By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff
If there is one player who has been asked to do it all this season for the Boston University men’s hockey team, it is senior defenseman and captain Garrett Noonan. In every situation, whether it is a power play, penalty kill or key moment at the end of the game, Noonan has been called upon to do the job.
With sophomore defenseman Matt Grzelcyk injured and a thin group of defensemen left over, Noonan has logged significant minutes this season. He is a minus-12 on the season, but 11 of those goals have come in situations when BU (10-20-4, 5-12-3 Hockey East) has pulled the goalie.
“He has been relied on a lot,” said BU coach David Quinn before his team’s weekend sweep over Northeastern University. “I think the thing that’s happened is he has really improved his play without the puck.”
It would have been nice if Noonan could have not been directly responsible for so many empty net goals. I remember if falling down on several occasions to let the team easily score.