Ice Hockey, NCAA, Sports

Connolly leaves behind personal legacy of leadership

ST. PAUL, Minn. —  Boston University men’s hockey senior captain Chris Connolly is not a big guy. He is only 5-foot-9, and he weighs just 170 pounds. But packed inside one of BU’s smallest players is the leadership, character and attitude that made him one of the Terriers’ most important players over his four-year career.

As the final horn sounded at the Xcel Energy Center after BU’s 7-3 loss to No. 6 University of Minnesota in the NCAA Regional Semifinal, it signaled the end of the career of one of the most respected leaders the BU hockey program has ever had.

“We thought he was going to be a captain of the team as a senior when we recruited him,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “He knows how to do the right thing. He knows how to be a good teammate and a good captain, which is sometimes not being a good teammate. He is one of the best captains we have ever had. . . . We’re very, very proud that he wore our uniform.”

Connolly’s college career came to an end in the state his hockey career began. He grew up in Minnesota with his brother Jack, who is the current captain of the No. 5 University of Minnesota-Duluth hockey team.

BU coach Jack Parker said meeting the Connolly family helped him know Connolly was a good fit with the Terriers.

“We have a saying that when we’re recruiting the kids, you talk to the parents, because kids don’t grow up like their neighbors,” Parker said. “You don’t like the parents, you’re probably not going to like the kid, and if you met Mr. and Mrs. Connolly, you wouldn’t be surprised Chris and Jack are the kind of kids that they are.”

Connolly, who was the first two-time captain since former Terrier Jack O’Callahan, dealt with one of the most tumultuous years for a college hockey program in recent history, as three team members either left or were dismissed from the squad midway through the season.

However, Connolly kept the team positive, upbeat and focused during the second half of the year.

“I can’t remember a captain – the last guy who had to handle what he had to handle on this team was probably Jay Pandolfo right after the Travis Roy incident,” Parker said.

When things went wrong this season for the Terriers, Connolly was one of the guys that Parker could rely on to step up and take on new roles. After Corey Trivino and Charlie Coyle’s exits in December, Parker asked Connolly to move to a new position in the middle.

Once Connolly moved to center he excelled at his new role, scoring all nine of his goals and recording 18 assists. He was up for the new defensive responsibility too, as he had a plus-11 plus-minus rating since the beginning of 2012.

While Connolly’s leadership is his most prominent quality, he has been a great player on the ice for the program too. Over his four years, Connolly has totaled 39 goals and 90 assists, good for 36th all-time on BU’s career points list, and has been one of the best two-way players in Hockey East.

This year, Hockey East honored Connolly as the Gladiator Best Defensive Forward, as well as giving him the Len Ceglarski Award for individual sportsmanship. The two awards represent his ability in the defensive end while staying out of the penalty box. The Duluth, Minn., native was a plus-19 in his senior season and only took five penalties.

Things could not have gone much better for Connolly to begin his career at BU. In his freshman season, he was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team when he scored 30 points on the road to his team winning the national championship over Miami University.

While the team struggled over the next two seasons, Connolly was consistently one of the top performers for BU, totaling 31 points and 28 points in his sophomore and junior years, respectively. As for consistency, it doesn’t get much better than him in terms of consistent scoring, as he totaled 10 goals in each of his first three seasons, and added nine in his senior year.

Connolly’s production on the ice is overshadowed by the type of person he is off the ice. With graduation approaching and the hockey season over, the BU hockey program will be losing one of its most well-respected players.

That much was evident when, following the loss to Minnesota, junior assistant captain Alex Chiasson got choked up when speaking about Connolly.

“Chris Connolly is probably one of my best friends,” said Chiasson. “I won’t get a chance to play with him again, but he’s definitely a great leader and a guy I looked up to every day.”

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