Ice Hockey, Sports

A pair of firsts, at last, for Warsofsky and Gryba

There was no doubt that freshman David Warsofsky would find his name in the box score at some point this season. It was just a matter of time. The smooth-skating defenseman has been as much a part of the Terriers’ offensive production as any other member of the blue line since October, but had no goals to show for his effort.

Warsofsky picked up his first career tally at 7:34 of a fast-paced first period, not surprisingly on a play that he intended for a teammate. Sophomore Nick Bonino received a tape-to-tape pass from Warsofsky at the left post and tried to tuck it past the University of Massachusetts-Lowell goalie Carter Hutton, but the puck squirted out to Warsofsky to finish with a hard shot that he placed over Hutton’s left shoulder.

The freshman class has been a key to success for the Terriers from the start, and, as the lone rookie defenseman, Warsofsky’s impact on the team has been significant. His slick skating is the catalyst for breakouts from the defensive zone, and he is comfortable playing on both the penalty kill and power play. Warsofsky’s plus-16 is the highest plus/minus on the team, a clear indicator that the team is at its most efficient when he is on the ice.

Friday was a banner night for both Warsofsky and his defensive partner, junior Eric Gryba, who plays the role of thunder to Warsofsky’s lightning at the blue line. Never afraid to throw around his body in front of the net or along the boards, Gryba is not known for his play in the offensive zone. Though he entered Friday’s game with just two points all season, Gryba recorded what he believed to be his first multi-point game since he was 16, assisting on Warsofsky’s goal and senior John McCarthy’s score two minutes later.

Offensive Outburst

Any tension BU built up during a difficult night on the attack against Harvard University in the first round of the Beanpot was let out in explosive fashion Friday against UML. The Terriers unloaded one scoring chance after the next in a dominant opening ten minutes against the River Hawks, jumping out to a 3-0 lead over their defenseless opponent.

Three minutes in, sophomore Colin Wilson circled at the left faceoff dot and found senior Jason Lawrence at the right post for a tip-in that Hutton stopped. Then, freshman Vinny Saponari found junior Zach Cohen leaking into the Lowell end for a close-range shot and follow-up. Freshman Andrew Glass had a chance of his own, shoveling a backhand shot right into Hutton’s chest from the doorstep.

It seemed impossible for Hutton to keep denying BU the net, and soon enough the Terriers began to cash in on their chances. First it was Warsofsky getting his first. Sophomore defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk gave sophomore Joe Pereira a perfect two-line outlet pass that turned into a second goal. Then Gryba’s hard work in the corner led to McCarthy’s goal to make it 3-0, with all three goals coming in a span of 1:51.

With the UML defense allowing BU to take the blue line with ease and pepper Hutton with shots, the Terriers played perhaps their most impressive stretch of hockey all season. By the time 10 minutes had passed, BU had 14 shots to just two for the River Hawks. The team’s three-goal advantage soon disappeared, but the display showed just how offensively lethal the Terriers can be.

Problem in the pipes?

BU coach Jack Parker often says that he is surprised any time freshman Kieran Millan allows a goal. Millan’s stellar goaltending is a prime reason for the Terriers’ success this season, as the rookie is fourth in the nation with a 1.63 goals-against average.

But even though Millan is 17-1-1 as a starter, his last two outings have shown cause for concern. For the first time all season, Millan allowed three goals in back-to-back games, after limiting opponents to two goals or fewer in his 11 previous starts. Against both Harvard and UML, Millan looked shaky at times, allowing goals that had been routine saves through his dominant stretch.

While Parker has seen his No. 1 goalie struggle through the first slump of his collegiate career, Millan also made several key saves late in each of the last two games to preserve victories for his squad. Tonight’s meeting with No. 3 Northeastern University is undoubtedly the biggest game of his young career, and Parker will once again turn to the freshman to backstop the Terriers, hoping that the past two games were simply a mirage.

Website | More Articles

This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.

Comments are closed.