No. 3 men’s hockey readies for visit from Acadia

With the regular season beginning in just more than a week, the No. 3 Boston University men’s hockey team is still working on a few things prior to its exhibition game against Acadia University on Saturday afternoon.

“We’re just working on our penalty kill for the first time today,” BU head coach David Quinn said with a laugh before his team’s practice Thursday.

NCAA regulations limit practice length during the offseason, so the Terriers haven’t had much time to train on the ice together as a team.

Luckily for BU, however, the warm-up game against Acadia, a college in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, does not count in the standings. Instead, it simply serves as a chance to begin to understand the team’s in-game style.

“I’m hoping that we’re going to have a feel of how they react in a game,” Quinn said. “Now we can get going.”

In BU’s last preseason game, an Oct. 4, 2014, matchup against St. Thomas University, the Terriers dominated the entire affair, winning 12-1. Then-junior forward Ahti Oksanen scored four goals in the matchup, while then-freshmen defensemen Brandon Hickey and Brandon Fortunato each added three assists. Then-freshman forward Chase Phelps also had a goal and two assists.

Fourteen of BU’s 19 skaters recorded at least one point in the exhibition.

On Saturday, the Terriers will face a team that has already seen some game time. Acadia has played three preseason games, going 3-0 in those matchups. Senior Mike Cazzola, who has 103 career points entering his final season, has four goals in the preseason.

Prior to the contest, Quinn admitted that much of the Terrier lineup is yet to be determined, but he said he plans for senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan to center the first line, with Oksanen and freshman Jordan Greenway on the wings.

O’Regan played right wing during the 2014-15 season, in which he recorded 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists). He has played center for the Terriers in previous seasons, however. Oksanen also had success in his first season as a forward last year, notching 25 goals.

Quinn did not say who would start in goal among BU’s three goaltending options — senior Sean Maguire, sophomore Connor LaCouvee and freshman Max Prawdzik. All three goalies on last year’s roster received playing time in the 2014 exhibition, but Quinn indicated he would use the flow of Saturday’s game to determine the playing time between the pipes.

Other than senior captain Matt Grzelcyk, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery, Quinn said he expects the whole roster to be available for the game — and he quipped that he hopes it remains that way the entire game.

“My expectation,” Quinn said, “is to just come out, work hard and come out healthy.”