In a repeat of an event from two years ago, the Boston University men’s hockey team will wet its feet for the upcoming season with an exhibition game against St. Francis Xavier University at Agganis Arena Saturday.
The game will be the first for the Terriers since losing in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament last season. BU lost only three players – senior goaltender Adam Kraus and senior co-captain Joe Pereira to graduation, and junior defenseman David Warsofsky to professional hockey – from last year’s squad. Senior forward Chris Connolly will return as a second-year captain and will be joined by junior assistant captains Alex Chiasson and Justin Courtnall.
The X-Men are one of Canada’s premiere college hockey teams and last played BU before the 2009-10 season, when the Terriers and X-Men skated to a 2-2 tie. The game will serve as an early indicator for the Terriers as to what their team will look like against tough competition.
“They have been one of the best teams in recent vintage up there,” BU head coach Jack Parker said of the X-Men. “I’ve seen some [Canadian] teams that weren’t quite as good or didn’t take it seriously, but these guys are well-coached. They play hard.
“They’ll certainly be a challenge for us because they are an older team, a team that will play a few games before they play us, so there’s a lot more going for them.”
The X-Men played two exhibition games this year and own a 1-1 record. They lost 2-1 to Calgary in their opener then rebounded with an 8-1 win over Dalhousie University last Friday. St. Francis will play one more exhibition on Thursday against St. Thomas before making the trip to Boston.
St. Francis Xavier is located in Nova Scotia and plays in the Atlantic University Sport league. The X-Men finished third in their conference last season with a 17-10-1 record and lost in the conference championship game. They finished the season ranked seventh in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport, which is the Canadian equivalent of the NCAA.
Because Saturday’s game will be an exhibition, the Terriers will be able to dress more players than they typically do for a regular season game. Parker said he plans to use the game to try out multiple line combinations and defensive pairings to see what they look like in a game situation.
Senior goaltender Kieran Millan will play for at least two periods in net, and Parker said he was not sure if he would play all three goaltenders at points in Saturday’s game. Junior defenseman Ryan Ruikka will not play because of a hairline fracture in his foot, and redshirt freshman Yasin Cisse will likely miss the game because of a concussion.
Parker said he hopes his players will use Saturday’s game to get a feel for where they fit in on the team.
“I want them to get a feel for competition and it’s hard to make that happen in practice,” Parker said. “We want them to get a feel for what we have to work on because we have not had a chance to practice much.
“We want them most importantly to get a feel for where they stand vis-à-vis their teammates and how the roles are going to be divvied up.”
The game will feature the debut of Terrier freshmen Cason Hohmann, Alexx Privitera and Evan Rodrigues. Both Hohmann and Rodrigues are forwards while Privitera will fill in on the blue line.
The BU defensemen will be looking for a way to contain returning CIS Rookie of the Year Jason Bast, who recorded 27 points (3 goals, 24 assists) in 28 games last season. In two exhibition games this season, Bast notched a goal and three assists to lead his team with four points.
BU will officially open its season on Oct. 8 at home against the University of New Hampshire.
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