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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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