By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff
Sophomore center Danny O’Regan has already played against his older brother Tommy twice since he arrived at Boston University. However, it will be a close call to see if he makes it to the Bright-Landry Hockey Center to help the Terriers take on Tommy and the rest of the Harvard University men’s hockey team Saturday night.
Danny and sophomore defenseman Matt Grzelcyk are returning from Malmö, Sweden after the United States World Junior squad fell to Russia in the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Junior Championships. It is unknown at this point whether or not the duo will be back in time to play, but one thing is for sure — BU coach David Quinn wants them in his lineup.
“I’ll pick them up at the airport if I have to,” Quinn said.
Quinn would certainly welcome two of his best players back to his lineup, especially with his team trying to begin the second half of the season on a positive note. The Terriers (7-8-2, 2-4-1 Hockey East) sputtered into the winter break, going winless in their final three games including a 4-1 loss to Bentley University.
Part of the struggle entering the break had to do with the lack of depth on the squad, as junior center Cason Hohmann and sophomore winger Mike Moran missed time with injuries. Both are expected to be back for Saturday’s game against the Crimson (4-7-2, 2-6-2 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference), which will certainly be a boost for an offense that scored two goals or fewer in the final three games before the break.
Hohmann’s return will be an important one in particular for the Terriers, as he will bring some more experience to the team’s top-six forwards. After finishing the 2012-13 season among the top-3 BU point scorers, Hohmann started this season with nine points in 12 games.
The Terriers will also be looking for a strong return from Sweden for Grzelcyk, who recorded a team-high six points among USA defensemen during the tournament. Grzeclyk, who quarterbacked the top USA power-play unit, helped USA to its 40.74 power-play percentage throughout the tournament.
“People say, ‘Gee, why hasn’t he had that type of year for you?’ I think he has,” Quinn said. “I think he has had that type of year for us. He’s been arguably our best player in my opinion.”
BU will be taking on a Harvard team that has had some injury trouble this season — most notably playing without junior Colin Blackwell. The San Jose Sharks draft pick missed the final six games of the 2012-13 season with a concussion, and has not played this season yet due to post-concussion syndrome.
Forward Jimmy Vesey has paced the Crimson’s offense though, leading the team with eight goals. However, even he has not been able to help Harvard’s woeful power play, which is second-worse in the ECAC with a 13.7 conversion percentage.
Beating Harvard is just the first step for Quinn’s squad, as it begins the second half of a season in which it will look to bounce back from a tough start to the season. This contest and the ensuing game against Dartmouth University are the final two non-conference games of the season besides the Beanpot, so now is the first chance to get back into a rhythm before a long Hockey East stretch.
“Obviously we play two non-league games to start, but once we get going we are going to be getting into the heart of the Hockey East season and hopefully put ourselves in a better position than we are today,” Quinn said. “Hopefully your freshmen have improved and the break has done them good and you come back recharged and having got a grasp on what goes on in college hockey on a day-to-day basis and hopefully have success.
Is Hohmann still too brittle to play?