The No. 5 Boston University men’s hockey team traveled to Gutterson Fieldhouse for a pair of games against No. 12 Vermont last weekend, falling 4-2 in Friday’s tilt before cruising to a 4-0 win on Saturday. A lot happened in the last series of 2016. Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives from the Terriers versus the Catamounts.
1.) Keller’s return – Man, it’s good to have Clayton Keller back. After missing seven games, the star freshman forward returned to the ice Friday night, slotting back into his center spot on the second line. He didn’t miss a beat, as he won 12-of-14 faceoffs and notched a helper on Pat Harper’s goal in the second period. It was more of the same on Saturday, as Keller went bar down for his sixth goal of the season on the power play in the third period. The Terriers may have gone 4-2-1 in Keller’s absence, but it’s obvious that BU is a much more dangerous team with Keller patrolling the ice. – Nick
2.) Power Play – BU came into this weekend having gone 1-for-24 on power plays in conference play. They really flipped the script on that one, going an impressive 3-for-8 on PP opportunities against Vermont. Bobo Carpenter and Pat Harper scored two on Friday, with Keller’s coming on Saturday. The Catamounts’ penalty kill was ranked 9th in the nation heading into Friday’s contest, so a very positive sign from a Terrier offense that has gone silent at times. – Nick
3.) Jake Oettinger – Sixteen games into the 2016-17 season, BU’s freshman netminder has recorded three shutouts and taken the starting job by storm. He posted 24 saves in Friday’s 4-2 loss, then bounced back on Saturday night and stopped 28 shots for his first goose egg on the road. Looking at the national picture, Oettinger is a top-five goaltender, at least according to USCHO’s statistics. Boasting .932 save percentage and 1.86 goals against average will do that for ya. Oh, and we’d be remiss not to point out that Oettinger soon heads to the U.S. Hockey World Junior Championship preliminary camp, so his stock should continue to rise. – Jonathan
The Small Five
a.) Carpenter – I thought Bobo had a really strong weekend, especially on Saturday. On Friday, the sophomore kicked things off with a power play goal off a rebound, another case of him being around the puck at all times. On Saturday, Bobo was second on the team with four shots taken and was consistently chasing after the puck behind the Catamount net. He’s not going to get on the score sheet a whole lot this season, but he works his you know what off every night, and that was evident this weekend. – Nick
b.) Bellows sits – We mentioned in our Three Thoughts last week that we thought Bellows should sit a game, and that finally happened during Saturday’s win. He did have an assist on Friday, but he also was called for another penalty and finished the loss with a plus-minus of -2. It just hasn’t been the season we hoped the talented freshman would have, at least not yet. Hopefully he’ll turn it around in the second half of the season. – Nick
c.) Hockey East update – BU now sits tied for sixth in the Hockey East standings with 10 points in eight games. The University of New Hampshire, Notre Dame and Vemrmont are in front of the Terriers with 11 points each. Boston College may have a strong grip on the conference standings, but BU is right on the heels of the other frontrunners. Keep in mind, four of the five teams in front of the Terriers have played more games. – Nick
d.) Switzer and Diffley – Shane Switzer and Brien Diffley were pencilled into the lineup on Saturday night – Switzer alongside Brandon Hickey and Diffley with Somerby – and impressed. The moves were prompted by choice and necessity, as Dante Fabbro jetted off to Team Canada’s camp for World Juniors, while John MacLeod didn’t play. Nevertheless, these two blueliners seized their chance, contributing in notable ways to BU’s 4-0 shutout of the Catamounts. Furthermore, it was Switzer’s first appearance since Nov. 12’s 4-2 win over Michigan, while Diffley hadn’t skated since the 4-0 loss to UConn on Nov. 19. – Jonathan
e.) Team Defense – For all the talk about how “stacked” BU’s offense is, it’s team defense is firmly entrenched in the country’s upper echelon. Its 2.06 goals against average is tied for the fourth fewest in Division 1 college hockey, while its 90.8 success rate on the penalty kill is third best nationally. One worrisome trend is the magic number number for opponents seems to be four – as in four goals allowed. BU has surrendered four strikes five times this fall semester, losing four times (t0 UConn, Michigan, Denver and Vermont) and drawing once (to Northeastern). – Jonathan
Keller may be the best BU player in some time. As I have said he reminds me of Drury so much. Was it he that made Bellows ? Could be.
I agree. I think Bellows is cocky and lazy. His play has been mediocre at best and Im glad Quinn benched him. Let it be a wake up call that you’re not the special snowflake you think you are!
Bellows is a talented player who is having a tough adjustment to Division 1 hockey, which is somewhat surprising since last season with the NTDP U18s, he played numerous games against D1 teams (including BU). Early on, he was clearly pressing, breaking his stick on shots and not getting his shot on net. Hopefully he’ll adjust and have a better second half, as Carpenter did last year.
Suggesting that Keller “made” him is simply wrong. Bellows has been a scorer at every level–before playing with Keller last year. Two seasons ago, he was the USHL Rookie of the Year and set a goal scoring record for a 16 year old with 33.
Bellows does have a cannon of a shot. I agree about Keller. He could help us go far in March and April.
Bellows needs to develop the other aspects of his game in order to be successful at the college level and beyond. Right now when he’s not scoring, he’s done more to hurt the team b/c his effort isn’t there when he doesn’t have the puck. It’s part of his development curve and I really hope he puts forth the commitment to improve in those other areas b/c he could be a pretty special player.
kiefer will be fine he is a great kid with a great work ethic. He is working on his game he plays good positional hockey. He has taken a few too many penalties but that will be corrected don’t worry about kiefer he is a special kind of hockey player we are so lucky to have him. Go Bu?
I was up in vermont this weekend for the games and happy with what I saw on Friday altho we lost remember it was 2-2 with 10 mins left and their goal was on a delayed penalty kill and loos puck it wasn’t our best game by far but we were right there and on Saturday probably one of our best efforts and it’s definitely because Keller is back he makes pp and pk that much better and for those who were and are worried about our “goalie” situation please knock it off this Jake kid is the real deal… Let’s not forget uvm was on a 8 game winning streak and playing some good hockey I guess what I’m trying to say is whem we lose I read some of the comments it’s unreal how negative they are ..I truly believe this team will be there in the end and with Keller back bellows with shine again.. Go bu..
I think many people are a little dissapointed how casually the team plays at times. For all the talent and top draft picks, too often they lack urgency and discipline. Perhaps this is to be expected with such a young team, but BC has more freshmen than BU. Hopefully, they have learned their lesson and will play the second half with the kind of focus, grit and determination that characterizes great teams.
Bellows needs to develop and expand his game. He just can not come over the blue line and launch a shot – i agree he has an NHL shot. too often they blocked or he is forced to shoot wide. and he certainly does not have the skill to stickhandle through 3 or 4 defenders as he has attempted to do in vain. he needs a reality check. perhaps this is a maturity issue, but i do not care where or with whom he played with last year. this is HE and it is a huge step up. presently, i question if he has the speed and strength to compete at this level . but if he keeps doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result (insanity), he is kidding himself. He needs to the net and stick his nose in there and get some greasy goals. in no way have i written this kid off. i hope he does mature and develop into a good player for us