Ashton Abel skates in his first warmup with BU. Photo by Brady Gardner.
The Terriers took down Concordia University 3-0 on Sunday evening at Walter Brown Arena. Here are my three takeaways from the game, and as always, all opinions are my own.
Abel, Skoog looked comfortable in debuts
Officially announced as Terriers on Saturday, Ashton Abel and Wilmer Skoog looked right at home in their first game wearing scarlet and white. Between the pipes, Abel only faced 10 shots in 40 minutes but was reliable when called upon and diverted rebounds effectively. Skoog was active offensively at even strength and on the power play, and showed some character by defending his new teammates when Robert Mastrosimone was hit hard from behind late in the first period. Albie O’Connell and his staff didn’t exactly ease these newcomers in, as Abel got the starting nod in net and Skoog centered BU’s top line, but these recruits responded well to the challenge and made a strong first impression.
Terrier defensive depth shined in shutout
Without two of their three upperclassmen leaders, the young Terrier defensive unit showed off its depth by posting a shutout while rotating all three defensive pairings in almost all situations. In the BU zone, I was impressed by freshman Dom Fensore, an attacking defenseman who saw time on the penalty kill on Sunday and held his own. On the other end, defense-first freshman Alex Vlasic found his way forward in the right spots, getting involved in the attacking zone and converting an empty-netter in the game’s late stages. These are just a few examples from an encouraging defensive performance by the BU blueliners, albeit against a less-challenging opponent than others they’ve faced earlier this season.
Mastrosimone, Phillips proving to be a dangerous duo
There were many BU playmakers missing from the lineup on Sunday, meaning freshmen Robert Mastrosimone and Ethan Phillips were perhaps BU’s most potent attackers left in the lineup. Making the most of their first-line opportunity, the tandem of Detroit Red Wings draftees worked well together throughout the contest, most notably combining for BU’s opening goal. These first-year Terriers provided a spark at times in their first semester in Boston, so if they can continue to gel together, they could become a productive pair for BU both as the season goes on and for years to come.
Concordia is a older physical team. They hit hard and bu was up to the task. We skated through there checks and established o zone time on defense we went toe to toe with them. As was stated Abel and Skoog did well. Our character guys got opportunities they might not always get and did very well. I did not see any signs of rust on bu. I’m excited for second half🐾
Impressions: Abel and Lynch both were impressive – good side-to-side movement and square to shooters. As Colin said on Facebook “no rust”. Passing was crisp, O zone cycling and times of possession were good. Skoog has decent size, and I think he will develop with a few weeks of practice and games. Being absent some of our “A” players, everyone else stepped up with effort and energy. Left the game with a good taste in my mouth. PSD
Got bored so I decided to put together an BU men’s hockey All-Decade Team
LW – Clayton Keller
C – Jack Eichel
RW – Danny O’Regan
D – Dante Fabbro
D – Matt Gryzleck
G – Jake Oettinger
Nice choices – be sure to check out Patrick’s article we just posted about this!
Check out my response to Patrick’s article. You will enjoy it for sure.