Month: February 2017

The Look Back: BU captures share of Hockey East regular-season title

Senior defenseman Doyle Somerby returned to the blue line against Notre Dame. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALOHTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Senior defenseman Doyle Somerby returned to the blue line against Notre Dame. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALOHTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The 2016-17 regular season is over for BU hockey, and the Terriers stand as co-champions of Hockey East.

Heading into this past weekend’s series against Notre Dame, a million and one scenarios could have unfolded (that’s an exaggeration), but the dust has finally settled. BU lost, 3-1, on Friday night, only to register an inspiring, 4-1, win over the Fighting Irish on Saturday evening.

With those results, head coach David Quinn’s side will be the No. 2 seed in the Hockey East Tournament. It also ends the regular season in three-way tie for first place, sharing the crown with Boston College and UMass Lowell.

The stars of the weekend were forwards Kieffer Bellows, Clayton Keller Patrick Harper and goaltender Jake Oettinger. In other words, the freshmen are stepping up with playoff hockey around the corner. Furthermore, Quinn said defenseman and captain Doyle Somerby had his best weekend of the season.

As things stand, BU sits in seventh place in the PairWise Rankings, so the scarlet and white are in a good place with the NCAA Tournament looming. Lastly, the Terriers won’t play again until March 10 against a to-be-determined opponent, so keep an eye out on the opening round of the Hockey East Tournament.

Content

  1. Friday’s recap of the 3-1 loss.
  2. Friday’s sider about the goaltender battle between Jake Oettinger and Cal Petersen.
  3. Saturday’s recap of the 4-1, come-from-behind win.
  4. Saturday’s sider about Kieffer Bellows coming into his own on the third line.

Highlights

Press Conferences

Tweets of the Weekend

Live: BU hosts Notre Dame to end regular season

The regular season comes to a close on Saturday night for the No. 6 Boston University men’s hockey team, as it hosts No. 13 University of Notre Dame at Agganis Arena.

The regular-season title is still up for grabs, and Hockey East has outlined each possible scenario. The long and short is such: If Notre Dame wins it finishes in first place, while if BU wins it will share the title with UMass Lowell and Boston College.

These two sides met on Friday night, with the Fighting Irish earning a 3-1 win. Mindful of that, Coach Quinn and the Terriers will look to head into the playoffs on a high note, having already secured a first-round bye.

We’ll live at Agganis all night, so be sure to follow along on our live blog!

Live Blog BU vs. Notre Dame – Saturday night
 

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Live Blog: BU hosts Notre Dame for Friday night clash

The regular season is winding down, and the No. 6 Boston University men’s hockey team is hosting No. 13 University of Notre Dame this Friday night at 6 p.m.

The game is being broadcast nationally on the American Sports Network and regionally on NESN. Per usual, we’ll be live for all the action and have stories postgame.

Follow along on our live blog below and chime in with your thoughts!

Live Blog BU vs. Notre Dame – Friday night
 

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Preview: BU hosts Notre Dame to close out regular season

One hundred and forty days later, the No. 6 Boston University men’s hockey team’s 2016-17 regular season will come to a close on Saturday night.

The Terriers will host No. 13 University of Notre Dame for a weekend set at Agganis Arena, with the action getting underway Friday at 6 p.m. and wrapping up one day later at 7 p.m.

Heading into the series, BU has a first-round bye in the Hockey East playoffs clinched, but can still capture the regular-season crown. For a full rundown of what’s set to unfold, check out Jonathan’s preview on The Daily Free Press.

Aside from playoff implications, Saturday’s game will mark the last regular-season contest of Doyle Somerby, Nick Roberto and Tommy Kelley’s careers. They’ll have their Senior Night, capping four years of throwing on the scarlet and white.

The trio means a lot to head coach David Quinn, too, because his first year at the helm was also their freshman season.

To recount their time on Commonwealth Avenue, Jonathan caught up with Somerby, Roberto and Kelley to reflect. Click here for the full story on The Daily Free Press.

BU adds Alex Vlasic, ’01 defenseman from Chicago area

Another day, another big-time commit for the Boston University men’s hockey team.

This time, head coach David Quinn and his staff have secured the services of Alex Vlasic, a blueliner born in 2001.

The 15-year-old, who hails from Wilmette, Illinois, currently plays for the Chicago Mission. As of now, he clocks in as 6-foot-3 and 165 pounds, so he definitely boasts the size of a Hockey East player.

While little is known of Vlasic, early reports suggest he’s quite the get for Quinn and Co. His commitment also comes less than a week after Cade Webber, another 2001-born defenseman, pledged his future to the Terriers.

In other words, the talent pipeline to Agganis Arena keeps on growing stronger and stronger.

The Look Back: BU sees mixed results vs. UNH

PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Kieffer Bellows now has two goals in his last three games. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

It probably wasn’t how head coach David Quinn drew it up, but he’ll gladly take three out of four points from this past weekend’s series with the University of New Hampshire.

After slumping hard, the No. 4 Boston University men’s hockey team clawed its way back to the status quo, outscoring UNH 12-8 across two contests. It got underway with a 4-4 tie at Agganis Arena on Friday night, then wrapped up with an 8-4 win for the Terriers over the Wildcats up in Durham, New Hampshire on Saturday evening.

Content

  1. Friday’s recap.
  2. Friday’s sider about some unexpected lines.
  3. Saturday’s recap.
  4. Saturday’s side about a comprehensive team effort.

Talking points

  • The Cloonan line – The third line of Kieffer Bellows, Chase Phelps and Ryan Cloonan looked strong all weekend. It finished with six points on Friday night and displayed some true chemistry. All three players have dipped at various points in 2016-17, so it’s nice to see them hitting their stride.

“I love it. All three of us bring different aspects from our game. Cloonan is such a fast, great skater, makes great plays. Then Chase Phelps is a strong body who gets to the corners. You saw his release out there – it’s nice and quick, gets it on net. I just try to do my best to do whatever I can to help the team out. If that’s chipping it in, hitting a body, I think our whole line has great chemistry going right now.” – Bellows

  • Shuffled lines – Speaking of lines, who on Earth expected Doyle Somerby to play as a fourth line winger? That’s how crazy the new lines were, but some of the combinations bore fruit. The top line of Jordan Greenway, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Clayton Keller can score at any moment. Meanwhile, the group of Nick Roberto, Patrick Harper and Bobo Carpenter isn’t too shabby, either. For JFK, the changes were necessary after a 6-3 loss in the Beanpot final to Harvard on Monday.

“Sometimes you need to do something after a game like the against Harvard. I think it was reactionary.” – Forsbacka Karlsson

  • Team Defense – The defense needs to tighten up big time, though. UNH’s top line of Tyler Kelleher, Jason Salvaggio and Michael McNicholas was potent all weekend, and BU had no answer for them. When stronger teams come around, the Terriers can ill afford to let star players shine like Kelleher and Co. did.

“Kelleher is a really good player. Every time he’s out there, he’s extremely dangerous and makes a lot of plays happen. Those other guys seem to find him all over the ice. If they can find open space they’ll be dangerous, and you have to be aware of that.” – Harper

  • Patrick Harper – Harper had himself quite the weekend, too. He had three points on Saturday night, and quietly now has 31 points on the year. For one, Quinn called hailed his performance.

“He had a great weekend. He didn’t feel great about himself after the World Juniors. You win a gold medal, he didn’t play a lot, so I think people usually come back from that and take off. Our guys haven’t. A lot of our guys have struggled or haven’t played to the best of their ability. This weekend I think a lot of those guys found their stride. He certainly was one of them. I thought this was as good as he’s played all year.” – Quinn

  • Third Period – This is still a third period team. After struggling in both first frames against UNH, BU bounced back in a major way come the third period. Across the weekend, the Terriers outscored the Wildcats, 6-0, in the stanza when it matters the most.

Highlights

Postgame Pressers

Tweets of the Weekend

Live Blog: BU hockey visits UNH

With just three games remaining in the regular season, the No. 4 Boston University men’s hockey team is back in action on Saturday night.

This go around, head coach David Quinn’s side visits the University of New Hampshire for a 7 p.m. game at the Whittemore Center.

We’ll be there all evening for the night’s actions, so be sure to follow along below!

 

Live Blog BU @ UNH – Whittemore Center
 

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Live Blog: BU hosts UNH at Agganis Arena

The No. 4 Boston University men’s hockey team is back in action Friday night, hosting the University of New Hampshire at Agganis Arena.

Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on the American Sports Network.

We’ll be live for all the game’s action, so follow along via our live blog below!

Live Blog BU vs. UNH – Agganis Arena
 

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BU lands commitment from blueliner Cade Webber

Add another highly-touted player to the list of recruits for head coach David Quinn.

Cade Webber, a 16-year-old defenseman, has pledged his NCAA career to the Boston University men’s hockey program, per Jeff Cox of SB Nation.

While it remains to be seen when Webber would arrive on campus, he joins an already talented group of future blueliners. The contingent includes Case McCarthy, Kasper Kotkansalo, Cam Crotty and David Farrance.

Webber, who currently plays for The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts, hails from Meadville, Pennsylvania. At Rivers, Webber plays for Shawn McEachern, the acclaimed forward who put up 186 points across his 120-game BU career.

For further background, Webber’s family advisor is Pete Fish, the same person who worked closely with alum Jack Eichel and commit Jake Wise, among others.

Preview: BU readies for home-and-home set with UNH

There’s an aura of déjà vu around Agganis Arena.

For the second time in three weeks, the No. 4 Boston University men’s hockey team approaches the weekend looking to break out of a two-game skid.

This go around, the opportunity comes via a home-and-home series against the University of New Hampshire, with Friday night’s game at Agganis and Saturday evening’s at the Whittemore Center.

“Our next goal is to win the regular season championship, and we still can do that,” said BU head coach David Quinn. “All our energy has been geared towards Friday night and putting forth our best effort.”

For a full version of this story, click here for Jonathan’s preview on The Daily Free Press.