By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff

The nine Boston University men’s hockey freshmen all got a small sample of what college hockey is like in Sunday’s 5–0 exhibition win over the University of Toronto. The newcomers will get the full experience of Hockey East at 7 p.m. Saturday as No. 12/14 BU will take on Providence College at Agganis Arena in the season opener.

The Terriers did not fare well in their first matchup of the season with Providence last year, falling 5–3 on the road. However, the Terriers got their revenge on the Friars later in the season, beating Providence 6–1 and 8–0 in January.

Even with both lineups filled with young players — Providence's 14 freshmen tops BU's nine — BU coach Jack Parker said that he could use the three games his team played against Providence last year to help prepare for Saturday.

“They’ve got some good returning guys coming back,” Parker said. “I remember they blitzed us right after we got off the bus down there, but then we kind of blitzed them here.

“I would say that those games last year give us a pretty good indication of the style of the new coaches — what Providence plays under [Providence coach] Nate [Leaman] now as opposed to what they played under [former Providence coach Tim] Army.”

The Friars will ride the bus up to Boston only a day after their game with Sacred Heart, which may leave the Terriers with fresher players than Providence. However, Parker said he does not see the night of rest as an advantage for BU.

“This would be a lot different if this was December or this was January,” Parker said. “In some ways this might be an advantage to them because they are playing a real game that counts … That is an advantage. It is a disadvantage that they have to play the night before and we don’t. So I would say that it is probably a wash.”

Thursday marks the annual hockey preview edition of The Daily Free Press, and this year more than half of the 12-page issue is dedicated to hockey.

So if you're on campus, be sure to grab a copy (or three to share with your friends), but for those of you who are not, we've taken the time to direct you to all of the issue's articles in one tidy blog post here.

Our season preview -- the front page story -- details the 2012-13 squad position by position.

Head coach Jack Parker, who is entering his 40th season at the helm of the Terriers, had some interesting comments on the task force and ensuing controversy.

Ryan Ruikka is an assistant captain this year as he goes for his second master's degree.

One of the biggest question marks on this year's team is the goaltending situation, but both freshmen, Matt O'Connor and Sean Maguire, are ready to split time in net.

Another profile takes a look at Matt Nieto and his long journey to becoming one of BU's top offensive threats.

Sean Escobedo has his focus in two main areas for his senior season: limiting his time in the penalty box and winning some trophies.

On the women's side, the season preview has the Terriers looking for a third straight NCAA bid, and a profile looks at Marie-Philip Poulin -- now a co-captain -- and her lengthy injury history.

And finally, this lighthearted "Seven Questions" Q&A with senior captain Wade Megan is pretty funny.

Three Up

Power play
If one thing went right for the Boston University men’s hockey team in Sunday’s 5–0 win over the University of Toronto, it was the team’s success on the power play. Sure, the team had 11 opportunities to capitalize with the man advantage, but the Terriers capitalized on five of those opportunities, providing all of the team’s scoring.

Perhaps the best part of the power-play performance for the Terriers was the fact that five different people scored goals on the day. Junior forward Matt Nieto, freshman forward Mike Moran and sophomore forwards Yasin Cissé, Evan Rodrigues and Cason Hohmann all scored goals on the power play.

“Sometimes we over-coach the power play. So it’s good to let them just go out and play,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “We think we’re going to have a real good power play because we had, in league games last year, the best power play in the league last year.

The team’s different options on the power play will make decisions a lot easier in the future for Parker, as the team showed it has many different players who can help the power play.

All photos by Michael Cummo/DFP Staff

Time/location: 1 p.m., Agganis Arena

BU lines:
Nieto - Gill - Cissé
Megan - Hohmann - Rodrigues
Rosen - O'Regan - Santana
Lane - Myron - Kurker
Moran

Noonan - Ruikka
Escobedo - Privitera
Grzelcyk - Oksanen
MacGregor

O'Connor
Maguire

University of Toronto lines: TBA

Referees: Kevin Keenan, Kevin Shea
Assistant Referees: Bob Bernard, Brendan Blanchard