Monday night’s win over Boston College in the first round of the Beanpot was “probably the most fun game” Boston University forward Justin Maiser has ever played in.
But for now, the fun is over, and it’s back to the grind for the BU hockey team.
As the No. 9 team in the country, it would be easy for the Terriers (17-7-2, 10-5-2 Hockey East) to overlook the Minutemen (8-17-1, 3-12-1), owners of the league’s worst record and its most anemic offense.
“We’ve played UMass twice this year and they’ve given us two great games. Luckily we got the wins, but they’re obviously an opponent easy to look over,” Maiser said. “They come hard, they’re a great team.
“With the game on Monday and then last Monday it’s a little tough to stay focused, but then again it’s back to the league. It’s just as important a game, if not more important, playing a league game up for two points.”
Maiser “definitely can’t wait” to get back to the FleetCenter Monday night, but said he and the Icedogs must first maintain their focus and take care of business against UMass. He characterized the Minutemen as a hardworking, tough team that is always looking to hit people.
“They play through everyone,” Maiser said. “Basically they’re a tough, gritty team. They don’t have any real superstar, I guess you could say, but as a whole they’re a really good team.”
UMass averages barely two goals per game, but goaltender Mike Johnson has kept his team competitive in games, posting two shutouts and saving more than 90 percent of the shots he has faced.
The key to the game will be scoring an early goal, Maiser said. When BU and UMass played at Walter Brown on Dec. 9, the Minutemen took an early lead before the Terriers came back to win, 3-2, denying UMass of just its third win all-time over BU.
“Through practice, we kept the same mentality we’ve kept all year: Just try to get things done, figure out what we need to work on and see little things that they do differently than anyone else,” Maiser said. “We basically need to stay focused and play our hard game for 60 minutes. Get on top of them early and compete. It will be nice to play again at home, get the fans into it and play hard.”
In addition to repressing Beanpot thoughts until at least Saturday, the Icedogs take the ice tonight with another potential distraction weighing on their minds. It was reported yesterday by U.S. College Hockey Online that a complaint was made to Northeastern University police alleging head coach Jack Parker assaulted a Husky fan at a game last month.
The alleged incident occurred moments before the Terriers’ 3-2 win on Jan. 4 at Matthews Arena.
“We played great that game, right after it happened,” Maiser said. “It just came out [yesterday] so I don’t even know how many guys have heard about it. I don’t think it’ll be a distraction, really.”
With a roster so heavily dependent on freshmen and sophomores, the leadership of BU’s older players has been essential in keeping the team on track as they come down the home stretch of the season.
“All of us young guys, we look up to them and watch how they handle themselves, especially these past couple weeks with the Beanpot,” Maiser said. “It’s the same type of thing for this game, like any other game.”
But for this particular game, BU could be without two of its most steady players. Senior defenseman Pat Aufiero, who last weekend underwent surgery on a torn tendon in his left ankle, will miss at least three weeks, while sophomore center Gregg Johnson could be out due to bruised ribs suffered Monday night. His teammates said Johnson was skating in sweats yesterday but hadn’t fully practiced since the injury occurred.
With or without Johnson, BU knows the task at hand. With a clear physical advantage over UMass, it’s more a matter of staying focused, according to junior defenseman Freddy Meyer.
“All week coach has been stressing the emphasis on UMass. They’re a lot better than their record,” he said. “Their record doesn’t indicate how good they are or how hard they play. We’ve just got to worry about ourselves and what we need to do.”
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