who served as a co-captain of BU’s 1987-88 squad with Quinn and was named the team MVP that season, has served as a color analyst alongside play-by-play man Bernie Corbett on the BU hockey radio broadcasts since the 1993-94 season.

“I think it’s unfortunate the [Hockey East] teams today don’t get that same chance,” noted Ryan. “All you have to do is watch a game from North Dakota and see the passion that they have for their team and program. I think that schedule gave the Eastern teams credibility and recruiting opportunities they would not have had if the concept was never established. It also allowed me an opportunity to see parts of the country I never would’ve seen if we didn’t play the WCHA, and to play against great players and future NHL stars.”

Looking to avenge the sweep at the hands of the Tigers in Colorado Springs the previous season, the Terriers picked up three points at WBA, winning 5-0 the first night with freshman center Mike Kelfer scoring twice, freshman forward Scott Young pitching in with a goal and Deraney making 34 saves for the shutout. The second game saw BU and CC skate to a 3-3 overtime draw, with the Terriers throwing 47 shots at Tigers goalie Derek Pizzey. Deraney added 35 saves to give him 69 for the two games. Young finished off a solid weekend with two more goals and Cullen’s tally with just under two minutes left in the third period helped the Terriers earn a point.

BU compiled its first three-game winning streak of the season in December, downing New Hampshire in Durham 4-3 and recording wins at Walter Brown over Providence (4-2) and Wisconsin (7-4). Taillefer was credited with all three wins in goal, making a combined 84 saves. Young had a short-handed goal and sophomore center Scott Sanders netted the game-winner against UNH as the Wildcats incredibly dropped their 12th straight game. Donatelli, a Providence native, had a pair of goals against the Friars and Taillefer’s 39 saves and Cullen’s two goals and two assists helped subdue the Badgers.

The final game of 1985 didn’t turn out as well, however, as Wisconsin, which matched BU’s 38 shots on goal, posted a 6-3 victory to earn the series split. The loss to the Badgers was the start of a stretch of three losses in four games for the Terriers—the only win during that 1-3 slump was a 3-1 road triumph over Denver, the nation’s top-ranked team at the time—and following a 3-1 setback against Minnesota at Mariucci Arena on Jan. 10, despite Taillefer’s 42 saves, BU’s record stood at just 9-9-2.

In the series finale against the Gophers, who had moved into the top spot in the polls, the Terriers showed some impressive resilience by picking up a 4-2 victory, with Cullen lighting the lamp three times for his first hat trick of the season and Deraney stopping 39 shots. Minnesota took 85 shots on goal over the two games, but BU weathered the storm and came away with the split.

Bolstered by the win over Minnesota, BU drew another tough assignment three days later when it traveled to Matthews Arena to face third-ranked Northeastern in front of an amped-up NU crowd of over 4,700 fans, with the Huskies having already beaten the Terriers twice at Walter Brown Arena by a lopsided 12-5 margin. When the Huskies went up 2-0 at the end of the first period it looked like a potential sweep of the regular-season series was shaping up, but the Terriers responded with a strong second period to regain the lead on Thiesing’s first goal of the campaign along with scores from Sanders and MacGregor on a shorthanded opportunity. Senior forward and co-captain Chris Matchett gave BU a 4-3 advantage early in the final period but a late Northeastern goal sent the game into overtime. It didn’t take long for the Terriers to settle matters in OT as Donatelli scored 103 seconds into the extra session to send BU’s contingent of fans home happy.

BU then extended its winning streak to five games with a pair of home wins over Northern Michigan and a blowout of New Hampshire. The two-game series against NMU was a wild one as both games went to overtime, with the Terriers picking up 5-4 and 8-7 victories. Five different players hit the back of the net in the first game, with the last goal coming off the stick of Kelfer at the 7:48 mark of OT. A third-period goal-scoring explosion highlighted the Saturday night rematch, with the teams playing to a 2-2 draw after two periods but then combining for 11 goals in the third period. The Wildcats were gearing up for a win with a 7-5 lead and less than three minutes to play, but then it was time for the freshmen to take over as Kelfer picked up his second goal of the game to pull BU within one and then Young tied it 60 seconds later. Overtime was short and sweet, lasting just 23 seconds, with Octeau’s slapper beating NMU goalie Dennis Jiannaras. The Terriers improved to 14-9-2 after pounding UNH 9-1 with Young, senior center and co-captain Peter Marshall and Ryan all notching a pair of goals.

Having put together a five-game winning streak, BU prepared to host North Dakota for a big weekend series. During the 1984-85 season the Terriers had ventured out to the Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks for a pair of January games with the Fighting Sioux, but it turned into a long weekend for the visitors, as North Dakota recorded the sweep by scores of 9-3 and 5-2. BU didn’t get off to an auspicious start in the Friday night matchup as the Sioux scored the first three goals, but the Terriers fought back and pulled into a tie with goals scored by Matchett, Marshall and Donatelli. The Sioux answered back with three quick goals in the third period to regain command en route to a 7-4 victory. Saturday night’s outcome was no better as Dakota jumped on BU right from the start and chased Taillefer from the net after he allowed six goals. The Sioux cruised to an 8-3 win as the Terriers gave up the highest number of goals since an 8-6 road loss to Minnesota-Duluth at the end of November. In its second season of regular-season play against WCHA teams, BU finished 7-7-2 in 16 games.

After being humbled by the Sioux, the Terriers had one road game remaining at Lowell before the first round of the Beanpot Tournament took center stage. BU flexed its offensive muscle and was in control with a 7-2 lead with just under six minutes to play. But the Chiefs suddenly caught fire and scored three straight goals to cut the margin to 7-5 with over two minutes still remaining. Lowney’s goal with 17 seconds to go accounted for the 8-5 final with Cullen and Kelfer each accounting for a pair of goals and Donatelli and Matchett each picking up two assists.

Revenge was on the minds of the Terriers when they took to the Boston Garden ice to meet Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot. The main factor behind that revenge wasn’t because the Huskies had won a pair of games at Walter Brown Arena earlier in the season, but because BU had gone down to defeat to NU in the Beanpot for three straight years, including in the finals in 1984 and ’85.

The Huskies looked like they were picking up where they had left off in the previous three Beanpots when they took a 3-1 lead at the first intermission. Jack Parker felt that BU was too tentative in its play during the first period so he changed his defensive strategy to put more pressure on the puck. And, with 40 minutes still to play, the Terriers knew there was sufficient time to come back from two goals down.

“We knew we played a so-so first period and we knew we would do better,” Cullen told The Boston Globe. “We just pulled together and it paid off.”

The payoff was a second period in which the Terriers outscored the Huskies 4-1. Cullen’s goal on the power play, off a nifty pass from Lowney, made it a 3-2 game, and was the biggest goal of the night according to Parker.

“If NU goes ahead 4-1 we’re in tough shape,” Parker told the Globe. “We made it 3-2 and kept it going.”

Senior forward Paul Gerlitz tied the game off a perfect feed from Matchett, and then Sveen (two goals) beat NU goalie Bruce Racine, the MVP of the ’85 Beanpot, to the glove side to put BU in the lead. Cullen finished off another pass on the mark from Lowney (three assists) to increase the lead to 5-3, but NU’s Jay Heinbuck scored against Taillefer from a bad angle to pull the Huskies to within a goal by the close of the second period.

The Terriers finally put NU away by scoring the first three goals of the third period, with Sanders, Marshall and Donatelli all getting pucks past Racine to put BU into the final round for the third straight season, where it would meet Boston College, a 4-2 winner over Harvard, for the silver trophy. Taillefer, with help from a strong all-around defensive effort by his teammates, was called upon to make just 15 saves.

BU and BC had previously met for the Beanpot crown nine times since 1957, and the Eagles held a slim 5-4 edge in those games. The most recent meeting between the schools in the Beanpot title game had come in 1982. In that matchup the favored Eagles, who had won 16 of their first 22 games, scored early in the first period to take the lead. But the Terriers, just 9-9-3 coming in, got the next three goals, including a pair from MVP Tom O’Regan, and goalie Cleon Daskalakis made 40 saves, including five or six of the spectacular variety, in a solid effort that produced a 3-1 victory.

Four years later the teams would fight for Boston bragging rights once again, in front of a fired-up Garden crowd of 14,451. BU got on the board first when Cullen worked his way through some BC defenders and then dished the puck off to Donatelli, who shot it by BC goalie Scott Gordon. The Eagles tied it up when Scott Harlow scored his 32nd goal of the season by flipping a loose puck through Taillefer.

Just 43 seconds after Harlow’s goal, Donatelli struck again, lifting a shot over Gordon after receiving a perfect drop pass from Cullen. Fourth-line senior forward Tony Majkozak, one of two players hailing from Minnesota on the BU roster, increased the Terriers lead to 3-1 before the horn sounded to end the first period. It was an ominous sign for the Eagles, who up to that point had outscored their opponents in the first period 54-29.

Both teams had their chances over the final two periods but the goalies stood their ground and came up with save after save, with Taillefer being the busier of the two. It wasn’t until 18:56 of the third period that another goal was scored, this one by a hustling Marshall into an empty BC net after Matchett’s initial shot went off the post, which finished off BU’s 4-1 victory and gave the Terriers their 13th Beanpot championship.

Taillefer took home tournament MVP honors after being credited with 43 saves, including one on a rising shot in the third period by Bob Sweeney that struck him in the throat, causing him to briefly collapse to the ice.

“I took the puck in the windpipe,” Taillefer told the Globe. “I wasn’t out, but I was numb. It hurt, but it was OK a minute later.”

In a formula typical of many successful BU teams, physical play was a key to the victory.

“BC is much bigger than we are and they figured to bang us around a bit,” Parker mentioned in the Globe, “so we went after them first. We wanted them to know that we could play the body too.”

Or, as junior defensman Scott Shaunessy, one of BU’s most physical players who did his part in rattling a number of Eagles with punishing checks said, “every time that rubber hit the ice, a white jersey was on top of a maroon jersey so there would be no second shots.”

That type of effort helped Shaunessy’s wait for a championship game win in the Boston Garden finally end.

“My freshman year we lost in the Beanpot finals [to NU] and we lost in the ECACs [in the championship game to RPI], and then last year we lost in the Beanpot again [in the final to NU],” Shaunessy said in the Globe. “I spent the whole last week thinking, ‘I’ve got to win a big game in the Garden.’ ”

The weekend after the Beanpot triumph BU traveled up to Maine for a two-game set with the Black Bears. In the Friday night game at Alfond Arena, the home team held a 2-1 late into the third period before goals by Lowney and Kelfer in the last 4:37 lifted the Terriers to a one-goal victory. The next night BU fell into a 3-0 hole in the first period but then busted out for six straight goals to finish off the sweep and attain 20 victories in the regular season for the third straight year. Cullen, who finished with two goals and two assists, started the onslaught and Marshall finished it off with a marker at 5:47 of the third period. Deraney, after giving up the three first-period goals, settled down and finished with 26 saves.

Just four games remained until the start of the Hockey East playoffs and BU went 2-1-1 down the stretch, picking up wins over Providence (2-0) and New Hampshire (5-1) and in two games with Boston College, losing to the Eagles 7-4 at McHugh Forum and tying them 3-3 in overtime at Walter Brown Arena in the season finale. In the loss at BC, the Terriers fell behind 5-1 in the second period, but goals by Quinn, Labrosse and Young cut the deficit to 5-4 with just over five minutes to play in the game. BC, however, scored the final two goals to secure the win. In the rematch at WBA, the Eagles took the lead three times, and each time BU came back to knot the score on tallies by Young, Donatelli and Sveen, whose goal came with just over four minutes left. Neither team scored in OT and each settled for one point, with Taillefer being credited with 31 saves and a busy Gordon with 43.

For the second straight year BC finished atop the Hockey East standings with a 23-9-2 mark, with BU taking second place again at 20-11-3, five points behind the Eagles. As a result of their first-place finish, the Eagles drew a bye in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs while second-seeded BU was slated to host seventh-seeded New Hampshire (5-27-2) at WBA, beginning on March 7. The Terriers had swept the season series from the Wildcats, outscoring them by a hefty 18-5 over three games, but the two-game total goals series would turn out to be much tighter than expected.

The Wildcats had lost seven consecutive games to the Terriers and had last won at WBA during the 1984 ECAC playoffs, but they had a little extra motivation heading into the quarterfinal series. Coach Charlie Holt, who had been behind the bench for 18 years and had more or less put UNH hockey on the map, was retiring at season’s end, after having won 347 games and guided the Wildcats to Final Four appearances in 1977, ’79 and ’82. The Wildcats wanted to do everything possible to make Holt’s last trip to the postseason a memorable one.

Holt decided to change UNH’s strategy around in an attempt to slow down the Terriers. The Wildcats were known for playing a fast, wide-open brand of hockey, but Holt opted to go with a more conservative, defense-oriented style to slow the pace of the games down and make the Terriers work for everything they got.

Holt’s strategy looked like a masterful move in the first game when the teams played through two scoreless periods, with UNH goaltender Greg Rota having made 20 saves and Taillefer 12. A little more than six minutes into the third period UNH’s leading scorer, Steve Leach, scored on the power play with Cullen in the penalty box to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage. The score would stay that way until Donatelli, on an assist from Cullen, got the Terriers on the board at 17:56. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, with Rota finishing with 31 stops and Taillefer 18. Holt’s squad accomplished what it set out to do: head into the second game with a chance to advance with a stunning series upset.

The pace of the game opened up in the Saturday night rematch and the Terriers took advantage by outshooting the Wildcats 16-4 in the first period. Sveen got BU on the board at 6:54, and just 20 seconds later, the Terriers went ahead 2-0 when Lowney shot the puck by Rota (42 saves) into the corner of the net. But before the period expired Leach beat Taillefer on a backhander to pull the Wildcats within a goal. Rick Lambert tied the game and the series when he got UNH’s second goal early in the second period. Lowney answered with a shot through a screen for the Terriers, who outshot the Wildcats 30-11 through the first two periods. With each team skating down a man Young gave BU some cushion with a goal at 11:30 of the third period, but going all out for its retiring coach in his 597th game, UNH made it 4-3 after Leach pulled the trigger and again beat Taillefer with 2:25 left. BU managed to hold onto the lead until the final buzzer and escaped the potential upset with a 5-4 series win, moving on to the Providence Civic Center the following weekend for another challenging semifinal round match up with Providence College and its goaltender Terreri, the same one who made 33 saves against BU the previous year in the playoffs to put a lid on the Terriers’ season.

“We played with more emotion tonight,” Parker said in the Globe after the stubborn Wildcats had finally been beaten. “We played with a lot more zip. As John Lennon once said, ‘You know it ain’t easy.’ There was an immense difference in the attitude. We were certainly more intense. We knew they had a chance to end our season tonight. You’ve got to give UNH credit for the way they played. They played like a great-coached team.”

Marshall said it took the Terriers a while to get untracked in the series after a sluggish first game, but the team knew a quarterfinal loss would bring a swift end to the season.

“We realized this could be our last home game,” Marshall noted in the Globe. “We kept our composure and stuck with it. Everyone pulled together nicely and we knew what we had to do.

“We were quiet [in the locker room] before the game, and the coach came in and started to joke to get the blood flowing.”

The BU-PC game eerily followed the same pattern from the previous Hockey East Tournament, with the Friars clinging to a one-goal advantage early in the third period. Terreri was rising to the occasion once more and would finish the game with 35 saves, but instead of being deflated by a disallowed tying goal, BU kept its focus, scored twice over the final nine minutes and advanced to meet BC, which had cruised into the championship game by building a 4-0 lead over Lowell en route to a 5-2 victory. The Terriers had taken the hard road and survived while the Eagles had registered their ninth win in 11 games in a much easier fashion. BU and BC would be playing for the biggest postseason prize on the ice since they met in the same building for the NCAA title eight years earlier, a 5-3 victory for the Terriers.

Boston College, led by a nine-member senior class, entered the Hockey East championship game as the No. 2-ranked team in the country with a 26-10-3 record, and the Eagles had not dropped a game since the Feb. 10 loss to BU in the Beanpot final. BC had its usual share of offensive guns, including Hockey East Player of the Year Scott Harlow (37 goals, 38 assists), Doug Brown (40 assists), Kevin Stevens (17 goals) and Bob Sweeney (15 goals). The Eagles also had Hockey East’s Most Outstanding Goalie in Scott Gordon (19-9-1, 3.36 goals against average).

Boston University was 24-12-4 and ranked sixth in the nation. The Terriers were on a 10-1-2 run, with the only loss during that streak on the road at BC. The Donatelli-Cullen-Lowney line was one of the most productive in Hockey East and Taillefer had enjoyed a solid junior campaign in goal, sporting a 15-6-3 record and a 3.27 GAA, including the Beanpot win over BC. The Terriers also had the Hockey East Coach of the Year behind the bench in Jack Parker.

But before the puck even dropped against BC Parker was forced to shuffle his lineup. Jay Octeau, the highest scoring defenseman on the team, had missed hotel curfew after the win over Providence and was a scratch for BU’s biggest game of the season. Matchett, a defenseman for his first two years at school but who eventually was moved to forward for his final two seasons, was moved back to his old position to take Octeau’s place while senior Tony Majkozak moved in to Matchett’s spot at left wing.

Boston College had its chances early in the first period as a Ken Hodge shot glanced off the post and Taillefer made a pad save on Craig Janney’s shot from the slot. Gordon also stopped Young from in close to keep the game scoreless. The Terriers finally broke through on a nice passing play. Cullen sent a pass to Donatelli at the right side of the net, and he moved the puck back to Cullen, who was moving down the slot. Cullen shifted left, skated across the crease and tucked a backhander by Gordon’s right pad and inside the post for his 24th goal of the year and a 1-0 lead at 4:08.

A little over a minute later MacGregor broke through BC’s defense and let go a shot. Gordon made the pad save but the puck bounced out to Marshall, who was trailing the play. Marshall pounced on the rebound and flipped it over a fallen Gordon to give the Terriers a two-goal lead.

Later in the period Taillefer was called upon to come up big again, robbing Hodge in the slot and making a chest save on the dangerous Harlow. The Eagles took advantage of a power play to finally get on the board at 13:50 when Brown, in traffic, put a rebound past Taillefer from the left side of the crease. The teams went to the locker room with BU ahead 2-1.

The second period would determine the outcome of the game, with one team being kept off the scoreboard while at the same time being buried under a blizzard of five goals. For the Hockey East regular-season champions from Chestnut Hill, the rest of the evening would be a long and forgettable one.

Just 53 seconds into the period BU was on the power play and Cullen set up Kelfer for a tip in front of Gordon. Gordon got his pad on the tip but couldn’t control the rebound and Donatelli put the loose puck into the net to build the lead back to two goals. Less than a minute later the Terriers struck again when Marshall drove his way down the left wing and let go a shot that Gordon stopped with his arm. But again he couldn’t hold on and MacGregor poked the loose puck through the crease and back over to Marshall, who didn’t make full contact but still nudged it enough to get it over the line, just a split second before getting shoved from behind and into the post by BC defenseman Bob Emery.

Harlow had another excellent chance when he skated in alone down the left side on Taillefer, but the BU goalie made the stop. BU’s defense got involved in the onslaught when Shaunessy gathered in a loose puck just below the blue line, moved around a BC defender and placed a shot under Gordon’s glove to make it 5-1 Terriers with less than seven minutes left into the period.

The frustration of the Eagles and their fans reached a boiling point when Gerlitz’s backhand pass sprung the speedy Marshall down the slot. From there Marshall moved in on Gordon and lifted a backhander into the upper right corner of the net to complete his first career hat trick and give BU a stunning five-goal advantage at the 8:23 mark. Gordon, who had played so well for BC during the season, finally succumbed to his emotions and smashed his goalie stick on the goalpost after Marshall’s tally.

Not even a man advantage could bring the Eagles back to life, as the Terriers killed off two consecutive BC power plays later in the period. The last of the fireworks for the period came courtesy of BU’s fourth line. Sanders broke down left wing and fired a cross-ice pass to Labrosse. With Labrosse in deep but at a difficult angle, he passed off to Sveen, the two-goal hero from the night before, who was positioned near the crease. Sveen took the pass and deposited it into the net for a 7-1 BU cushion. Through two periods the Eagles were outshooting the Terriers 29-27 but were looking up at an insurmountable deficit.

Boston College rediscovered its pulse behind goals from Hodge and Harlow to make it 7-3 with just over 11 minutes to go, but BU countered with a pair of goals to build the lead back up to six. MacGregor (two assists) stepped around a BC defenseman and hit the twine with a slapper and Sveen closed out the Terriers’ barrage by picking up his fourth goal of the weekend on a rebound of a Labrosse (two assists) shot at 12:14. BC’s John Devereaux closed out the scoring in the 9-4 rout, as Marshall took home honors as the tournament MVP. Along with fellow senior captain Matchett, Marshall skated the Hockey East championship trophy around the Civic Center ice, much to the approval of the happy horde of BU fans on hand.

“I don’t know why [the blowout] occurred,” Matchett told the Globe. “The bounces went our way for a change. BC came out a little flat, but not that flat. It’s a great feeling.

“When we won the Beanpot, it was the first thing we’d won since the Syracuse Invitational in my freshman year [1982-83]. I think our team realized what it’s like to lose [in the Beanpot and in the ECAC and Hockey East playoffs]. We’ve won a lot of games coming from behind this year. Hopefully, it shows to the people who watch games that our team has a lot of character.”

Parker, for one, was very surprised at the final outcome.

“I predicted it would be a low-scoring game,” he said in the Globe. “Both teams were in good shape, but we had the advantage of playing tough games the last two weeks. We got a lot of turnovers, and when we had turnovers in our own zone, Taillefer came up with the big play.”

Taillefer turned aside 39 BC shots and Gordon was credited with 31 saves.

Despite going 0-2-1 during the regular season against the Eagles, BU’s victories in the higher-profile championship games of the Beanpot and Hockey East Tournament provided satisfaction to every player in a Scarlet and White jersey.

“It was always special to beat Boston College in any situation, but those particular games were very meaningful,” said Ryan. “Boston College had an extremely talented team that year, but we felt we were really good as well. A team takes on the persona of its coach and we knew we were prepared mentally and physically for that Beanpot game.

“The only surprise to us as a team about the Hockey East final was how lopsided the score was. There was no doubt in the locker room we were going to win. It was one of those games where the puck jumped in the net for us. We had an edge knowing we had a great big-game coach preparing us, as well as history [versus BC] on our side, and we took advantage of both.”

By virtue of the commanding win over the Eagles, the Terriers, now 25-12-4 overall, were awarded the No. 1 seed in the East for the NCAA Tournament. In the quarterfinal round they would play host to the No. 4 West seed, Minnesota (32-12), in a two-game total goals series at Walter Brown Arena, beginning on March 21. The Gophers, who split a series with BU back in January on their home ice, had beaten Colorado College and Wisconsin in the WCHA playoffs before being eliminated by regular-season champion Denver.

Minnesota had put over 80 shots on the BU net in the January series in Minneapolis, and their offense didn’t miss a beat when the NCAA quarterfinals began. It took them all of 52 second to pick up the first goal of the series when Gary Shopek’s shot got by Taillefer. But the Terriers were kicking their offense into overdrive as well, with both teams engaging in end-to-end action.

But trailing by a goal would soon become the least of BU’s worries. That’s because a critical turning point of the series would occur less than a minute after Shopek’s goal, taking down a player with an injury that BU could least afford to lose. On Peter Marshall’s first shift of the game he got tangled up with Minnesota’s Pat Micheletti, lost an edge and went sliding into the boards skates-first. The collision with the boards broke a bone in Marshall’s left leg. He was carried off the ice on a stretcher at the hushed WBA, having played in his final college game. It was a devastating blow for the Terriers, for now they would have to play the rest of the series without their catalyst and emotional leader with the non-stop motor.

“Marshall was arguably one of Jack Parker’s best captains ever,” observed Corbett, who was in his first season of calling the radio play-by-play. “He came in as a freshman and was a leader right away, with his character and toughness. He played with a relentless style and had a great will to win. His injury ripped the team apart and I don’t think they ever got over it. They were emotionally down for the rest of the series.”

Though missing a key component without their injured co-captain, the Terriers evened the score when Gerlitz shot the puck past Minnesota goalie Frank Pietrangelo at 8:05. Just 27 seconds later Young elicited a roar from the crowd with a goal to push BU into the lead. The Terriers peppered Pietrangelo with 17 shots by the end of the period, but still held only a 2-1 lead.

“They came out hard in that first period, and it was important for us to get out of it just a goal down,” Pietrangelo, who finished with 33 saves, told the Globe. “They played one of the best periods they could and were still only up by a goal. I think it kind of killed their momentum a little.”

Steve MacSwain knotted the score at 2-2 for the Gophers, but the Terriers again came right back behind a superb individual effort from Cullen, as he rushed the puck the length of the ice and, after making like he was going to dish off to Lowney, instead fired it into the net for a 3-2 BU lead with just over 11 minutes left in the period.

In the third period BU’s defense began to wear down from the continuous pressure from Minnesota’s offense and leading scorer Corey Millen tied up the series with a goal just 42 seconds in. Less than six minutes later, in rapid-fire succession of just 73 seconds, the Gophers got goals from Tim Bergland, Micheletti and MacSwain to stagger the home team. Octeau’s power play strike late in the period cut the margin to 6-4, but the Terriers, who got 38 saves from Taillefer, would be starting the second game of the series in a two-goal hole, and more importantly, without the presence of one of the team’s biggest leaders in the lineup.

“You just have to hang in there,” Minnesota coach Doug Woog said in the Globe. “BU played so well in that first period, but we stayed in it. Then we made some plays and found some holes.”

Over 3,500 fans made their way into Walter Brown Arena for the second game on Saturday night. The Gophers had generated plenty of offensive chances on Friday night and received a strong game in goal from Pietrangelo, but Woog made a switch in net and started John Blue, who had won 20 games during the season and was impressive enough to be selected to First Team All-WCHA.

Needing three goals to Minnesota’s none to regain the lead in the series, Parker knew his club would need to come out with a strong first period.

That’s just what BU did.

Octeau led off the scoring for the Terriers and got the crowd into the game, and when Matchett gave BU a 2-0 lead and tied the series at 6-6, the crowd noise bounded off the arena’s low ceiling and back down onto the celebrating players on the ice. With Taillefer doing his part in keeping the puck out of the net, that’s the way the first period ended.

Blue and Taillefer continued to shine and the game remained deadlocked until the late stages of the second period. After playing well through most of two periods, especially with one of its co-captains sitting in a hospital bed in Boston, BU’s situation deteriorated quickly when the Gophers scored tacked on a pair of goals over the last 2:21 to regain a two-goal series lead.

Minnesota also got the first two scores of the third period to open a commanding four-goal series advantage. Never-say-die Donatelli got one back for the Terriers, but that would prove to be their last goal of the season, after which Minnesota added an empty-netter to make it a 5-3 final and an 11-7 total goals triumph.

Instead of being able to return to the scene—the Providence Civic Center—of their huge victory over Boston College in the Hockey East championship game for the upcoming Final Four, the Terriers’ season, which had begun back on October 26, was instead officially in the books on March 22. Minnesota moved on to meet the No. 2 Western seed, Michigan State, in the NCAA semifinals after the Spartans had disposed of third-seeded Boston College 10-6. It was there that the Gophers had their season end abruptly with a 6-4 setback. In the other semifinal, second-seeded Harvard downed the top Western seed, Denver, 5-2. But the Crimson would have to wait another three years to win the school’s first hockey championship, as the Spartans erupted for three third-period goals to win 6-5, wrapping up their first NCAA title in 20 years.

“Memories of the Minnesota series come down to two things: their goalies were outstanding and Peter Marshall’s injury,” noted Ryan. “You don’t realize unless you were a member of that team how important Peter was to us both on and off the ice. He was a great leader and captain, and losing him really deflated the whole team. That’s how much respect he had within our locker room. That being said, Minnesota was an outstanding college hockey team.”

The top line of Donatelli-Cullen-Lowney provided the fuel that powered BU’s offense, which averaged 4.3 goals per game. That trio finished the season as the team’s top three scorers, with the Terriers having eight players who scored 11 or more goals. Cullen was second-leading goal scorer (25, including eight on the power play) and was the team and Hockey East leader in assists (49), as he captured the team MVP award. While putting up those numbers he also earned a spot on the All-Hockey East First Team as well as being selected a Second Team All-American. Donatelli, tabbed for the All-Hockey East Second Team as well as Second Team All-American, was the Terriers’ top goal scorer (28) and added 34 assists. His 10 power play goals led the squad and his four game-winning goals tied for the team lead. Lowney’s totals included 18 goals, with seven on the power play, and 20 assists.

“In thinking about John Cullen and Clark Donatelli as players, the first thing that comes to mind is how underrated they are within the BU community,” mentioned Ryan. “Whenever people talk about the great players at BU, for some reason they don’t get the respect they deserve. John was an incredible puck handler and passer and he had the ability to slow the game down when he had the puck to create time and space. As good as his hands, instincts and all-around ability were, to me his greatest attributes were his intensity and competitiveness.

“Clark was the toughest and most competitive kid I ever played with or against in my life. He was a tremendous skater who had the ability to intimidate opponents with his speed as well as his physical toughness, and he had a great knack of scoring goals at the right time. He had an outstanding work ethic in practice and in games, and he demanded that of his teammates as well.

“Ed Lowney was the perfect complement to Cullen and Donatelli. He was a quiet leader who had a great ability to get open and score goals. He worked extremely hard, was a relentless forechecker and played with a quiet intensity.”

Cullen, whom Corbett described as having a “magic” stick that helped him become a consummate playmaker, spent one more season in a Terrier uniform and left behind a mark of point production unlike any BU player before or since, becoming the only three-time winner of the team MVP award as well as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 98 goals (second behind Chris Drury’s 113) and 143 assists (tied with David Sacco for the career lead) for 241 points in 160 games. He was named to the Hockey East All-Decade Team in 1994 and was also voted one of the Top 25 Hockey East forwards during the league’s 25th anniversary in 2009. After departing BU, Cullen enjoyed a nine-year NHL career in Pittsburgh, Hartford, Toronto and Tampa Bay, contributing 187 goals and 363 assists in 621 games. But despite all his on-ice success, perhaps his most lasting accomplishment was winning a grueling 18-month battle against non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the late 1990s, eventually regaining his health and returning to play in the NHL in four final games with the Lightning.

Donatelli spent two abbreviated seasons with the North Stars and Bruins and was also a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1988 in Calgary and 1992 in France. Lowney, like Cullen a four-year player, scored 154 points in a school-record 162 games played.

The co-captains also did their share of pitching in to BU’s success. Matchett continued his successful transition from defense to forward by finishing fourth on the team in assists with 23, but he also plugged a vital hole in the BU defense in the Hockey East championship game when Octeau suspended. Marshall, whose injury in the NCAA playoffs hampered BU’s hopes of advancing to the Final Four, contributed 15 goals, 10 assists and immeasurable leadership, hustle and inspiration. He also captured the Bennett McInnis Memorial Award for team spirit for the fourth straight season (finishing with 104 career points) and is the only player in BU history to win a team award for four consecutive years.

Sveen’s 15-goal campaign was highlighted by his four-goal weekend in the Hockey East playoff wins over Providence and Boston College and four of the 11 goals that Sanders netted were game-winners, tying him for the team lead. The senior trio of MacGregor, Gerlitz and Majkozak provided a good dose of experience to Parker’s lineup, with MacGregor, a solid forechecker and penalty killer, joining Cullen, Donatelli and Lowney to play in each of the team’s 43 games.

Also making significant contributions up front were a pair of freshmen, Young and Kelfer. Young finished fifth on the team in scoring with 16 goals and 13 assists, as he shared the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award with Maine goalie Al Loring. Kelfer, whose overtime goal against Northeastern helped lead BU to the 1987 Beanpot championship, collected 13 goals and 14 assists.

Young would wear a BU jersey only through his sophomore season before embarking on a distinguished professional career that included playing 1,181 games in the NHL with Hartford (he was a first-round draft pick of the Whalers in 1986), Pittsburgh, Quebec, Colorado, Anaheim, St. Louis and Dallas. His career totals included 342 goals and 415 assists for 757 points. He is the only former BU player to have won Stanley Cups with two different teams, in 1991 with Pittsburgh and ’96 with Colorado. On the international stage, Young participated in three Olympics with Team USA, in 1988 and ’92 with former Terrier teammate Donatelli, and as one of five former Terriers on the 2002 squad in Salt Lake City that took home the silver medal. He was also on the USA team that defeated Canada for the gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, joining three former Terriers on that team.

Not to be overlooked was the steady play of the defense corps. Octeau was the highest scoring defenseman in Hockey East with eight goals and 27 assists, earning him a nod as a Second Team All-American, while his partner, Shaunessy, dealt out countless hits as BU’s most physical player while also chipping in with four goals and 22 assists to earn a spot on the All-Hockey East First Team. The sophomore tandem of Ryan and Quinn, who together would serve as co-captains as seniors, was also very steady, with Ryan a dependable performer in his own zone and Quinn, another All-Hockey East First Team selection, showcasing some offensive skills with two goals and 20 assists. Quinn’s promising playing career, which included being selected in the first round of the NHL draft by the North Stars in 1984, was unfortunately derailed by a blood disorder, but he returned to his alma mater in 2004 to serve as associate head coach to Parker for five seasons, including overseeing the team’s defense in the national championship year of 2008-09. The last defense pairing included Thiesing and freshman Jim Ennis.

The 1985-86 season proved to be a major career rebound for goalie Terry Taillefer. During his sophomore year he was slowed by bursitis in both hips and a separated shoulder, limiting him to just 15 games. As a junior he played in 29 games (including starting 11 of the last 13 games) and had a 16-8-3 record and 3.38 goals against average. He was named the Beanpot MVP and was a member of the All-Hockey East Second Team. Two of his 16 wins came against BC in the Beanpot and Hockey East championship games. Deraney started in goal in nine of the first 11 games before giving way to Taillefer, finishing up with an 8-6-1 record and a 3.48 GAA, second only to BC’s Gordon in Hockey East.

“I think the first thing that comes to mind for me was how talented that team was. You could make a case for that being one of the most talented teams ever at BU,” said Corbett. “That team had real character as well as some real characters. What separated them in the big games, in the Beanpot and in the Hockey East playoffs, is that you had guys who you could depend on and who were also great teammates.”

And what once hung above the ice at Walter Brown Arena and now hangs in the rafters of Agganis Arena, the first of Boston University’s seven Hockey East Champions banners, is proof of that.

Q&A with Dave Tomlinson

2010-12-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

Q. Dave, since this is the 20th anniversary of the 90-91 team that came ¼-inch from a national title, let’s start with that team and the championship game vs. Northern Michigan. That was a team that many BU fans feel was among the best squads not to win a national title and certainly among the most talented. Have you watched the entire game on tape?
A. I’ve seen parts of the game but not the full game in its entirety. It is pretty painful to think about how close we came to winning it all. After being up after the first period there were thoughts of closing in on a National Championship, and after battling back after being down late in the game, it was almost like it was meant to be…but the puck never made its way across the line and we came up short. It was an emotional roller-coaster for sure, and a game I’ll never forget being a part of.

Q. Once BU tied the score late in the third period, how confident were you that BU would win in overtime?
A. Well, with all the talent on that team, and such a great, tight group of seniors, it was almost like someone was certainly going to be the hero on our side. I remember Tony Amonte being almost unstoppable in that game. David Sacco was the guy that tallied the equalizer with the goalie pulled, and, in between the third period and overtime, there was talk of getting it over early. Obviously that wasn’t the case as the game went into the third overtime, and I remember the goal against like it was yesterday! It would have been a fantastic way to cap off my college hockey career, but it did remind me of how hard it is to win championships, which is something I carried through my pro career…not wanting to experience that losing feeling again in a final.

Q. How do you think the 90-91 team stacks up against the teams that won national titles in 1995 and 2009?
A. I wish I could have seen those other teams in person to make a fair comparison, but I will say our team in 1991 had young speed and skill with Shawn McEachern, Tony Amonte, David Sacco and Keith Tkachuk, some quality defence with Scott LaChance, Phil Von Steffenelli and Peter Ahola, and some hard workers like Ed Ronan and myself. Add in characters like Mark Krys and goalie John Bradley, and I will say our group might have been the closest group of any teams I’ve played on. Although the two other teams mentioned won National Championships and our team didn’t, I’ll take my squad against the others in quadruple overtime, this time with us finally connecting in O.T.!

Q. The change between the BU teams of your sophomore (88-89) and junior (89-90; Final Four) seasons was dramatic. Aside from the addition of new players (Amonte, Cashman, etc.) what factors led to the drastic improvement in performance?
A. I’d say we just came together as a class group from freshman year on up, and by Junior year, any new players felt like they were entering into a supportive dressing room. We had a large freshman class that experienced a very trying first year; missing the playoffs almost stuck out in a such a bad way that we felt we had to make up for it every year since then. Terrier fans don’t take too kindly to teams that miss the playoffs, and with the character guys we had…it was like we were on a mission.

Q. You had a lot of memorable goals at BU but one that stands out for many fans is the goal scored against Harvard in the 1990 Beanpot when BU was down two men. Can you tell us a little more about how that goal happened?
A. Oh yeah, loved that moment of my college hockey career. I recollect that we were up 3-0 on Harvard in the Beanpot Final, and then we had to kill a 5 on 3. The thought was that if Harvard got one early, they could get back into the game. Coach Parker put me out with 2 defenceman and I knew that Harvard would try and go “through the triangle” for a one-timer shot. I intercepted the pass and flipped the puck over the man on the point. For some reason I decided to give chase because the guy at the blue-line was slow to react, and after chasing him and the puck down the ice, the goalie decided to come out and play it. I hedged that he’d go to his forehand side to move it up, and I popped out from behind his defenceman and knocked it out of the air and put it into the empty cage. After it was in I stopped just before our bench, with my arms outstretched leaning against the boards, and soaked in the whole atmosphere. Awesome feeling! We went on to win the game 8-2.

Q. Who gave you the nickname “Sniper” and how did that come about?
A. Conflicting reports out there, I’d say in good fun. It was very early during freshman year, before we had even skated in our first practice, and all the freshman were sitting around the cafeteria talking about where they played and in what league and so on. Being from Vancouver, and playing in an offensive league like the BCHL, I said…”I like to score goals, I like to snipe”. From that moment on the other guys called me Sniper. At least that’s my side. My classmates would say I stood up and said…”My name’s Dave Tomlinson, but you can call me Sniper”! They seem to like telling it that way, so it’s a fun little story that changes depending on who you talk to. Either way, my former teammates from BU still call me that…it brings back cool memories.

Q. Which of your BU teammates do you remain close to these days?
A. I see Phil von Stefenelli quite often here in Vancouver. Our kids occasionally play together and were in German classes together as well. Phil’s a great guy, and we were roommates sophmore season. Now that I am the radio colour commentator for the Vancouver Canucks, I get to see Joe Sacco when his Colorado Avalanche team plays the Canucks. I think our senior class is overdue for a get-together…so maybe that will have to be organized.

Q. What are the most lasting memories of your BU Hockey career?
A. Personally, leaving home and eventually finding new friends on the team from other places was a great experience. I have fond memories of the fun times we had along the way. I also credit Coach Parker and Mike Boyle for turning me into a complete hockey player, one that played pro for 15 years after being passed up in the regular NHL Draft (I was drafted in the Supplemental Draft which is no longer held). Coach challenged me hard at times along the way and taught me about defence as well. Mike Boyle turned me into a strong, fit player, as I grew a few inches and gained over 20 pounds while at BU; d he showed me the benefit of proper workouts.

Q. Dave, what were the greatest challenges in attempting to transfer your skills from D1 to the NHL?
A. Learning to play at a higher tempo more frequently and getting revved up for each and every game at the pro level was difficult at first. In college, when playing almost only on the weekends…it was easy to harness the energy and go all out for two games and then practice until the next two games the following week. At the pro level, you have to be at your best every night over a long season of 80 plus games. Also, making plays quickly and instinctively rather than assessing every option…as there’s no time for thinking in the NHL as everything has to be reaction with your feet moving.

Q. Many Terrier fans were thrilled to see you achieve your dream of playing in the NHL. What was the highlight of your time in the NHL?
A. It would have to be my first (and only) NHL goal. It was in St.Louis against Curtis Joseph, a deflection in front. I also had an assist on a Keith Tkachuk goal for my first (and only) multi-point NHL game that night as well. A close second was playing for the Winnipeg Jets against the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver with lots of family and friends in attendance.

Q. After NHL stops, you spent many years in Germany, where, as your sister Karin pointed out in her blog, you gained celebrity status. What were those years like?
A. They were great. I was in a smaller city (Mannheim) that took their hockey seriously and we won four championships in my first five years there. It was a big fish in a small pond kind of thing, and I enjoyed all the ice time and being an important part of the team’s success. Also, a fully furnished apartment, a Porsche, and incidentals being paid for certainly helped as well. Being single at the time was a bonus.

Q. When did you decide that you wanted to get into broadcasting?
A. I always had in the back of my mind, even when deciding on what courses to take at BU, to get into broadcasting after whatever hockey career I would have. My Dad steered me in the direction of business, so I went the SMG route, but I’d always pay attention to the broadcasters from each team I was on and ask questions along the way. When the all-sports radio station I am currently working for gained the broadcasting rights to the Canucks’ games, I went knocking on their door, talked my way onto the airways and retired from hockey at 38 years old.

Q. How daunting is the challenge of replacing the legendary Tommy Larscheid as a broadcaster?
A. Oh, it’s not easy. He was well liked by everyone not just on-air but off as well. Just a real classy guy. He had his own way of calling games, which was heavy on the entertainment and light on the x’s and o’s. He was the only colour commentator the Canucks had for 27 years so he had quite the history in the city and province. My challenge is to be myself and not try to copy anyone. I like the little things in the games that turn out to be difference makers in the outcome, and try and bring that to light. I’ll throw in some humour along the way as well and hope the listener feels like they’re right in the middle of the action.

Q. What is the biggest difference that you have noticed between the players today and when you played?
A. They are all in better shape and can skate faster. They are not all necessarily smarter with the puck or have more hockey sense, but they can play at a higher tempo for longer. I often wonder and wrestle with the idea that players respect each other less and less compared to when I played. Some of the hits seem too nasty and with no regard for injury. Being that the players are all bigger, faster and in better shape to go harder and hit harder, it’s not surprising that injuries are more frequent as well. But it just seems there is less respect to players in a compromised position on the ice and with hits from behind and to the head. I don’t like that part at all.

Q. Did you get a chance to see BU freshmen Sahir Gill and Garrett Noonan play for RBC Cup champ Vernon last season? If so, what can BU fans expect from them?
A. I haven’t personally seen them play, but just knowing they’ve come out of the BCHL and from such a respected organization as the Vernon Vipers tells me that BU has a couple of real good hockey players. The BCHL is the best Tier 2 Junior league in North America. Add the fact that they won the Canadian Championship last year and that’s all everyone needs to know. Just as long as they don’t knock me out of the Top Ten in all-time Terrier scoring and I’ll be behind them and the team one hundred percent! I wish the team and Jack Parker another successful season and a well-deserved trip to the Frozen Four, for some more Terrier magic and another National Championship.

2010-11 Game Highlights

2010-10-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

Oct. 8 -- BU 4 Wisconsin 3 (Warrior Ice Breaker semifinal)
Oct. 10 -- BU 5 Notre Dame 4 (Warrior Ice Breaker championship game)
Oct. 16-- BU 2 UMass 2
Oct. 22-- BU 4 UMass 3
Oct. 30-- BU 2 Lowell 1
Nov. 6--BU 2 Maine 2
Nov. 12--BU 1 Merrimack 1
Nov.13--BU 3 Merrimack 3
Nov. 19--UNH 5 BU 2
Nov. 20--BU 4 UNH 2
Nov. 27--BU 4 Brown 4
Dec. 3-- BC 9 BU 5
Dec. 8--BU 5 NU 4
Jan. 9--BU 4 Vermont 2
Jan 15--BU 5 Harvard 2
Jan. 21--BC 3 BU 2
Jan. 28--BU 4 Maine 3
Jan. 29--BU 1 Maine 1 OT
Feb. 4--BU 3 Lowell 1
Feb.7--BC 3 BU 2 OT
Feb. 11--BU 4 UMass 3 OT
Feb. 18--BU 2 Providence 1
Feb. 25--BU 3 Vermon3 OT
Feb. 26--BU 3 Vermont 1
Mar. 4--BU 3 Northeastern 2
Mar. 5--Northeastern 4 BU 3
Mar. 10--Northeastern 4 BU 2
Mar. 11--BU 5 Northeastern 2
Mar. 13--Northeastern 5 BU 4

Q&A with Matt Gilroy

2010-08-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Second in a series of Q&A interviews with former Terriers who debuted in the NHL last season. Brandon Yip Q&A-8/3/10

The storybook path that took Matt Gilroy from a walk-on freshman in Sept. 2005 to three-time All-American, Hobey Baker Award winner in 2009 and captain of BU’s “miracle comeback” National Champions the same year has gained instant legend status with Terrier fans. Just days after the dramatics in D.C., Gilroy signed a multi-year contract with the New York Rangers, enabling him to begin his pro career in Madison Square Garden where his father, Frank, had played basketball for St. John’s.

Gilroy immediately earned a spot in the Blueshirts’ lineup and played 69 games, with a 4-11-5 scoring line. Currently preparing for Rangers’ training camp, Gilroy talked with us about his rookie season in the NHL.

Q If you had to give yourself a grade on your rookie pro season, what would it be?
A. It was a great experience. It was a good first year, but as for a grade, I don't think about hockey like that.

Q. What did you learn during the season that you'd wished you knew about while at BU?
A. Nothing. College and pro are very different learning experiences. While at BU I did not think about what the NHL was like; I concentrated on being at BU. I would not change anything [from my time] at BU.

Q. Was your brief demotion to Hartford a disappointment or a challenge-or both?
A. Being demoted to Hartford is part of playing professional hockey, so it was neither a disappointment nor a challenge rather part of the process.

Q. Obviously the Ranger's just falling short of the playoffs was disappointing, but can you think of a few personal highlights? Perhaps the goal scored against Martin Brodeur?
A. Let's see.....for me, the first game in Madison Square Garden, first game back in Boston, and playing against Yipper and Colin.

Q. Compare the coaching styles of John Tortorella and Jack Parker.
A. Both are intense, but very different. The pro game is much different than college.

Q. What role does former BU Capt. Mike Sullivan play as Ranger's assistant? Which Coach focuses on defense?
A. Mike Sullivan is the defensive coach for the Rangers

Q. What is the best part about playing with Chris Drury?
A. Chris is a quality guy on and off the ice. His work ethic is contagious.

Q. Were the physical demands of an 80 game season what you expected? Did 4 years with Mike Boyle prepare you physically for the NHL?
A. Mike Boyle does a great job! I expected the NHL to be different than college. The NHL season is very long and wears on you physically and mentally.

Q. Are there any NHL rules you d like to see the NCAA adopt and why?
A. None that I can think of right now.

Q. Any interesting experiences on the ice with former BU teammates?
A. Playing against Colin and Brandon was great. Colin and I went back and forth on the ice. When the Rangers played the Avalanche in Denver Steve Smolinsky and his Dad came out to watch Yip and I. It was alot of fun.

Q. Was your first vist to the Verizon Center in D.C. a special moment or just another game?
A. Going back to that building will always be special to me, to anyone who was on the team, and to anyone who attended those games.

Q. Finally have you watched the entire 2009 National Championship game on DVD since that weekend in D.C.? Do the events of the third period and overtime still seem "unreal," as you told the media after the game?
A. I have not watched the video. For me it was a once-in-a-lifetime game and experience. My family and friends have watched it. They all tell me that even though they know the outcome they still go through the same emotions as they did sitting there at the Championship game in D.C. When I think about that game ...yes, it was unreal!

Q&A with Brandon Yip

2010-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

First in a series of Q&A interviews with former Terriers who debuted in the NHL last season.

After winning an NCAA championship, former Terrier wing Brandon Yip didn’t head for DisneyWorld, but set sights on the NHL. And he got there in just a few months, following recovery from a hand injury suffered at Avalanche training camp injury and a six-game AHL pit stop. Once in a Colorado sweater, Yip did the same thing he did as a Terrier: play physical hockey and find the back of the net. Limited to 32 regular season games, he put up an 11-8-19 line and led all NHL rookies in goals per game. Following the season, he signed a new two-year contract with Colorado.

Yip is the only player to score the game-winning goal in two Hockey East Championship games (2006, 2009), tallied 108 points during his Terrier career, which concluded with BU’s comeback win in the 2009 NCAA championship game win against Miami, 4-3, OT.

Q. Where have you been spending the offseason?

A. I have been spending my offseason in Boston for the most part. I am still training with Mike Boyle in Winchester. I also go back to Vancouver for a few weeks at a time to visit my family and friends.

Q. What did you learn at BU, on or off the ice, that has benefitted you in having a successful first season with Colorado?

A. I think the most beneficial attribute that I learned from BU and took to Colorado was “work ethic.” Coach Parker really stressed a good work ethic during practice and in summer training. Working hard really does pay off and I have learned that thus far.

Q. Besides those bookend game-winners in the 2006 and 2009 Hockey East title games and the NCAA win, are there a few other games in your BU career that stand out?
A. Well the obvious one, the NCAA championship, is definitely the highlight of my career. I can’t remember every goal clearly I have scored, but I always remember the ones against BC--haha.

Q. Do you feel that staying the full 4 years helped you get ready for the NHL and allowed you to spend minimal time in the minors?
A. Absolutely, staying four years at BU was tp my advantage for sure. It gave me four years to get physically stronger and it helped shape my game to what it is now. I learned a lot on and off the ice.

Q. All three members of your senior year line have already seen NHL action. That’s not a common occurrence. Can you tell us a little about what made Bonino, McCarthy and you work so well together?

A. I think we all just brought our best attributes to the line and it seemed to jell pretty well. We complemented each other in different ways, but working hard for each other was our common denominator. Both Johnny and Nicky are great players and are going to continue to have great success wherever they play.

Q. Do you wear your NCAA championship ring or have it locked away?
A. I actually gave it to my dad to hold on for me. He has always been there for me and I thought it would be pretty cool if he kept it for me.

Q. At what point in your hockey career did you begin to believe that the NHL was an attainable goal for you?
A. I think it was when I got drafted back while playing juniors. I never thought I was going to be drafted, but when I did, it made me really think that maybe I could make it one day.

Q. You are a bit older than some of the other rookies in last year’s Avs “youth corps”(Matt Duchene, T.J. Galiardi and Ryan O'Reilly). How do you explain so many first-year and second-year players performing so well ? Was it Joe Sacco’s system?
A. Joe did a very good job in working with everyone, but really gave the rookies a lot of responsibility and held us just as accountable as the older veterans. So I think that helped us out a lot, maturing wise. I also think the veterans did a good job in leading us in the right
direction and giving some great advice as the season went on.

Q. Your top NHL thrill thus far?
A. My first goal. I will never forget it.

Q. What aspects of your game are you looking to improve on next season? What are your personal goals for the coming year?
A. I’m looking to improve all parts of my game, but focusing on getting faster and keeping up a fast pace throughout the entire game. Training during this offseason is going to be key.

Q. Just as you were at BU, you’ve become a fan favorite in Denver. How do you explain that?
A. I have no idea. I just like to play the game and I enjoy meeting new people along the way. Maybe the last name catches people's attention… who knows?

Q. Bernie Corbett pointed out during a BU broadcast that you were especially productive in games when your parents were at the game –whether in Boston or at the Denver Cup. Can you explain that? Did the pattern continue when they attended your NHL games?
A. Yeah I love it when my parents can make it to the games. Being in Boston, it was pretty far away from Vancouver, so my parents were limited in seeing most of my games. They would always listen or watch on the Internet, but when they were physically there, its always special. They are the biggest reasons for my success thus far, so I always try and give them a thrill when they come.

Q. You’re not the first NHL player to emerge from Maple Ridge? Who are some of the others?

A. Yeah, we have a lot of athletes come from our town: Cam Neely, Brenden Morrison, Andrew Ladd, Greg Moore, Larry Walker, and many others. Maple Ridge is a great community and we take a lot of pride in our sports.

Q. As training camp approaches, have you been thinking about the prospect of having a couple of former BU teammates—Kevin Shattenkirk, Colby Cohen, Zach Cohen, Dave VanderGulik—join you as an Av?
A. Yeah I think it is pretty cool that we have a strong BU connection in Colorado. I think that says a lot about the program at BU. Can’t wait to see all the boys soon.

Q&A wth Brad Zancanaro

2010-07-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Former BU co-captain Brad Zancanaro answered our questions about participating in the REPLAY THE SERIES restaging of a suspended 1999 game between his Trenton High School team and rival Catholic Central.

Q. What was your reaction when you heard about the possibility of replaying the game?
A. The kid who put the application in emailed me to see if i would be interested. At first I wasn't too excited about it because I thought it might be kind of cheesy...but he had me go to the Web site and watch the previous year's show. The first season turned out really well, so I figure it could be fun, and all the guys from the team that year were pretty excited about it.

Q. You had retired from pro hockey due to an injury a few years ago. Were you still playing hockey in an adult league?
A. I quit hockey because I had a few concussions and it took me a while to feel better. But I had been playing men’s league around Boston the past couple years. BU Hockey Alumni also have skates on Sunday mornings every once in a while during the winter.

Q. How big a challenge was getting back into game shape?
A. I have stayed in pretty good shape but wasn't used to getting hit or doing drills. I had to go back to Michigan for a "combine" weekend where our high school coach ran practices. It had been two years since I had participated in an actual practice, but it didn’t take long to get back into it. It was different for the other guys though. Most of them haven't practiced or been hit since high school. A couple guys lost a lot of weight. Both teams took it pretty seriously and the game was pretty intense, so it was important that everyone got into the best shape possible.

Q. How does the Trenton--CC rivalry compare with BU-BC?
A. There aren't a lot of the rivalries that compare to the BU-BC rivalry. But, for high school hockey in Michigan, nothing compares to Trenton-CC. Both teams are powerhouses and it seems like we used to switch off winning the state championships every year. We would play CC twice during the regular season each year. The games were always packed and just as intense as BU-BC games....it was the same type of feeling. CC is a Catholic school and recruits kids from all over the state come to play, and we are a public school that doesn't allow kids from other cities attend school there.. I think that added to the rivalry because there was a lot of pride involved for us because we were playing for our town.

Q. So, how cool was the experience of rejoining your high school teammates for a serious-game rematch with CC ?
A. Hockey has given me the opportunity to do a lot of things other people don’t get to do in their lives, but the Replay experience was by far one of the coolest things hockey has allowed me to do. It was great to go back and play high school hockey again! Not many people get a chance to do that. For our practices, our coach was running the same drills that we did 11 years ago and we even did the same traditions from 11 years ago. When given a second chance like that, people wanted to make the most of it. Both teams took it very seriously. No one was expecting the level of play to be what it was for the game, including myself. A lot of people have told me that it was one of the most exciting games that have seen in awhile and that the level of play was great to watch. We had a sold out crowd and we had our whole town behind us. The game had the same rivalry feeling that the games 11 years ago had. We were down 2-1 going into the third and we were able to pull out a 4-2 win. We had a big celebration with old friends and family that night...it rivaled the ones we had at the Dugout after Beanpot victories!

Terrier Ice Hockey Olympians

2010-02-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

All on Team USA unless otherwise noted.

2010 VANCOUVER, B.C., CANADA
Chris Drury
Ryan Whitney

2006 TURIN, ITALY
Rick DiPietro
Chris Drury
Keith Tkachuk

2002 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
Tony Amonte, Silver
Chris Drury, Silver
Tom Poti, Silver
Keith Tkachuk, Silver
Scott Young, Silver

1998 NAGANO, JAPAN
Tony Amonte
Keith Tkachuk

1994 LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY
Adrian Aucoin (Canada), Silver
John Lilley
David Sacco

1992 ALBERTVILLE, FRANCE
Clark Donatelli
Scott Lachance
Shawn McEachern
Joe Sacco
Keith Tkachuk
Scott Young
* David Quinn

1988 CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA
Clark Donatelli
Scott Young

1984 SARAJEVO, YUGOSLAVIA
Grant Goegan (Italy)

1980 LAKE PLACID, N.Y.
Mike Eruzione, Gold
Jim Craig, Gold
Jack O’Callahan, Gold
Dave Silk, Gold
Herb Wakabayashi (Japan)
Dick Decloe (Netherlands)

1976 INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA
Dick Lamby
Herb Wakabayashi (Japan)

1972 SAPPORO, JAPAN
Tim Regan, Silver
Herb Wakabayashi (Japan)

1968 GRENOBLE, FRANCE
Olivier Prechac (France)

1960 SQUAW VALLEY, CALIF.
Dick Rodenhiser, Gold

1956 CORTINA, ITALY
Dick Rodenhiser, Silver

1952 OSLO, NORWAY
Joseph “Red” Czarnota Silver

1948 ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND
Jack Garrity

1936 GARMISCH-PORTENKIRCHEN, GERMANY
John Lax, Bronze
Paul Rowe, Bronze

*– Played for Team USA during exhibition schedule, but was cut
before the team went to France.

The Beanpot’s identical twin

2010-02-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Four decades younger, the Beanpot trophy’s replica shines as bright as the original

By Jon Brodkin, BU 2000

On Monday night, a famous, sparkling trophy called the Beanpot will be awarded to the best college hockey team in Boston.

The trophy will be instantly recognizable to fans of Boston University or Boston College, but it is not the same one skated around the ice by the heroic likes of Mike Eruzione, Jack O’Callahan, John Cunniff, Wayne Turner and Chris Drury.

Although the tournament began in 1952, the actual trophy presented to modern day winners was made less than five years ago. After decades of wear and tear, and the occasional incident involving a winning team misplacing the trophy, Beanpot tournament officials decided the original pot was too precious to risk any further.

The original is in good shape, says Steve Nazro, tournament director and vice president of events at the TD Garden, but “it’s too valuable” to actually give to the winners for a full year. “To have any chance of having it stolen, or held hostage would be a big deal,” he says.

The Beanpot’s history features stories of players using the trophy as an ashtray, players throwing it out a dorm window during a celebration party, and at least one winning school simply having no idea where the trophy was when it came time to return it a week before the next year’s tournament.

The stories may be true and they may be false, but they add to the lore of the tournament and the silver pot, just as mishaps involving the Stanley Cup enrich that trophy’s history.

The Beanpot has also served as a touchstone in emotionally charged circumstances, such as when the victorious Northeastern Huskies presented the trophy in 1984 to Terry Flaman, the cancer-stricken son of their coach who, sitting in a wheelchair, had given the team a pre-game pep talk. Then in the late 1990s the BU Terriers celebrated several Beanpot wins with Travis Roy, who had been paralyzed in October 1995 in his first game as a freshman.

As much as the Beanpot meant to players and coaches, at some point Boston Garden officials stopped letting the winners take the Beanpot home with them in case it was lost or damaged. I remember hearing about one team – I think it was the 2001 Boston College Eagles - whose players and coaches were boarding the bus expecting to take the trophy back to campus and were surprised to learn that was not allowed.

Nazro and his team solved the problem a few months before the 2006 tournament. Beanpot officials decided the best way to allow the winning team to keep the trophy was to create a replica that would look exactly like the original, down to the smallest detail. That replica, created by Marlborough Foundry Inc. in Marlborough, Mass, is the one that will be presented on the Garden ice Monday night and given to the winners to keep until next year’s tournament.

In late 2005, Garden officials brought the beanpot portion of the Beanpot trophy – the bottom part which has engravings of the yearly winners was removed - to Marlborough Foundry, where a mold of the original was created. Fittingly, the metal for a replica was poured into the mold by Steve Postizzi, a 33-year-old who played high school hockey and attended the Beanpot as a child.

“I wanted to make sure I was the guy who poured the metal into the mold, so I could say that,” Postizzi says.

While the original Beanpot was made of iron, the replica is aluminum, and is thus quite a bit lighter than the trophy skated around in decades gone by. While Nazro says there is nothing wrong with the original, Postizzi’s expert eye noticed the handles appear to have been snapped off in the past, and other repaired cracks were apparent when looking inside the Beanpot.

“It had been broken a couple times,” Postizzi says. “You can only weld and repair things so often before you start to diminish the integrity of the pot. … They wanted us to make a replica because the original was dropped too many times and they didn’t want to risk it any further.”

The original trophy’s exterior was buffed to keep it smooth, and overall Postizzi says “it was in good condition, but they didn’t want any more dings and dents in it.”

Creating the new Beanpot cost about $700 or $800, mostly for labor, and took a few days. Marlborough Foundry kept the original Beanpot for a couple of weeks in total, including time for planning, says Postizzi, who has worked in the family foundry business since the age of 18. Once Marlborough Foundry was done with the replica Beanpot it was passed on to Lubin’s trophy shop in Newton, where engraving and other final details were taken care of.

I’ve attended the Beanpot nearly every year since 1995 and never learned until this month that the iconic trophy had been replaced, because the story has largely remained untold.

Nazro says the replacement of the original pot hasn’t received much attention, other than a one-paragraph piece that appeared in Boston Magazine in February 2007. That article, titled “The Beanpot’s Trusty Body Double,” says the original trophy “is still the crowd pleaser, since that’s what the winning team hoists for its celebratory skate.” If the article is correct, then the only reason the replica was created was so the winning team would have a copy to keep in its trophy case while the original stayed at the garden and was presented to the winners on the ice.

Nazro says it’s possible that was true in 2007, but is certainly not true today – the replica is definitely the one handed out on the ice to the winning team.

“The replica is locked in a closet with the other awards, ready to be given out,” Nazro told me Friday.

Postizzi was told by Garden officials that the replica would replace the original for on-ice presentations once it was ready, so it may be that that the last time the original was presented was in February 2005, when Ray Bourque’s son Chris won the trophy for BU with an overtime goal against Northeastern.

You might think tournament participants would be upset about the original Beanpot being replaced, but Nazro says they “were thrilled … now they can display it in their trophy case.”

After winning the NCAA Division 1 ice hockey championship in April 2009, Boston University held several events, including a parade and banner-raising ceremony, showing off all six trophies the team won the previous season. Without the Beanpot replica, those celebrations might have been missing one very important trophy.

There is certainly precedent for famous trophies being replaced with replicas. The FA Cup, the oldest football (you know, soccer) competition in the world has awarded a replica trophy since 1992. And there are actually three Stanley Cups: the fragile original, first presented in 1893 and now encased in glass in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto; the “presentation cup” awarded to winners since the early 1960s; and a replica later created for display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Marlborough Foundry was almost asked to make another replica Beanpot trophy, when the Hall of Fame called the Garden about getting a Beanpot for display. For reasons unclear to Nazro, the deal was never completed.

“We responded and offered to do whatever they wanted. … We got all excited about it but they [the Hall of Fame officials] never followed through,” Nazro said.

Surprisingly, it’s not even clear when the original Beanpot was created. The first rendition of the tournament took place in December 1952 at Boston Arena (now, Matthews Arena, Northeastern’s home stadium) and its official name was the New England Invitational Hockey Tournament. Even though there wasn’t a trophy that first year, the 1952 contest featuring BU, BC, Harvard and Northeastern was nicknamed the “Beanpot” in press stories, presumably as a reference to Boston’s love of baked beans.

At some point after the tournament moved to Boston Garden, which occurred in January 1954, a beanpot was acquired to serve as a trophy. Nazro says he doesn’t know which year the beanpot was purchased.

College hockey historian Bernard Corbett wrote the best history of the Beanpot in 2002, a book called “The Beanpot: 50 years of Thrills, Spills, and Chills.”

The book quotes Harvard official Carroll Getchell as saying “do you know we went for a few years without a trophy? Then finally, one, day, [Boston Garden owner] Walter [Brown] said, ‘Why the devil don’t we have a Beanpot Trophy?’ So now we have this large silver Beanpot.”

“The trophy problem was solved by legendary Garden troubleshooter Tony Nota, who managed to acquire one,” Corbett’s book continues.

The earliest picture of a Beanpot trophy featured in the book was of Red Martin, Boston College’s “58-minute man” who won the tournament in 1959 and 1961. He is pictured holding an actual ceramic beanpot.

“After using a humble ceramic jug for more than a decade, Beanpot officials finally switched to a proper silver version, cast from the original,” Boston Magazine’s February 2007 article states.
Photographs from various sources show that the silver-colored version fans know today has been in use since at least 1965, the year current BC coach Jerry York first suited up for the Eagles and one season before BU coach Jack Parker first skated for the Terriers.

1966 was the first year in which the winning team not only accepted the trophy, but also skated it around the ice to show off to fans in the student section. BU senior captain Dennis O’Connell is credited with starting the tradition.

The trophy was originally fitted with a single ring below the pot to engrave the names of winning schools, and a second ring was added in the mid-1980s, making the trophy noticeably larger.

The Beanpot wasn’t always handled with the same level of care it enjoys today. Postizzi says one of the Garden officials told him the Beanpot was lost in the 80s and eventually found in a bush outside a BC dorm. BC only won the Beanpot once in the 1980s, so if the story is true that would have occurred in 1983.

Postizzi was also told some players used the trophy as an ashtray. Nazro has heard the same story.

“That’s lore. It may be true. I can’t say it isn’t,” Nazro says.

Nazro confirms that one school did lose the trophy. Garden officials called the school a week before the tournament and it turned out no one knew where the trophy was. It was eventually found “in some obscure case,” he says.

Nazro says that occurred before his time as the tournament director, which started in the early 1970s. If Nazro knows which school actually lost the trophy, he’s not saying publicly.

The stories mirror some of those told about the Stanley Cup, which has allegedly been lost and stolen various times, used as an ashtray, thrown into multiple swimming pools and, disturbingly, used as both a receptacle for chewing gum and urine, though one would hope not at the same time.

Those indignities won’t be happening to the original Beanpot any time soon. Most of the year it sits in a glass case with other Beanpot memorabilia at the TD Garden, on display for anyone with club level tickets. Nazro says no one’s ever actually tried to steal it, and a combination of alarms and 24-hour security would make it quite difficult.

The original was taken out of its case for the pre-Beanpot luncheon and “it’s in my office right now because we often get people who want to shoot it between now and the tournament,” Nazro says. It’s no surprise so many people want a picture of the Beanpot. Winning the Beanpot isn’t as great an achievement as prevailing in the Hockey East or NCAA tournaments, but the trophy itself may be the most unique and aesthetically pleasing in all of college hockey.

On Monday night, the original Beanpot will be in safe-keeping while the Boston University Terriers and Boston College Eagles renew their fierce rivalry. The winner will be presented a trophy that looks exactly like the historic cup BU coach Jack Parker and BC coach Jerry York fought over when they skated for their alma maters more than 40 years ago. It is not, in fact, the same piece of silverware but the replica will forever be a part of the Beanpot tournament’s storied history.

The author of this article can be reached at beanpot.replica@gmail.com

Terriers in the World Junior Championships

2009-12-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Tony Amonte-- Forward 1989, 1990
Pat Aufiero-- Defense 2000
Shawn Bates-- Forward 1995
Chris Bourque-- Forward 2005, 2006^
Rich Brennan-- Defense 1992
Dan Cavanaugh-- Forward 2000
Jon Coleman-- Defense 1994
Cleon Daskalakis-- Goalie 1981
Tom Dion--Defense 1989
Rick DiPietro--Goalie 2000, 2001*
Clark Donatelli--Forward 1984, 1985
Chris Drury--Forward 1996
Mike Grier--Forward 1995
Gregg Johnson--Forward 2002
Jeff Kealty--Defense 1996
Mike Kelfer--Forward 1986, 1987
Chris Kelleher--Defense 1995
Bob Lachance--Forward 1994
Scott Lachance--Defense 1991, 1992
Dan LaCouture--Forward 1997
Mike Lappin--Forward 1989
John Lilley--Forward 1992
Brian McConnell--Forward 2003
Freddy Meyer--Defense 2001
Paul Miller--Forward 1977
Chris O’Sullivan--Defense 1994
Jay Octeau--efense 1985
Jay Pandolfo--Forward 1994
Mike Pandolfo--Forward 1999
Mike Pomichter--Forward 1993
Tom Poti--Defense 1996, 1997
Mike Prendergast--Forward 1992
David Quinn--Defense 1986
John Sabo--Forward 2000, 2001
Joe Sacco--Forward 1989
Kevin Shattenkirk--Defense 2009
Brian Strait--Defense 2008
Mike Sullivan--Forward 1988
Mike Sylvia--Forward 1996
Keith Tkachuk--Forward 1991, 1992
Ryan Whitney--Defense 2002, 2003
Colin Wilson--Forward 2008, 2009
Scott Young--Forward 1985, 1986, 1987

BU-Cornell: The First Tie--Dec. 30, 1967

2009-11-28T23:37:00.000-08:00

Dec. 30, 1966— Boston Arena—BU played two three-game tournaments in December 1966. A week after sweeping Princeton, Minnesota and Clarkson at the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, the Terriers skated on their home ice, Boston Arena, in the Arena Christmas Tournament.

They had beaten Harvard and Northeastern to improve to a 12-0 record and a #1 ranking. Meanwhile, Cornell dispatched the same two teams and was also undefeated at 11-0 and ranked #2, setting up what is considered one of the greatest college hockey games ever played.

Both squads were far from fresh as they were about to play for the third time in as many days before a capacity crowd of 5,450. The officials for the game were Giles Threadgold and Bill Clearly, later coach and athletic director at Harvard.

According to the Ithaca Journal, “Cornell had a wide edge in territorial play in a penalty-marred first period, but the Terriers capitalized on their opportunities and thwarted the Big Red''s power plays.”

All three first-period goals came on power plays. Cornell drew first blood just 2:13 into the game. With two Terriers in the penalty box, Harry Orr took a pass from Mike Doran and beat goalie Wayne Ryan.

BU senior Jim Quinn scored the equalizer four minutes later, converting a feed from Fred Bassi. Then, with half a minute left in the period and BU up two men, a Brian Gilmour slapper whizzed past Cornell goalie Ken Dryden for a 2-1 Terrier lead.

Cornell regained the lead early in the second on a pair of goals by Bob Ferguson and Skip Stanowski. Ryan got a glove both shots but couldn’t keep them out of the net. Play raged up and down the ice throughout the period with 33 shots taken, but no further goals.

The pattern continued well into the third period with Dryden keeping BU’s high-scoring ”Pinball Line” of Herb Wakabayashi, Mickey Gray and Serge Boily off the scoresheet. Finally, in the latter part of the period, BU got the tying goal from an unlikely source, sophomore defenseman Darrell Abbott.

“I think there were about 3 or 4 minutes left in the third period and we were losing 3-2 when either Pete McLachlan or Brian Gilmour—our two veteran, all-star defensemen—got a penalty, and the other, shortly before that penalty, had been injured,” Abbott recalls. “Coach [Jack]Kelley had no choice but to put the two rookies—Billy Hinch and me--out together. It was the first time Billy and I had played together as a pair so I'm sure Coach was more than a little concerned.

“Cornell dumped the puck into our end in the process of making a slow line change. Billy set up in front, while I picked up the puck behind our net, fully expecting to look up and ice it, seeing as how we were a man short.

“But when I looked up there was only one Cornell player standing at center ice and the others were just coming over the boards. With no pressure I began to skate up ice only to realize that I could beat this guy. At this point everything happened so fast. There I was, going in on a partial breakaway and, contrary to all logic, I roofed a backhander into the net over Dryden’s shoulder on the short side to tie the game.”

The game went to a 10-minute overtime and, the Ithaca Journal reported, “Cornell had the edge in the first three minutes of the first overtime with Ryan making a sensational save on Doran from in close, but BU outskated the Big Red during the last seven minutes. Dryden had brilliant saves on Boily and Bill Hinch late in the period.”

The two coaches agreed to play one more overtime period, but neither of the weary teams mounted much of an attack in the second overtime and the teams were declared tournament co-champions. Goalies Ryan (32 saves) and Dryden (40 saves) shared the MVP award.

Abbott added that “It was the first game that my Father had attended at BU so it was even more special for me. He was sitting in the first row balcony, right above our bench. Of course having seen the success that Ken had subsequent to his days at Cornell, I feel I was very fortunate to have scored at all, but it is amazing how many people remember that goal even to this day. I was especially honored by the fact that Ken still remembered me years later, even after all the Stanley Cups and the Russian experiences. His comment to me was ‘I always remember the big ones’.”

SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER FOR BU HOCKEY BOOK

2009-11-25T17:18:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER FOR BU HOCKEY BOOK
BU Fans Can Obtain Signed Books Via Mail Order

BOSTON – In the national championship game in college hockey, Boston University had to go into overtime to win the big prize.

Now a special offer for Terrier hockey fans has gone into overtime as well.

Burn The Boats: A Seven-Championship Season for Boston University Hockey, written by US College Hockey Online senior writer Scott Weighart, was published last month and has proceeded to sell briskly at Agganis Arena, the BU Bookstore, and online at www.buhockeybook.com.

Initially, Mosaic Eye Publishing decided to offer fans free shipping within the United States on mail orders for the first 35 days of the regular season in honor of the Terriers’ 35-win season in 2008-09.

Now, with the holidays approaching, Mosaic Eye has decided to extend the free shipping offer with an “overtime” special geared to fans interested in purchasing the books as gifts for friends and family. As a result, the free shipping offer will continue until December 18, 2009—meaning that any offers up until that date will receive free shipping and should arrive in time for Christmas.

Additionally, a new wrinkle is now available to fans from afar. “I have done several book signings at Agganis Arena, and the response has been terrific,” Weighart says.

“Many fans have asked me to sign copies in some personalized way—sometimes as birthday presents or Christmas gifts. Eventually, we started saying, ‘Why not make this available to Terrier fans who can’t make it to the Arena?’ So now Terrier fans will have the opportunity to get a book inscribed as they wish when purchasing the book for $17 at www.buhockeybook.com.”

Here’s how it will work: When ordering online using PayPal, fans can click on “Special instructions to the seller.” After doing so, buyers can add instructions if they want a personalized comment along with author’s signature. Here are some typical choices:
· “To Katrina, Merry Christmas!”
· “To Dave, Never leave a game early!”
· “To Hannah, Keep playing hockey!”
· “To Kenny, A future Terrier!”

As always, money from each purchase of the book goes directly to the BU hockey program.

Fans should be aware of more news related to the Burn The Boats book:
· The books will be available at the Madison Square Garden concessions stands before and during the Red Hot Hockey game versus Cornell on Saturday, November 28.

· Scott Weighart will be appearing at the Pep Rally prior to the BU-Cornell game. Fans who have already purchased the book can bring their books in for signing at the Pep Rally or purchase them at concession stands to be designed before the game begins.

· Another author signing at Agganis Arena will take place before and during the game against Boston College on Saturday, December 5. Weighart will be signing books before the game from 6-7 p.m. as well as between the first and second periods.

· A book signing will also take place at the BU Bookstore in December, but the exact details are yet to be announced.

· Bernie Corbett, the Voice of Terrier Hockey, interviewed Weighart about the book for the College Hockey All-Access show on satellite radio. The broadcast should be archived and available on the Interent within a few days. Use Google to find it by searching for the November 21 show of College Hockey All-Access.

· A feature story detailing the making of the book should be available this week on goterriers.com. It is a lengthy piece entitled “A Game for the Pages.” Likewise, Weighart has completed a feature story about the Terriers’ tri-state players who will be participating in Red Hot Hockey next weekend. The story is based on interviews with Joe Pereira, Kevin Shattenkirk, Luke Popko, and Sean Escobedo.

To order the book, to read advance praise about it from Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of The Boston Globe, or to check out an excerpt from the book, go to www.buhockeybook.com. For additional information—or to arrange an interview with Weighart—please contact Ellie Boynton at info@mosaiceyepublishing.com or at 617-566-1574.

USCHO Recap: BU 6 Harvard 5 OT

2009-11-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

BU Pulls Out 6-5 OT Thriller
Connolly Nets Winner After Terriers Tie Game Late

By Scott Weighart, Senior Writer
ALLSTON, MA – When’s the last time you saw a hockey player score four goals and lose?

Or a team finish with a collective minus nine rating and win?Or a team take the lead four different times before losing?

Or a Boston University team score with less than 20 seconds left in regulation to tie a game before winning it in overtime?

Okay, you probably remember the last time that happened. Still, the above factoids will give you some idea of how weird and wild the game was between Boston University and Harvard in front of 3,076 at the Bright Hockey Center tonight. When the ice chips settled, the Terriers had pulled out a stirring 6-5 overtime victory, thanks to Zach Cohen’s tying goal with 19.5 seconds left in regulation and Chris Connolly’s game-winner at 2:42 of overtime.

Joe Pereira led the way for BU with two goals and two assists, while Nick Bonino added a goal and two assists for the Terriers. Yet Harvard freshman Conor Morrison—who started the night with just one goal in seven collegiate goals—stole the show individually with a stunning four-goal performance.

“Overall, it was an unbelievably exciting hockey game,” Terrier coach Jack Parker said. “I thought it was a great effort by everybody. I thought they played really hard; we played really hard. No one wanted to give up anything. When you score late like we did, it’s very fortunate to get the W. But when you score late, you’ve got the momentum going into overtime, and we certainly had that.

“I thought everybody played well on my team. We shortened the bench in the third period and went with three lines. Some guys got a little legless, but they worked like hell.”

Meanwhile, Harvard coach Ted Donato saw his team cough up a third-period lead for the fourth time in eight games this season. “Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Donato said. “You’ve got to give a lot of credit to BU. They kept coming, generated a lot of shots. Throughout the game, we kept answering back with a lot of goals and were able to maintain the lead for most of the night, but they kept coming.

“We struggled a little against their power play and were unable to keep them from getting to the net at times. Our guys battled hard, but we’ve got to do a better job of holding onto leads and closing games out.”

BU dominated play early and went ahead on their first power play of the game. Nick Bonino passed to Max Nicastro for a shot from the right point, and Pereira pounced on the rebound. At 9:11, Harvard tied it with a little puck luck, as a pass between two Terrier defensemen kicked off a referee’s skate and landed in grade ‘A’ country out front, where Morrison buried it.

BU goalie Kieran Millan gave up perhaps his softest goal of the season at 13:09, when Alex Killorn floated a backhander toward the far post from the right wing. Millan waved an arm at it but only got a piece of it, and the puck was in the net. BU go that one back during a five-minute power play following a boarding major on Brendan Rempel, as Zach Cohen tipped in a David Warsosky slapshot at 16:32.

Morrison got his second goal at 2:37 of the second period, backhanding in a rebound. But BU made it three-for-three on the power play at 6:39 when Pereira knocked in another rebound after Kevin Shattenkirk took a shot from the point.

Through two periods, all of Harvard’s goals were even strength, while all of BU’s came on the power play. As a result, BU’s combined plus-minus rating through 40 minutes was a minus 15, while Harvard was a plus 15—quite odd given that the game was tied at that point.

Morrison notched the hat trick at 5:06 of the third, driving in on the left wing before cutting across the slot with the puck on his backhand. Kevin Gilroy collided with Millan in the crease, and Morrison had that much more net to shot as a result. BU fought back to tie it yet again at 13:51 when Pereira attempted a wraparound that caromed off of Harvard goalie Kyle Richter and out to Bonino for the shot and score.

It looked as if the Crimson had the game won when Morrison scored his fourth goal of the night with just 1:18 remaining in the third. Daniel Moriarty and Chris Huxley dug the puck out of the right-wing boards to feed Morrison for the one-timer in the slot. It was the first time a Harvard player scored four times in a game since Chris Bala did it back on March 6, 1998. “We’ve been on kind of a rough stretch, so it was tough to lose it,” Morrison said. “It was a special night for me, but I’m not satisfied."

However, BU pulled Millan and scored an extra-attacker goal with just 19.5 seconds to knot the game up again. Warsofsky was cheating in on the left point, and a puck came out to him. His shot was redirected in by Zach Cohen to save the day for the Terriers.

Connolly’s goal came when Bonino attempted a wraparound, only to have the puck end up slipping through the slot to the winger at the far post. “We were fortunate enough to get it down low, cycling the puck,” Connolly said. “Nick got it in his favorite position, and I knew it was going to either go in or pop out to the other side. There was a scrum in front, so I figured I’d just wait off to the side and see what happened. I got lucky: It popped right there, and I had a wide open net.”

Jack Parker said that it was the best effort his team has shown since a 1-0 loss to Northeastern several weeks ago. “I was looking for a W, obviously, but I was more interested in our intensity—how fast we’d play and how smart we’d play,” Parker said. “We had speed and smarts tonight, that’s for sure.”

“I think it showed a lot of character tonight,” Pereira said. “Before we were kind of waiting for something bad to happen, but tonight we dug deep and responded.”BU (4-7-1) will look to keep the momentum going when playing Cornell at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, while Harvard (1-5-2) next plays ECAC opponent Dartmouth on Sunday.

USCHO Recap: Pereira Wraps Up Terrier Win

2009-10-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

No. 3 BU Edges No. 5 Michigan
By Scott Weighart, Senior Writer

BOSTON – It was a classic marquee matchup.

After trailing No.3 Boston University by a two-goal margin going into the third period, No. 5 Michigan stormed back to tie the game with 5:30 remaining, and they threatened to score more.

Suddenly, though, Wolverine goalie Bryan Hogan misplayed a puck behind the net, and Terrier Joe Pereira pounced on the puck for a wraparound and the decisive goal with just 2:31 remaining. Despite getting outshot 21-4 in the third period, BU emerged with a stirring 3-2 win in front of an Alumni Weekend crowd of 6,221 at Agganis Arena.

Despite giving up one bad goal, Kieran Millan played a great game in the Terrier net with 33 saves. Chris Summers led the way for Michigan with two assists. All in all, it was a gratifying first win for Terrier coach Jack Parker and his players—particularly after inconsistent showings during the first two games of the season.

“Overall I thought we played a pretty solid game in a whole bunch of different areas, but I thought that the best thing we did was we competed from the opening faceoff to the end of the game,” Parker said. “Even when we were exhausted, we were still competing real hard. We were really back on our heels in the third period—you can see that on the shot chart—and a lot of that has to do with the penalties we took. We were self-destructing with penalties, but the game was won and lost with special teams. We did a great job killing penalties.”

The latter was especially impressive considering that BU played without Luke Popko—its best forward in terms of killing two-man advantages—and then lost its best overall forward in Nick Bonino, who dislocated his shoulder in the first period. The good and bad news is that it was the first time Bonino has suffered a dislocation. Players who have no previous history of the injury have a much lower probability of a recurrence, but they also tend to have a longer recovery time. The best case has Bonino missing about three weeks, but it could be more like a month.

Meanwhile, Michigan coach Red Berenson reflected on some positives and negatives as well. “I thought it was a good game,” Berenson said. “From our standpoint, the early penalties hurt us. It’s hard to get any momentum when you’re killing penalties.

“The third period I thought our team started to compete harder and turn the wheel. College hockey is a game of momentum, and we started to get momentum. We finally got a break around the net. I like the way we were playing—just a bad goal on our goalie to decide the game.”

There were few scoring chances early in the game. The most noteworthy development was Bonino’s injury at 14:39, when he hit down hard when checked while going into the Wolverine zone. Even before he left the ice, it was obvious that he had suffered a shoulder separation—which would have been worse—or a dislocation.

On a power play, the Terriers took the lead at 16:13. Foreshadowing the clinching goal, this one was also the result of a mishandled puck behind the net by the Michigan netminder. “He played the one puck off the glass, which a goalie should never play,” Berenson said. “If the puck’s coming around the board you might play it, but not the glass. He played the first one off the glass, it took a bad bounce, and bang, it’s in our net.”

Zach Cohen scored the goal—his first of the season. “Corey Trivino was able to find the puck, and I found an open spot right in front the net,” Cohen said. “He got it out to me, and I didn’t know it was in the net at first.”

The second period featured great skating and action-packed play. BU had a great chance at 2:23 when Vinny Saponari shot, followed by Ryan Santana shooting the rebound off the post. That rebound sat in the crease, and David Warsofsky raced in and took a whack at it. Hogan stopped it—but did the puck cross the line before he did? A video review ensued after the next whistle, but the footage was too inconclusive to overrule the no-goal call on the ice.

Millan made perhaps his best save of the night at 4:20 of the period, when he was hung out to dry on a two-on-one rush. Left wing David Wohlberg was left to go mano a mano with the sophomore, and Millan stoned him.

BU made it 2-0 at 12:59 during the waning seconds of a power play. Chris Connolly got the puck along the left-wing boards and fed it to Colby Cohen at the center of the point. Unmarked, the defenseman drifted in with the puck and had ample time to set up his slapshot, which beat Hogan high glove side.

The third period was all Michigan for the first 16 minutes or so. Eric Gryba got called for a five-minute major after crunching Wohlberg into the boards at 2:15, but Michigan gave up the advantage when Chris Brown received the same call 59 seconds later. Still, Michigan gained momentum and piled up the shots. Millan looked fabulous until he surrendered a soft goal at 10:04. “It was a little mistake on my part,” Millan said. “I anticipated a rebound, and it ended up getting stuck underneath my pad. While I was rotating to make the next save, it popped up and went toward the net.” The goalie pounded his stick on the ice in frustration.

Michigan tied it up less than four minutes later, when Luke Glendening set up Matt Rust, who raced in and beat Millan with a high backhander at 14:30. Less than two minutes after that, sensing his team was exhausted and out of position, Parker called a time to give his team a breather as well as a chance to regroup.

That set the stage for Pereira’s heroics. “It was actually the end of our shift,” Pereira said. “Ryan Santana had the puck, and he saw me shooting down. He dumped it in the far corner, and the goalie went out to play the puck. I jumped, and the puck was right there. Once I got control of the puck, I knew that if I took it to the net as fast as I could it would be a good chance. I just stuffed it hard.”

“The ice is not as good as the game nears the end,” Berenson said. [Hogan’s] anticipating that the puck will move better than it did, and his decision was not good, and his execution was not good. It was a bad goal, and that’s too bad because he had a good game.”

BU (1-2-0) resumes Hockey East play with a home-and-home showdown with UMass-Lowell next weekend, while Michigan (2-2-0) travels to Lake Superior State for a pair of CCHA games.

Canadian Content

2009-10-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Chicago's Sahir Gill acclimates and prepares for life (and hockey) in the U.S.
Paul Shaheen - Amateur Hockey Report Senior Writer
ROI - 'The stars of tomorrow..play here today.'
October 10, 2009

It's a crisp and cool Saturday in Chicago. And though it's early morning, a 'midnight magician' is busy at work.

No, he's not pulling rabbits out of his hat, rather, he's doing something far more pedestrian for a young man of 17: He's preparing to sit for his SAT.

Sahir Gill (Terrace, BC), Chicago's electrifying rookie left wing who came to the Steel via the 2009 Royal Bank Cup champion Vernon Vipers where as a rookie last season he scored 26 goals and 56 points in 71 games, is by every indication someone who knows where he's going and exactly how he's going to get there.

Even when some things come by surprise.

Last year, the 5-10, 180 pound Gill barely made it to the BCHL. Having been cut the previous summer by the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, he made the Vipers solely on the strength of a strong training camp. Yet early on, he wasn't playing very much, or very well for that matter, until Vernon coach (and former NHLer) Mark Ferner put Gill on a line with brother act (and 2010 Quinnipiac recruits) Conner and Kellen Jones, who worked magic all their own by amassing some 151 points as the BCHL's most potent offensive line.

Not only did Vernon win the RBC, they did so in grand style, winning its last 11 post season games (Snakes with Sting--AHR May 19, 2009).

So what with Gill heading into his senior year of high school, and a chance to skate alongside the Jones brothers for yet another season, a return to Vernon seemed more or less in the cards.

Ah, but magicians never tip their hand.

Instead, having been heavily scrutinized by the Steel (who had a scout keeping an eye him all season long and who later drafted him during the 2009 USHL Entry Draft), Gill took an about face and opted to come to the USHL.

"I didn't plan on coming here at all," said the well spoken Gill, whose highlight goal from last year was a triple OT winner in game four of the BCHL championship series versus Powell River. "But I came here for camp, spoke to some people who were familiar with Chicago, and it seemed like a very good spot."

That was part of the reason he came to Chicago, but there's more.

"Here in the USHL there is lots of exposure," Gill added. I had a great spot in Vernon, but I may have felt a little too comfortable, I wanted to play (US) college hockey, so I decided to come here and get accustomed to the States."

The WHL's Vancouver Giants drafted Gill, but then traded his rights to Kamloops, which went after him heavily last spring, but has since backed off.

Gill's family, which now lives in Penticton, BC, is of Sikh Indian descent. His first name, Sahir (sa-HERE) translates most closely into 'midnight magician.' When watching Gill perform, it's obvious there's plenty in his bag of tricks.

"He is very skilled, and everybody likes him," says Steel head coach (and one-time NHL defenseman), Steve Poapst. "He competes, and that's what you want, because by doing that he will be successful."

Through three regular season games, Gill has picked up two goals and seven points, matching that of fellow top Steel scorer Andrei Kuchin, an import himself (born in 1991) from Russia.
Gill has all the tools. The only challenge now is to adapt them to a higher level of play.

"The USHL is faster paced, and a much younger league," says Gill, who is finishing his academic requirements via online correspondence with his high school back home. "Last year I was pretty young, we had nearly six kids 20 years old. There was a different feel, a lot of bigger bodies. Here, it's quicker, you can't underestimate anyone. In the BCHL, each team usually had some lines you could take advantage of, but not here. I'll be looked upon to produce more this year," added Gill, "but also play well defensively. I'm getting some penalty kill time, which I'm hoping will benefit me."

Poapst has little doubt everything will come together for Gill, as if it hasn't started to already. "He's going through the adjustments like anyone his age," said Poapst, after his team turned back Waterloo by a 6-3 score on Friday night. "This league's a little quicker, and a bit grittier. He just needs to be quicker and crisper."

Gill's parents are Bob and Kanwal. Gill's mother has a cousin in Chicago which has made it a bit easier for her to come to town and spend time watching her son. There's also an older brother, six years Sahir's elder, whom is finishing his university studies back in BC.

Having narrowed his collegiate choices to North Dakota, Minnesota, Boston University and Northeastern, Gill plans on making his 'fly downs' later in the month of October and perhaps have a decision by the end of the calendar year.

"This way," said Gill, "I can get that out of the way and focus on the year."

That's a magician for you--leaving the audience in suspense, yet always fully prepared.

2009-10 Game Highlights

2009-10-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

Oct. 10 - Banner-Raising Ceremony
Oct. 10 - BU 3-NTDP U18 Team 2 (exhibition)
Oct. 20 - Notre Dame 3 BU 0
Oct. 24 - BU 3 Michigan 2
Oct. 31 - Lowell 3 BU 1
Nov. 14 - BU 6 Merrimack 4
Nov. 22- BU 3 UNH 3
Dec. 4 - BU 3 Vermont 3
Dec. 5 - BC 4 BU 1
Jan. 2 - BU 7 UMass 3
Jan.8 - BU 3 BC 2
Jan. 16 - BU 6 Merrimack 4
Jan. 22 -BU 5 BC 4 OT
Jan. 23 - UNH 4 BU 1
Jan. 29 - BU 6 UMass 2
Feb. 1 - BU 2 Northeastern 1 (Beanpot)
Feb. 8 - BC 4 BU 3 (Beanpot)
Feb. 12 - BU 7 Maine 4
Feb. 13 - BU 5 Maine 2
Feb. 20 - BU 2 Providence 1
Feb. 26 - Vermont 7-BU 3
Feb. 27 - Vermont 3-BU 2
Mar. 5 - BU 5 Northeastern 4
Mar. 12- BU 3 Merrimack 2 (HE Quarterfinals)
Mar. 13- Merrimack 3-BU 2 OT (HE Quartefinals)
Mar. 14- BU 3-Merrimack 0 (HE Quarterfinals)

2009-2010 TV & All Access Schedule

2009-10-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

2009-10 TV Schedule

Oct. 20 vs. Notre Dame (ESPNU)
Nov. 21 vs. New Hampshire (NESN)
Dec. 11 vs. Rensselaer (NESN)
Jan. 2 vs. Massachusetts (ESPNU)
Jan. 8 vs. Boston College - Frozen Fenway (NESN)
Jan. 15 at Providence (NESN)
Jan. 22 at Boston College (NESN)
Jan. 23 vs. New Hampshire (NESN)
Feb. 1 vs. Northeastern - Beanpot (NESN)
Feb. 8 Beanpot Championship Game (NESN)
Feb. 12 vs. Maine (NESN)
Feb. 26 at Vermont (NESN)
Feb. 28 at Vermont (ESPNU)

2009-10 BU All-Access Schedule
Subscribe to All-Access

Oct. 10 vs. U.S. Under-18 Team
Oct. 20 vs. Notre Dame
Oct. 24 vs. Michigan
Oct. 31 vs. UMass Lowell
Nov. 14 vs. Merrimack
Dec. 4 vs. Vermont
Dec. 5 vs. Boston College
Jan. 2 vs. Massachusetts
Jan. 16 vs. Merrimack
Jan. 29 vs. Massachusetts
Feb. 13 vs. Maine
Feb. 20 vs. Providence
Mar. 5 vs. Northeastern

THFB Q&A: Chris Connolly

2009-10-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

Duluth native Chris Connolly scored the first goal in last year’s pre-season exhibition game and then added 30 points to become the top scoring freshman. Besides holding down the left-wing spot on BU’s all-rookie line, he filled in on the Terriers’ top line when Colin Wilson was at the World Junior Championships and when Chris Higgins was injured. Coach Jack Parker expects Chris to be on one of BU’s top two lines this season. He recently answered questions from THFB contributors:

Q—Chris, you’re not the first Terrier from Minnesota. John Curry, Ryan Priem and Justin Maiser are a few of those who preceded you here. So what brought you to BU?

A—I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota and had only experienced the Midwest (Omaha and Fargo), so I wanted something completely different for my college experience. I came on my visit out to Boston already knowing how accomplished both the coaching staff and program itself were, but I also fell in love with the city.

Q—Your younger brother Jack was also a freshman last year at Minnesota-Duluth in your hometown. Did you have any interest in joining him with the Bulldogs?
A—Yes I did. It was a very difficult decision for me to turn down my home town University, especially having the chance to be a freshmen with my younger brother; but at the same time, I had also been on my own for a few years playing juniors so leaving home wasn’t an issue for me. The opportunity to play for such an historic program was too good to pass by.

Q—You became a fan favorite last year due to your non-stop motor on the ice, as well as your contributions at both ends of the ice. Has that always been your style of play?
A—Not exactly. I have always loved the offensive side of the game, but as I moved up levels from high school to juniors and juniors to college, I began to realize how important defense was. I wanted to get as much ice time as possible and have come to realize that you can earn just as much, if not more, defensively as you can offensively.

Q—Last year’s freshmen class had several players who, when the year began, were better known to BU fans—Trivino, Warsofsky, Saponari—because they were NHL draft choices. That allowed you to fly a bit under the radar in terms of expectation. But this year, expectations for you will be high. How to you plan to raise the level of your game?
A—Last year all I wanted to do was contribute as much as I could and play in as many games as possible. Every year you want to get better, and to do that, you can’t take anything for granted. Just because you played a lot last year doesn’t necessarily mean you will this year. I just try and work as hard as possible every day.

Q—You played both wing and center last season. Which do you prefer?
A—I played center throughout most of my junior career, but now that I am playing more wing, I like it a little better. I don’t dislike center by any means though.

Q—Your penalty-shot goal against BC’s John Muse had to be one of your highlights last season. Muse described your move saying “he came straight down the ice and he kind of slowed down.” Is that how you planned it? Had you been involved in shootouts while with Omaha in the USHL and used that move before?
A—I had a couple of different ideas running through my head, along with, “Oh my God!” and “Don’t mess up!” but I had used that in Omaha before and it was the move I was most comfortable with at the time.

Q—We have heard a lot about the final seconds of the championship game when Colby Cohen’s deflected shot sailed over the goalie’s shoulder, but less about how the play started. Walk us through your role in it.
A—I believe the play slowed down in our end and Colby came up the ice with the puck; he made a pass to Trivino through the middle and he deflected it into the corner. Trivino had a full head of steam and was able to forecheck the defenseman and chip the puck up the wall to me. I didn’t even have to pick my head up because I heard Shatty yelling for the puck. Shatty made an unbelievable play to Colby, and after that, I just remember standing off to the side of the net watching Colby’s shot float into the net. It was indescribable.

Q—Your line hadn’t seen much—if any—ice time during the overtime. How hard was it to just watch after playing a regular shift all game and also killing all those penalties?
A—Of course we wanted to get out there, but at the same time, we understood that at such a crucial time in the biggest game of our lives, coach was more comfortable with the upper classmen. All you can do is stay as focused as possible because you could be called upon at any moment.

Q—Coach Parker has already said that you will probably be promoted to one of the top two lines this season. How do you see your role on the team this year compared to last year?
A—We lost a lot of talented forwards, so I hope to work hard and fill some of the open roles left by those seniors. I enjoyed my role last year, now I hope I can contribute even more.

Q—In 2008 you led the Omaha Lancers to the Clark Cup title and followed that with an NCAA championship? While only a second-year player, do you feel you can help teach the freshmen what it takes to be a winner and what Jack Parker defines as “a BU hockey player”?
A—In the past two seasons I have played for two incredible coaches, Mike Hastings (Omaha) and Coach Parke. The thing they have in common is that they both demand a good work ethic. One of my favorite quotes is “hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard.” That statement sums it up for me; I’m not a big talker in the locker room, but I like to set the best example as possible by working hard.

"Burn The Boats" excerpt

2009-10-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

MAD MEN

While BU’s inability to adapt to Vermont’s neutral-zone trap frustrated Parker, getting swept at home by the Catamounts absolutely incensed Matt Gilroy. Afterwards, the Terrier defenseman vented to assistant captain Brian Strait. “We were both really pissed off,” Strait recalls. “We knew we were a lot better than that, and the effort that we gave and the carelessness… It just wasn’t like us. I remember he stormed up to my room, fuming, right after the game on Saturday, and he said, ‘I can’t believe this. Coach is letting this happen: He didn’t yell enough.’

“And I was saying, ‘Calm down: It’s the beginning of the season.’ The next day we, the captains, went up to Coach and said, ‘It’s not going to happen again. We might lose another one—definitely we’re not losing two in a row—but we’re going to make sure that we’re not going to play like that again.’

“And Coach was kind of the same way [as me]: ‘Don’t worry about it; it’s the beginning of the season.’ And we said, ‘Look, we’re just making sure you know that that’s not going to happen again. It’s unacceptable, and if anything like that ever happens again, you have all the right in the world to blow up at us.’ But it didn’t ever happen again. We lost a couple of games. Those were our third and fourth losses, that early in the season, and the whole rest of the season we only lost two more.”

Yet the doldrums continued in the short term. Next up was a game against Atlantic Hockey rival Holy Cross. The coaches decided to bench Nick Bonino, who had cooled off dramatically after his torrid start. Taking away ice time by making a player a healthy scratch is often the m.o. to put the whole team on notice. After all, it’s sometimes impossible to bench every player who may deserve to sit.

“That not only gets Bonino’s attention, but it makes the rest of the boys say ‘He benched Bonino? Well, I could be benched pretty quickly, too,” Parker says. “Those types of things can help guys. It’s happened to a whole bunch of sophomores, forever. He got off to a great start. The puck was jumping in the net for him. Then he stopped scoring and started pressing, then he started thinking about scoring goals. When you’re playing hockey and you start worrying about scoring goals, you suck at every other aspect of the game, and then you never get the puck and you never score the goal. He went the route that many great players have gone.”

Parker refuted the notion that scratching a highly talented player is always his call; he told me that it could be any of the coaching staff making the case. “One of us would step up and say, ‘What are we accepting here?’ This kid is supposed to be a ten-beller, and we’re accepting eight bells from him. Our staff has the ability to say, ‘Don’t get fooled by this; don’t accept mediocrity.’ Nick was not trying to be mediocre. He was just out trying to do what he’s supposed to do for our team but going about it the wrong way, and he just didn’t get it until we had to sit him down and said, ‘That’s enough, Nick.’ Then he was pissed, but he realized, ‘It must be pretty bad if they’re benching me.’”

Playing without Bonino, BU went out against the Crusaders and emerged with their least inspiring victory of the whole season, a 3-2 decision that was in doubt till the final buzzer. After getting out to a 2-0 lead, the home team just about called it a night. For the first time all season, Parker reamed out his club between periods. “I remember it probably took the first 10 or 12 games before Coach came in the locker room and screamed at us to pick it up,” Jason Lawrence remembers. “Coach hadn’t come in and yelled us up to that point. So he yells at us, then he walks out, walks back in, and says, ‘I really haven’t had to yell at you guys for 12 games— that’s amazing. I’m sorry about this…”

Lawrence got called for slashing in the last minute, giving Holy Cross a better chance to tie the game. The senior would be benched for the subsequent game with St. Lawrence as a result, but fingers could be pointed at any number of culprits, afterward. “In general, with the exception of a few guys, it was a pathetic performance by my team,” Parker said at the press conference. “You’ve got to give Holy Cross credit for coming in and playing hard and saying ‘Holy Jesus! This is BU? We can play with these guys… We can more than play with these guys.’ And they did.”

Escaping with a narrow win over an Atlantic Hockey opponent with a record around .500 and a ton of freshmen and sophomores in the lineup, Parker expressed more doubt about his team than at any time previously or subsequently during the season. “I think we fell into a trap of thinking we were better than we were and now we’re in the trap of worrying about if we’re as good as we ever were or as good as we can be,” Parker said in the press conference.

“We’re so far away from where we were the first five or six game in terms of decision making and effort and skating. I thought Holy Cross looked quicker than we did.

“We’re at the point where we’re not sure if we’re any good at all.”

For his part, Matt Gilroy was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Taking matters into his own hands, Gilroy managed to earn the wrath of his coach at the next practice. “He refused to practice hard,” Parker says. “It wasn’t anything verbal he was doing. He was coasting through drills, and I made him do one again. So he did it even slower. There were some words said on the ice but most of it was his body language, and I finally said, ‘Hey, screw.’”

Parker followed his co-captain into the locker room and gave him a tongue- lashing that harkened back to his earlier days of high-decibel coaching. “I got him out of his dressing room and into my dressing room, and I got in his face and said, ‘Who the hell do you think you are?!’ I thought this guy is too big for his britches.”

However, it’s revealing that Parker told me this story when I asked him to elaborate on something he said repeatedly later in the year—how Gilroy actually made him a better coach.

“He’s never ever admitted it, but I think he got himself thrown out of practice on purpose,” Parker says. “I think what he was telling me was ‘You should be doing this to everyone else; you’re too easy on these guys right now.’” In light of Gilroy’s complaint to Strait about Parker not getting mad enough with the team, it seems extremely likely that the altercation was a deliberate ploy on Gilroy’s part.

Copyright 2009 by Scott Weighart – All rights reserved

Terriers in USA Hockey National Team Development

2009-10-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Pat Aufiero
Brett Bennett
Colby Cohen
Rick DiPietro
Jason Lawrence
Justin Maiser
Brian McConnell
Freddy Meyer
Bryan Miller
Luke Popko
John Sabo
Vinny Saponari
Kevin Shattenkirk
Brian Strait
David Warsofsky
Ryan Whitney
Colin Wilson

Future
Adam Clendening (2010)
Matt Nieto (2010)
Alexx Privitera (2011)

Baptism Of Fire

2009-10-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Despite being thumped, Team USA stays positive after opening USHL weekend
Paul Shaheen - Amateur Hockey Report Senior Writer
ROI - 'The stars of tomorrow..play here today.'
October 5, 2009

Getting outscored 15-6 in two games wasn't exactly what Team USA's Under 17's were looking for in their inaugural USHL weekend, but given the enormity of the task, ie: 20 wet behind the ears '93 born players getting their first taste of Tier I junior A action, one could hardly have been terribly surprised.

And yet in many ways, Team USA held its own in losing twice to Chicago in Bensenville, IL. The U-17's never backed away from physical challenges, and rarely, so it seemed, held their heads down in a defeatist way.

See our scouting notes on the weekend here (Game Report: US NTDP Select -17 v Chicago), and courtesy PointStreak, here are the two game summaries:

Game #1 Summary Game #2 Summary

"Well, we've looked better, but this is a big step up," said defenseman Alexx Privitera, the Old Tappan, New Jersey native who picked up a goal in Saturday night's 10-5 defeat. "Those guys (the Steel) are big and fast, and there's no time with the puck anymore. You get a split second, and that's it."

Under 17 head coach Ron Rolston knew only too well what his team was in for, yet found the proverbial positives in reading between the (scoring) lines.

"We knew it would be difficult," said Rolston, now in his sixth season with the US NTDP. "But it will be better for us in that (compared to season's past) we'll have cut our games down to 50 from 70. That will give us more development time, more weight room time, and more skills time in their first year."

And not unexpectedly, Rolston saw an immediate difference between where Team USA is playing now and where it had been.

"The speed and depth (in the USHL) is the biggest difference," Rolston added. "The NAHL is excellent, but there, each team had maybe one line that could really hurt you. Here, it's two or three. But it's all that we expected, it's professional, and if we want to develop elite players, we need to challenge them at an elite level."

While he admittedly has some adjusting to do, Privitera should be one of those players, if he isn't already. Having skated last year for the AAA New Jersey Avalanche U-16's, the 5-11, 175 pound Privitera sees playing in the USHL as an opportunity to truly test where he's at and how far he can go.

"You saw the game, we were getting blasted out there," said the right shooting Privitera. "It's a lot harder, but it's great. This is going to be good for us."

It surely will be, especially in lieu of Privitera's recent decision to skate for Boston University beginning in the fall of 2011.

"I made (unofficial) visits to Boston College, Harvard and Boston University. I liked them all, but I felt more comfortable with the BU coaches and I left there with a better impression."

Privitera didn't have Boston on the brain per se when it came to making a college choice, but he claims practicality played a role.

"I had visited Miami (of Ohio) last November and Wisconsin wanted me to come pay a visit as well, but if I have the situation I want that's only three hours away, I'd rather have that than have to fly three hours, you know?"

Rolston stands comfortable with Privitera's development so far.

"Defense is the hardest place to adjust," said Rolston. "Alexx has great offensive skills. What he needs to work on now is bringing a complete game to every game."

Team USA's next action comes next weekend in a two game set versus visiting Green Bay. The week after, Sioux City comes to Ann Arbor for a pair. The Under 17's will be playing the majority of Team USA's USHL matches this year, while the Under 18's will come in for a sprinkling of games throughout the year.

Below is our initial feature on Alexx Privitera from last November, as well as updated scouting

AHR Feature: Alexx Privatera

2009-09-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

Jersey Boy
by Paul Shaheen - Amateur Hockey Report Senior Writer

November 22, 2008

New York, they say, is the 'city that never sleeps.' Across the river in New Jersey, Alexx Privitera is the defenseman that never rests.

At 5-10 and 180 pounds, a typical day for the right shooting Privitera is more akin to a Wall Street CEO than a typical 16 year-old.

"I'm up for a six am power skate, then I'm in school from eight until two, then I'm on the ice for practice at three with the high school team before hitting the gym," says Privitera, who has his mom Rissa to thank for all the support, not to mention the afternoon shuttle service.

"Then in between I'll eat and study, and then have another practice at night, and I don't get home until about 10:30, then some more studying, then to bed."

That's exhausting just to read about, but for Privitera, who's skating for the AAA New Jersey Avalanche, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I love every minute of it, but gosh, without my parent's help and support, I couldn't do it, I feel privileged."

Privitera is indeed privileged. He comes from a good natured hard working family. His parents, Rissa and Michael, both work full-time, and Alexx has two younger brothers: Jarrid ('94) and Griffin ('97), both of whom play hockey as well.

The Priviteras work hard for their money, and for their sons, not a bit of which gets past either one of them.

"I am so lucky," says Privitera. "I attend Bergen Catholic High School (Oradell, NJ, in Bergen Country--north Jersey to be exact). "Between that and hockey, mom and dad spent a ton of money on me every year. Dad works 13 hours a day, mom drives me and my brothers all around. If not for myself, I want to succeed for them," Privitera adds. "My schedule's insane, but I hope it'll all be worth it."

So far so good on that score. Not only an excellent student, Privitera, by many accounts, is one of the top '93's in the U.S., and getting better all the time. Though he may yet consider Canadian Major A, he suggests the value of more practice time versus game action, not to mention his classroom success, will likely lead him to United States D-I.

"I could see myself playing in either situation," says Privitera, "both seem to suit my style. But I'm young, and not making any decisions right now. I just want to get stronger and improve."

Good player, good attitude, good outlook.

"Alexx is all character," says Avalanche midget minor coach (and one-time Providence Friar) John Picinic, a Fort Lee, New Jersey native who skated for the Friars in the late 1990's. "Alex is a kid who really wants it. A lot of kids say they want it but Alexx really does. for many kids, you worry if girls and parties will eventually take over their attention. But not Alexx, not only will he be a good defenseman at the next level, but there's no reason why he won't dominate."

Why's that? Let's count the ways.

Privitera has a very strong skill set. He can skate, has excellent vision, a classic high panic point, and can run a power-pay like no one's business.

"A lot of that I owe to my roller hockey days," Privitera explains. "In roller hockey, you play four-on-four. No icings, no offsides, no whistles, I could see the entire rink and everything in front of me. It helped make be better and transition to playing on ice."

These days, Privitera, a sophomore, plays for two masters. Not only is he skating for the AAA Avalanche, he's also playing for Bergen Catholic's high school team. "High school play may not be quite like playing midget minor, but it's a good experience," says Privitera. "We have a good team, and we'll play against some strong competition."

Privitera made more than a few heads turn during his summer of 2008 performance at the USA Select 15 Festival, and he's followed that up with a very impressive fall. He and the Avalanche played very well at the Nike/Bauer invitational tournament in Chicago a month ago (before falling to Little Caesars in the quarterfinals), and he continues to make observers and scouts believe in his abilities.

"He is deadly on the power play," adds Picinic. "For defensemen his age, I'm not sure anyone's better offensively."

What Privitera does, he does for himself, his parents, and someone else: his grandfather, who can now only see him in the most ethereal of ways.

"When I was young, my grandfather took me ice skating for the first time," Privitera reflects. "On his death bed, he made my mom promise she would never let us stop playing hockey, so I play for him."

And in his honor, Alexx carries his grandfather's inscription into every season, and every game.

"Each year my mom embroiders a patch on my jersey with my grandfather's initials: AJN," says Privitera. "His name was Allen Jerry Nudelman and he was born in Brooklyn. I'm not sure if I'll always be able to do this, but hopefully I will."

Needless to say, Privitera wears more than just heart and emotion on his sleeve.

-------

ROI Extra:

Notice the double 'X,' 'R' and 'F' in Alexx and his brother's first names? That too is in honor of their grandfather, who had two 'L's in his name....Picinic played prep hockey at Hotchkiss (Lakeville, CT) before moving onto Providence, and wishes Jersey hockey had been as far along when he was growing up as it is today. "People are taking hockey more seriously, and there's more knowledge," says Picinic, who has coached Privitera and the Avalanche '93's for the last three years. "Back then, there'd be a parent behind the bench with a cigarette doing the best he could. Now there's more sophistication, better coaching, and I think the success of the (NHL) Devils in the late 1990's made a big impact on kids."
-------

AHR Scouting Report: Alexx Privatera

2009-09-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

Name: Alexx Privitera
Pos: Defense
DOB: January 18, 1993
Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Hometown: Old Tappan, NJ
CHL Status: Free Agent
NCAA Status: Boston University 2011
2007-08 Team: New Jersey Avalanche U-14
2008-09 Team: New Jersey Avalanche U-16
2009-10 Team: US NTDP
NHL Draft Eligible: 2011
AHR Rating: A

Scouted on June 27-29, 2009 @ 2009 USA Select 16 FestivalNotes: Played well but not as good as we have seen him. He sort of took a back seat to the other top defenders. Needs to assert himself more into the play and make things happen. He was very strong on the puck and at times jumped into the play as the leader of the offense, we would just like to see him do that much more often. He has very good hands and competes very hard. He will be in Ann Arbor with the NTDP team next season where he should do well. AHR Rating: A

Submitted By An AHR Scout April 1, 2009
Notes: Is a strong puck handler with very good ice vision. He is offensive and likes to make the long pass. He skates very well and is strong on the puck. Has pretty much told everyone he is going to the NCAA so where he goes in the OHL Draft is anyone’s guess. AHR Rating: AA

Scouted on October 31, 2008 @ 2008 Nike/Bauer Invite
Notes: Excellent showing as he has started to blossom as a leader on his team. He was always around the puck creating or making defensive plays. He played well at both ends of the ice and showed his very good skating and speed many times. His hands can place the puck anywhere needed on the ice. He is an offensive minded defender who can make a super pass through the neutral zone. He likes to hit and has a solid frame. Has NHL potential. AHR Rating: AA

Scouted on Aug 3-8, 2008 @ 2008 USA Select 15 Festival
Notes: One of the best in the festival and his class. He was a solid defender who made very few mistakes. He has good size with a solid build and was also solid and strong on his skates. He had a very good sense for the game and where the play was going. He was able to make a crisp pass and move the puck around the offense with ease. He was very patient within the play not trying to force the issue. We watched him make a perfect open ice pass through the neutral zone placing the puck right on the stick of a streaking player who went in all alone for a goal. His physical play was very good as well, lots of potential here. Has pro potential. The OHL will be watching him this season. AHR Rating: A

Scouted on Aug 3-8, 2008 @ 2008 USA Select 15 Festival
Notes: Another Scouts Notes: By far the best power play defenseman in his age group at the Festival. He has soft hands, a quick release, and can skate with the best of them at this age group. Big upside! AHR Rating: A

Copyright © Amateur Hockey Report. All Rights Reserved

East Coast Selects '89--2004 Mission Cup Champs

2009-09-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

East Coast Selects won the 2004 Mission Cup Tournament in Montreal.

Back row: Colby Cohen is 2nd from left and Ben Rosen is 5th from left.

HockeysFuture.com's Top 20 Prospects, Fall 2009

2009-08-27T01:44:00.000-07:00

Nashville Predators
1. Colin Wilson, C, 19
Acquired: 7th overall, 2008

Wilson took a sizeable step forward this past season, scoring 55 points in 43 games for Boston University despite being one of the youngest players on the team. His output was a 20-point jump over his freshman effort in 2007-08. This past May, Wilson was the only non-NHL player selected to represent the US at the IIHF World Championships.

Wilson's combination of size and natural offensive abilities make him as close to a "sure thing" that exists in the Predators organization currently. At 6'1" and 215 pounds, the 19-year-old has an NHL-ready frame. He may be ready to push for a spot on the Predators out of training camp this year, but he is perhaps more likely to start with the farm club in Milwaukee.

Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Brian Strait, D - 6.5B
6’1, 200 pounds
3rd round, 65th overall, 2006
January 4th, 1988

It was an exciting spring for the Boston native as he helped the BU Terriers to an NCAAchampionship on April 11th and watched the Penguins march to the Stanley Cup. After weighing his options, Strait opted to forgo his senior year of college and sign with the Penguins.

A player who does not excel in any one facet of the game but thinks the game at a higher level than most, Strait is never the flashiest player on the ice, but typically the most reliable. A smart, stay-at-home defenseman, he has been compared favorably to former Penguin defenseman Rob Scuderi on many occasions. While that comparison is fairly accurate, Strait is farther along developed at his age than Scuderi and should be able to make a more immediate impact at the professional level.

Strait can play on both special teams, has an underrated shot from the point, and is excellent with gap management. He uses his stick effectively to break up passing lanes and has a quick outlet pass. He will never deliver earth shattering body checks but the thickly built defender can effectively use his body to separate opponents from the puck.

The Penguins are fairly set with their defensive group for the 2009-10 season so unless injuries hit, Strait should be starting the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Anaheim Ducks
14. Nick Bonino, C - 6.5C
6'1, 202 pounds
6th round, 173rd overall, 2007

Bonino was taken by the San Jose Sharks in the sixth round of the 2007 draft as a big high school center who dominated in Connecticut. During his freshman year at Boston University, he far exceeded all expectations by becoming the top rookie goal scorer in all of Hockey East by finding the twine 16 times for a total of 29 points in 39 games.

If he exceeded expectations in 2007-08, then he would shatter them in 2008-09 with a performance good enough to finish second on the team in scoring only behind the Nashville Predators' top prospect, Colin Wilson. In 44 games, Bonino tallied 18 goals and assisted on 32 others for 50 points on the year. If he continues to progress this well and dominate at BU, the former sixth round selection may turn into a solid NHL center some day. Like many bigger forwards he has issues with his skating and speed, but his vision, hands, and passing are enough to give him a legitimate shot at the NHL.

Atlanta Thrashers
10. Vinny Saponari, RW 7.5D
6’0, 180 pounds
4th Round, 94th Overall, 2008

Saponari, a 2008 draft pick, was not only born in, but also developed in Georgia.

Saponari spent last season playing with his older brother Victor for the national title-winning Boston University Terriers, collecting eight goals and 17 points in 44 games. He has energy on the ice and tenacity when forechecking. As he progresses, he will need to improve his skating and play with the puck. He returns to BU this fall.

Detroit Red Wings
18. Max Nicastro, D – 6.5C
6’2, 189lbs.
Acquired: 3rd round, 91st overall, 2008

Mobile defender Nicastro was able to improve during his second year of play in the USHL, putting up 31 points in 57 games with the Chicago Steel. He heads to Boston University this fall.

New York Islanders
11. Corey Trivino, C, 19
Acquired: 2nd round, 36th overall, 2008

Trivino attracted a lot of attention in 2007-08 while playing for the Stouffville Spirit of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. He posted 19 goals and 50 assists in 39 games with the Spirit and another five goals and 17 assists in 15 playoff contests. He represented Canada at the 2008 U18 World Championships and turned in a strong performance with four goals and three assists in seven games. Trivino moved to Boston University and appeared in 32 games for the Terriers in 2008-09, scoring six goals and seven assists en route to a NCAA championship. Trivino will return to BU next season and will likely see an increased role since many of the top forwards from the championship team have moved on.

St. Louis Blues
15. David Warsofsky, D - Boston University
Drafted: Round 4, 95th overall, 2008
Born: 5-30-1990
5'8, 160 lbs

Part of the national champion Boston University team, Warsofsky looked very good on the offensive side of the ice this season. He led Hockey East freshmen defensemen with 23 points in 45 games. His size was not an issue while on the offensive, but he was exposed on the defensive side of the ice at times.

Warsofsky is very quick and knows what to do with the puck. He is not a defensive liability, but he must build muscle in order to make up for his size. If he gets a little bigger, he can become a serviceable offensive defenseman in the NHL.

Ottawa Senators
19.(NR) Eric Gryba, D
Rating: 6.0C
Acquired: 2006 draft, 68th overall

The big 6’3, 215 lbs defender had a solid year at Boston University, recording six assists and 106 penalty minutes in 45 games. He played his typical physical, shutdown game, providing BU with a gritty edge to their defense corps. He also showed his defensive chops at Senators development camp, easily handling many opposing forwards with his massive frame.

Despite his defensive acumen, Gryba must get faster to play at the NHL level. But his hitting game and grit are exactly the type of style that Murray likes. Gryba will never be an offensive threat, but with some more development, he could turn into a solid bottom pairing defender. He’ll be returning to BU for his final year of college hockey.

New York Rangers
9. (NA) Matt Gilroy, D
Grade: 7.0B
Acquired: Free Agent, Signed 4/17/09
Age: 25

Gilroy was signed by the Rangers this past April after being named the 2008-09 Hobey Baker Award winner. The North Bellmore, New York native had patrolled the blueline for Boston University for four years, and during his senior year was the national championship team’s captain.

The signing was a coup for the Rangers, as there were several other teams that made offers to Gilroy that were quite enticing. A solid puck mover, with a heavy shot, and good patience with the puck, Gilroy was one of the standouts in the Rangers’ Development Camp this past summer.

There is an expectation that he will become an NHL roster member out of training camp. However, should he not be ready for the jump to the NHL, he will begin the season in Hartford and be a mid-season call-up to the NHL team.

Dallas Stars
7. (NR) Alex Chiasson, RW – 7.0 D
2nd round (38th overall) in 2009

Chiasson was able to stand out on an otherwise forgettable Des Moines team in 2008-09. The 6-foot-4 winger tallied 50 points and 101 PIMs in 56 games and was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team. Chiasson uses his strength on the puck and great body position in combination with his smooth hands. As a power forward with great offensive ability, Chiasson’s potential is very high, but work ethic issues make him somewhat boom or bust. Chiasson begins play at Boston University this year.

Colorado Avalanche
2. (1) Kevin Shattenkirk, Defense, 20, 8 B
Acquired: 1st Round, 14th Overall, 2007 Entry Draft

2008-09 will certainly be a year to remember for Colorado’s top defensive prospect. After a strong showing for the USA during the World Junior Championship, Shattenkirk played a pivotal role in the Boston University Terriers national championship win, leading the team in plus/minus and quarterbacking their second-ranked power play.

Shattenkirk is an excellent leader, whose greatest strengths are his smooth skating, vision and strong point shot. Drawbacks thus far have been his size and defensive play, and at 5’11 and weighing in less than 200 lbs, Shattenkirk does not match up well with larger NHL forwards. That being said, he will have to get stronger physically and improve his defensive zone awareness to reach his full potential.

Shattenkirk returns to BU this season to serve as captain. It is expected that he will begin his professional career as early as the 2010-11 season.

6. (5) Colby Cohen, Defense, 20, 7 C
Acquired: 2nd Round, 45th Overall, 2007 Entry Draft

Another BU Terrier, Cohen’s 2008-09 campaign was for the most part a successful one. After doubling his regular-season point total (32) from the previous season and finishing second in defensemen scoring, Cohen would go on to have a very successful Frozen Four Tournament, scoring the game-winning goal in the final game and being named Tournament MVP.

Like Terrier teammate Shattenkirk, Cohen is at his best playing an offensive role from the back end, with his biggest strength being a booming right-handed shot. His defensive game, however, leaves much to be desired as was the case during the Terriers regular season which saw Cohen benched on more than one occasion after sub-par defensive play.

Cohen returns to BU for his junior season and will have to work hard on improving his defensive game, before beginning his professional career.

AHR Scouting Reports: Cason Hohmann

2009-08-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Name: Cason Hohmann
Pos: Forward
DOB: January 10, 1993
Height: 5-8Weight: 165
Hometown: Arlington, TX
NCAA Status: Boston University 2011-12
2008-09 Team: Compuware U-16
2009-10 Team: Cedar Rapids-USHL
NHL Draft Eligible: 2011
AHR Rating: BBB

Scouted on June 27-29, 2009 @ 2009 USA Select 16 Festival
Notes: Played very well highlighting his super fast skating and terrific hands. He was always bringing the puck up ice and making plays with great work in tight and crisp passes. He is an exciting player to watch who has excellent skills. The only knock is his size at 5-8/165 he can get pushed around, but he is so elusive on the ice he doesn't get hit much. Our fear is if he does go to the WHL, which we hear he may want to, that a much better skating group of players will tag him up a few times. Not sure why he wasn't offered a spot right away for the NTDP? A high end player who would be a great NCAA playmaker. AHR Rating: BBB

Scouted on Nov. 15-16, 2008 @ 2008 MWEHL Minor Showcase
Notes: Another great performance from this dynamic player. He is a great fore checker who causes many turnovers and in turn scoring chances. His hands are great as well, whether in tight or in open ice he can do just about anything he wants with the puck. He does lack size but has super fast skating and sees where the play is going before it happens. Despite how much we love him we think he will be a good college player and that’s it as for right now. Should be invited to the US NTDP camp next spring. AHR Rating: BBB

Scouted on October 31, 2008 @ 2008 Nike/Bauer Invite
Notes: Super talented small spitfire. He has super great hands, able to make a play in tight or undress a defender at will. couple his hands with his extreme speed and you have a high end player. He is an excellent skater who can be at full speed in just a couple strides. He forechecks very well causing turnovers. He is not afraid to go to net, whether he will do that against much bigger players is yet to be seen. His size is a bit of a liability as he was knocked off the puck despite being pretty strong on his skates. Portland grabbed his rights in the WHL last spring.AHR Rating: BBB

Scouted on Aug 3-8, 2008 @ 2008 USA Select 15 Festival
Notes: Looked very good every game. He has a ton of potential but seems a bit raw at times. He showed his speed and puck skills by skating end to end many times on breakaways. He seems comfortable in any situation and can shot the puck very well. Was the second American taken in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft by Portland. Going to play for Compuware Minor AAA next season. An NCAA prospect. AHR Rating: BBB

Scouted on Aug 3-8, 2008 @ 2008 USA Select 15 Festival
Another Scouts Notes: Can this kid fly? He is extremely good in all areas. He has a great stick and his explosive skating allows him to control the tempo of the game. He will play at a high level Division 1 program and beyond. AHR Rating: BBB

The Game That Never Was

2009-05-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

The Game That Never Was

By David Warner, BU ‘73

On December 13 1972, there was the game that never was.

There have been many memorable games played between Cornell and Boston University. The 1972-73 team included six seniors (Larry Abbott, Ray Cournoyea, Steve Dolloff, Mike LeGarde, David Warner, David Wisener) who were a part of the 1971 and/or the 1972 NCAA championship squads. In December 1971, we were edged by Cornell, 3-2, at the Syracuse Holiday Tournament final as the Big Red avenged the previous season’s 6-5 ECAC consolation game loss, which put BU into the 1971 NCAA tournament. Later, Cornell came into our new Walter Brown arena for the season finale and beat us again, 3-2, for our only home defeat that season. That win earned Cornell the top seed in the upcoming ECAC tournament at Boston Garden.

Going into the 1972 ECAC tournament, we had only lost four games all year, two of those to Cornell. Everything that was to happen from here on out was magical and would impact hockey at BU for the next 35 years.

Those two losses were enough for us to remember and, as a group, rise up and smother Cornell, 4-1, in the ECAC final and shut them out 4-0 in the NCAA championship game. The 1971-72 BU team was like no other. There was a confident locker room attitude that carried out to the ice surface. This team was explosive on offense and stingy on defense. There were 18 players that had been on both NCAA teams. It might just have been the greatest collegiate team ever assembled. Editor’s note: Coach Jack Kelley said of the ’71-72 team, “I always felt this group could win any game when they put their minds to it.”

The 1972-73 team found itself minus a staggering nine letterman lost to graduation and four other key players who turned pro before their senior years. Ric Jordan and Bob Brown followed Coach Jack Kelley to the new WHA New England Whalers organization, Ron Anderson signed with the Bruins; AHL team and Bill Flynn went to the International League.

Still, things were not really that bad because the sophomore class was as good as or better than graduated letterman when they were sophomores. They were a scoring machine. Paul O’Neil would score 35 goals in 28 games, while Vic Stanfield and Bill Burlington would end up All-Americans the following season. Freshman Peter Brown would become an All-American in his senior year. All totaled, the 71-72 and 72-73 teams had eight current or future All-Americans: John Danby, Dan Brady, Steve Dolloff, Ed Walsh and Bob Brown are the others.

On December 13th, we traveled to Cornell’s Lynah arena with a 6-1 record and a number one national ranking. There, we handed Cornell its worst home defeat in school history: a 9-0 drubbing. While it was a solid team effort, one Terrier stood out with three goals, sophomore Dick Decloe. The hattrick gave him nine goals in eight games and it looked like he might have All-American credentials in his future, too. But the matter of a $189.33 school tax and the actions of then Cornell AD John Anderson paved the way for what became known as “L’affair Decloe.”

While Decloe, a tall lanky winger, played junior hockey in Ontario, his Jr. A team had paid a provincial school tax on Dick’s behalf, unbeknownst to Decloe and his family. This was considered an unauthorized educational expense that would make the recipient a professional and ineligible to play college hockey. Tom Burke of The Hockey News commented “How many preppies get their expenses paid to some of the prep schools by the colleges they eventually attend?” Imagine nowadays, we have the $40,000 a year student-athlete who leaves after a year or two for a multimillion-dollar NHL contract.

One of Cornell’s players, a teammate of Decloe in Ontario, had previously been declared ineligible. Anderson and Coach Dick Bertrand conveyed the similarity of Decloe’s situation to the ECAC, ostensibly to rectify their own player’s situation. Or maybe just maybe it was those three straight losses to BU by a combined 17-1 score that pushed their buttons!!

BU’s Athletic Director Warren Schmakel reacted angrily to the Cornell actions. “I’m disappointed that Cornell didn’t contact me directly,” he said. “I don’t think they should have gone to the ECAC.” He added that he couldn’t understand why Cornell didn’t directly fight the earlier decision instead of using Decloe as a “lever” to have that decision reverse, according to The Daily Free Press.

Declared ineligible, Dick left school and returned to Toronto where he would win a Memorial Cup with the Howe brothers. Editor’s Note: Decloe later represented Holland in the same 1980 Winter Olympics in which four Terriers led the U.S.A. to its miracle gold medal.

To the six seniors, the 9-0 blowout in Ithaca became “The Game That Never Was!” The Terriers had to forfeit eleven wins. Our record went from an 11-4 to a 0-15, from national ranking to the bottom of the pile.

I suppose the seniors could have looked at our championship rings and kissed off the season. No one would have blamed us, but we decided that the “sweaty-palmed men who run the ECAC” (according to the Boston Globe’s Mike Lupica) would not deter us while we were on the ice. Four things were written on the dressing room chalkboard: Beanpot, ECAC, Cornell and the NCAA. These things were our goals! For the next 12 games, we were undefeated with an 11-0-1 mark, the best streak in the country. That run included a 4-1 victory against BC for the Beanpot championship, the third in a row for the seniors.

Before our final regular season game, the ECAC playoff seedings were announced. We were seeded fourth instead of number one, a distinction that went to Cornell. In a lackluster performance, we lost that game in Providence, 3-0. Still, we were on to the playoffs for a home game against Penn.

Perhaps we had our sights on Cornell or maybe we peaked too early having to win virtually every one of our last games just to get home ice. Or perhaps the fired up Penn team wanted to win this one for their coach, Bob Crocker. Ironically, Crocker, a BU grad and former frosh coach, had been passed over for the BU varsity job in favor or Leon Abbott when Jack Kelley left for the pros. Many of the players agreed that we had looked past Penn and only saw Cornell.

I think all of us wanted, at the least, to hip check a Big Red into the stands at Boston Garden in the ECAC final game.

Oh, I did mention earlier that it was magical time and that the “Decloe affair” would impact BU hockey for the next 35 years? Cornell set off a chain of events that isn’t talked about much. We were forced to win all those games and peaked far too early. Coach Leon Abbott lost a third ECAC quarterfinal game (the previous two, by 11-0 and 8-2 scores, were against BU while he coached RPI). Then six games into the following season, Abbott was dismissed by BU. Maybe it had to do with quarterfinal losses or recruitment procedures; no one will say. The reins were handed to Jack Parker and, as they say, the rest is history.

As for me and my fellow 72-73 senior teammates, we wish that we’d had that one last chance at Cornell. But we can look at and polish our NCAA championship rings, knowing that BU has won two more NCAA championships since then and has reached the title game three more times. The talk in Boston for many years was about the “curse of the bambino”. Just think, Cornell has not been to an NCAA final game since losing to BU, 4-0, in 1972. Maybe that is “the curse of Dick Decloe.”

GO BU!!!!

Looking back: Five rings

2009-05-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

People continue to speculate as to where this season's team ranks amongst the other four NCAA Title winners. Each teams commends itself for various reasons. I tend to be partial in terms of the first two title winners as I am most familiar with the dynamics of those two squads. I make no judgments, but set forth some of the key points regarding all of the teams. One interesting dynamic is that each of the five teams had quality offense, solid defense, good goaltending and the many solid workmanlike players whose efforts may not have been reflected on score sheets but were valuable throughout the season.

The 1970-71 team was our first to win it all and only the 5th Eastern team to do so in the first 24 years of final four play. The team was dominant offensively scoring 210 goals while allowing but 60 in 31 games. The power play boasted an astonishing 40.2% success rate. 9 players hit double digits in goal scoring (John Danby 28, Steve Stirling 27, Toot Cahoon 24, Bob Gryp 20, Ron Anderson 20, Bob Brown 17, Wayne Gowing 16, Steve Dolloff 15, and Ric Jordan 12). 50 point scorers included Stirling 70, Danby 64, Brown 60 and Jordan 50. Team boasted solid defense. Goalies Dan Brady and Tim Regan each put up 3 shutouts and as the team averaged 6.60 goals per game while allowing 1.91. The squad was 24-1-1 in the regular season but was upset in the semifinals of the ECAC by Harvard. Winning a hard fought consolation game over Cornell boosted the record to 26-2-1 and the selection committee picked the team to be the #2 eastern seed for the final four. The team justified the selection beating Denver and Minnesota, both by 4-2 scores, to win that first title.

The 1971-72 team was the first team to play in the Walter Brown Arena and became the first and to date only Eastern team to win back to back NCAA titles. It put up 155 goals (4.85 per game) while allowing 69 (2.16 per game). Danby and Brown each scored 50 points while Danby led 7 double digit goal scorers with 26. After losing the regular season title to Cornell in the last game of the year. It was totally dominant in the 5 games of the post season beating RPI (8-2), Harvard (3-1) and Cornell (4-1) to give BU it's first League tournament title ending many years of frustration in that tournament. The team won the NCAA in spite of losing 2 regulars (Goalie Dan Brady and defenseman Bob Murray) to injury. Tim Regan who had spent most of the season with the silver medal winning US Olympic team literally came off the bench to backstop the title pitching a shutout 4-0 over Cornell in the NCAA Championship game to win Most Outstanding Player honors. Danby had as good a post-season as anyone has had for BU, scoring 8 goals and 5 assists in 5 games, including the hat trick in the 3-1 ECAC semifinal win over Harvard and the hat trick in the 4-1 NCAA semifinal win over Wisconsin.

The 1977-78 team dominated much like the 1970-71 team but like that team was unable to get past the league semifinal tournament game losing to Providence 5-1. After winning the consolation game over Brown the team was 27-2 and the NCAA Selection committee determined that a qualifying game would be played between BU and Providence in Providence to determine the ECAC #2 team who would join tournament champion BC in the final four. BU prevailed 5-3 over PC at Schneider Arena and returned to Providence Civic Center for the NCAA where they beat defending champion Wisconsin 5-2 and BC in the title game 5-3. This team boasts the highest winning percentage of a BU team (.937) and Mark Fidler (30) led 8 goal scorers in double digits with Dave Silk (27) and John Bethel (25) joining him in the 20 goal club. Team scored 199 goals (average 6.13) while allowing 127 (average 3.92). Terriers converted 32% on the power play. Like its predecessors the team had solid goaltending with Jim Craig and Brian Durocher and had solid defensemen as well as those would could score from the blueline. 50 point scorers included Fidler (64), Bethel (63), Dick Lamby (59), Silk (58) and Jack O'Callahan (55). BU teams of the 1970's dominated the ECAC and won three NCAA crowns.

The 1994-95 team ended a 17 year drought along with 4 years of final four frustration in the 1990's when it beat Minnesota 7-3 in the semifinal and Maine 6-2 in the title game . The team also had the honor of winning the final Beanpot and final college game played in Boston Garden (HE Final) before the building was torn down to be replaced by the present building. The team was loaded in terms of scoring distributed over 4 lines. 10 players hit double digits in goals: Jacques Joubert 29, Mike Grier 29, Chris O'Sullivan 23, Shawn Bates 18, Mike Prendergast 17, Steve Thornton 17, Bob Lachance 12, Chris Drury 12, Ken Rausch 12, and Mike Sylvia 10. 50 point scorers were O'Sullivan 56, Grier 55, and Joubert 52. Team had seven solid defensemen maybe the most depth ever at that position. Team scored 224 goals (5.60 average) while allowing 117 (2.93). Tom Noble and Derek Herlofsky provided solid tandem goaltending much the same as its predecessor title teams. The team tied for the league regular season title but was seeded second in the quarterfinal round.

The 2008-2009 team, however, accomplished something that sets it apart from the others: win the league regular season title outright, win the Beanpot, win the League tournament, and win the NCAA. Like its counterparts the team was solid in all phases, had offensive defensemen, defensive defensemen, and role players who could transition seamlessly as needed. The team recorded the most wins in school history with a 35-6-4 record. The team consistently came up large when needed in the post season (putting the health of some of us older folks at risk) beating BC 3-2, Lowell 1-0 in the HE Title game. UNH 2-1 in the regional final inside the last 20 seconds, Vermont in come from behind fashion in the NCAA semifinal and, of course, the incredible win in the title game.

There are differences between the teams. For example, in 1970-71 and 1971-72 you could not check in the offensive zone. Freshmen were not eligible and we only began to play four lines in the regular season finale against Cornell and in the ECAC and NCAA tournaments. Today you have four lines and six defensemen.

I think also that the top flight players of one era could play in other eras as well because they brought superb skills to the table whether it be scoring, playmaking, defense or goaltending.All 5 teams had players beyond the acknowledged stars who complimented and filled out the squad.

It may be harder to get to the Frozen Four these days but for a long time you had to be #1 or#2 in the league tournament to make it. Teams like Vermont this year would not have made it to the NCAA after having been ousted in the quarterfinal of their league tournament.I think it's fair to say that there are more schools playing the game and thus greater distribution of talent.

I can also say that the NCAA Title and Frozen Four was not promoted in the way it is today. The Frozen Four while in the shadow of March madness nevertheless is on a National stage. It has reached a magnitude that was not there in 1971 and 1972. When we won in 1971 it was a fairly small celebration in the hotel in Syracuse. The next day we rode the bus home, went to the Dugout and Jimmy O'Keefe closed it to all but the team and we had a great time. In 1972 the security at the Sonesta herded people into their rooms at some point ending the revelry although others went to the Dugout.

The 1995 game was played at noon time and I recall the team heading back to Boston on the bus. The team was recognized by the Governor and Mayor Menino.

I have never seen a display of fan support and enthusiasm that I saw at the team hotel following the Miami game. The band, students cheering, alumni, parents and team all mingled enjoying what had just transpired. The parade was an amazing turnout and even at the banquet the lines seeking autographs stretched beyond the confines of the Sherman Union.

To the student fans who are leaving, you can always support the team whether near or far. We all go through establishing careers and having families and as such our ability to support the team may not be in the manner in which we would like. However when you reach my age (and don't rush it) and the children are grown and you have found some stability it is a great thing especially if you live close by and are able to take advantage of the chance to be at the games. I will never forget the organized cheering and chants at the Frozen Four both at the arena and then at the Hotel.

The five NCAA title-winning teams have a special place in the program's history because they each attained the ultimate goal. They each deserve the accolades of our fan base. But we should always remember that each and every team owes so much to those who came before who worked hard to put each of these teams into position where they could reach the lofty heights.

Finally let's not forget the Coaches, Jack Kelley and Jack Parker, who have placed their brands on the program. The wisdom and stability that each brought to BU hockey, and the contributions of fine assistants over the years have played a huge part in the success BU has enjoyed

2007-2008 Video Highlights

2009-05-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

Nov. 24--BU 6 Cornell 3 (at Madison Square Garden)
Dec. 3o--BU 5 Merrimack 2
Feb. 15--BU 2 Maine 1 OT
Feb. 16--BU 1 Maine 0 OT
Feb. 23--BU 3 Northeastern 2
Feb. 29--BU 3 Massachusetts 0
Mar.7--BU 2 Providence 0
Mar. 16--BU 4 Lowell 2

Milestone goals and games

2009-05-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

We're building a video clip library of memorable goals and games, beginning with a collection from blog contributor Sean Pickett. Check back periodically as new clips are acquired and added.
2-6-78: Beanpot Opener—BU thumps BC 12-5 as the Blizzard of '78 brings Boston to a standstill.
2-9-87: Beanpot Championship—Mike Kelfer scores game-winner on a turnaround shot to beat Northeastern, 4-3 in overtime.
3-6-87: Mike Kelfer scores with one second left in regulation to beat Lowell, 3-2, at Walter Brown Arena.
2-6-89: Beanpot semifinal—Mike Sullivan scores shorthanded to tie Northeastern with 3:00 minutes remaining. Chris Lappin scores his second career goal in overtime for a 5-4 win.
3-24-90: NCAA Quarterfinals— Third-period goals by Mike Sullivan and Tony Amonte lead BU past Michigan State, 3-2, tying the best-of-three series.
3-25-90: NCAA Quarterfinals—Down 3-1 in the second, BU scores four times to eliminate the Spartans, 5-3 and move on to the Frozen Four.
3-10-91: Hockey East Championship—Shawn McEachern scores take a Tony Amonte pass beats Garth Snow with a backhander to beat Maine in overtime, 4-3.
11-15-91: Mike Prendergast scores a shorthanded, game-winning goal with 21 seconds left to beat Maine, 5-4, at Walter Brown Arena.
2-19-93: Mike Prendergast scores the game-winner in overtime at Alfond Arena as BU handed the Black Bears their only defeat of the season, 7-6.
12-31-94: Mariucci Classic Championship—Ken Rausch receives a beautiful pass from Chris Drury and scores the winner against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in overtime, 4-3.
4-1-95: NCAA Championship—Steve Thornton wins the face-off and scores the first goal of the game late in the first period. Mike Sylvia scores off of a slick Shawn Bates pass in the third period to make it 4-2 en route to the Terriers’ 6-2 win over Maine. Full-game highlights.
1-5-97: Mike Sylvia skates out from the corner and scores in overtime to beat New Hampshire, 3-2, at the Whittemore Center.
3-22-97: NCAA Regional Championship—Chris Drury converts the rebound of a Chris Kelleher shot in overtime to send “a few good men” to Milwaukee for the Frozen Four.
2-9-98: Beanpot Championship—Nick Gillis tips in Tom Poti’s shot from the face-off circle to win in overtime, beating Harvard, 2-1, for the Beanpot title.
2-1-09: Beanpot semifinal—Russ Bartlett dives to redirect Chris Heron’s pass into the net for the overtime winner as BU beat BC 3-2.
12-4-99 vs Massachusetts—Tommi Degerman scores with 17 seconds left in overtime to win it for the Terriers.
1-16-00: Dan Cavanaugh scores the game-tying goal against Maine (3-3) with 3:40 to play and climbs onto the dasher in front of Section 7 at Walter Brown Arena.
3-14-03: Hockey East semifinal—Against BC, Justin Maiser knocks down the puck with his stick, turns and fires it into the net for the game-tying goal with 3:22 to go in the third. Then, completing a hattrick, Maiser scores the game-winner in double overtime (6-5) to put the Terriers in the Hockey East championship for the first time since 1997.
3-6-04: David van der Gulik scores in overtime to beat New Hampshire, 4-3, in the final regular season game, leapfrogging BU over Northeastern into 8th place to qualify for the Hockey East Tournament.
12-3-04: Jack Parker’s 700th win—Brad Zancanaro scores the game-winner to beat BC 3-2.
1-2-05: Final game at Walter Brown— Memories of WBA; Minnesota edges the Terriers, 2-1.
1-3-05: First game at Agganis Arena— Travis Roy drops the first puck and Brad Zancanaro scores the first goal as BU beats Minnesota, 2-1.
2-7-05: Beanpot semifinal— John Laliberte scores twice to lead BU past BC, 2-1.
2-14-05: Beanpot Championship Bryan Miller scores BU's first goal; then his end-to-end rush in overtime sets up Chris Bourque's game-winner as the Terrier edge Northeaster, 3-2.
3-18-06: Hockey East Championship Game—Brandon Yip finishes a 3-on-2 rush in overtime to beat BC, 2-1, for BU’s first Hockey East title since 1997.
2-12-07: Beanpot Championship —Brian McGuirk scores from a faceoff to give BU a 2-1 overtime win over BC for its 28th title.

—

The Drive For Five Was Realized

2009-04-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

by mh82

“That wasn’t a hockey game out there tonight.

That was something different.”

Coach Jack Parker, following BU’s 8-7 loss to Northern Michigan

in triple overtime in the 1991 NCAA final.

Not even the sight of players in white jerseys with scarlet trim gathering in a euphoric mass against the glass was convincing enough. At least not right away. Had it all really played out in such a dramatic manner, or was this just pushing the bounds of reality?

The mood swing in the building and plot twist on the ice were almost too much to comprehend. Just over a week has passed and yet it’s still hard to believe the sudden turn of events that unfolded on the ice at the Verizon Center on a wild Saturday night in Washington. Even the victors admitted as such over three days later.

Less than an hour before the game’s conclusion, I had sat in front of the TV feeling a sense of disappointment for the players and coaches, resigned to the fact that after carefully carving out a season's worth of accolades (with accompanying trophies as proof) by answering the bell with big win after big win, perhaps the final step to the peak of the NCAA hockey mountain just wasn’t meant to be for this 2008-09 BU hockey team, one that had already tied the single-season school record of 34 victories. Was this going to add up to another frustrating NCAA Championship Game loss, the school’s fourth since 1991?

The worthy opponent in red jerseys, Miami University, a team that had given eventual NCAA champion Boston College all it could handle in the 2008 tournament before falling in overtime to the Eagles, had been every bit as tough as anticipated. The RedHawks were playing physically (seeing BU’s Colin Wilson knocked on his back was not a typical sight), with determination, and with a thorough focus on taking care of business in their own zone, and it was looking highly unlikely that Miami was going to let a two-goal lead slip slide away – especially with the school's first national championship in any sport just within reach.

All it was going to take to drive the final stake in BU's otherwise exemplary season was sending the puck into an empty BU net, helping the RedHawks atone for coming up empty in seven power play attempts against the Terriers’ persistent penalty kill.

But despite the offensive jump that Miami had shown, and the constant defensive pressure and rattling body checks the RedHawks had delivered, they weren’t able to put the game far enough out of reach. They maintained a 3-1 lead as the final 90 seconds of the championship game ticked away, but the door was left ever-so-slightly ajar, instead of being slammed shut.

That's when this gritty group of top-ranked Terriers, as they had been doing all through their run through the 2009 postseason, reached deep and made one last push, creating an improbable Alcoa Fantastic Finish of their own while earning a place in NCAA Frozen Four lore. It was an ending that would leave the RedHawks and their supporters numb and BU fans in the Verizon Center and those gathered around TV sets in a state fluctuating somewhere between shock and outright elation, all while breathing in that sweet smell of burning timber down by the water. There are memorable rallies, and there are memorable rallies, but this one was barely on the radar before it suddenly began to take shape.

The first domino fell when BU drew to within 3-2 just inside the final minute. With six skaters on the ice and the Terrier cage wide open, Nick Bonino’s shot attempt from the side of the net was denied. Just another routine save and another step closer to an NCAA crown for the hungry RedHawks, right? Not exactly. Bonino had the presence of mind to follow up his shot with a heady play, stealing the puck away from Miami defenseman Cameron Schilling, who had corralled the rebound and was preparing to clear the puck out of harm’s way.

Instead of looking to fire away again, however, Bonino pushed the puck ahead to brawny teammate Zach Cohen – whose presence on the ice on the Terriers’ extra-attacker unit was a rare sight – stationed at the left side of the crease. Cohen’s quick backhander looked as though he was pitching hay, but the extra mustard he put on the shot caused the puck to carom off the top of Miami goalie Cody Reichard’s right pad, under and through his right arm and into the net. It was a shot that produced such an unexpected trajectory that even Willie Mosconi would've been impressed. The goal pumped some much-needed life into the Terriers, both on the ice and the bench, along with their followers in the stands. It also allowed hope to enter into the equation for Coach Jack Parker’s club, something that had been slowly fading as the game clock wound toward zero.

The RedHawks could still have ended this whole drama. That empty net was still there. Just one good defensive play, a turnover followed by the flick of the wrist, and it would all be over. Just like North Dakota’s Adam Calder had done with 13 seconds left in the 1997 NCAA title game in Milwaukee, securing the Fighting Sioux’s 6-4 win over the Terriers that snuffed out a BU rally in the final minute.

Not so for Miami.

Dogged BU soon regained possession after the faceoff, goalie Kieran Millan once again headed for the bench, and play resumed in the Miami zone. That’s when veteran smarts took over, with playmaker Chris Higgins opting to pass the puck not out to the point, but instead threading it onto the stick of walk-on turned Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy in the slot. Higgins made the right decision; the poised senior defenseman was not the guy Miami wanted to see with the puck. Gilroy drove left around a defender looking for a possible shot, but he still had three bodies (including Jason Lawrence entangled with a defenseman near the left post) and the goalie in front of him, with the scoreboard clock showing less than 20 seconds left in BU’s season.

Given the gravity of the moment and the desperation of the clock situation, it would've been understandable for Gilroy to shoot the puck on net, hoping to somehow sneak it into the net through all the traffic, or perhaps for a deflection off the goalie, and amidst all the chaos in front of the net caused by the loose puck, a rebound through the scrum and the tying goal.

But All-Americans and Hobey Baker winners don't think that way. Shooting the puck and risking the loss of possession and the game wasn’t an option for Gilroy, not with a national championship hanging in the balance. What he wanted was to make the best play, preferably by getting the puck to an open shooter. When he spotted Bonino out of the corner of his eye, open and positioned perfectly inside the right circle, he calmly shifted the puck to his backhand and passed it across the slot.

Knowing he had little time to pull the trigger at the open net, Bonino one-timed a shot that would’ve made former Terrier Mark Fidler proud, sending the puck flying by a lunging Miami defenseman and just past Reichard’s outstretched glove (this time there would be no Bill Pye to rob a streaking Tony Amonte, as had been the case in the waning seconds of the third period of BU’s 8-7 triple-overtime loss to Northern Michigan in the 1991 NCAA title match) and securely into the twine to knot the score at 3-3 with 17 seconds left. The red light sent BU fans in the building into pandemonium and induced more than a few leaps off couches by alumni watching on the tube. It was a play that would’ve likely invited a drawn out “ohhhh myyyyy” from former NBC sportscaster Dick Enberg.

"I just got the puck and out of the corner of my eye I saw Nick sitting wide open. You put the puck on Nicky's stick, and he's going to put it away,” said Gilroy of his nifty pass. “It went in and we went into overtime. Once we had that, I think the whole bench and the whole team knew it [the championship] was ours."

When Parker was asked what he was thinking when Bonino’s shot lit the lamp, he mentioned former Red Sox player Bernie Carbo. That was in reference to the two-out, pinch-hit three-run home run that Carbo hit into the center field bleachers at Fenway Park against Cincinnati in the bottom of the eighth inning of the classic Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, a game the Sox eventually won 7-6 on Carlton Fisk’s home run in the 12th inning.

With BU players celebrating on the bench and sensing a comeback victory had essentially moved back into the picture, it was a good time to cue up the 1980s Mike and The Mechanics song “All I Need is a Miracle” which is just what the Terriers had produced in a game-saving space of 42 seconds.

Stunned by the two-goal rally but determined to finish the job, Miami had one last rush up ice that resulted in a Trent Vogelhuber – who had scored to put Miami up 3-1 at 15:52 of the third period on a laser inside the post, a goal that at the time appeared to be the potential game-clincher for the RedHawks – shot off BU goalie Kieran Millan’s chest, with the puck dangerously dropping loose to his left. Another Miami player swooped in for the rebound and took a swipe at the puck that barely missed before Millan was finally able to cover it up with his glove, just 1.1 second (and yet another heart palpitation for BU fans) from end of regulation.

When the horn sounded it was time to exhale, regroup and head to overtime for the 13th time in NCAA title game history. An overtime (or two, or three) that would determine if a stunned Miami team could still capture its first Division I title or if the resurgent Terriers could cap off a record-breaking season by completing the D.C. Miracle.

Playing it safe and waiting for a mistake was but a myth for both teams in overtime; both were out to win the championship trophy at all costs.

Colin Wilson, who had scored the third period game-winner off a rebound in BU’s 5-4 comeback win over Vermont in an NCAA Semifinal two nights before, fought through a check along the boards and sent a hard wrister on net, only to be stopped by Reichard. John McCarthy, finishing off a trademark tic-tac-toe passing exchange, was also foiled in close by Reichard.

At the other end, Gilroy made one of the game’s clutch defensive plays, sliding along the ice and extending his stick to break up a shot attempt in the slot by the dangerous Carter Camper. A short time later, Tom Wingels, who had given Miami a 2-1 lead in the third period by knocking in a loose rebound, took a shot in the slot that bounded off Millan’s chest and off to the side of the net. Before a Miami player could cause any further havoc BU defenseman Brian Strait promptly gained possession and cleared the puck out of the zone.

The final rush of the night found defenseman Colby Cohen starting out from behind the BU net and heading up ice. Cohen shot the puck deep into the Miami zone from center ice where the Terriers’ all-freshman line was in pursuit. Corey Trivino tied up a Miami player at the end boards to the left of the net, and the puck then skidded over to Chris Connolly, who had put the Terriers on the board way back in the first period by hustling for a goalmouth tap-in.

Connolly turned and passed the puck back to mouthguard-chomping defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, positioned on the left side of the blue line. Shattenkirk moved to his right and faked a shot to draw the attention of converging Miami defenders. After faking the shot he continued moving to his right along the blue line, passing by defensive partner and fellow Colorado Avalanche draft pick Cohen. With Miami players in pursuit Shattenkirk took a quick glance over his shoulder and sent a backhand pass over to Cohen. That misdirection opened up some room as Cohen skated in the direction of the left circle. Earlier in the game Cohen had cleanly beaten Reichard with one of his trademark booming slap shots, but the puck didn’t find the net and instead hit iron.

With some open space in the circle Cohen again drew back for a slapper, looking to put a shot on net while forward Vinny Saponari was busy tussling with a defenseman in front of Reichard. As Reichard dropped down and braced himself to control a hard shot from Cohen, Miami’s heart-and-soul defenseman, Kevin Roeder, hit the ice, looking to block the shot.

The puck made contact with Roeder’s shin guard, but instead of hitting flush and deflecting back toward Cohen, or better yet, to the boards, it hit on an angle and skipped off in flight on an end-over-end arc. Reichard kept waiting and looking for the shot that never arrived, as the puck climbed up and over his head and out of sight – calling to mind those Elton John lyrics “When are you gonna come down? When are you going to land?” – before dropping over his left shoulder and into the net.

The goal judge flicked the switch, the BU bench emptied to mob Cohen, Parker and his assistants Mike Bavis and David Quinn embraced, Terrier fans roared and a crestfallen Reichard slumped in his crease, a helpless bystander who had lost sight of the puck on the game’s final play. Suddenly and unexpectedly (as is often the case in overtime) it was all over at 11:47 of the extra session. BU had completed a 4-3 return-from-the-brink victory, its first win of the season in OT, that secured the school’s fifth national championship. Unlike previous NCAA Tournament overtime losses in 1991 against Northern Michigan, 1998 against UNH and 2000 against St. Lawrence, the sticks and helmets scattered around the ice following the postgame celebration this time belonged to the Terriers, with Cohen’s shot igniting the flotilla.

“I saw a guy coming at me, and I thought about trying to fake and go around him, but the ice was already a little chewed up at that point,” Cohen said of his game winner. “I closed my eyes and shot it and here we are right now. I was just trying to shoot it towards the net. Take a slap shot and get it to the net and hope for a rebound. But I got lucky, I guess.”

Parker had nothing but praise for the vanquished RedHawks.

“We’ll sit back and watch this game and realize just how fortunate we were to win and how hard Miami played against us for 60 minutes,” he said. “They’re a hell of an opponent and everybody knows who they are now.”

Down through the years the Terriers have staged numerous memorable comebacks, both in the regular season (including against Michigan State at Walter Brown Arena in 1989 and on the road at Maine in 1993) and in the playoffs (against Clarkson in the ECAC semifinals in 1977 and against Northern Michigan in the NCAAs in 1991), but never before had a BU team staged such a memorable rally against such huge odds in the final 59 seconds.

Trying to determine the biggest win in the history of a tradition-rich program is all but impossible, but there certainly has never been a more courageous victory – even edging ahead of the one posted by underdog BU against a loaded Michigan team in the 1997 NCAAs – posted by the Terriers with more at stake than the one in the 2009 NCAA Championship Game.

No BU squad has ever walked the tight rope and responded to postseason pressure more effectively than this group did over the final month of must-win games, with five of the last six decided by a single goal:

3-2 over Boston College in the Hockey East Semifinals
1-0 over Lowell in the Hockey East Championship Game
2-1 over New Hampshire in the Northeast Regional Final
5-4 over Vermont in the NCAA Semifinals
4-3 over Miami in the NCAA Championship Game.

The win over the RedHawks pushed the Terriers into an elite group of schools, in terms of winning NCAA titles, with BU and Minnesota now tied with five championships apiece, trailing Wisconsin with six, North Dakota and Denver with seven, and Michigan with nine. No other Eastern school can match BU’s 38 NCAA Tournament game wins or the program’s 31 NCAA Tournament berths.

Was this the best Terrier team ever to lace up the skates? As radio play-by-play man Bernie Corbett astutely pointed out, if you match up the resumes of BU’s five NCAA championship squads, and mark down all their accomplishments from the beginning of the season to the end, the 2008-09 club moves to the front of the line. Every single piece of hardware the Terriers played for this season (Icebreaker Invitational, Denver Cup, Beanpot Tournament, Hockey East regular-season, Hockey East championship, NCAA Northeast Regional and the NCAA championship) they won, en route to becoming the first BU team ever to collect 35 wins. If you throw in Matt Gilroy’s Hobey Baker Award, Jack Parker’s Spencer Penrose Award and Kieran Millan’s National Rookie of the Year Award, recognition for this team was bursting at the seams. Truthfully, it was a season the likes of which may not be seen again on Commonwealth Avenue for a while.

All four of BU’s other NCAA title teams had at least one stumble in tournament play during the course of the season. The 1971 NCAA champions were tripped up by Harvard in the ECAC semifinals; the 1972 NCAA champions (who were absolutely dominant in five postseason games, outscoring their opponents 23-5) were beaten by archrival Cornell in the Syracuse Invitational; the 1978 NCAA champions (who lost but one regular-season game) fell to Providence in the ECAC semifinals, and the 1995 NCAA champions (who outscored its three NCAA opponents 19-7) dropped an overtime decision to Maine in the Great Western Freezeout.

Wednesday afternoon’s victory rally started with a Duck Boat ride for the players in Kenmore Square and ended up with the team wading its way through an appreciative and sizable throng at Marsh Plaza before being showered with confetti. Jack Parker addressed the crowd, specifically thanking the students who had attended the Miami game for their enthusiastic support, especially when the chips were down late in the game.

He then turned his attention to his championship club.

“People keep asking me, ‘Is this the best Boston University team of all-time?’ I have to say that no other team won this many trophies and this many tournaments and had the heart-stopping trek through the Hockey East Tournament and the NCAA Tournament as this club did,” Parker noted. “They also won more games than any other BU team. I think it’s easy for me to say right now that this is the greatest team that I’ve ever coached at Boston University.”

Six seniors (Gilroy, Lawrence, Higgins, McCarthy, Brandon Yip and Steve Smolinsky) have wrapped up their careers, and Wilson, after earning All-American status as a sophomore, has signed a contract with Nashville. Others may follow, so there will certainly be holes for Parker to fill in his lineup next season. But before then, there will be some time to reflect and enjoy all that went into the D.C. Miracle.

One other important question remains for the Terriers. Who from the pages of history will provide the inspiration behind the sweat once the puck drops again next season, Magellan, da Gama or Eriksson?

BU In The Big Apple

2009-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

by mh82

(Editor's note: Written prior to the 2007 BU-Cornell game at Madison Square Garden)

NOV. 20, 2007—The hype surrounding the game has been building for months. Ticket sales have exceeded all expectations, surpassing the 17,000 mark. The final countdown to the “Red Hot Hockey” matchup at Madison Square Garden between Boston University and Cornell has been reduced to a matter of days, and come Saturday night, it will be time to drop the puck at Broadway and 33rd Street.

Although the Terriers have not played a game in New York City in more than 30 years, they do have a history of hitting the ice in Gotham for hockey matchups around the holidays. BU has played a total of eight games in Manhattan, posting a 5-2-1 mark.

Between December of 1961 and January of 1977, BU participated in three different chapters of the ECAC Holiday Festival, a tournament that had a run of 15 years and featured various groups of college teams competing at Madison Square Garden.

But to trace the actual origin of BU playing hockey in the Big Apple, you’d have to turn back the clock 81 years, to January 27, 1926. It was on that date, according to research by BU hockey historian Sean Pickett, that the Terriers, coached by George Gaw and led by captain Roderick Ling, dropped a 5-1 decision to a team known as the St. Nicholas Hockey Club—whose roster was made up of many former Ivy League athletes—in an exhibition match at the site of the “old” Madison Square Garden, located on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street. For more than 10 years, the Eighth Avenue Garden served as the home rink to two NHL teams, the New York Americans starting in 1925-26, and the New York Rangers the following season. The Americans eventually folded as a franchise during World War II, leaving the city to the Broadway Blueshirts.

The BU-St. Nicholas matchup was the second game of a Wednesday night doubleheader, with 8,000 fans on hand at the Garden to watch the action. The Terriers were coming off a 1-0 win over Cornell, played the previous Saturday afternoon on Beebe Lake up in Ithaca. The opening game featured Yale playing against a team from the New York Athletic Club, a contest the Bulldogs won easily, 6-0. The Terriers put a starting lineup on the ice of goalie Donald Martin, defensemen Charles Viano and Ling, and a first line of center Chester Scott (who led the team with 11 points in 14 games) and forwards Ovila Gregoire (who netted a team-high 10 goals for the 7-8 BU squad) and John Lawless. The game was played in an uneven format, with the first and third periods lasting 15 minutes and the second period the full 20 minutes.

St. Nick’s opened the scoring just over four minutes into the game, but BU’s Ling tied the game late in the first period. His goal was described thusly in the next morning’s edition of the New York Times by reporter Harry Cross. “Boston tied the score on a simple shot which fooled all hands on the ice. Captain Ling took his own sweet time carrying the disc down the ice and just dribbled a shot from the side which had scarcely power enough behind it to carry it to the net. [St. Nick’s goalie] Neidinger didn’t think it would reach him and made no effort to stop it, and it limped its way in.”

In the words of Jack Parker, it was a “greasy” goal, but nonetheless, it tied the score. A St. Nick’s forward by the name of Cushman (no first names were included in the box score) scored twice in the second period and once in the third to help his team pull away from the Terriers.

Thirty-five years later and just four days before Christmas in 1961, the Terriers made their initial appearance in the ECAC Holiday Festival. It was a rather inauspicious debut for BU in the tournament, as coach Harry Cleverly’s squad was thrashed by Clarkson in the opener, 7-0. Next up was the first of three meetings with Boston College during that 1961-62 campaign, and the Terriers and Eagles skated to a 2-2 draw. Cleverly was serving in his 17th and final season of leading BU from behind the bench, before passing the coaching reins along to one of his former players, Jack Kelley.

BU made its last appearance at the Eighth Avenue Garden in the sixth annual ECAC Holiday Festival in 1966. The Terriers had an extended stay in New York, playing three games over the course of four days, from December 17-20. BU scored 24 goals en route to three consecutive victories, securing the John Reed Kilpatrick Memorial Trophy as tournament champions. Kilpatrick was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame for his playing career at Yale, and he also earned a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame, after serving as president of the Rangers for over 25 years. In addition, he served in the U.S. Army in both World Wars.

The Terriers gave the Garden fans a glimpse of their offensive firepower in the opening game against Princeton, as Fred “Bear” Bassi pumped in five goals (he led BU with 30 that season), Maxwell “Mickey” Gray accounted for four goals and Mike Sobeski, Herb Wakabayashi and Serge Boily each chipped in with four assists in a 13-6 trouncing of the Tigers in front of a crowd of 6,548. BU scored the first eight goals of the game and never looked back, establishing the tournament record for most goals in a game. Two other players, Jim Quinn (two goals, two assists) and Peter McLachlan (one goal, three assists), reached the four-point mark.

The all-sophomore line of Wakabayashi centering Boily and Gray produced 13 points for the BU attack, and their speed, skills and cohesion on the ice would inspire a famous New York sportswriter to give their line a nickname that would last throughout their careers at BU, after he witnessed their work in person at the Garden.

“That was a pretty impressive tournament for them,” noted McLachlan. “They had a chemistry that really clicked, and they all had a whale of a season that year.”

Indeed they did as Wakabayashi led BU in scoring with 16 goals and 51 assists for 67 points; Boily was second on the team with 55 points (29 goals and 26 assists) and Gray added a successful stat line of 24 goals and 24 assists. Not too shabby for their varsity debuts.

After the Saturday night win over Princeton, the Terriers would not hit the ice again until Monday night, when they would face the University of Minnesota for just the second time; BU’s first-ever game against the Gophers was a 4-2 setback on December 20, 1963 in the Boston Christmas Holiday Festival.

On Sunday night a small group of Terriers, including the top defense pairing of Ontario cousins Brian Gilmour and Peter McLachlan, attended a taping of the Ed Sullivan Show. A regular segment of the show was when Sullivan would introduce some special guests in the audience to the TV viewers at home. Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson was well known to the audience, but there also happened to be a group of athletes from two universities in the theatre that night.

“We were to be introduced, but when it came time, Sullivan said in his unique voice, ‘And in our audience tonight, we have an outstanding team.’ ” Gilmour recalled. “All of us got ready to stand up but Ed continued, ‘The University of North Carolina basketball team.’ ” No matter. The BU players were eventually recognized and received a round of applause.

The appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show wasn’t the only chance that BU players had the chance to go on national television. Gilmour, McLachlan, Jim Quinn and a fourth player (either Bassi or defenseman Don Lumley) were chosen as contestants for the daytime game show Eye Guess, which was hosted by Bill Cullen at NBC’s Rockefeller Center studios. Contestants on Eye Guess tried to memorize and recall the location of hidden answers on a nine-box game board. The Terrier contingent didn’t fare too well, and in the words of McLachlan, “we had our clocks cleaned by a bunch of housewives who were probably regular viewers and knew what to do to win the game.”

But the BU players didn’t leave 30 Rock empty-handed.

“We received five Westclock clocks,” said Gilmour of the parting gifts from the show. “I still have one, and the other four were Christmas gifts that year. Starving college player, you know.”

Gilmour and McLachlan were a talented duo of senior defensemen, with the former earning All-American status in 1967 and the latter being selected first team All-ECAC. They were also a unique personal story. They grew up in Ontario (Gilmour in Lancaster and McLachlan in Newmarket) never knowing they were related as cousins.

“We didn’t know we were cousins until we met each other on campus for the first time,” said McLachlan. “We hadn’t met before BU.” McLachlan played in all 31 games during the 1966-67 season and had 10 goals and 25 assists while Gilmour finished third on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 41 assists.

"We spent some time together killing penalties and on the power play the first two years on varsity, but we didn’t become a regular defense pairing until our senior year,” said McLachlan. “We both favored an offensive style of play and the two of us liked to be in the other team’s zone. Sometimes we got caught up ice and Coach Kelley didn’t appreciate that.”

Playing college hockey, however, wasn’t something that McLachlan was definitely sold on. “When I was 19 I was planning on going to a Canadian college that didn’t have a hockey team. I had been playing junior hockey for several years, and had been playing competitive hockey since I was seven. Michigan and Brown showed some interest in me, but I was going to retire from playing the game at 19,” he said. “It just so happened that Jack Kelley came up to scout another player on my junior team. I must’ve had a good night because after the game he came up to me and asked if I was interested in coming down to play hockey at BU. I said, ‘sure, why not?’ It turned out to be the correct choice for me to go to BU.”

In the game against Minnesota, the Gophers struck first with a goal late in the opening period, and they were on top 1-0 at the first intermission. McLachlan’s power play goal at the 3:01 mark of the second period tied the game, but Minnesota’s Chuck Norby shot a puck past BU netminder Wayne Ryan to put the Gophers ahead 2-1 six minutes later.

BU answered with goals from defensemen Bill Hinch and Gilmour to take the lead back, but with just under five minutes left in the second period, Gary Gambucci’s goal pulled the Gophers even again. Gray, on an assist from McLachlan, gave the Terriers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish 60 seconds before the second intermission.

Playing with a 4-3 lead, BU took control of the game when Gray, a Chatham, Ontario native, lit the lamp three times in the first 11:33 of the third period, with his linemates Boily and Wakabayashi tallying assists on each of the goals. Forward Charlie Morgan made it 8-3 Terriers with 6:31 left on the clock, and the Gophers added a pair of late scores to make it a more respectable 8-5 final, as BU punched its ticket to the championship game against Clarkson, a 5-2 winner against St. Lawrence.

The Golden Knights had won eight of the previous 11 meetings against BU, including the seven-goal win over the Terriers on the same MSG ice just six years earlier. A crowd of 6,312 was on hand at the Garden to see the title matchup between the two ECAC rivals. Neither team scored in the opening period, as BU’s Ryan and Clarkson’s John Miller held the opposing offenses at bay.

Sobeski, on a nice rush up ice, put BU on the board 53 seconds into the second period after his 20-footer eluded Miller. Morgan notched his second goal in two days to put the Terriers up by two goals, but Clarkson’s Joe Demerski solved Ryan and made it a 2-1 game at the 11:39 mark. Wakabayashi, with a series of fakes in a one-on-one showdown against Miller, increased BU’s lead to 3-1 with under four minutes to play in the period.

Clarkson put pressure on Ryan in the third period, and he came up with a big save on a breakaway to maintain BU’s lead. However, Ernie Reynolds potted a goal with less than five minutes left to pull Clarkson to within 3-2, but the Terriers took care of business in their own end down the stretch and hung on for their ninth straight win (the only blemish on BU’s record had been a 4-3 overtime loss to the Eastern Olympics in a exhibition game at Boston Arena on December 10) to capture the tournament title.

Gray was named the MVP of the tournament after accounting for eight goals and an assist. Linemates Wakabayashi and Boily also did plenty of damage, finishing with one goal and seven assists apiece. It was the performance of those three Terrier sophomores that led columnist Red Smith to dub the trio the “Pinball Line” in a column he submitted to the New York World Journal Tribune.

Jack Kelley recalled his 1966-67 club and their holiday performance at Madison Square Garden. “It was the senior year of my first full recruiting class of Gilmour, McLachlan, Ryan, Bassi, Quinn and Sobeski. We also had added Jack Parker, John Cooke and Billy Riley, and our sophomore line of Wakabayashi, Boily and Gray was making a big impact, too,” he said.

“Everyone began to realize we would be a team to be reckoned with. Just before the games at MSG, our Sports Information Director, Art Dunphy, called Red Smith to tell him about an amazing trio of first-year players (sophomores at the time with no freshmen eligibility, which began in 1973-74) who passed the puck remarkably well and were having a great season.

“He convinced Smith to attend the tournament, and after seeing Herb, Serge and Mickey in action, he came up with the name “Pinball Line” because of the way they passed the puck. And the name stuck.”

BU completed the 1966-67 season as the top team in the ECAC with an unbeaten 19-0-1 record, with the tie (3-3) coming against an equally-strong Cornell team in a classic double-overtime confrontation in the championship game of the Boston Arena Christmas Tournament on December 30. But the Big Red would prove to be BU’s nemesis the rest of the season, and led by peerless work of goalie Ken Dryden, who would later earn fame and six Stanley Cup rings with the Montreal Canadiens, Cornell knocked off the Terriers 4-3 in the ECAC championship game at Boston Garden on March 11 and then 4-1 in the NCAA title game in Syracuse one week later.

The Terriers were part of the ECAC Holiday Festival field for the last time in 1977, and it also marked the grand finale of the tournament at Madison Square Garden, which was now situated at Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street after making the move from Eighth Avenue and 50th Street in 1968. The “new” Garden was located on the site of the demolished Penn Station, the giant Beaux-Arts edifice of a train station that was once used by both the Pennsylvania and Long Island Railroads and was the final destination of the famous “Broadway Limited” which ran daily from Chicago to New York.

The start of the 1976-77 season had been anything but typical for the Terriers, as the three-time defending ECAC champions dropped their first five games and arrived in New York with a less-than-stellar 3-6 record after splitting a road series at Minnesota-Duluth. Although the Terriers had been outscored 42-36 through those nine games, they were certainly not a team lacking in talent, with the likes of center Rick Meagher and forwards Mike Eruzione and Dave Silk fueling the offense and defensemen Jack O’Callahan and Dick Lamby and goalie Jim Craig bolstering the defense.

Colgate, a team that BU had beaten 13-3 at Brown Arena during the 1975-76 season, was the first opponent on Sunday, January 2. Because the Garden’s primary tenant, the Rangers, were hosting the Vancouver Canucks that evening, the Holiday Festival doubleheader got off to an early start. The Terriers and Red Raiders, who were coached by former BU player Jim Higgins, were due to face off at 11:00 am in front of a few thousand fans at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

Barry Kibsey gave Colgate a 1-0 lead at the 3:35 mark of the first period, but BU answered with a goal by Eruzione, and that’s the way it stayed through the first 20 minutes.

Coming out of the locker room for the second period, it quickly became obvious that BU had finally turned off the snooze button as the Terriers erupted for seven goals in the period against Colgate’s shell-shocked freshman goalie Drew Schaefer. Mickey Mullen started the onslaught with a goal at 1:53 and Lamby—playing in just his third game for BU after transferring from Salem State and spending the previous winter with the Olympic team—finished it off by scoring at 12:48 for his second goal of the period. Balance was the word for the Terriers as six different players scored in the period and 11 different players picked up assists.

Colgate did manage to score three times off Craig in the final period, but BU got goals off the sticks of Silk and defenseman Bill LeBlond to make the final margin 10-4, with the Terriers outshooting the Red Raiders 49-33.

“It took us a while to wake up,” Jack Parker told the New York Times. “We’re not used to starting a game at 11:00 am on a Sunday. With so few people in the stands, it sounded more like a practice session. We’re used to hearing 14,000 fans screaming in Boston Garden.”

The second game of the doubleheader featured St. Lawrence and Bowdoin, and the Skating Saints turned a 4-3 deficit after two periods into an 8-4 victory after shutting down the Polar Bears over the final 20 minutes. By the time the second game began, the attendance at the Garden had climbed to 6,548.

“BU is a good, shifty team and well disciplined,” said St. Lawrence coach Leon Abbott, the man that Parker had succeeded as BU coach seven games into the 1973-74 season. “Tomorrow night’s game should be a very tough one for us.”

Abbott’s words turned out to be very prophetic as the Terriers fired a season-high 60 shots on goal, with eight of those pucks getting past Larries goaltender Rick Wilson, leading to an 8-5 victory, as BU regained possession of the Kilpatrick Trophy as tournament champions. Eruzione, who was named the MVP, contributed two goals and two assists, and defenseman Gary Fay (one goal and two assists) and Silk (three assists) also chipped in to the BU attack. In all seven different Terriers lit the lamp and nine different BU players notched assists. Craig turned aside 22 St. Lawrence shots.

BU scored the first three goals of the second period, including two on the power play, to stretch its lead to 6-1, but St. Lawrence battled back with three straight goals to make a game of it, leading Parker to comment in the Times, “We took a couple of penalties and played sloppy defensively and let them back in.”

Fay’s power play strike with just under three minutes left in the second period built BU’s lead back up to three goals. The Terriers controlled the third period, owning a 26-5 shot advantage, and Tony Meagher’s goal helped offset a score by SLU’s Dan Walker as BU posted an 8-5 triumph.

The two victories at the Garden improved the Terriers’ record to 5-6, but Parker felt that his club still had plenty of work to do. “I told them they have to get more pumped up as a team,” he said in the New York Times. “They have talent, but they haven’t won anything yet. They don’t seem to play with any emotion.”

The BU players took Parker’s words to heart, as they won 16 of their next 21 games, with the last of those victories delivering a fourth straight ECAC crown following an exciting 8-6 win over New Hampshire at Boston Garden. That led to a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, but for the fourth consecutive year history repeated itself, and the Terriers were toppled in the semifinals, this time by Michigan, 6-4.

When the likes of present-day Terriers Peter MacArthur, Bryan Ewing and Chris Higgins hop over the boards at MSG on Saturday night against ancient bitter rival Cornell, they will be looking to extend BU’s winning streak in the City That Never Sleeps to six games.

“The idea of having a get-together with Cornell was exciting, but having it in Madison Square Garden, arguably the richest sports venue there is, just adds to the panache of the whole thing,” noted Parker. “The best part about this (Red Hot Hockey])will be the fact that the players on both teams will get to experience that type of atmosphere against a big rival in a game they should remember for a long, long time.”

That Championship Season

2009-03-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

A look back at the 1977-78 Terriers

by mh82

Flip the calendar in reverse and travel back to the fall of 1977.

In Washington, a former peanut farmer from Georgia is the first Democrat to occupy the White House since Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter is in the initial year of what will ultimately become a challenging and difficult four-year term.

Earlier in 1977, U.S. movie goers are introduced to Star Wars mania, as the George Lucas film becomes one of the most popular and highest grossing films ever.

ABC is the king of the TV airwaves, with a trio of the network’s shows, Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days and Three’s Company, filling the top three spots in the weekly Neilsen ratings.

On the radio dial—in the days long before MTV, iPods and personal CD players—a wide range of music is broadcast, including “Hotel California” by the Eagles. “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac, “Peg” by Steely Dan, “Lido Shuffle” by Boz Scaggs, “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” by Bob Seger and “More Than A Feeling” by Boston. Movie themes also receive plenty of radio play, including “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky and “Nobody Does It Better” from The Spy Who Loved Me. Just before Christmas, the Bee Gees would revive their career and help spur a national cultural phenomenon known as Disco by contributing songs to the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever, which also helped launch John Travolta’s acting career. Of course, the biggest music news of the year may well have been the death of a pioneer in Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, on August 16.

For baseball fans in Boston 1977 was a trying season, as they witnessed the New York Yankees winning their first World Series title in 15 years, after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. The Red Sox, despite winning 97 games and hitting a Major League-high 213 home runs, still finished 2 ½ games behind the Bronx Bombers in the final AL East standings. The Boston Bruins, victims of a 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the ’77 Stanley Cup Finals, would again advance to the Cup Finals in the spring of 1978, only to fall again to Habs, this time in six games.

Several miles north of the Bruins’ home, Boston Garden, Boston University hockey coach Jack Parker assembled his 1977-78 team for preseason drills at Walter Brown Arena. On March 12, 1977, the Terriers became only the second ECAC team ever to win four straight league championships—matching Cornell’s feat from 1967 through 1970—after defeating New Hampshire 8-6 in the championship game at the Garden. The win over the Wildcats capped a thrilling tournament run by the Terriers that also included victories over top-seeded Clarkson (7-6 in the semifinals, after BU scored three times over the final 3:57 of the third period to stun the Golden Knights and their fans who were eagerly anticipating a memorable triumph over the three-time defending ECAC kings of the hill) and Boston College (8-7 in the quarterfinals, in a back-and-forth contest that was one of the most heart-pounding games ever played in the long history of WBA).

As the 32-year-old Parker surveyed the Brown Arena ice, he observed the 15 lettermen he had back from that 1976-77 team, giving the Terriers an excellent core of veteran players to begin pursuit of a fifth straight ECAC crown. Among the returnees was the solid goaltending tandem of senior Brian Durocher and junior Jim Craig. The defense also looked to be in excellent shape with senior Dick Lamby, in his first full season in a BU uniform after transferring from Salem State and spending a year with the U.S. Olympic team, juniors Jack O’Callahan and Bill O’Neill, and sophomore Bill LeBlond.

In keeping with his usual philosophy of building a team from the goal out and having his players take care of business in their own end, Parker liked the look of his team from a defensive perspective.

“We’re going into the season with more experience at defense than we had last year,” Parker told SID Ed Carpenter in the season preview section of the BU media guide. “We have four of our five regular defensemen back plus our two goalies. We’re deep, talented and experienced.”

But this wasn’t a team that was only about defense. BU also boasted a combination of firepower and grit up front with senior Matt Marden, juniors John Bethel, Bob Boileau, John Fox, Marc Hetnik, John Melanson and Mickey Mullen, and sophomores Tony Meagher and Dave Silk. A pair of junior transfers, forward John Corriveau (from UNH) and defensemen Scott Nieland (from North Dakota), added to the Terriers’ depth.

“I think we could be good by the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be great guns at the beginning,” Parker noted. “Remember, you don’t lose people like Rick Meagher and Mike Eruzione and not feel it.”

Ah yes, the graduated seniors from the five-player Class of 1977. There were the two defensemen, Gary Fay and John McClellan, with the former serving as a power play specialist who racked up 89 career assists with his pinpoint passing and the latter a steady and dependable four-year performer on the blue line. There were the forwards, Bob Dudley and Mike Eruzione. Dudley excelled as a forechecker and penalty killer while Eruzione, who a little over two years later would become a household name around the country with his on-ice performance in a small town in upstate New York, would graduate as one of just five BU players to surpass 200 career points (he finished with 208) while also being recognized annually as the top defensive forward in New England. Then there was center Rick Meagher, the younger brother of Terry Meagher, who himself had enjoyed a strong career at BU from 1973-76, and the older brother of sophomore Tony from the 1977-78 team. Those three sons of Belleville, Ontario, would provide an excellent foundation for Parker’s early BU teams.

Rick Meagher scored 90 goals and dish out 120 assists in his four brilliant seasons wearing a BU sweater, and among the terms used to describe his playing skill and game were “flashy” and “electrifying”. Just a few of the numerous career highlights that Meagher provided for BU fans was his rink-length rush for a goal as a freshman against Minnesota in the third period of the 1974 NCAA semifinals at Boston Garden; his five shorthanded goals in 1974-75, including a pair against Princeton in a span of just nine seconds; his two goals in 13 seconds against Brown in BU’s 9-2 romp in the ’76 ECAC title game; his third-period hat trick against BC in the aforementioned 8-7 victory over the Eagles in the ’77 ECAC quarterfinals, and his four assists against UNH in the ECAC championship game four days later, in what would be his final appearance as a collegian on Causeway Street.

Meagher remains the only Terrier player ever to attain All-American status as a sophomore, junior and senior. When Meagher had the puck on his stick, good results would often follow, as many an ECAC defenseman who were burned by No. 15’s exploits learned. BU’s veteran radio play-by-play man Bernie Corbett has sometimes only half-jokingly referred to Meagher as the “Roy Hobbs” of the BU program, as in “the best there ever was.” If ever there was a Mount Rushmore of former BU hockey players constructed, Meagher would likely anchor one side of the mountain while that former Little League pitcher from Connecticut who would go on to become BU’s all-time leading goal scorer (113) and only Hobey Baker winner—Chris Drury—would anchor the other side.

Eruzione and Meagher were linemates on the ice and inseparable friends off it at BU, but they almost never had the chance to become college hockey teammates. Meagher had originally intended to attend Clarkson, but when a viable physical education program was not to be had in Potsdam, he made his way, with some urging from older brother Terry, to Beantown. Eruzione, who had every intention of attending Merrimack, was spotted by Parker in a summer league game in Billerica and was talked into giving Division I hockey a shot by his future coach. Both players went on to be named to the ECAC All-Decade Team of the 1970s, and in an NCAA Guide review of their superb careers, they were dubbed the “twin terrors of the East.”

But despite all the success that Meagher and Eruzione enjoyed as Terriers, playing on teams that had a combined four-year record of 96-29-1, winning games in the NCAA Tournament proved elusive. Although talent-laden BU squads were seemingly unbeatable in the ECAC playoffs every March, they were disappointingly bounced out of the NCAA semifinals in four consecutive years—by Minnesota 5-4 in 1974, by Michigan Tech 9-5 in ’75, by Minnesota again 4-2 in ’76, and by Michigan 6-4 in ’77.

Looking to add pieces to the team that would help find a formula for success in the NCAAs and replacing those five invaluable seniors that departed campus in May of 1977 were on Parker’s mind when he hit the recruiting trail for the freshman class that would enter BU in September. The six-member class that he brought aboard gave Parker reason to believe that the Terriers would have the chance to maintain their position as the top program in the East.

Two of the newcomers were members of Matignon’s state championship team in forward Billy Cotter and center Mark Fidler. Cotter was Matignon’s captain during his final season, one in which he scored 40 goals. Fidler scored 96 points as a senior, leading all high school scorers in the Bay State. He was also the younger brother of Mike Fidler, who in two impact seasons as a Terrier netted 46 goals before making the jump right to the NHL with the Cleveland Barons. Mark Fidler was looking to have the same impact on the BU program that his older brother had, and as it turned out, he wouldn’t disappoint. Rounding out the strong freshman class were centers Todd Johnson and Paul Miller, the younger brother of former UNH star (and future Bruin) Bob Miller, rough-and-tumble forward Darryl MacLeod and defenseman Tim Kimball.

“It’s as good a recruiting year as we’ve had,” said Parker of his rookies. “Not only is there quantity but also quality.”

So as the 24-man BU squad went through its preseason workouts in search of an unprecedented fifth consecutive league title, it did so with a huge target on its back, the result of having won 12 straight ECAC postseason games. The only thing missing from Parker’s impressive coaching resume in his first four seasons behind the bench was a victory in the NCAAs. But long before the national tournament would came into focus, the 1977-78 Terriers would have to fend off the other 16 ECAC schools hell-bent on payback for having been on the losing side of the scoreboard against BU so many times over the previous four winters.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on us this year,” Parker stated in the preseason. “After all, everyone is going to want to knock us off. But that’s nothing new to these kids. They’re all used to it by now.”

BU, which had opened the 1976-77 campaign in shocking fashion by dropping its first five games after allowing 30 goals—the Terriers went on to win 22 of the final 27 games en route to another NCAA berth—would offer no repeat of that performance a year later. The Terriers hosted Merrimack, the eventual Division II national champion in ’78, to open the season on November 22 and cruised to a 13-4 win, behind Silk’s four goals and four assists each from Lamby and Boileau. Silk was simply picking up where he had left off as an outstanding freshman in 1976-77, when he lit the lamp 35 times to become the most prolific single-season goal scorer at BU since sophomore Paul O’Neil also netted 35 goals in 1972-73.

By the time the first semester came to a close, BU was off to a 5-0 start and was in the early stages of what would eventually become the longest winning streak in school annals. The fourth of those five wins came at Brown Arena, 6-5 over UNH, in a rematch of the ’77 ECAC championship game. Silk contributed a pair of goals, Lamby had three assists and Craig turned aside 37 shots by the Wildcats.

After Christmas BU headed on an extended road swing, with six of its next seven games on the road. The first two games were in East Lansing, against Michigan State, and the Terriers outlasted the Spartans by 7-5 and 6-3 scores, with Silk picking up four goals and four assists for the series. The last three games of the trip included stops at traditionally tough ECAC rinks in Durham, Canton and Potsdam. The Terriers were up to the task as they defeated UNH 6-4, with Meagher picking up a hat trick and Bethel collecting four assists, and then swept North Country foes St. Lawrence (8-3, behind Fidler’s first career hat trick and a trio of assists each from O’Callahan and Lamby) and Clarkson (7-4, with Fidler and Lamby notching hat tricks). Durocher had a combined 64 saves against the Wildcats and Golden Knights while Craig stopped 32 shots by the Larries.

“I really feel that the first time I saw that we could be a good team was at New Hampshire,” Parker said of BU’s road success. “Those two back-to-back victories up north also showed me a lot.”

The first meeting of the season with Boston College came on January 21, and the Terriers doubled up the Eagles at WBA, 6-3, with Fidler staying hot with a pair of goals and O’Callahan dishing off four assists. Four days later BU embarked on another four-game road trip, with the first matchup at the Houston Field House against RPI. In a wild shootout the Terriers escaped with an 8-7 win, with Craig making a season-high 42 saves and Meagher accounting for five points, with three coming via a hat trick. BU’s road record improved to 11-0 (and 19-0 overall) with a 4-2 win at Providence in a Beanpot tune-up game on February 4, one which the Terriers allowed just 19 shots on goal, with Durocher stopping 17 of them.

Two days later the Terriers headed to the Garden for an opening round Beanpot matchup with BC. Parker’s teams had lost three of the last four Beanpot finals, so there was certainly no lack of incentive for the Terriers when they stepped onto the ice to collide with their bitter rivals from up Commonwealth Avenue. While the game was being played inside the Garden, high winds and heavy snow had been pounding Boston for a several hours, in a gathering New England blizzard for the ages. Snow fell on the Boston area for over 30 hours, resulting in over 27 inches of accumulation, crippling all modes of transportation. The entire state of Massachusetts was shuttered for four days—and in a humorous tale recounted by former BU student Todd Brachman, by day four after the snowfall ended, campus hangout T. Anthony’s only had anchovy subs left on the takeout menu—and of the 11,000-plus college hockey fans who made their way into the Garden that night, nearly 500 of them were trapped on Causeway Street for the next 36 hours due to impassable roads. The tournament would wait another 23 days until the ’78 Beanpot champion was finally decided.

As for the game, BU took advantage of an injury-depleted BC defense and filled the Eagles’ cage with rubber, as 10 different Terriers scored goals in a 12-5 romp, the highest goal total ever scored by a BU team against the Eagles. Meagher and Boileau led the onslaught with two goals apiece and Lamby and O’Callahan each picked up three assists. The Eagles managed to put three pucks by Durocher in the first period and only trailed 4-3 at the intermission, but BU went on to score eight of the game’s next nine goals. BC’s highly regarded goaltender Paul Skidmore, who had helped beat BU in the Beanpot final two years earlier, departed with a groin injury in the second period, leaving backup Mike Cronin at the mercy of the Terriers for the rest of the game.

The massive snowfall led to the cancellation of a home date against RPI on February 10, and as luck would have it, BU’s next opponent on February 16 was BC at McHugh Forum. The Terriers didn’t hit for a dozen goals again, but they did reach double figures in a 10-5 win, with Miller and Silk each collecting two goals, Lamby dishing out an incredible six assists and Craig making 41 saves. That made it 21 straight wins for BU as the Terriers prepared for a Saturday trip to New Haven to face Yale at Ingalls Rink for a televised game in Boston and on several PBS outlets in the East.

Unfortunately for Parker and his club, they left their sharp focus and game back in Boston, and a sub.-500 Yale team, urged on by the home crowd, exploded on offense against Durocher and the Terrier backliners, jumping out to an early lead and hanging on against a late BU rally for a 7-5 victory, bringing the Terriers’ unbeaten season to a crashing halt.

Having finally suffered its first defeat in almost three months, BU got back on the winning track by registering road wins over Northeastern (6-4 at Matthews Arena, behind Hetnik’s second two-goal game of the season) and Colgate (6-5 in overtime at Starr Rink, with Boileau netting the game winner in the extra session).

March 1 rolled around and so to did the Beanpot final against Harvard. The Crimson, who had topped BU 4-3 in the ’77 Beanpot final, were no match for the Terriers this time around, with Mickey Mullen’s—a scratch in 12 of the team’s first 15 games—first career hat trick and a goal and two assists from tournament MVP O’Callahan helping BU whip the boys from across the Charles, 7-1. Lamby (with two) and LeBlond accounted for the other goals while Miller had three assists and Craig made 27 saves. Harvard’s frustration bubbled over late in the game when Lamby and George Hughes dropped the gloves and went at it. Other brawls also broke out before the final horn sounded with a total of five players earning ejections.

“Hey,” Harvard coach Bill Cleary told the Boston Globe, in a game story filed by Peter Gammons, “all that should be said is that they’re [BU] too good. I’d like to forget the fight and have people remember one thing—how good BU is. They beat us to the puck all night. From beginning to end they were flying. That’s all I can say.”

The Terriers wrapped up their enviable 25-1 regular season with a 6-5 triumph over Vermont at WBA, with Melanson and Johnson, who both lit the lamp, sharing the spotlight with LeBlond, who had his only two-goal effort of the season, helping turn back the Catamounts. Durocher’s 28 stops proved to be enough for the winning margin.

Although BU ruled the ECAC during the regular season, the postseason—with every team’s fortunes returning to square one—was now set to begin. First up for the Terriers was a March 7 meeting at WBA against eighth-seeded New Hampshire. BU had swept the season series with the Wildcats, but the cumulative score was just 12-9. This would prove to be another nail-biter, but BU met the challenge and kept its season moving forward by avoiding the upset with a 6-5 overtime victory, as Craig turned back 33 shots by the Wildcats, Meagher pitched in with a pair of goals and an assist and Boileau potted his second game-winner in OT in a space of 10 days. The Terriers were headed back to the Garden for a chance at an unprecedented fifth consecutive ECAC title.

BU’s opponent in the semifinals was seventh-seeded Providence, a team the Terriers had beaten twice during the regular season by identical 4-2 scores. The Friars, just 12-9-2 in ECAC play, had advanced to the Garden by posting an improbable 8-5 upset win over second-seeded Cornell at Lynah Rink. The other semifinal had sixth-seeded BC meeting Brown, the No. 4 seed.

The Terriers had their hands full with UNH in the quarterfinals, and the Friars would prove to be a tough opponent as well, ultimately delivering a final result that would send shockwaves throughout the ECAC. Coach Lou Lamoriello’s team jumped out to an early advantage and then put the defensive clamps on BU’s vaunted attack, behind the strong work of goaltender Bill Milner. The Friars put five pucks past Durocher among their 23 shots while the Terriers could only solve Milner once all night. It all added up to a 5-1 triumph for the red-hot Friars, who had battled through injuries during the regular season and had marked their return to health by knocking off the ECAC’s top two seeds.

For BU, the loss was a devastating blow. The Terriers had held down the No.1 spot in the polls for a good chunk of the season and had not suffered defeat until the third week of February, but they would be absent from their customary position of playing for the ECAC crown on Saturday night. If the Friars continued on their postseason roll and defeated BC in the championship game, the plug on BU’s season, once the envy of every team in the East, could have potentially been pulled.

The Terriers’ fading hopes of staying alive—that phrase that the brothers Gibb popularized—for an NCAA berth came down to a consolation match with sixth-seeded Brown and possible intervention by an NCAA selection committee. Making the situation even more difficult was the fact that BU would have to take on Brown without the guidance of Parker on the bench, with the coach having to miss the game while attending to a serious family matter. That left the Terriers in the hands of assistant coach Don “Toot” Cahoon, who knew a thing or two about playing in big games, having been a member of BU’s national championship teams in 1971 and ’72.

The 1970-71 BU squad that Cahoon, who now runs the program at UMass, scored 24 goals for had faced a similar predicament. After winning the ECAC regular-season title with an 18-1-1 record, the Terriers fell to fourth-seeded Harvard 4-2 in the ECAC semifinals. Second-seeded Clarkson dispatched Cornell 4-1 in the other semifinal. BU’s season was in do-or-die mode when it faced the Big Red in the consolation game, but the Terriers came through with a 6-5 win, with two goals apiece from John Danby and Steve Stirling. Things looked a little ominous when starting goalie Dan Brady went down with an injury late in the second period, but Tim Regan came off the bench to stop each of the 16 shots that Cornell threw at the net.

When Harvard downed Clarkson 7-4 in the championship game, BU had the break it was looking for and the tournament selection committee opted to have BU join Harvard as the East representative in Syracuse, in part because of the Terriers’ regular-season record, and also because of a 4-1 win over the Golden Knights at Boston Arena on February 5. The Terriers made that decision look like a wise choice by defeating Denver and Minnesota (both by 4-2 margins) at the War Memorial Auditorium to secure the program’s first NCAA title.

So Cahoon had been through the redemption scenario as a player, and now he would have to start the Terriers on a similar journey while filling in for Parker in a must-win game. BU left no doubt it had some unfinished business left in pursuit of its 27th win, and Fidler’s hat trick and three assists each from Bethel, Silk and O’Callahan led to an offensive explosion that buried Brown, 8-4. Craig was also kept fairly busy in the cage, finishing with 34 saves. All the Terriers, with their .931 winning percentage, could do now was sit back and wait.

The first domino fell in the ECAC championship game when BC defeated Providence by a 4-2 score. Next came a marathon telephone conference call among the members of the NCAA Eastern Advisory Committee (consisting of Harvard’s Cleary, UNH’s Charlie Holt, Yale’s Tim Taylor, Clarkson’s Jerry York and Brown’s Bob Seiple), and consideration was given to BU’s overall record and its season sweep of Providence. It was determined by the committee that an NCAA qualifying game would be played to see which school would join BC in the Final Four field. Providence was slated to host the game at Schneider Arena, just a short distance from the Civic Center, where the city would play host to the 1978 NCAA hockey championship.

Nine days after they had seen their dream season nearly evaporate with an ill-timed playoff loss, the Terriers made the most of their second chance. Lamby lit the lamp twice and Fidler and Bethel each chipped in with a goal and an assist as BU never let up against the Friars and registered a clutch 5-3 victory. The Terriers took control of the game with three second-period goals and Craig, making consecutive starts for the first time all season, stopped 32 of 35 shots, including a penalty shot by Steve Evangelista with the Friars trailing 3-1. Four days later, BU would return to the Ocean State to face defending national champion Wisconsin in the NCAA semifinals.

Badger Bob Johnson and his team arrived in Providence with a 28-10-3 record, having posted WCHA playoff series wins over Minnesota Duluth and Michigan Tech. Wisconsin, which had defeated UNH and Michigan to take home the ’77 NCAA crown, boasted a pair of All-Americans in center Mike Eaves (58 assists and a team-high 89 points) and goalie Julian Baretta (the Most Outstanding Player of the ’77 NCAAs). Sophomore center Mark Johnson, the son of the coach and a future All-American and U.S. Olympian, would finish the season leading UW with 48 goals. Joining the team at the Civic Center was an enthusiastic throng of 3,500 red-clad Badger fans and the school’s powerful 70-piece band. During some downtime between games athletic director Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch was said to have gone to a local tavern, Players Corner Pub, slapped $500 on the bar and instructed the bartenders to “give a drink to any fan wearing Wisconsin red.”

WCHA teams had ended BU’s NCAA title aspirations in 1974, ’75 and ’76, so the Terriers were anxious to make amends in Providence. Six years earlier, BU coach Jack Kelley had led the Terriers to a 4-1 win over the Badgers in the NCAA semifinals at Boston Garden, en route to BU’s second consecutive national championship.

The Badgers owned the better of the play in the early going and struck first when Johnson ripped the puck by Craig—Parker had decided to eschew his season-long goalie rotation in favor of the hot hand in the net—on a power play at the 7:32 mark of the opening period. Just under four minutes later the Terriers got the equalizer when Silk picked up the puck out of a scrum in front of the net and shot it past Baretta.

In the second period the Terriers took a 2-1 lead when O’Callahan started a 3-on-2 breakout. The puck eventually ended up on Silk’s stick and he put a nifty goal-mouth pass on Bethel’s tape, leading to an easy tip-in goal. BU got a big break when Baretta, trying to steer a centering pass from Hetnik away from the crease, mistakenly knocked the puck into his own net to put the Badgers in a two-goal hole. Eaves showed off his All-American form at 12:37 on the penalty kill when he rode O’Neill into the boards, gained possession of the puck and then skated in on Craig and pushed a backhander past the BU goalie to tighten up the game.

Clinging to a one-goal advantage, BU went on the power play at the 5:43 mark of the final period. It took the Terriers only 27 seconds to turn on the red light as Silk hit Fidler in full flight down the left boards, with Fidler then opting for his favorite shot and firing a 25-foot slapper past the glove of Baretta to make it a 4-2 game. The trio of O’Callahan, Bethel and Silk finished off the defending national champs for good 36 seconds later when Silk hit the twine for the second time, finishing off a 3-on-2 break. Craig stopped all seven UW shots in the third period and finished with 22 saves for the game.

“All season long the secret to our success has been our quickness,” Johnson told the Providence Journal. “We weren’t quick tonight and I can only believe that was because BU was quicker.”

BU’s skating and tireless effort for three periods was the difference maker, according to Parker.

“We figured we were underdogs coming in. We also knew we had to skate hard and avoid running around to win,” he told the Journal. “We beat them to the puck most of the night. It sure is going to be nice playing Saturday night and not Saturday afternoon.”

The next night, BC eliminated Bowling Green with a 6-2 victory, transforming the NCAA championship game into yet another chapter in the Commonwealth Avenue skirmish between the Terriers and the Eagles. It would mark the first all-East final since BU and Cornell met for all the marbles in 1972.

“Put it this way,” BC forward Bill Army told the media, “Boston College and Boston University is a war on the ice and a rivalry off the ice. We’re playing for the honor of Boston.”

Craig didn’t have a problem stating what was at stake, either.

“You know what it is,” he told the Journal. “Our uniforms have Boston written across them and their uniforms have Boston on them. Both of us represent the city. But I want it to be this way—when hockey fans think of Boston, I want them to think of Boston University.”

A crowd of over 11,000, the largest ever to watch a hockey game at the time in the state of Rhode Island, packed into the Civic Center to watch BU and BC go at it for the fourth time during the 1977-78 campaign, with the Terriers having won the previous three meetings by a combined margin of 28-13.

It didn’t take BU very long to put a stamp on the title matchup as Lamby fired a pass to Fidler on the left side, who then skated in and whipped a 25-foot laser past Skidmore for a 1-zip lead just 38 seconds into the game. The Eagles evened the score on the power play at the 11-minute mark when the always-dangerous Joe Mullen notched his 34th goal of the season by tipping a slap shot from defenseman Joe Augustine past Craig. Just 2:26 later the Eagles grabbed the lead after Bobby Hehir knocked a 10-footer into the empty BU cage after Craig and Lamby got crossed up and lost control of the puck. Ever the quipster, O’Callahan pointed out in Sports Illustrated, “That one was for the point spread.”

Craig admitted the second BC goal was his miscue.

“That was my fault all the way,” he told the Daily Free Press. “The puck was coming toward me and Dick was trying to get it. I came out to try and clear it. We got confused and we both missed the puck.”

The Terriers knotted the score on the power play with just over five minutes left in the period when Silk beat Skidmore off a crisp pass from O’Callahan, giving the Terrier defenseman his sixth assist of the tournament, tying the NCAA mark that BU’s Bill Robbins had set three years earlier. It was Silk’s ninth goal in NCAA postseason play in just five games. A short-handed goal put BU back on top later in the period as Lamby picked off a BC pass and then sent a backhander ahead to Meagher, who was breaking down the left side. Meagher pulled the trigger and hit the net from 15 feet out, closing out the five-goal first period.

Meagher would strike again for the only goal of the second period. Boileau made a rush toward the net on a 2-on-1 break and got Skidmore to drop to the ice with a move. But instead of trying to roof the puck over the BC goaltender, he skated around the net and fed Meagher with a perfect pass in the slot. Meagher lit the lamp to give the Terriers a 4-2 advantage.

The explosive Fidler accounted for his second goal of the night just over a minute into the final session. A few quick passes by Lamby and Silk opened up a breakaway for him, and Fidler blasted a 15-footer by Skidmore to pad BU’s lead to three goals. BC tightened things up 2:30 later when Mark Switaj stole the puck from O’Neill and sent a pass to Steve Barger, who beat Craig from 15 feet out to make it a 5-3 game.

BC’s offense produced 14 shots over the final 20 minutes, but Craig stood tall in the crease, stopping late bids from Hehir and Charlie Antetomaso as well as a backhander in close off the stick of Mullen. The BU defense and Craig (28 saves) refused to fold down the stretch, and when the final buzzer sounded, a third wooden and gold-plated NCAA championship trophy was headed to the display case on Babcock Street, as the Terriers earned their 30th win in 32 games.

“The two things that pleased me the most were that it was an all-East final and that we are the best team in the nation,” Parker said in the post-game press conference. “We thought we had something to prove after we lost the ECACs. There was not a question in our mind who was the best team in the East. Then we heard Western teams were this and Western teams were that. We really wanted to play BC to make it an all-East final.”

“All four BU defensemen did a super job,” noted BC coach Len Ceglarski in the Journal, “and so did Mark Fidler. He does things you’d never expect a freshman to do, and he just never misses the net with his shot. I don’t think there’s a more complete hockey player than Mark Fidler.”

O’Callahan, Lamby, Silk and Fidler were named to the Final Four all-tournament team while O’Callahan also took home Most Outstanding Player honors.

Durocher, who watched from the bench as Craig played the final four games of the season, was the first Terrier to take a spin around the ice with the championship trophy. O’Callahan, his fellow co-captain, let him have that moment.

“I let him carry it alone because he’s a senior and he deserves it,” O’Callahan told the Free Press. “He’s had a great career.”

The outspoken OC also expressed relief that BU’s long journey from November 22 to March 25 ended on a positive note, especially after the slip-up in the ECAC tournament.

“We were 28-2 coming into this [NCAA] tournament, but we were on the outside looking in,” he told SI. “Now we’re on the inside looking out at the rest of them.”

Of course, the quick-witted and hard-nosed D-man from Charlestown also added a classic zinger at the Heights, in reference to BU’s 12 victories over the Eagles in the last 14 meetings.

“But we shouldn’t have to beat BC for the nationals,” O’Callahan told SI writer E.M. Swift, who as a Princeton goalie earlier in the decade had once allowed 14 goals in a game against the Terriers. “Hell, we can do that anytime.”

The following year, John Powers wrote a profile of O’Callahan in the Boston Globe. It appeared in print during the 1978-79 season when OC was named an All-American, along with teammate Craig, with both later going on to wear the red, white and blue USA jersey at Lake Placid. He tried to clarify his BC statement that appeared in SI the previous April.

“Here we were playing BC for the fourth time, but it was different. This was the NCAAs. So I said, what the hell are we doing playing BC for the national championship? Then someone said, you can beat them anytime, right? And I said, well, yeah. So they [BC] got all pumped up, they’re out to kill me.”

Skidmore, who earned the all-tournament nod over Craig at the ’78 NCAAs, related what it was like playing for four seasons against BU’s powerhouse teams of the 1970s.

“Just the name BU. That has some sort of psychological effect on teams. Everyone’s uptight. BU has that edge on everyone,” he told the Globe. “They beat us, they capitalize on our mistakes. When they make their initial rush they make it count. They set up. As soon as they get a shot on net, they take it. There’s always a guy in there for a rebound. They’re always skating 100 percent.”

Fidler, the standout player among Parker’s freshmen, was an easy choice for ECAC Rookie of the Year after posting a team-leading 30 goals and 35 assists in 31 games. Among those scoring totals were a team-best 16 power play goals, three hat tricks and five game-winners, tying Meagher in that category. Cotter was just one of four Terriers (along with Meagher, LeBlond and O’Neill) to play in all 32 games. Johnson, MacLeod and Paul Miller (10 goals) also skated regular shifts for most of the season.

“Certainly the development of the freshmen helped a great deal to our success,” Parker said. “But we also got great contributions from our other classes—especially the juniors as a whole. I just don’t know where we’d have been without them.”

Leading the way among the juniors were Bethel, who enjoyed the best season of his three-year varsity career with 25 goals (including nine on the power play) and 38 assists, tops among BU’s forwards; Craig, who compiled a sparkling 16-0 mark in the net with a 3.72 goals against average and .890 save percentage and who would later earn a spot on the ECAC All-Decade of the 1970s; and O’Callahan, voted the MVP of the Beanpot, the BU team MVP and the MOP at the NCAAs. He collected a team-high 47 assists and chipped in with eight goals (on a team-high 134 shots) while also garnering first team All-ECAC honors. And there was also his steady stream of quotes that always kept the Boston media satisfied. Other contributing juniors included Hetnik, a top-notch penalty-killer who had 12 goals and 25 assists; Boileau, with four game-winners (with two coming in overtime) among his nine goals; Mullen, he of the Beanpot hat trick; Melanson, a skilled penalty killer who led the team with two short-handers; and O’Neill, a reliable defender who also picked up 15 assists.

The sophomore trio of Silk, Meagher and LeBlond also pulled their fair share of the load, with Silk following up his standout freshman campaign with 27 goals (nine on the power play) and 31 assists; Meagher excelling as a penalty killer while adding 17 goals (with a pair of hat tricks) and 21 assists; and LeBlond notching eight goals and 15 assists, all while adding to his total of consecutive games (66) played.

Obviously, the veteran leadership provided by the Terriers’ three seniors was not to be overlooked. There was Durocher, who won 14 of 16 games in goal with a 3.99 GAA after overcoming injuries suffered in a car accident during the summer of ’77, as he closed out his solid BU career with a 47-13-1 mark; Lamby, the team’s highest-scoring defenseman and a key cog on the power play with 15 goals and 44 assists; and Marden, who contributed totals of 10 goals and 11 assists.

As a team the Terriers, who were a perfect 10-0 in one-goal games, outscored their opponents 199-127, including by a comfortable margin of 81-41 in the third period, when Parker’s team best exerted its will on the opposition. Although BU was outscored 7-3 in short-handed goals, the Terriers netted 51 goals in 163 power play opportunities while holding opponents to 34 goals in 154 chances.

For guiding BU to a one-loss regular season that culminated with a national title, Parker won the Spencer Penrose Award as the NCAA Coach of the Year, an award he also won following the 1974-75 campaign after leading the Terriers to a 26-5-1 mark.

“After failing the East four years in a row [in the NCAAs], I don’t know if they would have sent us again if we had won the ECACs,” joked Parker in the NCAA Guide. “It was a strange situation for us. The loss to Providence really shook us up because everything had been going our way. But the fact that we lost in the ECACs and bounced back with a bigger championship made it much more rewarding.

“It was very satisfying to win the NCAAs, especially after those frustrating losses in the first round the last four years.”

Five members of the 1977-78 team (Bethel, Craig, O’Callahan, Lamby and Silk) all advanced to play in the NHL for varying lengths of time at the conclusion of their collegiate careers.

Silk, who has gone on to a successful career in the financial field, was the featured guest speaker at the annual Beanpot luncheon in 1993. He spoke of what it was like to grow up in Scituate and go to Beanpot games as a kid, then later get the chance to skate on Garden ice and play in the tournament for the Terriers. But he also spoke of the bond that the 1977-78 Terriers had as teammates.

“One of the things that was special about the ’78 team is that it didn’t matter what we did away from the rink,” said Silk, a member of ECAC and NCAA title teams as a Terrier, as well as being part of 1980’s Miracle on Ice. “When we came to the rink and played in that game, we were family. We were all brothers. We had something special.”

A Band of Brothers in Scarlet and White—with the recognizable Terrier head adorning their chests—who delivered the school’s third NCAA hockey title of the 1970s, putting the finishing touches on a dominant decade for the Boston University hockey program.

Q&A With Tom Ryan

2009-03-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Terrier radio analyst Tom Ryan was co-captain—with current BU assistant head coach David Quinn—of BU’s 1987-88 team. Before arriving at BU, he starred at Newton North High School and this past season he returned to his high school alma mater as head coach. Now in his 16th season as Bernie Corbett’s partner on BU broadcasts, Ryan, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft choice, answered our questions in the latest THFB guest Q&A interview.

Q How has the level and/or style of play changed in Hockey East since you played for BU in the late 1980s?
A As far as the style of play , it was much more of a free wheeling game in the 80's .I think the coaching is so much better now from top to bottom with the advent of film study as well as the different defensive systems . Teams really focus on center ice play and transition as opposed to creating offense on forecheck and odd man rushes, which we used to see more often during the course of a game. I personally enjoyed playing and watching the game in the 80's compared to today’s game, but that's just my opinion.

Let me give you an example. The 1984-85 Boston College team had 240 goals and 637 total points. The current BC team, which is very talented, has thus far 110 goals and 295 total points. Which would you rather watch? That being said, the biggest difference of course is the goaltender. No position in sports has evolved in the past 20 years as much as the goaltender in hockey. Goalies are much more athletic now and that, along with bigger and better equipment, has produced some great goaltenders in recent years.

Q You’ve commented on the air about how today’s players have already been in elite level programs and have performed in pressure situations many times before college. Does that account for freshman who adapt faster to the college game?
A If you look at college hockey rosters, the majority of the players come from the U.S. development program or elite junior hockey programs in Canada or the U.S. As a result, they’re much more prepared to make the jump to Division One college hockey. As kids growing up, they also play in high-end, pressure-filled tournaments and sometimes travel as a team all season long, just as a junior or college team would do. Another reason they adapt better is that in many cases, they are 20 years old as freshman, not 18. There is a big difference not only physically but mentally.

Yet another difference now compared to years ago is that the kids are in much better condition and make hockey a year round commitment. Example: my son attended Mike Boyle's conditioning program at age14, whereas I did zero weight training before i got to BU.

Q Much has been made about the offensive ability of the BU defense this year, However, in a one-goal game in the third period at Regionals or (hopefully) the Frozen Four, does this defense corps (including Kieran Millan) have what it takes to hold a challenging opponent in check?
A I am absolutely positive that BU's defense and goaltender will handle any pressure situation successfully as they have demonstrated all season long. The defensive ability of BU's defensemen gets overlooked because of their great offensive ability. They have defended extremely well all season and are much improved from last year in that area. Millan has proven to be very good under pressure, playing with great poise, which has a calming influence on the whole team. Millan has made several important saves during this season. Remember, critical saves can come at all different times during a game. We’ve seen several different times this season when Kieran made a big save with BU leading 2-0, and that allowed BU to get the third goal and break the spirit of its opponent. That may not appear to be a pressure save, but it is.

Q On the broadcast, you often talk about defensemen maintaining gap control? Can you explain what that is?
A Gap control has always been important on defense. It's just that we started using the phrase recently. Someone must have heard Barry Melrose use it and now we broadcasters all copy it. Basically it's making sure defense man are staying up the ice and keeping opposing forwards within a stick length away to limit their time and space (more hockey lingo ) when they have the puck . This forces the puck carrier to make a play quicker than he wants to and enables the backchecking forwards to alter his options as well. This is called back pressure, another new phrase created in recent years.

Q Tom, you often give voice to the frustration Terrier fans –and coaches—feel when players make casual plays and don’t respond to opponents beating them to puck by playing with more urgency. Can a coach do anything during a period to reverse that trend and regain the upper hand?
A Casual play occurs for several reasons. First, it's impossible to play full speed all the time. As a broadcaster, I’m get involved in some games more than in others. It's human nature, and I can assure you, I’ll be involved Friday night, just as the team will.

At times, very athletic, talented and poised players will look like they are not playing full speed, when, in fact, they are. And sometimes, a team is playing with such confidence that they feel they don't have to play 100% and they will still win or the goalie will make the critical save. As far as the coaching part, I'm sure they call attention to it during the game but focus on it more in practice. That is when coaching is really done. I'm sure if you watched a practice, you would see a sense of urgency on the coaches’ part when they feel kids are not working hard enough. Lastly, as we have seen on occasion this season, the coaches will bench a player if they feel he is not putting out 100%. That, in my experience, seems to work the best. (Editors’ note: Those fans who sit on the opposite side of Agganis Arena from the BU bench have likely noticed Jack Parker taking a player “down the tunnel” to make a point.)

Q What is Jack Parker like in the locker room before big games? Does he successfully make in-game adjustments when things aren’t going well?
A My experience with Coach Parker on game day of a big game was that he made sure he came across as relaxed yet very focused. Teams tend to take on the identity of their coach and the last thing a coach wants to do is look uptight and nervous .The days prior to the game is when he really amps up the intensity in practice and does his best to get the team prepared. I think that, as opposed to his words, his actions are what separate him from any other coach I have played for or coached with. He carries himself in a way that exudes confidence and intensity. He understands that the team, on a Friday for instance, will be highly motivated and in this situation, he will probably preach playing "fast and loose." That’s one of his favorite quotes from “Fast” Eddie Felson, played by Paul Newman in the movie, The Hustler. Another ability that separates him is being able to sense how the team is playing and make subtle in-game changes. I don't want to give away all his secrets.

Q Terrier fans often debate whether Brandon Yip should remain at forward on power plays and David Warsofsky should be on the power play, as he was during the Denver Cup? Which side of that discussion do you favor?
A It’s tough to debate anything about BU’s power play, which has executed better than any other power play I’ve seen over the course of 30+ games. I think teams favor the umbrella formation now as opposed to the strong side defense look because it allows more passing options and better shooting lanes. Teams block shots so much better now, so you need to allow more creativity to get shots to the net. That being said, David Warsofsky is extremely talented and will be the quarterback on the power play, probably as soon as next year. I think you may see him get more power play time this season.

Q Among the Terrier defensemen, Eric Gryba has really turned it up a few notches this year. What has made the difference in his play?
A I’d say Eric Gryba has been the most improved player on the team along with John McCarthy. He appears to be playing much faster and with more confidence. Part of it is that he is 100 % healthy this year. Eric understands one of his jobs is too provide a physical presence, while focusing on his defensive play. That being said, he is moving the puck very well and showing great poise on the breakout as well as in the offensive zone. At times last year, he was playing afraid to get a penalty and was thinking to much, whereas this year he is much more relaxed. He and David Warsofsky are playing great and seem to be very comfortable with each other.

Q Jack Parker has pointed out more than a few times that this year's group of captains [McCarthy, Matt Gilroy, Brian Strait] is one of the best in his coaching tenure and has been a factor in the team's success. As a former BU captain, what kinds of things do captains do that have an impact on what we see on the ice?

A There is no question that this year’s team is getting great leadership not only from its captains, but from the entire senior class as well. The members of that class are having their best season, which is very unusual.

Captains are expected to be the hardest workers on the ice as well as off the ice, must always work within the team concept and can't be selfish no matter how well their season is going. Like coaches, the captains have to manage the egos on the team, so that everyone is focused on the team goals and not individual success.

You’ll see this if you watch the power play. See if the players fail to change up when they should or if they stay out longer trying to get a goal. This season, I can't remember an instance when either has occurred. Check the body language of the group coming off the ice. You’ll notice the group coming off usually supports the unit coming on; that is not always the case from team to team.

Lastly, the captains are the go-betweens with the coaches and their teammates, so it's important that they be good communicators. Obviously, these three have done a wonderful job this season.

Q Who were the top players you ever played with and against?
A Played with—John Cullen, Scott Young, Clark Donatelli, David Quinn, Peter Marshall, Joe Sacco to name a few. Anyone who reaches Division One is a great talent People just don’t understand how hard it is to get there. Played against—Brian Leetch, Craig Janney, Tony Hrkac, Tony Granato, Jon Morris, and many other great ones.

Q During your year as a BU co-captain, 87-88', the Terriers got off to a very rough start, but then came back to have a very good second half. As captain of the team, how did you keep your teammates focused?
A 11 When I look back on my senior season, I do so with great memories. Prior to the season, we lost Young and Donatelli to the U.S. Olympic team, Jim Ennis to the pros and Quinn, who also would have gone to the Olympics, but he had an illness that ended his career. And the previous year’s seniors—John Cullen, Ed Lowney, Terry Talifer and many others—were all key players. We dressed between 8 and12 freshmen. That and playing the interlocking schedule with the WCHA led to a slow start record-wise. As a captain I just tried to keep everyone positive and make sure the freshman felt comfortable and understood they were the future and the future was now. As the season progressed, we got great goaltending from Peter Fish and the freshman took control which led to the team’s improvement. I believe we ended up in third place in Hockey East, which was a great accomplishment. That group of freshman help lead the resurgence of the program and that led to the great successes BU had in the 90's.

Q Can you share one funny or memorable incident from your broadcasting career?
A Bernie and I have had many funny moments and many memorable moments together on the broadcasts. Broadcasting the 1995 championship season, however, is my greatest memory because the team had so many close calls on its way to experiencing that NCAA title.

BU's "throwback" third jerseys

2009-02-28T07:03:00.001-08:00

Best individual BU performance in past 25 years

2009-02-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

Nominees:

Joe Sacco - BU opposed Northeastern in the Hockey East Quarterfinal Series at Walter Brown Arena in the best-of-three matchup. Northeastern won the first game. BU took the second game. Sacco ensured would advance to the Semi-finals by scoring all five BU goals in the deciding game.

Tony Amonte - Amonte scored a hat trick in slightly more than five minutes against BC in the 1991 Beanpot final.

Shawn McEachern - McEachern's goal in overtime defeated Maine in the 1991 Hockey East Championship game, in as heart-stopping a game as any BU fan could ever watch. Phil von Stefenelli's pass through center ice to Tony Amonte standing just outside the Maine blueline started the play. Amonte slipped the puck over to McEachern who was in full stride. McEachern raced through the slot before tucking a buckhander between Garth Snow's pads.

Chris Drury - Drury scored four goals in a 6-4 win over Boston College. The spree included two shorthanded goalss (one when BU is one man down and one when BU is two men down), an even strength goal and an empty net goal.

Rick DiPietro - Freshman Rick DiPietro stopped more than 80 St. Lawrence shots in BU's epic 4-OT loss in the 2001 NCAA Regional Finals. A goal by Robin Carruthers from just outside the crease decided the affair by a 3 -2 count.

Point-scoring totals for first two varsity seasons

2009-02-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

Goals, assists and points scored in first two varsity seasons at BU. Games played in parentheses--if known. For full career stats (for most of those listed, go to hockeydb.com and type in a name.

Jack Garrity 85-56-141
Tony Amonte (79) 56- 70- 126
Dave Silk (62) 62- 61- 123
Mike Hyndman (60) 41- 78- 119
John Cullen (81) 50- 65- 115
Herb Wakabayashi (63) 40- 70- 110
John Danby (58) 53- 57- 110
Mark Fidler (60) 47- 58- 105
Bob Marquis (46) 65- 40- 105
Larry Davenport (58) 47- 57- 104
Shawn McEachern (79) 45- 59 - 104
Dick Lamby (54) 24- 80- 104 (transferred to BU from Salem State)
David Sacco (75) 35- 68- 103
Clark Donatelli (83) 45- 52- 97
Mickey Gray (63) 40- 56- 96
Mike Eruzione (63) 48- 48- 96
Chris Drury (76) 47- 48- 95
Mike Fidler (60) 46- 48- 94
Rick Meagher (62) 44- 49- 93
Serge Boily (61) 49- 44- 93
Fred Bassi (50) 50- 42- 92
Vic Stanfield (60) 21- 69- 90
Ric Jordan (61) 25- 65- 90
John Bethel (63) 39- 50- 89
Ron Anderson (62) 39- 48- 87
Terry Meagher (63) 44- 43- 87
Colin Wilson (76) 27- 58- 75
Steve Stirling (56) 33- 51- 84
Jim Quinn (66) 39- 44- 83
Jay Pandolfo 76 34- 48- 82
Dana Hixon 51- 31- 82
Dick Toomey (59) 36- 46- 82
David Tomlinson (68) 32- 50- 82
Jacques Joubert (81) 37- 42- 79 (transferred to BU from Princeton)
Chris O'Sullivan (71) 28- 51- 79
Ed Cahoon 40- 39- 79
Jack Murphy 55- 23- 78
Dick Kelley 34- 43- 77
Joe Sacco (67) 35- 41- 76
Jack Kelley 49- 26- 75
Mike Denihan (36) 38- 36- 74
Bill Robbins (60) 36 37 73
Ed Lowney (82) 39- 33- 72
Mike Grier (76) 38- 34- 72
Mike Sullivan (67) 31- 40- 71
Bill Burlington (59) 25- 45- 70
Brian Gilmour (66) 23- 46- 69
Mike Sobeski (64) 35- 34- 69
Mike Pomichter (65) 27- 41- 68
Dave MacLeod (50) 41- 27- 68
Bob Gryp (57) 32- 36- 68

Jack Parker Coaching Career Milestones

2009-01-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

► Dec. 21, 1973: Named 10th BU Head Coach
► Dec. 27, 1973: First victory-BU 3 Dartmouth 1
► Feb. 10, 1975: First Beanpot title- BU 7 Harvard 2
► Dec. 30, 1977:-100th victory-BU 6 Michigan State 3
► Mar. 25, 1978: First NCAA title-BU 5 BC 3
► Mar. 1, 1983: 200th victory-BU 3 BC 0
► Mar. 15, 1986: First Hockey East Championship-BU 9 BC 4
► Mar. 25, 1978: First NCAA title-BU 5 BC 3
► Nov. 28, 1987: 300th victory- BU 6 Colorado College 1
► April 1, 1995: Second NCAA title-BU 6 Maine 2
► Nov. 21, 1995: 500th victory-BU 7 Cornell 1
► Mar. 15, 1997: Fifth Hockey East Championship-BU 4 New Hampshire 2
► Nov. 27, 1999: 600th victory- BU 5 Colorado College 1
► Dec. 3, 2004: 700th victory- BU 3 BC 2
► Jan. 30, 2009: 800th victory-BU 3 Merrimack 1