By Tim Healey/DFP Staff
Jack Parker, after growing up playing hockey and coaching the Boston University men’s team for 39 years now, knows a thing or two about the game, especially the power play. Parker even created an instructional video teaching different power play constructions in 1999.
“The power play is a streaky thing,” Parker said back on Nov. 3. “You can go 0-for-15 [and it looks terrible], and all of a sudden you can go 5-for-15 and it looks very good, and it really is important how well it goes during certain games, certain stretches certain times of the game.”
That was two days before an eventual 7-1 loss to University of Massachusetts-Lowell, a game in which the Terriers (5-4-1, 4-3-1 Hockey East) were 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
But now, two weeks later and after the No. 16 Terriers held on for a 4-3 win over University of Vermont at Agganis Arena Friday night, the power play looks significantly better.
BU capitalized by scoring two of its four goals against the Catamounts (1-6-1, 0-5-1 Hockey East) on the power play, getting tallies from sophomore forward Charlie Coyle and sophomore defenseman Garrett Noonan.
The Terriers tied the game at one apiece at 9:02 in the first period on a goal from senior forward Corey Trivino, then Vermont defenseman Nick Bruneteau took a cross-checking penalty about 40 seconds later. Coyle took advantage at 10:21.
His tally capped the end of a minute-and-a-half interval in the middle of the period that served as a huge momentum shift for BU.
“It’s a game of momentum,” said Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon. “BU did a nice job of wrestling it back, and that was a point right there where they did a good job of gaining the momentum and built the lead there.
“BU did a nice job of changing their shape just enough to get our guys out of position and executed really well.”
The second man-advantage goal wouldn’t come until the end of the second period, when Noonan took a pass from sophomore forward Matt Nieto and put it in the net from the left circle. The goal was his fourth of the season, matching his total from last year.
Despite the team’s success, as well as his own, Noonan was almost at a loss for words at why the power play has suddenly snapped into shape.
“I’m not really sure [what’s working],” Noonan said. “I think just getting good puck movement. Coach [Parker] has talked about taking shots, more shots, and I don’t know. We’ve been doing that and it’s working.”
He wasn’t lying. After having one of the worst power plays in the league in the early going, BU is slowly moving its way up. The Terriers have upped their success rate to 16.4 percent, which is good for just eighth out of the ten teams in Hockey East, but for now BU will just ride the hot streak.
The increase is also thanks in part to last Sunday’s game at Boston College. In that game, BU got power-play goals from junior forwards Wade Megan and Alex Chiasson en route to the 5-0 win and another 2-for-5 performance with the man-advantage.
The success on the whole is a part of the team’s changed approach to that side of special teams. Of late, Parker has been giving his power-play squads a general formula and letting them decide what to do with it, letting them be creative on their own.
For now, it’s working – and not just when the team scores.
“We moved the puck better on some of the power plays we didn’t score on,” Parker said. “I thought special teams won the game for us obviously.”
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