SCHENECTADY, New York — Junior defenseman Doyle Somerby, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 225 pounds, is more renowned for his physicality. Last season, he had just seven total points on the year, and the year before that, he collected four.
But in No. 3 Boston University’s 5-3 loss to Union College on Saturday, Somerby’s offensive prowess was a bright spot, as he recorded two assists on the day — just the second multi-point game of his career.
Somerby’s first assist came on a feed to senior assistant captain Matt Lane, which tied the game at 1-1 at the 15:20 mark of the first period. On the next helper, he tossed a puck into a scrum around the net that was eventually picked up by freshman forward Ryan Cloonan for a goal, to put BU (0-1-0) up 2-1 with just more than two minutes remaining in the first period.
The assist notched Somerby’s first multi-point game since he had a goal and an assist against Northeastern University on March 1, 2014. Somerby was also the only BU player to record multiple points against the Dutchmen (1-0-1).
With many of BU’s goals coming on scrappy plays, Somerby said he tried his best to get the puck as close as possible to goal.
“Once puck’s in front of the net, you never know what’s going to happen,” he said following the loss. “So that’s just where I try and put it.”
Despite all six of BU’s starting defensemen from 2014-15 returning, with senior captain Matt Grzelcyk out due to injury and sophomore defenseman Brandon Fortunato sitting out as a coach’s decision, all of the returners have had to adjust to new defensive partners. Somerby’s partner last season, sophomore Brien Diffley, paired up with sophomore John MacLeod for the Union game. Thus, Somerby was left partnered with freshman Shane Switzer.
“I just tried to tell him to keep it simple as much as he could,” Somerby said. “If he ever needs anything that could be something in between shifts, I told him don’t hesitate to ask, because I’ve probably been in every situation that he’s been in. And he does a good job.”
With Grzelcyk’s absence, Somerby is the oldest member of the defense — he was the lone junior alongside three sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup Saturday — and has fallen into somewhat of a leadership role in that regard.
“I really need to step up and take a role as a junior,” Somerby said. “I’ve been through a lot with this team, and I’m just trying to help out the guys as much as I can.”
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.
