With its second regular season game looming, the No. 6 Boston University men’s hockey team finds itself in a place it hasn’t been since the 2009-10 season: without a win.
After a solid week of practice following a 5-3 loss to Union College on Oct. 10, the Terriers will look to correct previous mistakes. When they seek to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2009 against the University of Wisconsin at Agganis Arena on Saturday, they’ll first have a practice run Friday, against the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team.
“It’s an opportunity to get better,” said BU head coach David Quinn of Friday’s game. “I may try some things I normally wouldn’t try, just to see what’s what, but we aren’t coming here to play an exhibition game. We’re coming here to get better and improve the things we need to improve on.”
The USNTDP arrives in Boston starring four Terrier 2016-17 commits: forward Clayton Keller, forward Kieffer Bellows, defenseman Chad Krys and goaltender Jake Oettinger. Keller leads the team in scoring with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) through nine games, and his linemate, Bellows, has chipped in nine points (seven goals, two assists).
The team also features defenseman J.D. Greenway, younger brother of current BU freshman forward Jordan Greenway. The elder Greenway played for the U-18 team when it visited Agganis on Oct. 18, 2014 .
In that matchup a year ago, the Terriers came out on top, 6-4. Now-senior forwards Ahti Oksanen and Danny O’Regan had a goal apiece in that game. Then playing for the U-18 team, now-BU freshman defenseman Charlie McAvoy recorded an assist.
On Saturday evening, in BU’s regular-season home opener, the Terriers will raise their championship banners from last season before taking on Wisconsin (0-0-2).
Wisconsin is coming off its worst season in 82 years. The Badgers, who lost and tied the Terriers during two games in Madison last season, finished 2014-15 with a 4-26-5 record , which made them the third-worst team in the entire NCAA based on win percentage .
This historically bad year came on the heels of back-to-back seasons in which the Badgers reached the NCAA Tournament.
This year, at least to start, things have not looked much better for the Badgers. The team was picked to finish last out of the six-team Big Ten Conference. On the ice, Wisconsin has started with consecutive ties against the University of Northern Michigan, scoring a combined five goals.
Last year’s point leader, forward Grant Besse, finished last weekend with a goal and an assist, while freshman Seamus Malone recorded three assists in the two games.
Malone is one of 11 true freshmen that compromise a young Badgers team. In all, Wisconsin carries just six upperclassmen on its roster.
An underclassmen-heavy team with ambitions of a turnaround? That’s something Quinn is a little familiar with.
“I know it was a tough year for them last year, but we know what type of year we followed up our tough year with,” Quinn said. “So, I know they’ve got a good coach, they’ve got good, young players and I know what happens to a team when they suffer through a difficult season. They come back with more hunger, more determination and more focus, and we know we’re going to have our hands full on Saturday.”
McAvoy enters Friday’s game fresh off recording his first collegiate goal in BU’s loss against Union (1-0-1 ). Freshman forward Ryan Cloonan also recorded the first goal of his BU career, while senior assistant captain Matt Lane added a tally for the Terriers.
Sophomore defenseman Brandon Fortunato returns this weekend after being benched against Union. Quinn said he will be paired with his defensive partner from last season, sophomore Brandon Hickey.
Quinn said he felt BU’s defensemen played well against Union, and shifted the blame to the forwards for the goals the Terriers allowed.
“The mistakes we made were huge, they [Union] didn’t have to work too hard for their goals,” Quinn said. “Not that we didn’t work hard in the game, but their goals came way too easy … but the things we didn’t do well are very correctable.”
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.
