Transcription by Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff General comments:
First of all, I really thought we would come out and play really well tonight because we had an unbelievably great practice yesterday. There seemed to be a monkey off our back or what have you. It seemed like they all exhaled and were ready to play. We gave up a lot of shots, but we didn’t give up a lot of grade-A shots. That’s a pretty quick team. They can generate offense. I was pleased with our overall effort.

Transcriptions by Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff On his 100th career point:
It’s exciting. I mean, it’s an honor to join the other guys who have gotten the 100 points already. Making the play is half the battle. You need guys who can put it in the net. Ross was big tonight getting the goals, and then Popko added it for the 100th. So, it was good that they were there and shoving it in I guess.

All photos by Sarah Gordon/DFP Staff

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

Led by a pair of goals from sophomore Ross Gaudet, the Boston University men’s hockey team rolled to a 6-2 win over the No. 14/15 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Friday night at Agganis Arena.

BU junior Nick Bonino added three assists for the Terriers, giving him 100 points for his career. Junior Colby Cohen added a goal and an assist for BU, while sophomore goalie Kieran Millan made 39 saves.

Jacques Joubert, captain of the 1995 BU hockey team that won the Beanpot, Hockey East title and NCAA championship, will be inducted into the BU Hall of Fame this summer.

Joubert is 32nd on the BU all-time scoring list with 131 points (66 goals, 65 assists) in three seasons with the Terriers –– Joubert transfered in from Princeton after his freshman season.

Among others in this year's class are football players Marc Fauci and Chris Helon, soccer standout Ben Okaroh, and softball players Robyn King and Michelle White.

Inductions will take place on May 22 at the Trustees' Ballroom on the ninth floor of the School of Management.

The full press release can be read here.

By Cary Betagole/DFP Staff

After his team’s blood, sweat and tear stained win over Boston College on Friday, Boston University men’s hockey coach Jack Parker was asked who among his players had stepped their game up the most.

“I thought they all did,” he said.

It’s safe to say lightning didn’t strike for the second time at Agganis Arena on Saturday night.

University of New Hampshire senior goalie Brian Foster stood taller than any of the Terriers (8-11-3, 6-9-2), making 34 saves including a few big ones during a one-minute stint of 6-on-3 in the third period to carry the Wildcats (12-7-4, 11-2-3) to a 4-1 victory.

Read more at www.dailyfreepress.com

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

Boston University men’s hockey coach Jack Parker didn’t have much to say after Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the No. 16 University of New Hampshire. The list of positive things he had to say was even shorter.

“It’s hard to comment on this game, because I don’t want to take away from how well New Hampshire played,” Parker said. “I thought they played very well.”

That’s about where the positivity ended.

Read more at www.dailyfreepress.com

Transcriptions by Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff

General comments:
It’s hard to comment on this game because I don’t want to take away from how well New Hampshire played, because I thought they played very well. But I thought we absolutely stunk. I saw Craig Janney, who announced the games last night and tonight, and he said, ‘Hey, you laid an egg tonight, but you had a good game last night.’ And that’s exactly what we did. We laid an egg tonight.

It’s obvious to me that leadership is lacking. Our juniors and our seniors had horrible nights tonight, in general. I’m worried about our freshmen and sophomores thinking this is how you are supposed to play, especially our freshmen.

I thought we had a pathetic emotional effort tonight. Our team was not ready to play. I could tell it from two minutes into the game. It’s a sad statement that our team, my team, was not ready to play hockey. They’re just easily satisfied or it’s not that important to them.

All photos by Sarah Gordon/DFP Staff

Transcriptions by Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff

Vinny Saponari

On what he thought the message Parker was trying to send to him was:
We need to find our identity as a team, and I think myself too. I know that I’m a power forward and a guy that needs to bring energy and play physical and grind in the corners, stuff like that. I’m usually a pretty consistent both-ways player. He just said that he wanted me to get back to the basics basically, and just be the solid player I was all last year.

On his experience as a baseball player:
You always mess around in practice, you know, hitting pucks around and stuff like that. It’s just a fun chance to hit one like that in a game. Always a little luck there, too.

Transcriptions by Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

It had everything you could ever expect from a game between Boston University and Boston College –– fast pace, lots of scoring chances, great saves, plenty of physical play, a raucous crowd and an overtime to boot.

When junior defenseman Colby Cohen’s slap pass from the left point deflected off freshman defenseman Brian Dumoulin’s skate and into the back of the BC net a minute into that overtime, the Terrier faithful who made the trip to the other end of Comm. Ave. exploded in jubilation. The Conte Forum regulars either sunk sullenly in their seats or turned in haste for the exits.

Regardless of rooting interests, everyone had to marvel at the rollercoaster game that had just ended. BU (8-10-3, 6-8-2 Hockey East) and No. 10/11 BC (12-7-2, 9-5-2) split four goals in the first. Then the Terriers took control in the second and carried a two-goal lead into the third, only to have the Eagles make a frantic comeback and tie the game with less than six minutes to go.

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

The Boston University men’s hockey team entered the third period of Friday night’s contest with No. 10 Boston College with a two-goal lead.

With just over five minutes to play in regulation, the lead had evaporated, along with what looked to be any momentum the Terriers had mustered from a series of stellar saves from sophomore netminder Kieran Millan. The goalie faced eight shots from the grade-A area in the third period alone.

It wasn’t the first time the Terriers had been tested late in games this season, but experience hadn’t been an aide to BU in the recent past.

All photos by Sarah Gordon/DFP Staff

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

Offense – Grade B
The Terriers were outshot 43-27 by the Warriors –– 26-14 through the first two periods –– and Nick Bonino said the Terriers lacked any consistent even-strength offense through the first two periods. Still, BU turned things around quickly in the third, knocking home consecutive even-strength tallies before netting an empty-netter to ice the game late. Bonino shelled out four assists, while Ross Gaudet and Joe Pereira each tallied goals and assists on each other’s goals.

Defense – Grade C-
Twice the Terriers turned and watched as Merrimack skaters blew by them to the net and beat netminder Grant Rollheiser. The Warriors scored two even-strength goals, adding another with the extra attacker with 1:14 left to go. Merrimack’s first goal was likely the worst defensive effort on BU’s part for the night, as Carter Madsen picked up a puck at the blue line and made a deke to the slot that left Eric Gryba watching the rest of the play from his rear out by the left faceoff dot.

Goaltending – Grade A-
Rollheiser was, by Jack Parker’s account, BU’s best player on the ice Saturday night. Rollie the Goalie turned away 39 Merrimack shots –– a personal career high –– and improved his season record to 2-0-3. In the third period, the Warriors peppered Rollheiser with 17 shots –– nine from Grade-A areas. For the game, Rolheiser turned away 19-of-21 shots from below the faceoff dots.

Special Teams – Grade B+
A night after going 0-for-8 on the power play, BU put up a 2-for-6 effort –– Colby Cohen got both goals –– Saturday against what proved to be a tough Merrimack penalty kill. Parker was pleased with his power-play’s efforts after the game, noting that he thought Merrimack did an excellent job on the PK. On the flip side, BU kept one of the nation’s best power plays to a respectable 1-for-5 performance, though the Terriers did allow nine shots to the Warriors while a man down.

X-Factor – The Wade Megan Line
Megan gets his name in the headline for being the center, but Joe Pereira and Ross Gaudet stole the show Saturday night. A night after Pereira created a goal for Gaudet with a forced turnover and a centering pass, the pair connected twice for tallies Saturday –– Pereira assisted on Gaudet’s opening tally and Gaudet returned the favor by assisting on Pereira’s winner in the third. The pair’s high energy and quick skating have been wreaking havoc with opponents, especially over the last two nights.

For what it’s worth, the 12-penalty second period gets an honorable mention for this.

Fourteen shots on eight chances is the mark of a very good power play. Not scoring on those eight chances is not.

That’s the type of night it was for the Terriers in their 3-1 loss at Providence College on Friday. Good movement. Good possession. Good looks. Good shots. No goals.

“Special teams were the difference in the game,” BU coach Jack Parker said. “We had a lot of chances, but we just didn’t get it done.”

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

After consecutive wins over the No. 19 University of Massachusetts-Amherst and No. 12 Boston College, the Boston University men’s hockey team appeared to be turning a corner.

Friday night at Providence College, the Terriers (6-10-3, 4-8-2 Hockey East) took the proverbial one step back for their two steps forward, losing to the Friars (8-10-1, 3-8-1), 3-1.

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

The ascent has begun, or so it appears.

After a disappointing first half left the Boston University men’s hockey team well below .500 and at the basement of the Hockey East standings, the Terriers kicked off the second semester with consecutive wins against the No. 19 University of Massachusetts-Amherst and No. 12 Boston College.

This weekend, the Terriers (6-9-3, 4-7-2 HE) have a chance to distance themselves from Hockey East’s cellar with games against last place Providence College and ninth place Merrimack College.

Read more at www.dailyfreepress.com

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

1) No. 12 Boston College (11-6-2, 8-4-2)

Before winter break, the Eagles separated themselves from the rest of Hockey East by going 6-0-1 in their last seven games heading into the layoff. Since the holidays, they’ve done a dandy job of coming back to the pack. BC lost three in a row to start the second half before finally picking up a 4-1 win over Providence on Tuesday night. The Eagles are the only team to rank in the top two in the conference in offense (3.47 goals per game), defense (2.74 goals-against average) and special teams net (+9).

2) No. 16 University of Maine (11-7-2, 8-4-1)

The Black Bears, who’ve finished eighth or worse in each of the last two seasons, haven’t lost since Nov. 20, posting a 7-0-2 record since. They concluded December with an impressive 3-2 win over No. 8 Colorado College in the championship game of the Florida College Classic. Maine boasts the nation’s No. 3 offense (3.75 GPG) and No. 1 power play (28.8%), both of which owe a lot to sophomore forward Gustav Nyquist, who ranks second in the conference with 31 points (13g, 18a).

-Junior defenseman Colby Cohen left practice after falling hard on his hip following a collision at center ice. Coach Jack Parker said he would have to see how sore Cohen was tomorrow before determining his availability for this weekend's games against Providence and Merrimack.

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that the Boston University men’s hockey team defeated No. 12 Boston College, 3-2, on Friday night at Fenway Park to pick up its second straight win over a ranked opponent and move into a sixth-place tie in Hockey East.

Although that result is certainly the most important thing to take away from Sun Life Frozen Fenway in the short term, perhaps the most important aspect in the long term is just how successful the event as a whole was.

Read more at www.dailyfreepress.com

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

The Boston University men’s hockey team picked up its second straight win over a ranked opponent when it defeated No. 7/8 Boston College, 3-2, on Friday night at Fenway Park.

The Terriers (6-9-3, 4-7-2 Hockey East) scored the game’s first three goals to take a commanding lead, but the Eagles (10-6-2, 7-4-2) stormed back in the second half of the game to pull within one. They had several chances to tie it in the final 10 minutes, but BU was able to hang on for the victory thanks to some big saves from sophomore goalie Kieran Millan (27 saves) and some timely blocks from the BU defense.

With the win, the Terriers jump from an eighth-place tie in the conference standings to a sixth-place tie. BU and the University of Vermont both have 10 points, nine behind first-place University of New Hampshire.

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

There isn’t much Boston University men’s hockey sophomore David Warsofsky hasn’t done in the last eight months.

Pick up an assist to help boost his team to a national championship? Check.

Tally two assists and register a plus-5 rating in seven games as an assistant captain of a gold medal squad representing his country? Check.

Score a goal in one of the most unique hockey venues ever created –– one where his favorite baseball team has played since 1912?

You get the idea.

Here's a quick look at the Terriers Frozen Fenway jerseys. Scroll down for the live blog

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

With all the hoopla surrounding Friday night’s showdown between Boston University and No. 7/8 Boston College at Fenway Park, it might be difficult to remember that there is something more important than bragging rights on the line –– two points in the Hockey East standings.

All it takes is one look at those standings to realize how important every point is to the Terriers (5-9-3, 3-7-2 HE) right now. They’re currently tied for eighth place with eight points, 10 behind first-place University of New Hampshire and eight behind the second-place Eagles (10-5-2, 7-3-2).

Read more at www.dailyfreepress.com

By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff

After Blake Wheeler and Miroslav Satan scored to give the Boston Bruins a first-period lead, the Chicago Blackhawks ran off five straight goals and chased B’s netminder Tim Thomas in a 5-2 win Thursday night.

“I thought against a team like this, probably the best team in the league right now, you have to manage the puck very well, and we didn’t do that well enough tonight,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said.

A few notes from media at Fenway Park:

-BU took the ice at 3:45, and after a few minutes of warmups, scrimmaged for 10 minutes or so. After the scrimmage, Parker ran them through 2-3 drills and worked them until around 4:20, then were joined on the ice by coach Mike Bavis' son and Scott Lachance's kids/Parker's grandchildren. The team spent the rest of the practice session goofing around on the ice. Certainly seemed like a good time was had by all.

-Joe Pereira practiced in full, and indications are that, barring something unforeseen, he'll be good to go for Friday's game.

-David Warsofsky was not back from Saskatoon, where he helped the US capture gold at the World Junior Championships last night. The Marshfield native is expected to fly back to Boston tonight.

-BU coach Jack Parker said after practice that the ice was "fair," adding that there were some soft spots he believed were caused by the sun. There were other activities on the ice before BU practiced today (there was a men's league game going on when I arrived at 3), and Parker said he thinks the ice will be pampered a bit more between the women's game and the men's game Friday night than it was before practice today, when they just ran the zamboni once around.

-Kieran Millan will get the nod in net. Parker cited his solid performance against UMass last weekend as a reason why. Millan is actually very familiar with the outdoor game, and said he was a member at an outdoor rink in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. Millan mentioned he thought the conditions for Friday would be relatively warm, to which I told him he should expect to be playing in the low teens, to which he reminded me that it gets to 30º-below pretty regularly in Edmonton. The lesson learned here, of course, is that you should just not bother talking winter weather with a Canadian...

-Talked to Millan about the sightlines, and he said that he actually feels more comfortable outdoors than he does in Agganis or other indoor rinks. Parker said he thought it felt weird because there was space behind the boards –– not seats –– but Millan said that wouldn't be a problem for him at all.

-Neither Parker or Millan seemed to think the lights would give them much trouble, but I stepped outside and took a look around once the sun was down, and there is a light pole located perfectly at each end of the ice, meaning pucks dumped into the air could be tough to pick up. For those who have played baseball, picture trying to track a flyball in centerfield with a light right behind home plate –– then factor in that it'll be dark and the puck is black. Of course, this shouldn't cause too many problems with shots or passes, but when teams dump a puck into the zone, things could get dicey. Considering the rink is NHL-sized (smaller than a college rink, especially behind the cage), there's potential for some bloopers as goalies play dumps into the zone.

Wraps up everything important I have to say. Scott will have a preview up for you guys in the next day or so, so keep an eye out for that.

Still figuring out the best way to post this stuff, but for now, it looks like you're going to have to download the audio to your computer. A mild pain, but it's the best I can do for now:

UMass senior Brett Watson and coach Don Cahoon

BU coach Jack Parker

BU senior Zach Cohen and junior Colby Cohen

Enjoy, and if anybody out there is a Blogger expert and thinks they can walk me through getting this audio feeds posted straight to the blog, feel free to email me at [email protected]. A little help would be more than welcome.

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

Just about every change Boston University coach Jack Parker made over the winter break paid off in Saturday’s 7-3 win over the No. 15 University of Massachusetts. Giving the players more time off than usual seemed to rejuvenate and refocus everyone. The new forward lines and defense pairings worked like a well-oiled machine. One of the biggest changes, though, was a new power play that went 3-for-6 in the game.

Normally, the Terriers’ top power-play unit features juniors Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen at the point with one forward on each wing and another in the slot. The goal is to set up shots from the point and get traffic in front for deflections and rebounds.

On Saturday, though, Parker employed what he referred to as a “reverse umbrella,” a formation the Terriers began practicing earlier in the week. In this setup, Shattenkirk was stationed in the center of the blue line with Cohen on the left wing, sophomore Chris Connolly on the right wing, junior Nick Bonino behind the net and sophomore Vinny Saponari in the slot.

By Jake Seiner
Daily Free Press Staff

The Boston University men’s hockey team entered Saturday’s contest with the No. 15 University of Massachusetts with a disastrous 4-9-3 start to their season in the rearview mirror.

By game’s end, the Terrier’s were driving full speed to a turnaround for their season, knocking off the Minutemen 7-3 at Agganis Arena.

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

The Boston University men’s hockey team looks to move on from its disappointing first semester and start turning its season around when it hosts the No. 15 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Terriers (4-9-3, 2-7-2 Hockey East) currently sit in ninth place in the conference after being picked first in the preseason coaches poll. The outlook is bleak. BU’s only hope of earning an at-large NCAA bid is to have a second half like last season (15-1-3) or 2005-06 (15-2-2). Most likely, the Terriers will have to win the Hockey East title in order to make the NCAA Tournament.

The team, however, isn’t thinking about any of that.