Month: April 2014

From the FreeP: BU adds Albie O’Connell, Scott Young to staff

By Tim Healey/DFP Staff
There will be a pair of new faces on the Boston University men’s hockey bench next year, and, in keeping with tradition, the additions are of a decidedly scarlet-and-white flavor. Former Terriers Albie O’Connell and Scott Young are returning to Commonwealth Avenue as assistant coach and director of hockey operations, respectively, according to BU head coach David Quinn.

O’Connell, a 1999 BU graduate who was part of four Beanpot-winning teams and two Frozen Four squads, captained the team his senior year. He joins the Terriers after three years on the Harvard University bench, with previous Hockey East pit stops at Northeastern University (three seasons) and Merrimack College (one season).

At Harvard, O’Connell worked primarily with the defense and special teams. Though, in Quinn’s words, “as an assistant coach at the collegiate level, you’re a coach second.” O’Connell has built a reputation as an excellent recruiter, and Quinn expects him to excel in that role at BU.

“He has got his tentacles everywhere,” Quinn said.

For the rest, visit dailyfreepress.com.

David Quinn set to make roster cuts for 2014-15 season

By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff

Boston University men’s hockey coach David Quinn has a very different problem this offseason than he had during the regular season. For a coach that struggled to send out a full lineup every night due to various injuries and minimal depth, a large incoming freshman class means that the Terriers would have 30 players on the roster.

There is no NCAA-imposed limit to the amount of players of players that can be on a roster, but 30 players appears to be too many for Quinn. He told The Daily Free Press on Thursday he will cut an unspecified number of returning players before the start of the 2014-15 season.

“One of the things I have told every guy is that I base guys’ opportunities here based on, ‘Can you help us win national championships?’” Quinn said. “Not just athletically, but socially and academically. It’s a three-part equation. When there is a coaching change, that is where those decisions come in.

“This is everybody’s first taste of hockey where you either get it done or you don’t and you don’t survive. That’s the hard part of the job, that’s the hard part of transition and that’s the hard part of change. Unfortunately there will be some changes.”

The 10-player incoming class features six forwards and four defensemen, including several highly touted recruits. With senior goaltender Anthony Moccia returning for a fourth season, the class will no longer include goaltender Shane Starrett, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Starrett was originally set to arrive in 2014-15, but his future with the program is to be determined at this point.

The Terriers would have 18 forwards and nine defensemen on the roster without the cuts, meaning six forwards and three defensemen would be watching from the stands every night. While Quinn likes to have the option of benching players for poor play, that many players on the sidelines would be too much.

Quinn said that he has an idea of which players he will be cutting, but that he has not informed those players yet. Those conversations are not ones he is looking forward to.

“It’s awful,” Quinn said. “I lose sleep over it. . . . Believe me, it’s not fun. But at the end of the day I owe it to BU and I owe it to our program to field the best team possible.”

Garrett Noonan signs with Nashville Predators

By Meredith Perri/DFP Staff

A team source confirmed Friday that senior captain Garrett Noonan has signed with the Nashville Predators.

Congrats to one of my best friends @GarrettNoonan13 for signing with the Nashville Predators. #welldeserved pic.twitter.com/r1bgzpbLA1
— Patrick MacGregor (@Patmacc4) April 18, 2014

The 6-foot-1 defenseman scored four goals and had 16 assists in in 34 games for the Terriers during the 2013-14 season and finished the year at a minues-12. Over the course of his four-year career at BU, Noonan had a total of 30 goals and 51 assists and was a plus-19 in 145 games.

The Predators drafted the Norfolk native in the fourth round, 112th overall, of the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Jack Parker named 2014 Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey

By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff

The accolades keep coming for Jack Parker after his retirement, as he was named 2014 Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey Tuesday.

This award comes less than a month after he was the first coach to receive the Hockey East Founders Medal and less than two months after BU retired his number. Those awards just add to his long list of accomplishments, including three Spencer Penrose Awards (NCAA Div. 1 Coach of the Year), five Hockey East Coach of the Year awards and the NHL’s Lester Patrick Award for outstanding contributions to hockey

Parker will be honored along with this year’s Hobey Baker Award winner at the Hobey Baker Banquet on May 29 in St. Paul, Minn.

Terriers get commitment from ’98-born forward Hank Crone

By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff

The future just keeps getting brighter for the Boston University hockey team, as 1998-born forward Hank Crone announced his commitment to BU Tuesday. He will likely be arriving for the 2016-17 season.

Excited to announce that I have committed to Boston University and can’t wait to play college hockey for the Terriers. #BU
— Hank Crone (@hankcrone_) April 8, 2014

Crone, who is currently 5-foot-8, 141 pounds, was invited to the United States National Team Development Program tryout and tendered by the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League. He led the Dallas Stars U16 program in goals (17), assists (23) and points (40) this past season.

Crone is the third BU recruit expected to arrive in 2016, joining highly-touted forwards Clayton Keller and Johnny McDermott.

Former Catholic Memorial star Liam Coughlin will join Terriers this fall

By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff

Former Catholic Memorial star forward Liam Coughlin has committed to Boston University for this fall, sources told The Daily Free Press. It had been reported that Coughlin was committed to the University of Massachusetts.

The 6-foot-3 South Boston native, who was born in 1994, will add some a scoring touch to an already large group of incoming freshmen this fall. He totaled 51 points (27 goals, 24 assists) in 21 games played as a senior at Catholic Memorial in 2012-13 before tallying 45 points in 53 games with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League this season.

Playing in Vernon has been a common path for Catholic Memorial players looking to play in Hockey East. Former BU captain Garrett Noonan and former Merrimack College captain Mike Collins both spent at least one season in Vernon before coming to play in Hockey East.

Congrats to @Liam_Coughlin7 on committing to BU! Can’t wait to see you rip it up! #CM #Vernon #BU
— Garrett Noonan (@GarrettNoonan13) April 1, 2014

Former Terrier forward Sahir Gill also spent two seasons with the Vipers before coming to BU.

The Terriers now have 10 recruits slated to join the squad in the fall, five of which are forwards. With that group added to a team that is expected to return 20 players from the 2013-14 roster, there will certainly be more healthy scratches watching games from the press box than there were this past season.