To Sum It Up: Penguins, Terriers

"At 5-0, the Penguins are the last undefeated team in the AHL." 

Those sweet words came from WBS Pens' beat writer, Jonathan Bombulie, after last night's win against the Hershey Bears. Just as expected, the Pens are off to a strong start. What wasn't quite expected is how they're doing it. This part I like. Bombulie described it well when he said:

Overall, I think the most impressive thing about the start the Penguins are off to is that it's sustainable ... the Penguins haven't done anything in the first five games that they won't be able to do for the next 75. They're just playing good fundamental hockey.

Like music to my ears. The exact type of successful team I like to see. Sure, it's not always as fun to watch as guys doing ridiculous Ice Capade moves, but it's more reliable. I've always been a fan of fundamental, hard-working teams over the rely-on-pretty-skill teams (see: San Jose Sharks).

With injured Pittsburgh players healing up, keep an eye out for Eric Tangradi and Andrew Hutchinson to be back in NEPA.

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How about those Terriers too? Geez. If you remember back in my nostalgic preview, I basically said I wasn't expecting much out of them, and anything else will be a pleasant surprise. Well, count me as someone who's pleasantly surprised. After beating UMass last night, BU is now 3-0-1. They defeated both Wisconsin and Notre Dame to win the IceBreaker tournament opening weekend, tied UMass last weekend and got the win last night. Looks like they've woken up from last year. They're working for the wins. 

Three guys I've especially enjoyed so far: Charlie Coyle, Sahar Gill and Matt Nieto. This freshman class is shaping up for a fun few upcoming seasons.

Class of 2014.

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And last, but certainly not least, the Pittsburgh Penguins. They had an ... yeah, I guess interesting is a good word for it ... they had an interesting start to the year. By interesting I mean they were 1-3. Certainly not something anyone saw coming. I didn't panic because anyone who thought that was going to dictate the rest of the year should pull their head out of the sand. A lot of spoiled Penguins fans came out. People who clearly forgot what it was like prior to these past few seasons of being awesome. Back then, if you were to have a slow start, you knew that's what you were in for. Now, we go 1-3, and I look around at Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, et. al, and I know they'll figure it out. No team is invincible. A little adversity never hurt anyone.

And now they're 5-3 and in second place in the Atlantic. So there.

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In Case You Were Wondering How Saponari Felt ...

Terriers Begin a New Era (and I Do Too)

Tonight marks the start of the Boston University hockey season as they take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the Ice Breaker tournament in St. Louis.

After four seasons, it also marks the first time I won’t be sitting in section 108 for every home game at Agganis Arena. And, well, it’s sad.

In the four years I was at BU, I saw two Beanpot championships, a lot of Eric Gryba penalties, a kid named Colin Wilson who always found a way to score and the best hockey game I have ever seen – which came with a nice National Championship trophy as well.

More importantly, I found myself a hockey family. Because a lot of my girl friends can only stand the first 30 seconds of a game, I started tagging along with four of my guy friends. I didn’t know them all that well in the beginning, but by the close of the 2009-10 season, I was proud to call them some of my closest friends – not to mention some of my favorite people. Ever. (Trust me, if you met them, you’d agree).

If it wasn't for them, I wouldn’t have learned things like:
+ ‘Get on the Ice’ is just as effective and a lot more fun to chant than ‘Get off the ice’
+ Southern Comfort isn’t that bad.
+ Not all BC students are Jesuits - or are they?
+ Knocking out ceiling tiles is a lot easier to do than attempting to take one home is a little more difficult.


But we all collectively agreed, that watching a team down 3-1, with 59 seconds to go in the National Championship game, miraculously tie it up and go on to win in OT is the single, greatest thing that we saw – and, as far as hockey goes, will probably ever see.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: I’m going to miss them. A lot. And I won’t feel bad for nagging them each season to reunite for a game.

Now, aside from my sappy feelings on the upcoming season, the Terriers are undoubtedly facing a transition year. Some names you won't see on the ice: Colby Cohen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Eric Gryba, Nick Bonino. Scary.

The new BU Terriers are young. The USCHO preview mentioned there are 17 freshman and sophomores and only one senior -- possibly Jack Parker's youngest squad ever. Young teams don't always bring in a ton of wins, but they can be a lot of fun to watch. In a season or two, after they're used to playing with each other, BU will be a strong team.

The one guy I'm looking forward to seeing the most this year is first-rounder Charlie Coyle. He gave a nice sneak peek of what he can do with his hat trick last weekend against Toronto. The other player I'm excited about is Dave Warsofsky; he's little, but he's one of BU's best right now.

Overall, I'm not expecting a lot from the Terriers. I'm looking forward to see the young guys and watching them grow. Everything else will be a pleasant surprise.

Get it BU.

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Saponari Crosses Enemy Lines

Hi everyone. I’m going to kick off the official start of hockey season with a joke:

Vinny Saponari.

Remember him? You may recall him as one of the producers of the infamous, chart-topping hit, ‘Party like a Puckstar.’ Or you might remember him as the kid who got booted off the BU hockey team for thinking he was above showing up on time and staying sober the nights before games. Yeah, that’s him.

Well, the kid has skills, so he was going to have to play somewhere else to keep his career going. Then, with a swift kick to every BU fan’s nuts, he committed to play for the Boston College Eagles. Wait, let me repeat that for you:

The. Boston. College. Eagles.

Per NCAA rules, he has to sit out a year before he can join the Eagles, but words cannot explain how excited I will be for the first BU-BC match-up in the 2011-12 season. Cannot even wait. I know Terriers fans will eat this up. It has to be one of the first times, if not the only time, that a player has transferred down Commonwealth Avenue – either way.

As a hockey move, good for him. BC has an elite program, and isn’t going to be horrible anytime soon (unfortunately). Saponari is a good hockey player. And he will go pro. A guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do. He got lucky that someone as good as BC was willing to put up with him.

BUT if there’s one thing I hate, it’s someone who is presented with an unbelievable opportunity and isn’t mature enough to keep it. There are no excuses. You’re not 2 years old. You can act like a grown-up.

My favorite quote out of Saponari’s comments on joining BC was:

"I love the city of Boston, and Boston College always has a good team. I played against them for two years. I know how the program is –– the professionalism that comes with being there and playing there."

Keyword: Professionalism. The one thing that got him kicked off the team in the first place. Well bud, I hope you fare better there.

To his credit, he did admit he acted like a jackass – sorry, that he wasn’t “very mature when I was at BU, but I hope in the long run, [the experience] helps me. It was an unfortunate situation, but I’ve grown up and learned from it.” If that’s the truth, I’m glad. I don’t wish him to be horrible for the rest of his life. Only when he plays against BU.

I always enjoyed calling Nate Gerbe a little bitch. Saponari isn’t as good as Gerbe was at the college level, but I will certainly enjoy bestowing him with the same nickname.

UPDATE: Saponari Responds to Release

Vinny Saponari's response to the release:

I just found out today, like all of you, and I'm pretty shocked, just as shocked as everyone else. I didn't see this coming. I know I'd made some mistakes as far as rules go, but I really didn't think it would lead to this.

Well, that's why they're called 'rules' bud. Not to mention you broke a team drinking rule ... without being 21 yet. Hmm. That's not just a team rule, it's actually a law. But any how ... he pretty much ruined any chance (if there was any) of being welcomed back to the team by proceeding to whine about the whole thing:

I guess what better example to your team that you're serious than to kick off a player who's played a lot of games. To me, do I think it's justified? No. I love this team, and I wasn't ready to leave. I made a mistake or two since I've been here, but I didn't feel like I was a bad thing for the team, or any kind of bad influence. To me, it's unjust, to [Parker], maybe not.

Really, his best option would have been to have a brief comment saying he's upset about it, and he's sorry for breaking the team rules. End of story. Instead, he did not offer up one apology for his behavior. Sure, it's normal behavior for a regular college kid. But guess what? He's not a normal college kid. He's playing hockey for a Division I school, and he's drafted by an NHL team. He came off as big brat. Even if you feel that way, you don't publicly say it. A lesson in media relations I guess. You wouldn't hear a professional athlete say this (well, unless it's Sean Avery). Whether Parker was rash in his decision or not doesn't matter because Parker's reputation is better and more established than Saponari's.

Oh yeah, Saponari also said he's in contact with his 'people.' Give me a break. 

Guess you'll have to party like a puckstar elsewhere.

Saponari Brothers Released from BU Terriers; Trivino Suspended

My jaw dropped a little bit when I saw the news a few minutes ago. The Terriers have released both Vinny and Victor Saponari from the team. They have also suspended Corey Trivino.

College Hockey News has the article. It lists a bunch of incidents that led to the release including drinking on game nights. I have to believe the Puckstar video (see the below post) set this off. The timing is too coincidental, and the song was certainly not something Jack Parker would enjoy. All stupid things that could have been avoided.

The biggest loss here is Vinny. He's very talented and had a solid year, finishing with 30 points. He was going to be someone the Terriers counted on next season for sure. I'm disappointed. Don't like to see him go, but props to BU for holding players to its standards.

More to come as I get updates ...

BU Terriers: Party like a Puckstar

 Just when you thought the Beanpot Trot was bad, some BU Terriers (said to be Vinny Saponari and Corey Trivino) have come up with their own musical work. 

They rapped and put it on YouTube. It's not rated PG by any means, so I'm guessing it will be taken down shortly. It's already made an appearance on Barstool.

Listen and enjoy. And try not to be too embarrassed.

BU Boys Fly the Coop

As NCAA teams close out their season, their top guns fly the coop. Come late March/April there's always an exodus of top Division I players to the pro ranks. Since BU's season came to a halt, five players have left.


+ Eric Gryba: Arguably the most loved Terrier over the past four years, Gryba signed with Ottawa. He is currently playing for Binghamton in the AHL. I imagine he'll spend awhile down there as he grows and finds his role - which I would guess is going to be that of an enforcer. His size and strength will benefit him in the long run. Once he finds his role and excels at it, I actually think he'll find himself in the show someday.

+ Zach Cohen: Cohen is coming off an awesome year. He was one of the top goal scorers and really just came into his own. He signed with Colorado making the Avs the official home of BU alum. He joins Joe Sacco, David Quinn, Brandon Yip and now Colby Cohen & Kevin Shattenkirk in the organization. Kieran Millan is also a Colorado draft pick.

+ Nick Bonino: One of BU's best players since he got here. Bonino signed with Anaheim a few weeks ago and has since been playing alongside guys like Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry.  He already notched his first goal. If he keeps it up, it doesn't look like he'll be going anywhere. Even so, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see him spend some minutes in the A next year.

+ Kevin Shattenkirk: Arguably the biggest loss for BU. Not surprised about his early departure at all. I'm pretty sure everyone saw this coming when he arrived. He's been excellent for BU. A class act if I ever saw one who will without a doubt be a fan favorite throughout his playing career.

+ Colby Cohen: I've had a love-hate relationship with this kid. The hate part mainly being that half the time I look at him he's whining. But he's been awesome ever since he's been here. I have no complaints, and I will forever owe him for scoring the game winner in the NCAA Championship game.

The only senior left to sign somewhere is Luke Popko. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for him. I'm sure he will get a shot with at least an ECHL team. The kid is a grinder. He's always out there hustling and working hard. His downfall is his size. He has to overcompensate for his 5-10" frame (and that's being generous).

So where does this leave BU? Well, they obviously took a hit. Losing those five players, they managed to lose five of their six top scorers. They're going to have to get a stronger year out of Millan. If he can revert back to his freshman year form, that will be a big plus. Guys like Ross Gaudet, David Warsofsky, Corey Trivino, Vinny Saponari and Alex Chiasson are going to have to lead the team. It looks like it will be another transition year for the Terriers. You never know though. That's the great thing about hockey. They could be surprising. We'll see how the incoming class is and what they bring to the table.

Best of luck to the boys who have moved on!

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Hockey East Semis: Do or Die for BU

Big game for Boston University tonight - then again, every game from here on out will be a big game for the Terriers.

Tonight kicks off the Hockey East Tournament -- a tournament that BU has to win to make the NCAA tourney. They face off against Maine at 8 p.m. The Black Bears won the first match-up back in November, 3-2, only to fall to BU twice in a back-to-back series at Agganis, 7-4 and 5-2.

The game really could go either way. Both teams are pretty even record-wise as well. I think the game boils down to whether or not Kieran Millan decides to show up ... and that's always debatable.

Terriers Lose Trivino For Season

The Terriers swallowed another dose of bad luck when sophomore forward, Corey Trivino, fractured his right fibula during Saturday night's game against Maine. He's donezo for the year. Trivino had 15 points (4+11) in 28 games; considering the Terriers have struggled for scoring at various points this season, losing any amount of contribution is not a good thing.

You gotta feel for the kid; he battled an injury last year as well.

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Kreider's Beanpot Goal

Here's a clip of Boston College's Chris Kreider and his goal mentioned in the post below. Not sure Max Nicastro enjoys this one as much.

No Miracles This Time

Down 4-3 with 2:46 to go, Boston University fans started to believe. Deficits don't scare us as much after what happened in last year's national championship game. But this isn't last year, and last minute miracles (or any for that matter) are hard to come by in '09-10. So I left the Garden a little heartbroken that my Beanpot career as a student comes to an end with a record of 2-2.

If you were to rewind back to the fifteen minute mark in the third, the score was 4-1 in favor of Boston College. I wish I could say it was ugly, but it wasn't ugly at all. The game was unbelievable. Kieran Millan was the best I've seen him all season. He had some remarkable saves, and you can't fault him for Chris Kreider's work of art early in the third. On the other side, John Muse looked better than I've seen in awhile too. If he doesn't stop Nick Bonino with 19 seconds left, the game goes to OT, and then I put my money on BU. There was Kreider's goal and Dave Warsofsky's shorthander. There were nail-biting third period penalties and more. It was just a really great game.

Quick recap in terms of scoring: The Terriers opened it up in the first with Kevin Shattenkirk's goal. BC responded with three straight: two in the second from Steve Whitney and Carl Sneep and one in the third from Barry Almeida. It looked like BU might be up to its old tricks with Warsofsky's shortie and Colby Cohen's goal late in the third. But that's where the scoring would end.

So, yeah. I didn't get to win my last Beanpot as a senior. But it was a great game, and it's still the best college tournaments out there. And I mean, we have to let other teams win sometimes. It's the nice thing to do .... ;-)

Linkage:
+ Keeping the lid on (Boston Globe)
+ Classics like this make familiar title game anything but stale (Boston Globe)
+ Honors roll in for goalie Muse (Boston Globe)
+ Quite the experience for freshman (Boston Globe)
+ Eagles pot 15th title (Boston Herald)
+ Jack Parker Praises Terriers (Boston Herald)
+ Bean-tossed (Daily Free Press)
+ [BC] Men's Hockey Wins Beanpot (The Heights)
+ Boston College Edges Boston University to Capture 58th Beanpot Championship (USCHO)
+ BC Goalie Muse Named MVP (ESPN) 

Photo: AP, Winslow Townson

Round 1: BC > BU.

Prior to last night's BU-BC game, I made a prediction: If BU won that game, their season would turn around for the better. Yeah, about that ...

The first match-up of the year between two of the biggest rivals in sports (which made the front page of the Wall Street Journal this week) saw BC heading back down Commonwealth Avenue with a 4-1 win. The score is a little misleading -- BU arguably outplayed BC in the first two periods before falling apart in the third.

The Terriers had a bunch of offensive chances and spent a lot of time in BC's zone. Nick Bonino had a sick wrap-around goal in the second to go up 1-0. Then a puck deflects off of Kevin Shattenkirk's stick past an unprepared Millan to put the Eagles up 2-1, and things go downhill from there. After playing with a bunch of energy, BU just ... lost it. I mean literally there was a point in the third period where both teams were almost just standing around. Maybe the Terriers were tired. Maybe they were emotionally drained from working hard and ending up down 4-1. Maybe it was lack of heart. I don't know. What I do know is that they are a better team than what they showed in the third. The comeback kids just didn't have it in them last night I guess. It happens. It's just disappointing after seeing how well they played in the first two periods.

Part of the problem was the fact that sophomore goaltender Kieran Millan did not give his team a chance to win. Sounds a little harsh, I know. I usually have a huge soft spot for goalies, and I'm a big Millan fan. But what is with him? I have enough confidence in him to say he probably could have made saves on some - if not all - of the goals he allowed last night. When my friends and I are cringing at any fluttering shot towards the net in fear of it going in ... that's pretty bad.

Notes:

+ A 39-game streak came to an end last night: the Terriers had been undefeated every time Nick Bonino scored.

+ Dave Silk, Jim Craig, Mike Eurizone and Jack O'Callahan -- members of the 1980 Olympic 'Miracle' team and well known BU alumni -- took center ice for a presentation during the first intermission. So unbelievably cool.

+ Penguins' prospect Carl Sneep was one of the goal-scorers for BC. I guess if it has to be someone on the Eagles it might as well be someone I'll be cheering for in the future. But as my mom said, "He needs to wait until he's on the Penguins to score."

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BU vs. Notre Dame = FAIL.

Notre Dame defeated BU tonight 3-0. Here's why:

+ The Terriers fell into old habits of taking too many penalties. Once again they are lucky that the Irish only went 1-for-6 on the power play. Meanwhile BU only went 1-for-8 on their power play opportunities.

+ BU is cursed with this 'Can't Score Syndrome.' They had some decent chances -- especially in the third period where they had the puck in Notre Dame's zone for about five minutes where they had shot after shot with absolutely no luck. It was almost as if it was not meant to go in. I mean it got to the point where it was like, 'Okay, seriously?'

+ Notre Dame dominated face-offs winning them 35-18.

+ Does Nick Bonino still play for BU? Oh he does? Okay. I was just wondering. Because the only times I noticed him were when he took a hitting from behind penalty and when he bit it on the ice with no one around him. Bonino is a kid the Terriers need to come through big this year. So far, not so good.

The game was just ... weird. It wasn't as if the Irish were amazingly better than BU; and BU didn't necessarily look horrible. They just can't score. The Terriers are a young team. They have a lot of freshman who are still transitioning. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

0-1

The NCAA defending national champs are officially 0-1 on the regular season after falling to UMass last night 3-2. A loss is a loss, but I think they officially have a problem:

For the third game in a row, they had over 40 shots. The total shot count for the two exhibition games and their first regular season game is 136. Here's another way to look at it: they've out-shot their opponents 136-58. Insane. The offense is clearly getting shots in, they're just not finishing. Can we change that please? They have three huge games coming up against Notre Dame, Michigan and UMass-Lowell, so they'll have to change something.

On a lighter note, the banner raising last Saturday night left me teary-eyed. The athletics department put together a video of last year's highlights before bringing out parents of last year's seniors (along with Brian Strait's father) to help raise five banners: the Beanpot championship, regular season champs, Hockey East champs, Final Four and the national championship banner (fittingly raised by Matt Gilroy's parents).

As soon as they hit the rafters, it was back to reality.

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'Tis the Season

I've been clinging to the 08-09 season after having two of my three teams winning championships (BU & Pittsburgh). But alas, it's time to move on. Pittsburgh raised their banner, and my Terriers raise theirs this weekend.

I had a bit of a wake up call on Saturday when I took in the BU-St. Francis-Xavier exhibition game. The Terriers looked human again - which is never as fun as being superhuman like they were last year. There's seven incoming freshmen, and I'm pretty sure all of them saw ice time. No reason not to; it's the perfect situation to get them all in. None stood out as incredible. They all did fine. I did like what I saw from Sean Escobedo in particular. He was pretty solid throughout the whole game.

BU managed 53 shots on goal. 53. In case you need a reminder: that's a lot of friggin' shots. They only got two goals. Granted a lot of credit goes to X-Men goalie Joe Perricone. He had an unreal night. I was very impressed with him. I still would've liked to get more than two out of those 53. It's those times when you miss the Colin Wilson shot.

Last week's preseason poll had BU ranked 3rd nationally; first in Hockey East. I'll take that. The roster will adjust slightly with Vinny Saponari and Colby Cohen back in the line-up and Kieran Millan playing the full game. They won't be the unbelievable team they were last year, but there are a lot more big players returning than most realize: namely Millan, Cohen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Saponari, Nick Bonino & Dave Warsofsky. If Corey Trivino can be on the top of his game this year, that will be huge too.

It's Official

Even though we knew it was coming for a few weeks now, the BU-BC match-up at Fenway is officially a go. January 8th will feature a 4:00pm women's game between UNH & Northeastern preceding the 7:30pm face-off.

As if this didn't feel enough like an early Christmas, apparently tickets will start as low as $5.00. $5.00. God only knows where those seats will be, but I will take that offer any day of the week.

LinkNation

I read a ton of great hockey stuff everyday, so why not share it? I figure it's a good way to keep things going here during the off-season. Check 'em:

+ Coyote Ugly: A Call for 10 Depositions (James Mirtle)
Mirtle is a go-to guy for anything hockey. He's been doing an awesome job covering the whole Coyotes mess. It's where I go to try and make sense of it all.

+ Pens Universe Preseason Top 20 (Pens Universe)
A look at some of the top prospects in the system. For the most part I agree with the rankings. I would move Strait up a spot or two; Rummel is absolutely right when he says Brian's game is simple and solid, but it's also very smart. Then again, that's at the college level. I think he'll have no problem adjusting after a little while.

I'd also relax a bit with the Thiessen 'overtaking Curry by the end of the season' remark. I like Thiessen a lot, but I still think he has some maturing to do (as most goalies do when they transition). Curry beats him out by a mile there. That extra year at Northeastern would not have hurt Thiessen, but oh well. What can ya do. He'll be alright.

+ BC-BU Hockey a go at Fenway (Boston Herald)
January 8th is the magic date. It will be unbelievable. My only complaint: BC would be the 'home team'. Um, Fenway is pretty much ON the BU campus. So that really makes no sense. But whatevs. I think I'll be as nervous for this game as I was in the playoffs.

Hey -- remember when BU was down 3-1 but scored three goals in 59 seconds to push the NCAA championship game to OT? And then they won in OT? Unbelievable.

+ The Hockey News' AHL Jersey Rankings (The Hockey News)
Ugh, who picked these this year?! Okay, I agree with the first three. They're cool. But then it's all downhill from there. I would get into it, but I'm not even sure where to begin.

+ AHL Regular Season Schedule (The AHL)
DO IT PENS. Even if you did lose pretty much all of your offense.

+ The Replacements (Empty Netters)
A look at who might replace Talbot while he's out for the first two months.

+ War Simulation Puts Ducks' Battles in Perspective (OC Register)
Bobby Ryan & George Parros (how can you not love that guy?) visited Fort Irwin and got to see what it's like over in Iraq. Love seeing them do this stuff. Helps them see how really, really, really lucky they are.

Unbelievable News

Well, it is for me anyway.

Reports are surfacing that BC & BU will be taking part in the NHL's 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

BC is a definite go apparently. The Terriers should be the second. BU makes the most sense to play because of four reasons:

1. Fenway is practically part of the BU campus (I could see it from where I lived last year).
2. They just won the national championship.
3. The BU-BC rivalry is the only college match-up suited for Fenway.
4. I'm really biased and love my Terriers.

HOW COOL IS THAT GOING TO BE?! Now I need to get tickets ... even if I have to sell my soul or something along those lines.

Another Terrier Moves Up

BU assistant coach, Dave Quinn, was named head coach of the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters. He's replacing another former BU alum, Joe Sacco -- who was named head coach of the Colorado Avs.

Good to see another BU alum move up. A national championship will bring about these opportunities.

I wonder how many offers Jack Parker has gotten in his career? A ton I'm guessing.