Three of them already have their names on National Hockey League contracts. Two hail from Massachusetts and two from Minnesota, and have grown up with college hockey right in front of them.
But at least for Boston University freshman forward Kenny Roche, the first trip around the ice in Terrier scarlet and white was still an experience to remember.
‘It was awesome coming out to the loud band and everyone cheering,’ the South Boston native said. ‘Hearing my name when I scored – I’ve always been here watching it happen – now I get to be here doing it.’
Roche is joined in the Terrier hockey class of 2007 by fellow forward Eric Thomassian, goalie John Curry and defensemen Thomas Morrow, Sean Sullivan and Kevin Schaeffer. While Curry did not see any time in Saturday’s exhibition win over the University of Toronto, the freshman class gave the Terrier fans more than a few reasons to cheer, and a few even got their names into the boxscore for good measure.
Roche got to hear his name from public address announcer Jim Prior 1:32 into the second period when he stuffed home a rebound off a shot from senior Frantisek Skladany and buried it behind Toronto goalie Tim Knight. Sullivan followed halfway through the second when his wrister weaved its way through a screen and beat the helpless Knight to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead. Schaeffer earned an assist on BU’s sixth and final goal.
‘It felt great to get the first one off my chest,’ Roche said. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this game, this season for a long time. The first game comes along even though it was an exhibition game it was good to get it out of the way and get the feel of college hockey.’
While a red light may get you noticed by the casual fans, playing sound defense and limiting mental mistakes is what will get the attention of the Section 8 faithful and most importantly the man in charge.
‘It’s not the type of game where you can look at them and say, ‘Well, they’re going to be able to handle pressure,” said BU coach Jack Parker. ‘Because there wasn’t a lot of quickness to the puck by Toronto.
‘But at the same time, they did a good job regrouping at center ice,’ he added. ‘All three freshman defensemen played very well. And obviously a couple guys got some points.’
Morrow, Sullivan and Schaeffer all showed the potential on Saturday to make Terrier fans everywhere lose a little less sleep over the graduation of Freddy Meyer, John Cronin and Mike Bussoli. Schaeffer and Morrow each made a few quality plays in the neutral zone, while Sullivan showed his speed in the third period, chasing down a Toronto forward and single-handedly stopping a breakaway for the Blues.
‘When we recruited him [Sullivan], I thought he was going to be a physical defenseman who was also going to be able to jump in the play and be offensive for us too,’ Parker said. ‘And that looks like it’s going to be true. He’s got a little Freddy Meyer in him for sure as far as his offensive capabilities and his strength on his skates for a little guy; he’s pretty strong out there.’
With big-time college hockey comes big-time pressure. Parker made the point before Saturday’s game that some of the freshmen will be looked to for immediate contributions. But at least three members of the freshman class did not really need any added pressure, as they already have NHL teams keeping a close eye on them.
Morrow, the 6-foot-6-inch defenseman who made 5-foot-5-inch sophomore Brad Zancanaro look like Muggsy Bouges during ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ was the 150th player selected in June’s NHL Draft when the Buffalo Sabres took a shot on the lanky blueliner. Sullivan squeaked his name onto the draft board when the Phoenix Coyotes took him in the ninth round. Roche was a third-round selection of the New York Rangers.
For the six Terrier freshmen, Saturday’s game was a good chance to get a feel of the white sweater and the added pressure that comes with that scarlet ‘Boston’ emblazoned across the chest. But when this Saturday’s game against Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute begins, Kenny Roche will have zero goals, Kevin Schaeffer will have zero assists and Sean Sullivan will have zero defensive stops that count.
It was a good tune-up for the BU rookies. But Terrier Nation is holding its collective breath on how the real start will turn out this weekend.
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