Men’s hockey

Live Blog – BU vs. Quinnipiac, 1/19 at 5pm

BU takes on #6/7 Quinnipiac at Agganis Arena this Saturday night, looking to push their win streak to three. This will be a major test for the Terriers, but BU is red-hot in the new year, unbeaten in their three contests since the start of 2019.

Don’t want to leave home with the snowstorm fast approaching? We’ve got you covered with our live blog of the game, bringing you all the action from the starting lineups to the final buzzer. Puck drop is at 5pm, come join us!

Terriers return to home ice looking for first win of 2019

After tying Harvard 2-2 in their first game in almost a month, the Terriers will face the University of New Hampshire Wildcats this Friday in a Hockey East contest at Agganis Arena.

Unlike BU (6-8-3, 5-5-2 in Hockey East), UNH (6-7-6, 2-4-3 in Hockey East) has had three games since the holidays. In 2019, the Wildcats have beaten both Bentley and Merrimack and tied Yale. UNH previously faced BU on November 10th on the Wildcats’ home ice, and fell to the visiting Terriers 2-3.

Since their matchup, a trend has surfaced in both teams’ results: both BU and UNH have tied Boston College, lost to Providence, and beaten Dartmouth. There is differentiation in the UMass Lowell games, where UNH tied the Riverhawks and BU lost one game and won the other. In addition, when UNH beat Merrimack, BU lost.

Starting in between the pipes for the Wildcats looks to be freshman standout Ty Taylor, who has a save percentage of .863. In the net for the Terriers will most likely be junior Jake Oettinger. Oettinger will have to pay his most attention to freshman Angus Crookshank, who is UNH’s leader in goals (6) and is tied for the team lead in points (15) for the Wildcats. Along with Crookshank upfront, Ara Nazarian, Jackson Pierson, and Brendan Van Riemsdyk are also top scorers for UNH.

On offense for the Terriers, senior captain Bobo Carpenter leads the Terrier attack with nine goals, but was kept off the scoresheet against Harvard. BU’s Dante Fabbro, Shane Bowers, and Joel Farabee have also found a knack for putting the puck in the net for the Terrier attack. Adding depth up front for BU, Matthew Quercia scored his first goal as a Terrier in Tuesday’s game against Harvard, and looks to be involved again on Friday.

The game will begin at 7:30pm, and can be watched or listened to through GoTerriers.com. As always, there will be a live blog of the game right here on the Boston Hockey Blog.

Can Boston University secure a big Hockey East win over New Hampshire? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Men’s Hockey: Terriers begin second half with draw at Harvard

After nearly a month without a game, the Boston University men’s hockey team drew 2-2 with Harvard in a visit to crosstown rivals to open play in 2019.

Coming off of the midseason holiday break, the Terriers (6-8-3, 5-5-2 in Hockey East) received much-needed reinforcements from multiple sources. Freshman Joel Farabee and sophomores Shane Bowers and Logan Cockerill returned from the World Junior Championship, having departing for the international tournament prior to the conclusion of the first half of the season. Senior captain Bobo Carpenter also became available after missing the 2018 finale due to injury, while junior defenseman Chad Krys remained sidelined for the Terriers.

BU started strong against the Crimson (6-4-3,  3-3-2 in ECAC), tilting the ice early and getting rewarded for their efforts. Less than three minutes into the opening period, it was Matthew Quercia who knocked in a centering pass from Ryan Cloonan to score the game’s first goal. Cloonan ‘s strong move and pinpoint pass gave the senior his first assist of the season, while his freshman linemate Quercia collected his first goal as a Terrier on the tap-in.

In the second, BU gained a pair of power plays in rapid succession, but successful kills by the Crimson defense propelled Harvard forward towards BU net. After two dangerous chances were denied by junior Jake Oettinger, Crimson junior Adam Fox fired a shot by the BU netminder with three minutes to play in the second stanza. The tally boosted Fox’s team lead in points to 21, and brought the game level leading into the final 20 minutes.

Harvard’s momentum continued into the third, as senior Lewis Zerter-Gossage put the Crimson in front, slapping in a rebound on the power play less than two minutes into the third period. Harvard’s leading goal scorer did not have much time to celebrate his tenth tally of the season though, as Joel Farabee knotted things up with a power play goal of his own just minutes later, his fifth goal of the campaign.

With the game tied at two, Jake Oettinger was called into action more frequently than his goaltending counterpart senior Michael Lackey, but BU’s Dallas Stars prospect was equal to the task throughout on every occasion. After goalmouth tussles on both ends, the third period buzzer sounded, and the game headed to an additional frame.

In overtime, the Terriers dominated zone time, but Lackey came up with his best saves of the night for the Crimson to ensure that BU would not find a winner. 65 minutes would not be enough to separate the two sides, and the game would finish tied 2-2.

Continuing the quest for their first win of the new year, the Terriers will move on to two crucial Hockey East matchups later this week. First, BU will return to Agganis Arena on Friday to take on the University of New Hampshire (6-7-6, 2-4-3 in Hockey East), and then the Terriers head to Providence to face the Friars (12-4-4, 6-2-1 in Hockey East) on Saturday.

What did you think of the draw against Harvard? Let us know your thoughts below!

 

Terriers open 2019 with Boston rivalry clash at Harvard

After nearly a month without a game due to the midseason holiday break, the Terriers will return to the ice on Tuesday in a visit to their Allston foes, the Harvard Crimson.

The Terriers concluded the natural first half of their season with a 6-8-2 record, going 5-5-2 in Hockey East play. While an 0-4 start and a midpoint record hovering right around .500 may not have been what first-year head coach Albie O’Connell had in mind to begin his tenure, there is certainly an optimism surrounding the team coming into the second half.

“I think we made good strides”, said O’Connell in an interview with Scott Weighart of GoTerriers.com. “We’ve played some good hockey, but the consistency level of individual and team have to match up and connect. When that happens, we play really well.”

“We have a very young team and a new coach,” said junior forward Patrick Curry to Weighart. “[The first half] wasn’t the greatest, but we went out a high note with two wins before the break.”

As alluded to by Curry, the Terriers found some success towards the end of 2018, pulling off back-to-back wins over UMass Lowell (9-8-1, 5-4-1 in Hockey East) and Dartmouth (5-7-2, 4-2-1 in ECAC). The wins featured five and four goals respectively for the Terriers, whose shorthanded roster at the time made the victories that much more impressive.

Away from the team, freshman Joel Farabee and sophomore Logan Cockerill built some individual confidence as contributing members of the silver medal-winning USA squad at the World Junior Championships in British Columbia. Sophomore Shane Bowers also participated in the tournament, proving to be a key performer for Team Canada throughout the tournament.

“I think the guys played well”, said Coach O’Connell. “Hopefully their confidence level is high.”

On the Harvard side, the Crimson (6-4-2, 3-3-2 in ECAC) will be playing their second game of 2019 after defeating RPI (5-14, 3-6 in ECAC) in overtime on January 4, with freshman Casey Dornbach scoring the game-winner. Senior Lewis Senior Zerter-Gossage assisted Dornach’s goal, and also opened the scoring for Harvard earlier in the contest, recording his team-leading ninth tally of the season.

With his goal against RPI and an assist as well, Dornbach moved to second on the team in points with 18. Junior Adam Fox leads the team with 20 points, creating attacking production despite his primary role as a defenseman. Dornbach and Fox share the team lead in assists with a whopping fifteen helpers each, seven assists ahead of the next closest provider, freshman Jack Drury.

Senior netminder Michael Lackey made 24 saves in his victorious effort against RPI, and has been relied on by the Crimson all season, starting eleven of the team’s twelve games and holding a save percentage of .912. Likely opposing Lackey on Tuesday will be BU junior Jake Oettinger, who has assumed a similar workload, but holds a slightly superior save percentage of .924.

For the Terriers, this game will be the first of three in what will be a very busy week to open up play in 2019. Following their visit to Harvard on Tuesday, BU will host the University of New Hampshire (6-7-6, 2-4-3 in Hockey East) and travel to Providence College (12-4-4, 6-2-1 in Hockey East) over the weekend.

Getting a win against Harvard could give the Terriers some coveted momentum ahead of two major Hockey East contests, and propel the team forward into the second half of the season.

“We’re going to have to start on a strong note,” summarized O’Connell.

The game will be played at Harvard’s Bright-Landry Hockey Center on January 8 at 7pm, and can be heard through GoTerriers.com, or watched for a fee on ESPN+.

Can BU get off to a strong start in 2019 against Harvard? Share your thoughts in the comments section below – we’d love to hear from you!

BU Men’s Hockey’s New Year’s Resolutions

Welcome to 2019, hockey fans! As people often do upon embarking on a new year, I am putting together a collection of New Year’s resolutions, but not for myself. Instead, I will be compiling a list of potential improvements that could bring the BU Men’s Hockey team a successful 2019. These ideas are all my own, so if you have any additional thoughts or responses to my resolutions, please feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section or on Twitter. I’d love to hear from you!

Resolution 1: Tighten up on defense

The Terrier defense has been uncharacteristically inconsistent throughout the first half of the season, allowing the fourth most shots on goal of any team in the league thus far (543). Worse, BU has allowed the second most shots on goal per game (33.94), only better than Vermont, who sit at the bottom of the division. To their credit, BU’s blueliners have been heavily involved in the offense this season, but if the Terriers want to make a run for the league title, the defensive side of the game must be improved.

Resolution 2: Take pressure off of Jake Oettinger

This resolution is closely related to the first, but one cannot consider improvements for BU in 2019 without mentioning the goaltender. At third-worst in the Hockey East in the terms of goals against, Jake Oettinger has conceded 40 goals thus far, a total driven by the number of shots he has faced. The Dallas Stars prospect has single-handedly kept BU in games at times, but such performances can take a toll on a keeper over the course of a season. For Oettinger to still be sharp come March, BU must find a way to lessen the workload on their standout keeper.

Resolution 3: Get the most out of attacking talent

BU has great talent at the offensive positions, but cold stretches from certain forwards have prevented the BU attack from finding their rhythm as an entire unit. As we know, hockey can be a game of streaks, and within a matter of games, we could see previously-quiet Terriers emerge as consistent producers and threats to opposing defenses. As points become more and more crucial with the season nearing its close, BU will need these potential contributors to step up, especially if team defense continues to be an issue.

Resolution 4: Spread the wealth on offense

In the first half of the season, BU has relied on the likes of Bobo Carpenter, Dante Fabbro, and Joel Farabee to lead the way on offense. While getting production out of those who are expected to produce is certainly a positive, BU must develop depth in scoring if they aim to become a real offensive danger in Hockey East. The Terriers are already progressing towards acquiring this depth, as four of the team’s top 10 leading scorers are defensemen, but for success in both 2019 and beyond, BU will need to get goals out of players further down the offensive depth chart.

There is a lot of hockey left to be played in BU’s season this year. Will the Terriers make the necessary adjustments to become true contenders for the Hockey East tournament? Only time will tell.

Jordan Greenway to return for junior season

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PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

One of Boston University’s go-to forwards will return for the 2017-18 season.

Jordan Greenway, amidst speculation that he would turn pro with the Minnesota Wild, has confirmed to The Boston Hockey Blog that he’ll be back for his junior season.

The announcement comes as a boon to Terrier hockey fans, as forwards Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Clayton Keller and defenseman Charlie McAvoy have all signed early with NHL teams.

With Greenway back, BU now retains three of its top six forwards from the 2016-17 campaign, including rising sophomore Patrick Harper and rising junior Bobo Carpenter. Across his first two seasons at Agganis Arena, the 20-year-old amassed 57 points (15 goals, 42 assists) in 76 games.

During his sophomore season, Greenway helped Team USA win a gold medal at the World Junior Championships. Clocking in at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Greenway was drafted in the second round in 2015 by Minnesota.

 

Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson signs with Bruins, forgoes final two years at BU

Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson played 78 games at BU. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson played 78 games at BU. PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

And then there were three.

Days removed from sophomore defenseman Charlie McAvoy and freshman forward Clayton Keller turning pro early, sophomore center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson has also taken the NHL path.

The 20-year-old Swede signed with the Boston Bruins on Sunday evening, foregoing his final two years of NCAA eligibility for life on Causeway Street. Instead of joining McAvoy with the Providence Bruins, “JFK” will join the Black and Gold ahead of their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Serving as an alternate captain during the 2016-17 BU season, he posted 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points. Notably, the Terriers were 9-0-1 when “JFK” scored as a sophomore, one year removed from being named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

The news comes just days after David Quinn, BU’s head coach, expressed supreme confidence that the Swede would return for his junior season. However, as reported by The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont, the Bruins met with “JFK” on Friday and must have convinced him the pro route was in the cards.

Mindful of that, he’ll likely try and displace Ryan Spooner or Riley Nash as Boston’s third or fourth line center, respectively. The move also represents quite the vote of confidence, as “JFK,” often likened to Patrice Bergeron, joins amidst a playoff push.

Per a release by the Bruins, “JFK” signed a three-year entry-level contract effective immediately.

Coach Quinn talks the 2016-17 season, future

PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

On Wednesday afternoon at Agganis Arena, The Daily Free Press and WTBU Sports sat down with head coach David Quinn for about half an hour.

In a far-reaching interview that covered everything from high and low moments of the 2016-17 season to thoughts on roster construction moving forward, Quinn did not hold back. In fact, this 30-minute conversation was the most honest and candid I remember Quinn ever being about BU hockey.

First off, we have two stories on the FreeP. The first looks back at the year that was, while the second talks about the future. I strongly encourage you, Terrier hockey fans, to check them both out and then share your thoughts below.

Also, we have a flurry of tweets with in-depth quotes from Quinn. In other words, a lot to digest.