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.
“We can’t worry about where we’re gonna finish at the end of the season,” junior defenseman and captain Kevin Shattenkirk said. “We just have to worry about each game . . . We can’t worry about getting four points in a weekend. We have to focus on getting two points first.”
That simplistic approach is one of the results of the Terriers’ two-week break following a 5-3 loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Dec. 11. The time away from the rink gave players a chance to forget about hockey for a little while and come back rejuvenated.
“I think it was good for everyone,” Shattenkirk said of the break. “Everyone just went home, had some family time, got their minds off hockey for a little bit, which was good . . . I went home, and I didn’t even bring my equipment. I kind of just sat around and thought about things a little bit, what changes could be made. Just kind of relax and get ready to change everything around this half.”
“I think there seems to be a little better attitude in terms of being enthusiastic in practice,” BU coach Jack Parker said. “They’re not dreary. They’re not down. I think they were really depressed after we lost to RPI. Getting away for a little while was good. If we had practice the next couple days after that, it would’ve been tough.”
BU’s first test of the new semester comes against the same team it played in its regular-season opener. On Oct. 16, the Minutemen (11-6-0, 6-4-0) defeated the Terriers, 3-2, in Amherst. Both teams were led by freshmen in that matchup. UMass rookie Rocco Carzo had a goal and two assists, and Alex Chiasson netted both goals for BU.
The Minutemen raced out to a 7-1-0 start this season and staked an early claim to the top spot in Hockey East, but have since dropped to fourth following a 3-4-0 stretch to end the first half. They’re already two games into the second half, as they participated in the UConn Hockey Classic earlier this week. UMass beat No. 18 Union College, 4-3, in the first round on Tuesday, but lost to Bentley University, 4-1, in Wednesday’s championship game.
UMass is led by its explosive offense, which ranks eighth in the country with 3.53 goals per game. Shouldering most of that load is the outstanding 1-2 punch of junior James Marcou and sophomore Casey Wellman. Marcou leads the nation in assists (25) and points per game (1.76) and is tied for first in points (30). Wellman is second in goals (15), first in goals per game (0.88) and fifth in points per game (1.47).
“They’re just great players,” Shattenkirk said. “You have James, who’s just a great playmaker, and that bodes well for Casey because he can put the puck away. I think we just have to be tight on them and be hard to play against. You can’t really give them much room. We just have to do what we can to hit them every chance we get and try to frustrate them as much as possible.”
Game Notes: After Thursday’s practice, Parker said he wasn’t going to decide who would start in net Saturday until after Friday’s practice. He did, however, say that he expects to continue to use some sort of rotation in the second half. … Sophomore forward Vinny Saponari was limited in practice this week with back spasms, but is expected to play Saturday. He is expected to be on the top line with junior Nick Bonino and sophomore Chris Connolly. … BU will be without the services of junior forward Joe Pereira, who is recovering from hernia surgery, and sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky, who is playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championships.
Recent Comments