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O’Connor breaks career save record in draw with North Dakota

By Meredith Perri/DFP Sports 

After Saturday evening’s tilt with the No. 14/15 University of North Dakota, Boston University men’s hockey coach David Quinn asked Matt O’Connor if he felt like he actually faced 58 shots.

The sophomore netminder not only responded with an affirmative, but he also went on to criticize his performance, saying he did not control his rebounds well.

“I didn’t notice that,” Quinn said, “But you know, he is a goalie. He is hard on himself. That’s how he felt.”

As much as O’Connor may have wanted to cover up more shots, the Toronto native turned out another strong performance in net as he stopped 55 chances during the Terriers 3-3 tie with North Dakota at Agganis Arena.

For the first time this season, and the first time since Nov. 30 through Dec. 6 2012, O’Connor started in three straight games for the Terriers. His streak in goal started halfway through BU’s 7-0 loss against the University of Maine on Nov. 15. Before the weekend series against North Dakota, Quinn said that, while sophomore Sean Maguire has played well this season, he felt that O’Connor had played well enough to deserve the start on Friday.

Although the Saturday spot was to be determined, O’Connor made a convincing argument in the first half of the series as he held North Dakota scoreless until the final three minutes of the game.

Saturday’s game, however, started out far differently from the previous night as North Dakota came out with more physical play. Within the first few minutes of the game UND wing Stephane Pattyn charged the net, pushing O’Connor into the crossbar. While the netminder said he felt the hit, he continued to protect his crease – something he said he was working on earlier in the season.

“I think that might have been their objective – get in my face early on,” O’Connor said. “I’ve been really aggressive around my crease lately trying to get my ground in the crease, so I think that helped.”

North Dakota, which had a total of 84 attempted shots during the game, also increased its attempted shots from 67 on Friday to 84 on Saturday.

“He’s a good goalie, a very good goalie,” Pattyn said. “If we threw pucks at him odds were a couple were going to get in, and if we get traffic in front of him… I think that was our main goal.

“He’s big, he moves well, he’s got a very good glove hand, so we knew we had to get guys in front of him.”

While O’Connor pegged his difficulty controlling rebounds as part of the reason for the number of shots, Quinn also pointed out that the number of BU shots that missed the net also had an impact.

“We missed the net 26 times tonight,” Quinn said. “Twenty-six times. I guarantee you 15 to 20 of their shots were a direct result of us missing the net, shooting it wide, starting their breakout and away they go.”

Despite this added offensive pressure, O’Connor put shot after shot aside, leading to a career high number of saves. A BU goaltender has not registered more than 55 saves in a game since former Terrier Kieran Millan stopped 68 shots during BU’s game against the University of New Hampshire during the Hockey East quarterfinals on March 11, 2012. That game went into two overtimes.

Although Quinn said that it was too early to determine whether O’Connor will pick up his fourth straight start next weekend during the Red Hot Hockey game against Cornell University at Madison Square Garden, he pointed out that O’Connor’s performance followed a trend from the entire season.

“He has been building on every performance he has had,” Quinn said.

39 Comments

  1. I can’t believe our lousy defense gave up that many shots to a bad North Dakota team.

    • Wasn’t DQ suppose to be a defensive wiz? Looks like coaching defense is just another of his weak areas that got exposed.

  2. Any word on why Collier and Kurker are not playing? Reading the game blog from last night, it sounds like they are looking to leave BU??!! Is that true?

  3. Great weekend for the Terriers. On another note the students should be ashamed of themselves for the lack of attendance and enthusiasm. Home and Home against one of the best college hockey programs and they can’t fill one end let alone two. The band is great but other than that the lack of student support stinks. I know Jim Pryor is a legend but it’s time to hang up the Mike for someone who can bring a little excitement. You can’t hear or understand him anymore.

    • Student as well as overall attendance as been way down the last 4 years or so. Not sure if it is high ticket prices, lack of interest, or something else. I read an article recently that said we had a really high international student population. These people can pay the BU tuition but could care less about BU hockey and could be the reason for dying attendance.

    • The attendance problem stretches beyond just the students. There have been fewer season ticket renewals, fewer new season ticket holders, and fewer non-season ticket holders buying tickets for the game/games they want to attend.

      The drop in attendance was definitely noticeable last year, but has been even more precipitous this year. Aside from the BC game, the Wisconsin game was the only other game that drew over 5000 people. It’s embarrassing that attendance has been under 4000 for almost every other game; I don’t think this is what BU had in mind when Agganis was built.

      With Agganis Arena now being 9 years old, the novelty of attending a BU game at a new rink is long gone. The fact that the on-ice product the past 4 years has fallen short of expectations makes the overall product less attractive to both loyal and casual fans.

      I know of numerous people who used to be season ticket holders who chose not to renew, or renewed fewer tickets, or only got a partial season ticket plan. In most of these cases, it’s the cost combined with a lack of time due to changing priorities (work, families) plus a diminished on-ice product that has resulted in them being less committed to following BU Hockey as closely as they once did.

      One also must question how much of an impact Parker’s retirement has had on attendance so far this year.

    • Back in the 80s and 90s, our student base was comprised of Log Island people and Brandeis rejects. They all supported the hockey team. Now with foreigners all over campus, the support for hockey is dead.

    • BU was never a school full of Brandeis rejects. If anything, those who got rejected at BU ended up at Brandeis. That’s why the typical Brandeis student is such a bitter person.

  4. Alright, someone has to say it.

    We’ve given Dave Quinn 13 whole games, and he’s given us .500 hockey. I won’t be satisfied until he is out after standing at Marsh Plaza wearing a sign saying “After 13 games I only had a .500 record.” We get the new coach in by Friday, he gets fired after the Saturday game, then the next coach is out after the Merrimack game. No, I’ll be patient. I’ll give that coach until after the Bentley game, then fire him, unless he has won the Beanpot by then.

    Sorry for the trolling, but it is true that the snark goes down when they are not losing. Happy Thanksgiving all!

    • All the snark and trolling in the world won’t save DQ’s job if his poor coaching continues. Fire DQ as coach, hire DQ is a recruiter.

    • You DQ haters are stupid. Do you really think a new coach should be judged on his first 12 games coaching players he did not recruit. Jack was a great coach who did a tremendous job for BU. However, the players Jack left for his successor are, for the most part, good players but they are not great players. Other than O’Reagan and maybe Roberto and Baillageon the remaining skaters are just good journeymen. DQ must be given the chance to bring in his own players. Do you expect David to match teams like BC and Minnesota with players like Collier, Moran, Moscatel, Lane and Kurker. Example, Kurker came to BU as a highly regarded power forward. He has played maybe 40 games for BU. He has been given the opportunity to show what he can do. Unfortunately, he cannot score at this level. Is that DQ’s fault? Let’s see what David can do when he has players he has recruited.

    • It would be nice if DQ could compete with teams like Maine and RPI. His coaching has shown that losses do not brother him as he was laughing and having a good time after a loss. Coach Parker would not have been that way, and neither would any other real coach.

  5. Good post but don’t waste your time on the idiot who posted above you. He’s a lunatic that likes to instigate others with his ignorant, not in the slang sense, comments. Ignore him. He’s a class A Loser. Let him continue to look stupid.

    • Name calling is the last refuge for a DQ supporter/family member because there’s nothing else that can be said to cover up his incompetence.

    • Why is it that the people who wanted Coach Parker fired are the same ones who are defending DQ’s incompetence? Are they BC, Maine, or UNH fans who want us to be stuck with that failure DQ in charge?

    • Didn’t someone say the name calling DQ family member(s) was banned? Looks like that was incorrect.

    • ugh here we go again with the “incompetence”. So old, move on to another insulting term please. Anyway, Mr. Negative Quinn Hater, WHEN exactly are you happy? You’re miserable when BU loses, you’re miserable when BU wins and you’re miserable when they tie. Oh and by the way, did you catch the BC score vs “mediocre” Maine? yea….Wait, how about the PC score? Yea…nothing on those from you huh? Man, you must be a barrel of laughs to be around…probably why you’re on here so often. HA!

  6. Looks like this blo is pretty much dead unless we are playing or had just played BC.

  7. To the ADMINISTRATION of this Blog, ANY mention of coach Quinns family should be blocked, insult the Coach, it comes with the job.But family members, should be left alone.

    • I agree. What also needs to be blocked are member of DQ’s family coming on her with personal attacks and name calling to distract from the poor job he’s been doing.

    • The name calling and personal attacks against BU fans has been pretty pathetic this year. Time for those to stop. As BU fans we are entitled to calling out the coach for a poor job and exposing his friends/family members/opposing team’s fans who come here with false praise for DQ to make sure we have a lousy coach in charge of the team or to help him keep his job.

    • Previous two comments, grow up, pathetic losers!! And am ashamed to see BUT fans with such little class, Coach is open game, but Family, ? Give it a rest,&try not to act like you are a U MASS fan….never thought I would see such trash here…

    • I agree with the OP – DQ’s family members should be banned for their name calling and personal attacks against BU fans.

  8. Happy thanksgiving!!
    Ps: how is it possible to agree with a post you originally wrote?? You write ALL the negative posts, over and over, with the same underlying theme: you hate quinn, and in your mind he’s incompetent, he should have a 1.000 winning percentage and should never have been hired. You’ve made your point. He’s here for a while, 4 or even 5 years I believe, so maybe you should find another team to follow? There’s really no point in you posting on here. I’m pretty sure the president of BU and the AD don’t come to this blog seeking opinions on who THEY willingly chose for their coach. It’s quite clear THEY wanted him and trust in him to bring back the kind of competitive hockey team BU has been known for yet had been lacking since 2009. JMHO

    • Happy Thanksgiving back at you.

      I am making a Thanksgiving resolution to be less anonymous in my anonymity going forward, since all of these posts look like they have been written by the same person.

      I’m not being negative. It may seem like some odd kind of sarcasm, but seriously, Quinn has brought us 0 Beanpots as head coach. He should be out. His successor should be fired now, as that person’s successor. Now the person after him (or her?) I’ll give a bit of time, but if they haven’t gotten us at least a Hockey East tourney title by the end of January, I will be impatient.

      Next thread, I will give my name (or something). I’ve got some fun things planned for December and January.

  9. I wonder what recruits and potential recruits think when the coach is in such a bad spot that his friends and family members have to come here constantly to attack fans of the team who are calling out his lack of coaching skill.

    • Well, not a family member or frIend actually but Check with the recruits coming in…they’ll tell you.
      So just curious, WHO, in your opinion, should be the coach?? Put on your big boy pants and put it out there…you obviously had someone else in mind…let’s hear it…and since quinn is a lousy coach, give us FACTS about your choice. You never gave a reason why you despise quinn so one is left to conclude it’s personal rather than the typical fan disagreeing with a team’s choice…

    • Big boy pants?-something tells me this wacko, (and I am not a friend of DQ, OR FAMILY) sits by the computer in his BU pajamas all day! Probably on SSDI,& is infatuated with Coach Quinn.I wonder what he will do when DQ recruits arrive and the Program returns to glory? I guarantee this will happen, &From what I have read, DQ has a 5 year guaranteed contract, which pays him more than this idiot will make in his life.Could it be jealousy?? I think so, keep at it hater, you are like the court jester now! A fool who states no facts &is never happy, sad pathetic little man, I bet your 5’2 with a huge Napoleon complex….lmao

  10. Just heard a radio commercial that said 2 BU hockey tickets came with any purchase. Is that how far we have sunk? Our attendance is so pathetic now that we need to give tickets away. Pretty soon, we will be paying “fans” to come to games.

  11. The haters have gotten out of control, give DO some time, things will turn around…and shame on anyone who insults the Coaches family, NO CLASS…..

  12. I haven’t read any insults to the family? I see the same sorts of posts insinuating David Quinn’s family and/or friends are on here supporting him, and who cares if they are or aren’t. The thing that troubles me is WHY come to a BU FAN page and continually put down the new coach when ANY intelligent sports fan knows, once the personnel changes, things take time to change as well. There is one or two posters on here who just keep saying the same nonsense over and over. When BU wins, they are very quiet, maybe a snide comment here or there. But when they lose, WOW, it’s all out war on Quinn and Quinn only. They never put blame on the players, who, let’s all call a spade a spade, just aren’t that talented, as a whole. Quinn did not recruit any of these players, yet he IS responsible now for coaching them to be the best they can be. This is definitely going to be a challenging year, on all levels. BU does have some quality players, thankfully. I’ve ignored the negative posts on here up until now. From what I’ve read thus far, there seems to be a pattern to the negative posts. I’m not sure what the agenda is, if the poster is an actual BU alumni, fan or what but it’s just best to ignore him. Someone stated he may be close to someone he thinks should’ve gotten the job and that would make sense why he’s so critical, who knows. But I think the team is doing a good job. They are definitely inconsistent in their play but half the team is brand new, along with a new coach, so it’ll make for an interesting year. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season goes. So, just my two cents: I really like O’Regan, and I like OConnor in net over Maguire. We have some talented freshmen as welll, so it will be interesting to see how they grow as well. Anyway, I hope this blog can get back to what it’s meant to be…fans coming together to discuss the team, agree to disagree when things are said that aren’t to your liking and respect one another’s opinion.

    • I agree – the insults from DQ’s family and friends against BU fans who only want the best for our team reflect poorly on DQ and BU.

  13. Lol ya ok…I doubt that’s what the poster was referring to…

  14. Another win by that “incompetent” coach and young team!!! GO BU! !!!-LOL