Despite a 3-1 victory over the University of Maine on Nov. 14, head coach David Quinn said he wasn’t pleased with the performance of the No. 2/3 Boston University men’s hockey team.
“I’m not saying it was our worst game of the year, but Maine outworked us,” Quinn said. “One of the things we told the team was, if I’m the Maine coaching staff, I’m telling our guys, ‘We should’ve beat BU.’”
But BU (6-1-1, 4-1-1 Hockey East) will have another chance to prove its dominance this weekend when the Terriers welcome the Black Bears (3-7-1, 2-3 Hockey East) to Agganis Arena Friday evening, before a quick turnaround to face the University of Connecticut at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.
Maine has not had considerable luck on the road in the recent past, and even worse luck at Agganis. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, the Black Bears have accumulated just a 1-15-3 record outside of Orono, and their last win at Agganis Arena came on Jan. 8, 2012.
Forward Cam Brown leads the Black Bears in scoring with nine points on the season. Forward Steven Swavely, who had an assist in last week’s game against BU, is close behind with eight.
The Black Bears rank ninth in the Hockey East teams in goals scored per game, with an average of 2.27 goals per match. But Quinn said the Terriers, who rank second in that category with 3.62 goals per game, should be cautious, given Maine’s tenacity.
“We’ve got to be grittier, we’ve got to match their intensity and their desire, and we know how difficult it is to beat a team two times in a row,” Quinn said. “[That’s] something that we’ve talked about an awful lot in practice this week. Hopefully we can match their intensity.”
UConn (2-5-4, 1-2-1 Hockey East) —predicted in both the preseason media poll and coaches’ poll to finish last in Hockey East — has turned some heads in the conference, with its 1-0 victory over No. 12 Boston College on Nov. 5, and a 4-4 draw with the Terriers on Nov. 8. Since that tie, however, the Huskies have gone 0-1-1.
With the exception of the four goals allowed against BU, and five goals allowed in an eventual 7-1 loss to Penn State University on Oct. 11, UConn goaltender Rob Nichols has been an anchor for the Huskies. He ranks second in the league in save percentage at .936, sitting only behind BU junior goaltender Matt O’Connor at .949.
UConn has primarily received help on the offensive end from forwards Shawn Pauly (seven points) and Trevor Gerling (six points), who each tallied four points against the Terriers on Nov. 8.
The Terriers will play their second game in a row without freshman forward Nikolas Olsson, who has an upper body injury, and sophomore center Robbie Baillargeon, who is battling mononucleosis. In Baillargeon’s absence against Maine, senior assistant captain Cason Hohmann took over at the center position on the second line, and freshman forward J.J. Piccinich filled Hohmann’s spot at right wing. That line produced no points on Nov. 14, however.
Quinn said the line wouldn’t necessarily stay the same this weekend, but he praised Piccinich’s play.
“We’ll mix and match it, but I like J.J.’s game,” Quinn said. “He’s knocking on the door, he’s had some chances and when one goes in for him, I think a lot will follow. He’s earned his opportunity there, and he’s done a good job.”
Also on the second line, senior assistant captain Evan Rodrigues has been one of BU’s top scorers, as he sits third on the team with 11 points in eight games. On the first line, freshman forward Jack Eichel, who had a goal against Maine, has notched a point in every game so far this season. Eichel’s linemates, junior Danny O’Regan and junior Ahti Oksanen, also scored against the Black Bears.
BU’s offense hasn’t been doing all of the work. Its defense has been sharp, too — the Terriers rank second in Hockey East in goals allowed per game, at 1.75.
Despite BU’s high-ranking statistics, though, Quinn said the Terriers should focus on being more aggressive.
“We have to understand that both of these teams are very good from the top of the circles down,” he said. “And at the net front. And we need to not look to avoid contact in those areas. We need to look to create contact in those areas. We’ve gotten a little bit away from that over the last two games, and we’ve got to get that back into our game.
“If we’re going to have a chance to beat Maine on Friday and beat UConn on Saturday, it’s the same formula. We’ve got to strap it up and block and tackle, and be willing to pay a price from the top of the circles down.”
Sarah covers men's hockey and other sports for The Daily Free Press, and is the chairman of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the FreeP during the Spring 2014 semester and was Sports Editor in Fall 2013. She has also written for the Boston Globe and seattlepi.com. When she's not writing, she loves baking and going to concerts. You can contact her by tweeting her at @Kirkpatrick_SJ or emailing her at sjkirkpa@bu.edu.
