By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff
Boston University men’s hockey forward Sahir Gill admits he failed to meet expectations during the first two months of the season, as he quickly plummeted from a key role on the first line to a third-line contributor.
The Terrace, British Columbia, native took nine games to score his first goal of the season, and had only recorded one assist up to that point in the season.
However, after some notably stronger play as of late, Gill made his return to the first line in Thursday night’s matchup with No. 1 University of New Hampshire and immediately proved he belonged there, scoring a goal in No. 7 BU’s 3–2 victory.
“I think maybe I put a little too much emphasis on points and not necessarily playing the right way,” Gill said about his play earlier in the season. “I obviously got a wake-up call or two from Coach, and I think it was a good thing just to be able to remember that if you play the right way, you are going to get your bounces. You are going to be able to produce.”
It only took Gill until the second period to make his impact on the first line, when he took a saucer pass from junior defenseman Garrett Noonan in on goal and beat back-to-back Hockey East Goaltender of the Month winner Casey DeSmith through his five-hole.
The goal was the second of the season for Gill, which gives him five points total.
Gill said his instant impact did not come as a surprise to him, and that he thinks he can continue making that type of impact going forward.
“I mean, I expect to score, I expect to produce,” Gill said. “I am concerned about playing the right way and I think if I can keep doing that, things will hopefully be able to go my way and I’ll be able to contribute because I obviously have more in me than I have [shown] so far this semester.”
Gill’s performance was not limited to just offensive production, as he made some key plays on the defensive end as well. BU took nine penalties in the game and Gill played significant time on the penalty kill, including the final 6-on-4 kill to seal the victory.
It was the first time Gill had been paired up with Megan and Hohmann on the season, and it ended well for the Terriers, as everyone on that line was a plus-2.
Megan finished the night with five shots and a goal, while Hohmann added two assists to his team-leading total of 13.
“It is two really good offensive players who are both dangerous with the puck … I was happy to be out there with them,” Gill said. “Obviously it was good tonight and it was just one game, but hopefully we can get some momentum going before the break.”
Thursday’s performance was a good sign for the first line, which had recently had Yasin Cissé playing right wing for it. BU coach Jack Parker had planned on moving Gill into Cissé’s spot earlier in the week, which helped lead to Cissé’s departure of the team.
Parker planned on moving Gill to the first line partly because of Cissé’s lack of production, but partly due to Gill’s strong play while skating with the third line as of late. In the last five games before Thursday night’s BU win, Gill had scored three points and looked more confident in both the offensive and defensive zones.
“I’ve been impressed with him the last three or four games, and that’s why we moved him up there, because he’s working hard,” Parker said. “I thought he made some nice plays tonight.”
The third line did not suffer without Gill, though, as the all-freshman line of Mike Moran, Wesley Myron and Sam Kurker accounted for the game-winning goal. Kurker scored his second goal of the season thanks to a bouncing puck, while Myron earned his first assist of his collegiate career.
While Gill had success with that third line, the Terriers will need him to continue to be an impact player now that he is back on the first line.
“You don’t want to be a liability to the team. You want to play the right way,” Gill said. “At the end of the day all that matters is getting two points for the team.”
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