There were a lot of hard lessons this year for first-year Northeastern head coach Greg Cronin. But to him, one stood out.
When he was coaching the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, his team once went on a two-month, 24-game unbeaten streak.
“It’s easy to work in that environment, when you’re not losing,” Cronin said. This year, his Huskies once went 18 games without winning. But they still showed up.
“Our guys had a great attitude every day they showed up,” Cronin said. “That’s a lesson in life. Who’s kidding who – I think we were 1-18 and something at one point. Who the heck is having fun in that season? But they showed up every day, they put a positive spin on everything, and they worked. And I could say with complete honesty, I don’t think there was a game the second half of the season that there wasn’t a supreme effort.”
That was abundantly clear to the Boston University men’s hockey team this weekend, which had its hands full for 120 minutes with the pesky Huskies, who found plenty of motivation despite already having been eliminated from the postseason before the games began.
“I’ve coached hockey for 18 years at every level conceivable,” Cronin said. “This group has worked harder than any group I’ve coached.”
“The thing that jumped out at me most all weekend was how hard Northeastern played against us, what a great effort they made in both games,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “We had to really dig deep in the third period to win both games.”
Parker credited the coaching staff with motivating the team. And Northeastern’s dignified captain, Chuck Tomes, agreed.
“I really think in future years to come,” Tomes said, “the program’s gonna turn around.”
MASS-IVE TASK
The Terriers, meanwhile, aren’t thinking about future years quite yet. Their opponent next week, despite being seeded eighth in the league, presents quite the task for the Terriers.
The UMass Minutemen (13-19-2, 10-15-2 Hockey East) have beaten BU, Vermont (twice), Colorado College, New Hampshire and Boston College this year, and currently have a pair of goalies on fire in freshman Jon Quick and senior Gabe Winer. The Minutemen were actually vital in helping BU gain sole possession of the regular-season title, tying Maine in Orono Friday night.
“Donald [Cahoon] will have his team really ready to go,” Parker said of UMass’s coach, a BU alumnus and former assistant coach. ” We always get nervous when a team comes here with both goalies playing as well as UMass’s goalies are playing.”
And the Terriers certainly remember two years ago, when they were the talented No. 8 seed going on the road to play top-seeded Boston College – and won. With an extra team being eliminated due to Vermont’s entry into the league and the parity that reigns in Hockey East and across the nation in mind, Parker made a comment Saturday that rings very true.
“This is the worst weekend of the year, I think,” the coach said of the upcoming quarterfinal weekend. “It will be interesting to see what Donald has up his sleeve.”
KIBBLES AND BITS
The Terriers’ better goal-scoring has started to produce numbers. Last year, BU scored 111 goals – after Saturday’s game, the team has 112 already this season. They are also averaging 3.3 goals per game – 0.6 more than last year’s team. And Pete MacArthur, with 34 points, has already surpassed David Van der Gulik, who led last year’s team with 31 points. Brad Zancanaro also has more, with 33 points. Boomer Ewing, with a goal and an assist Saturday, became the seventh BU player to reach the 20-point mark this year, while Kenny Roche became the first Terrier to hit the 15-goal mark this season. … After Providence College missed getting home ice and Parker won the regular season title, one would think BU’s coach assured himself of his fifth Hockey East coach of the year award, leading the Terriers from mediocrity at midseason to one of the nation’s highest-ranked teams. Brandon Yip is also the odds-on choice for rookie of the year, leading Hockey East freshmen with 26 points. … The Terriers were one of only six teams nationally to finish the season with single-digit losses. … With two more great third periods this weekend, BU has now outscored its opponents 46-29 in the final frame.