It’s always nerve wracking to be sitting at the Thanksgiving table and hear someone shout out, “Hey let’s all go around and say what we’re thankful for.”
It’s the domestic example of the kid in your high school algebra class telling the teacher they forgot about the homework.
The call usually comes at a lull in the dinner’s conversation — somewhere between when your grandma has just finished talking about the knee surgery she’s having next month and when your uncle attempts to steer a conversation towards the upcoming election.
There’s nothing wrong with listing off what you’re thankful for. I do it all the time, typically on crowded public transportation. If you’re like me, though, the sudden prompt to come up with a somewhat profound admission of thankfulness can be tricky.
This column can hopefully solve that problem for any BU hockey fans out there. Consider this a starter pack for your own ‘thankful for’ speech.
BU is back in the top five of national polls
After a weeks-long hiatus, the Terriers are finally back in the top five in the USCHO poll. It was a tough stretch but, somehow, we managed to stay strong through it.
It was around the U18 game when the gravy train seemed to have fully derailed.
For a minute I wondered if all the stock I had bought in the team was worthless. Had BU Hockey sold me on some sort of Fyre Festival type scheme? Would I never be able to tweet ‘Celly-brini’ or ‘Holy Mack-lin-erel’ again?
I bandwagoned myself over to the BU Soccer team after they won the Patriot League championship, desperately searching for a high to match when hockey won every game handily and cruised through a season without issue.
The Lane Hutson injury at Notre Dame was another level of rock bottom. Followed up by an all time I feel like I’m taking crazy pills game when the team looked better without one of its best players. But — after a solid series against UMass, a split against NoDak, and two weekend sweeps — the train is finally back on track, and us casuals can breathe easy once again.
Northeastern is in shambles
I’m almost afraid to be burying them so much — I feel like the more negative things I say the better the team will turn out to be in the Beanpot.
I fear that it’s like Ghostbusters 2, when that slimy ooze thing got stronger and more powerful the angrier people were in New York City. In this, the more I write negative things about Northeastern, the more they’ll break my heart come February. I guess I’ll reverse course…
Northeastern is simply having a tough break right now. They’re having issues scoring at even strength, scoring on the power play, defending on the transition and keeping pucks out of the net. A few tweaks and they’ll be right back in it.
It truly is a shame that the Huskies weren’t put in the primetime matchup of the Beanpot this year too. I don’t even know who’s playing in the later game, let alone the prospects playing or where those teams are ranked nationally.
I did not get any enjoyment from the Bruins lighting up the GOAT, Devon Levi, when they played the Sabres a few weeks ago. Levi is still a stud and is not experiencing a difficult transition to the pros in the slightest.
Vinny Duplessis is living his best life
The backup goalie turned folk hero Vinny Duplessis is currently living his best life as the starter for the Quinnipiac Bobcats.
It does neither party any good to sit around wondering what life would be like if Duplessis was still a Terrier and hadn’t entered the transfer portal.
All we can be is thankful for his heroic performance in the 2021 Beanpot and all the clutch moments he had elsewhere. I personally am thankful for all the Tweets I got to make saying that Duplessis was better than Devon Levi, something I totally never actually believed.
It’s honestly super cool that he found an opportunity somewhere to show off the uber-talented goalie we all knew he was.
His character was exemplified after last night’s 3-2 win against Quinnipiac, where he stuck around after the game to talk to Sam Stevens and other former teammates.
I wish him all the success in the world, but, in all honesty, I hope we never see him again. My heart just can’t take having to root against the greatest goalie of all time.
The Joe Peirera recruiting machine is still humming
BU assistant coach and recruiting mafioso Joe Peirera is still on the hunt for the next top prospects. He’s turning over every rock, traveling into every town and village in the land in search of the next group of brothers he can convince to come wear Scarlet and White.
He will not rest until each forward line and defensive pairing is comprised entirely of different sets of siblings. And the second a new Hutson, McCarthy, or Celebrini brother has even thought about owning a pair of skates, he is knocking on their door.
I wonder which NBA franchise he’ll turn to next to find the son of an athletic trainer who’s good at hockey. If a strength and conditioning coach for the Sacramento Kings has a pair of sons, you can bet that Coach Peirera already has a shiny letter of intent with their name on it.
It’s gotten to the point now where every time I see that the Terriers have landed a new recruit, my first thought is to Google whether or not they have a brother. If you were wondering … Cole Eiserman has four … including a twin.
Macklin Celebrini is a Terrier
Macklin fever is sweeping the nation.
For as hyped as the 17-year-old was going into this season, he has delivered and then some.
It feels slightly illegal to be able to see Celebrini, along with Lane Hutson and the other future NHLers on BU’s roster, on a weekly basis for the low price of a BU Sports Pass subscription.
I think everyone knew he was going to be good, but the fact that he’s this good this early is a surprise.
Beyond showing his scoring ability, he’s displayed that he makes his teammates better through his amazing passing. His recent pairing with Quinn Hutson on the Terriers’ top line has turned the sophomore into a goal scoring machine.
Following the stretch of tough hits against North Dakota and UMass Lowell, we saw another level to his skill and maturity. Celebrini didn’t complain or ask for special treatment for one second, saying that hits like that are just a feature of the game…even though they shouldn’t be.
Not to get sentimental, but his rise to the national stage with the Terriers is something that we’re all going to be bragging about witnessing for years to come. We should all be thankful that we are here at the beginning of something very special.
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I hope that everyone reading this is now fully equipped to spout off some Terrier propaganda for extended family at the dinner table today.
I, for one, know I will be yelling “Roll Terriers” at least once or twice throughout the day.
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