-ICYMI, looks like BU has added two new forwards for the second semester: Oskar Andren and Erik Udahl. No official announcement yet from BU, however.
-With World Juniors currently happening, there’s plenty of good content rolling around about some BU folks. Here’s an article from the New York Times featuring Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and other Swedish players.
-This article’s a bit old, but this was an interesting piece from the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont on San Diego hockey talent, featuring BU’s Nikolas Olsson. Be sure to give it a read if you haven’t already.
-We’re preparing some midseason pieces that’ll be published after the New Year, just to tide you guys over until BU’s game against Harvard on Jan. 7. Stay tuned for those!
Udahl joins forward Oskar Andren, who announced on Dec. 20 that he would join the Terriers, as another second-semester addition. The 19-year-old Udahl is a product of the Rivers School in Weston. He most recently played for the Coquitliam Express of the BCHL, recording seven goals and three assists in 33 games this season.
Boston Advantage product 96 F Erik Udahl is the 2nd semester add for BU, skilled, quick, coming from BCHL. https://t.co/Dxnd768uqg
Junior forward Nick Roberto, who has not played a game for the Boston University men’s hockey team this season, has been suspended and will not play for the remainder of the season, sources confirmed to The Daily Free Press.
Roberto has been out of the lineup for BU as part of a team suspension.
“According to several sources, Roberto’s suspension is the result of gambling activity he participated in during last season. Sources indicate that Roberto was not the only BU player involved, though those players are no longer with the hockey program. The identity of those players could not be confirmed. Other sources have indicated that players from other teams were involved, too.”
BU released a statement saying, “Beyond confirming that Mr. Roberto will not play for the Boston University hockey team this season, federal privacy laws prevent us from discussing his status.
“However, we can say that several months ago, we heard rumors that a BU hockey player had engaged in gambling. Although the rumors did not involve gambling on either college or professional hockey games, we nonetheless immediately conducted a thorough investigation and turned the results over to the appropriate authorities at the NCAA. Based on that investigation, the NCAA made its own findings and took remedial action, and we would refer you to that organization for further information.”
CHN’s report also cited the NCAA’s rule that “a player who is found gambling on any sporting event, amateur or pro in any sport, via a ‘bookie’ or the Internet, faces a minimum one-year suspension,” adding that for some of the players involved, “the gambling activities incurred ‘large’ debts, which eventually led to the situation coming to light.”
The report also said this instance of gambling at BU could be tied to a Massachusetts gambling ring that was broken up last month by state and federal investigators:
“In a 122-count indictment handed down after a year-long investigation, 33 people were indicted by a grand jury as part of the operation, which was based out of Boston and the South Shore. One of those was Keith O’Connell, who, sources indicate, is the same Keith O’Connell that is a former defenseman at Boston College and Massachusetts.
“O’Connell was charged with registering bets, using the telephone to register bets and conspiracy to commit money laundering.”
In addition, per a report from WEEI.com, “Roberto is not currently being investigated by any law enforcement agencies. He is still enrolled at BU and still a member of the hockey team, and that is not expected to change.”
CHN wrote that Emily James, a spokesperson for the NCAA, said “the NCAA will have no comment regarding a potential investigation into the BU hockey program stemming from the alleged gambling.”
She could not be reached for immediate comment when The Daily Free Press tried.
Andren’s announcement comes one day after a source confirmed with The Daily Free Press that sophomore forward A.J. Greer has left BU for the QMJHL.
A native of Danderyd, Sweden, Andren has played his last two seasons with the Lone Star Brahmas. He had 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 51 games last season, and has 22 points in 28 games this year, which is tops on the team.
Andren is the first commitment from an NAHL player since Ryan Santana made his decision to come to Commonwealth Avenue in 2008-09.
The Lone Star coaching staff gave Andren praises in a statement published on the team’s website.
There’s a lot of good players in this league, and when you’re a top team, you’re going to lose players,” head coach Dan Wildfong added. “That’s a good thing because they’re moving on to where they want to go.
Andren went through a lot and when the scholarship came, to reach that goal, we were all excited. We trusted him and believed in him and we’re proud of him. He couldn’t have asked for a better school.
With Andren’s commitment, the Terriers get more offensive depth and their roster goes back up to 15 forwards and 26 total players for the second half of the season.
Despite conflicting rumors and reports earlier this week, sophomore forward A.J. Greer has departed Boston University and will play for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, a source confirmed with The Daily Free Press.
“It’s a great atmosphere. … The coaching staff and the team have helped me in my decision as is the fact that there is great chemistry here…
Anthony John Greer describes himself as a power forward. “I have the skills and am able to play on both sides of the rink. I’m always the guy who works harder and I’m a winner, “he assured.
He believes being able to help the Huskies. “I’ll have to adapt myself to the guys and the league, but I will not change my style of play,” he said.
Reports out of Quebec indicate that sophomore forward A.J. Greer will leave Boston University and join the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, as initially reported by Réseau des sports in Quebec. (Report is in French.) BU has not confirmed Greer’s departure.
Greer played 18 games for BU this season, tallying one goal and four assists in that time. Last season, he had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 41 games.
Francis Perron, a member of Rouyn-Noranda, tweeted a welcome to Greer:
Really happy to welcome @ajgreer_10 in our family!! See you soon brother #wolfpack
Translation: Greer denies Q report. Says discussion with agent & family but nothing more. https://t.co/Z27owdmWj1 — Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonCHN) December 17, 2015
Translation: Greer says he has signed nothing and still has to exams to take at BU. https://t.co/oOpIgf2enF
That’s certainly him — we’ll keep digging, but this is the latest we’ve seen reported. Still no confirmation from BU, and he’s still listed on the roster.
Senior goaltender Sean Maguire. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DFP FILE PHOTO
HAMDEN, Connecticut — It’ll be three-and-a-half weeks until No. 12 Boston University takes the ice again for a game, but the men’s hockey team made sure to put a bow on the top of an inconsistent first half on Saturday night.
When the Terriers (9-6-3, 4-3-2 Hockey East) came into High Point Solutions Arena at No. 2 Quinnipiac University’s campus this weekend, they were facing a team that had yet to lose a game and sat at the very top of the Pairwise rankings because of that.
BU conceded a hard-fought contest to No. 15 Yale University the night before, and the Bobcats (15-1-2) had been riding a three-game shutout streak on the back of netminder Michael Garteig, one of the best goaltenders in the country. And though the Terriers allowed the first goal of the game, they were able to battle back and give QU its first loss of the season in their final competition of the 2015 calendar year.
“It’s a true team effort,” said head coach David Quinn of the 4-1 victory. “Every guy in that room contributed in some way, shape or form. It’s a feel-good win for sure.
“It certainly says an awful lot about our team,” he added. “About our character, our resiliency, our work ethic. And those qualities can take you a long way through the course of a hockey season. A great way to end the break. Is our record what we want it to be? No, it’s not, but our makeup is. And that’s more important than anything.”
Before we put a cap on 2015 ourselves, here’s what looked good and bad in BU’s win over the Bobcats.
Pluses
Sean Maguire
Each time he steps on the ice, senior goaltender Sean Maguire said he gets better. Whether it’s his skating, puck handling or anything else, the 22-year-old said he feels stronger and hopes to get more opportunities to show that. On Saturday, he made a pretty convincing case for himself to get those chances.
Facing 37 shots from one of the country’s most potent offenses, Maguire surrendered just one goal to the Bobcats. Roughly 6:22 into the first period, winger Sam Anas had time and space in the slot and made the most of it. He cruised through and backhanded the puck over a diving Maguire on QU’s fourth shot of the game. After that, though, it was lights out from the goalie.
“He’s been a great goalie at this level,” Quinn said after the win. “He keeps getting better and better, and he missed a full year. I think it would be unreasonable to expect for him to come back and pick up where he left off. But I loved his attitude, his work ethic. And I knew this day was going to happen. I was hoping it was happening tonight, and he played outstanding.”
Maguire went up against an old friend in Garteig and was excited to do so. The two were teammates on the Powell River Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League during the 2010-11 season, and it made the game all the more meaningful for him in Hamden.
Even so, he said the biggest thing for him is just getting into a flow of the game.
“I try not to think too much about who I’m playing, or who’s in net, or who they got in front,” Maguire said. “As soon as you get into the flow, first shot, it’s just a flow from there for me. I’m one of those guys.
“When I’m in net, I just don’t really think about it,” he added. “Just kind of watch the clock go down and wait for the next shot, like it’s just live in the moment really.”
Outside the locker room following the game, Maguire indicated he hadn’t thought much about what he’d just done and instead offered that he was “really tired,” noting that he and the rest of his team “left it all on the ice.” Playing a game like that, he said, takes a lot out of you.
In terms of the effects of the game, Maguire said that defeating Quinnipiac gives the team a boost in mentality going into the break.
“I think that knowing that we can beat the best team in the country, we can be the best team in the country if we want to be,” he said.
BU won’t compete again until Jan. 7, 2016, so whoever gets the next start is still unknown. That makes it tougher to necessarily get on a roll in the way he typically does, but any time Maguire’s given a shot to see time between the pipes, he said he tries to get that going.
He added that coming to the rink when you’re doing well is enjoyable, reflecting on a stretch of games he had his freshman year in which he posted five consecutive wins with a pair of shutouts in there as well.
“When you’re winning, it’s fun, and when you go to the rink it’s fun if you’re winning,” he said. “Probably the best part about that stretch of games was that it was really fun for me and I loved coming to the rink, and I’m getting to really start loving coming to the rink now too, so hopefully I can string a couple together here.”
Penalty kill
Quinnipiac is the owner of one of the best power-play percentages in the country, converting on 20 of their 75 opportunities with the man advantage prior to Saturday night’s game, a 26.7 percent success rate. It wasn’t hard to see why that was the case when it played BU.
The Bobcats were speedy with BU shorthanded and cycled the puck around cleanly and efficiently. However, they were unable to score in each of their five tries on the night, rifling off 15 shots that Maguire turned aside and plenty more attempts that the Terriers got in the way of or kept from the net.
Senior assistant captain Matt Lane said the strategy coming into each kill was to be aggressive.
“The beginning part of the season I think we were a little too laid back, a little too lackadaisical,” he said. “We knew we were going to have to kill penalties, and I just thought we were more aggressive and we got more clears. And when you clear the puck you, don’t let them set up, and the penalty kill seemed to be a lot shorter.”
In the past four games, the Terriers are 12-for-14 on the penalty kill, allowing power-play goals in their losses to Yale (6-4-2) on Friday and the University of Vermont on Dec. 4.
Maguire added that, as a whole, the Terriers were playing with more simplicity to their game, something Quinn has been stressing to his team.
“We played against a really good team who plays simple, so we had to beat them with working hard …” he said. “You could see we put a lot of pucks off the glass tonight, we cleared a lot of pucks over their defense’s heads.”
Third line
With goals from both junior forward Robbie Baillargeon, which would eventually be the game-winner, and freshman center Bobo Carpenter, the third line impressed on the ice against the Bobcats. For more on that line’s successful night, check out Sarah’s sider.
Minuses
Losing Ahti
After a handful of minutes had expired in the third, senior forward Ahti Oksanen was pursing a puck through the slot, poking it ahead with his stick while trying to gain control as a Bobcat defenseman stayed on him. Garteig and co. spurned the winger’s attempt, and Oksanen went careening into the boards before staying down on the ice without moving. When he finally did get up, and with the help of his teammates and head athletic trainer Larry Venis, he was holding his right arm gingerly as he glided off the ice and down the tunnel.
Oksanen didn’t return for the remainder of the game, and Quinn did not have an update on his injury afterward.
Late penalties
Up 3-1 on QU halfway through the third, the Terriers made things harder for themselves by taking a pair of penalties within four minutes of one another. Sophomore defenseman John MacLeod was first sent to the box 9:30 into the final frame and, after his team killed the minor, was escorted back to the box at 13:07 for tripping, just 1:37 after BU had been shorthanded.
Quinnipiac didn’t score on either chance due to the dominance of the Terriers’ PK, but the Bobcats buzzed around the net and put seven shots on goal in those four minutes.
“I thought we were playing well in the third,” Quinn said. “Get the goal to make it 3-1, and then take two penalties that just really gave them life.”
Original post: (So basically, the Internet at this arena won’t let us upload videos to YouTube. We tried several different methods, but to no avail. So here’s a transcript of head coach David Quinn’s postgame comments — we’ll try and upload a video in the morning, but for now, you can see all of his comments here.)
Opening comments:
“Well, just really proud of our guys. Obviously a tough building to play in. Get down 1-0, really thought we were on our heels for the first six or seven minutes, and I thought we really recovered. Got it together in the first period and battled back to tie the game. Did a real good job in the second period. Again, I thought we were playing well in the third, get the goal to make it 3-1, and then take two penalties that just really gave them life. Our penalty kill was huge, blocking shots, our goaltending was outstanding. It’s not easy coming into this building, let alone after you play last night in a hard-fought game against Yale. But, boy, it certainly says an awful lot about our team. About our character, our resiliency, our work ethic. And those qualities can take you a long way through the course of a hockey season. A great way to end the break. Is our record what we want it to be? No, it’s not, but our makeup is. And that’s more important than anything.”
Forwards beating a goalie of this quality?
“I think our forwards do a real good job down low. They understand puck possession. We got some talent, too. We got some size, we got some skill, so that can pose a problem for some people. If you look at the shot chart, I think we were on the net a lot, we were at the net a lot, we paid a price at the net for our goals. And you’re going to have to do that against anybody, but in particular against this team because the way they’ve got some good, old defensemen and they’ve got a great goalie. We earned our goals. We earned our goals.”
Play of Greenway?
“He’s been playing outstanding hockey. And what you saw tonight is a guy that’s got an incredible future. He keeps getting better and better. He’s an absolute monster out there, he’s tough to defend. I talked to the Quinnipiac defensemen and asked what they think about going in the corner with him or anybody else we’ve played. And he’s getting rewarded on the scoresheet, which is nice to see. He had a monster weekend for us.”
Quinnipiac as good as advertised?
“Oh yeah. They’re a really good hockey team. Really good hockey team. He does a great job, they got some talent. Again, I keep coming back to the penalties in the third period, but again, we’re a little bit gassed, too, obviously from playing back-to-back. But five-to-one penalties. We cannot play two ECAC teams, we got two power plays over the weekend. Welcome to ECAC hockey.”
Maguire in net
“He’s been a great goalie at this level. He keeps getting better and better and he missed a full year. I think it would be unreasonable to expect for him to come back and pick up where he left off. But I loved his attitude, his work ethic. And I knew this day was going to happen. I was hoping it was happening tonight, and he played outstanding.”
Baillargeon’s overall game?
“Pretty good. Robbie played pretty well tonight. That line was pretty good, too. It’s tough losing Ahti when we did. But Phelps did a great job playing with Robbie and Bobo. Bobo had a good night again as well. It’s a true team effort. Every guy in that room contributed in some way, shape or form. It’s a feel-good win for sure.”
Update on Oksanen?
“Nothing yet, a little too early.”
Joy in the room?
“Yeah, anytime you win your last game before you go into a break there’s joy. And again, hey, you’re playing the No. 1 team in the country, undefeated, so there’s a lot of joy, a lot of joy. Especially, you know, when you put as much into it as we did, you feel a little bit extra happiness, a little extra joy because you earned it, you sacrificed, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Mentality of team after falling behind early
“We’ve been a great group rebounding from losses. Last year we didn’t lose back-to-back games. This year we finally lost a back-to-back, lost to UConn and then went down to Merrimack and played a great game against Merrimack and lost 4-3, probably a night where our goalies probably would like to have some of the goals back. But, we always have, so far, responded when we lose. And people who have seen us play, we bounce back. We played pretty well last night. A minute stretch cost us the game. We gave up two goals in the last minute of the second period and it kind of cost us the game. But I wasn’t surprised with our effort, that’s for sure.”
If one goalie emerges, will you give them priority as starter?
“Absolutely. Absolutely. I’m a one-goalie guy. That being said, if both guys play well you play them both.
Could Maguire earn that position?
“Those who play well get rewarded with further play. Absolutely.”
Why Dillon Lawrence over Tommy Kelley?
“Dillon’s looked good in practice. Nothing Tommy didn’t do, more of what Dillon has done. He’s a big kid, he can skate, he’s got a good shot, he can handle the puck, confidence is a problem for him. I liked what I saw tonight. He’s a good hockey player.”
Quinnipiac lines:
Sam Anas-Travis St. Denis-Landon Smith
Bo Pieper-Tanner MacMaster-Thomas Aldworth
Andrew Taverner-Tommy Schutt-K.J. Tiefenwerth
Soren Jonzzon-Tim Clifton-Scott Davidson
Kevin McKernan-Connor Clifton
Derek Smith-Chase Priskie
Devon Toews-Alex Miner-Barron
Michael Garteig
Sean Lawrence
Jacob Meyers
Officials:
Robert St. Lawrence
Kevin Curtis
Ryan Knapp
Jim Briggs
Jordan Greenway. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DFP FILE PHOTO
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — Late in the third period of Friday night’s game against No. 15 Yale University, there was some confusion among the skaters on the ice for the No. 12 Boston University men’s hockey team.
The Terriers had already pulled sophomore goaltender Connor LaCouvee for an extra skater, but there was a slight issue.
BU had seven skaters on the ice when there should’ve been six.
After some discussing and finger pointing, the problem was sorted out and the Terriers (8-6-3, 4-3-2 Hockey East) had the correct number of skaters to finish the game, although they probably wished they could’ve gotten away with sneaking in an extra, extra forward.
They made it close in the end, but the Terriers fell to Yale, 3-2. Bulldogs (6-4-2) forward John Hayden scored twice, including the game-winner in the third period to propel Yale.
It wasn’t BU’s best effort by any stretch, so here’s a breakdown of the loss at Ingalls Rink.
Minuses
Slow Start
Honestly, we could have just copied and pasted this section from a bunch of other stories we’ve written, but it really held true again.
It wasn’t like the Terriers got severely outplayed from the outset, and they even got on the board first with senior forward Ahti Oksanen’s ninth goal of the season, but there just seemed to be a flow missing. Part of that could be attributed to Yale’s strong defense and goaltending from Alex Lyon, who had a 1.78 goals-against average coming into the game.
Any way you slice it, BU was outshot 28-19 after two periods, and trailed by a goal after those 40 minutes.
It was the eighth time since Nov. 13 at Providence College that BU has entered a third period either trailing or tied.
“Too little, too late,” said head coach David Quinn. “You can’t beat yourselves, and we just beat ourselves tonight.”
Major penalty
Yale was already crawling back into the game, and freshman forward Ryan Cloonan did his team no favors by taking a five-minute major and game misconduct penalty on a hit he threw in the neutral zone at 19:03 of the second period.
Thirty-seven seconds into that major penalty, Hayden scored the first of his two goals on a perfect passing play set up by the Bulldogs that started down low from the right-wing boards and eventually to Hayden in the slot.
It would be the only goal the Bulldogs would get on this man advantage, but having Cloonan out of the picture meant an already shorthanded BU group was forced to play down a man for the entire third period.
Missed coverage
Without senior captain Matt Grzelcyk and sophomore defenseman Brandon Hickey, it was going to be a challenge for the remaining BU defensemen to step up to contain Yale. But, much to their credit, the blue liners played well for most of the game.
Although they made smart plays a majority of the time, when they did mess up, it directly cost the Terriers.
The goals, most notably the first one, all appeared to involve a missed assignment or failed coverage.
BU had just called a timeout after it iced the puck in the middle of the second period, and off the ensuing faceoff, forward Ryan Hitchcock somehow snuck open near the net and beat LaCouvee on a rebound to tie the game at one with 1:47 left in the second period.
“Coach reiterated all week that they’re not going to beat themselves and unfortunately their first goal and that power-play goal wasn’t great plays on our part, you can’t let them get a lead like that because it’s tough to score goals against them,” said junior defenseman Doyle Somerby.
“Unfortunately it came back to bite us.”
Pluses
Greenway continues improvement
Like other highly touted recruits from the U.S. National Team Development Program, freshman forward Jordan Greenway had his fair share of hype coming into his first year on Commonwealth Avenue.
But the first month-plus of his season was relatively quiet, at least points-wise. Quinn reiterated that he liked the potential he saw from Greenway, but there a lack of “killer instinct.”
The faith in Greenway seems to finally be paying dividends. Greenway has five points (one goal, four assists) in the last four games, upping his point total to seven on the year.
On Friday, he had the primary assist on Oksanen’s second-period strike on a pass set up from behind the goal line and to the slot.
“Well he’s getting older, he’s getting more mature, he’s starting to understand how to play the game at this level,” Quinn said after the game Friday. “And I thought that line was really good tonight, that line really possessed the puck and had some great chances. And I really liked the way Jordan played tonight.”
End of penalty kill
Playing down a skater is never easy, but when it’s even more difficult when it’s for five minutes.
But BU, despite giving up one power-play goal on the major penalty, clamped down for the final 4:23 of the penalty, and didn’t allow Yale to again find the back of the net while on the man advantage.
Judy has you covered on this part of the game in her sidebar.
