Sitting inside the nearly empty media room at Agganis Arena Friday, Jack Parker scanned the box score of the No. 14 Boston University men’s ice hockey team’s 4-0 exhibition win over the University of Toronto and ran down the mental checklist he had compiled for his club.
Yes, the effort was there. The defense was solid (check), and so was the attack (double check). All three freshmen who dressed played and did well (another one). Dan McGoff and Tom Morrow also looked good together in back, and Boomer Ewing – the source of a pretty back-handed second-period score – was “our best player.”
Even the much-maligned power play from a year ago looked crisp. There was good passing, good movement and a goal, thanks to John Laliberte’s stuff 18 seconds into the third period.
“Other than that,” Parker said, “[it was] an exhibition game by the board, ready for the real season.”
Well, not exactly. There was one person Parker wasn’t particularly happy with, and as a result, Laliberte – perhaps the Terriers’ top offensive threat who isn’t injured – won’t be available for Saturday’s season opener.
Dave Hansen, the referee for Friday’s exhibition, got a lesson on the rule book from Parker after he tagged Laliberte with a game disqualification for hitting from behind midway through the third.
“I’m not sure he knows what he’s talking about – it’s his first year in the league,” Parker said of Hansen. “When I found out he gave him the DQ and before we had the conversation when I pulled out the rule book, his quote was, ‘I had no choice. I had to call it.’ He absolutely has a choice. I had to show him that in the rule book.”
Nonetheless, NCAA rules dictate that Laliberte must sit out the next scheduled game – BU’s opener against UMass-Lowell – even though the penalty came in an exhibition game.
“It should have been a couple minor penalties, but I guess the ref went a little overboard with it, trying to make an example,” said BU sophomore forward Brian McGuirk. “They were getting kind of cheap out there, after whistles and stuff, so I think [the ref] was just trying to settle us down, but he went a little too far with it.”
The situation put a damper on a night when the Terriers allowed few, if any, scoring chances (albeit against a weaker opponent than they’ll see most of the year) and scored four goals – after scoring four or more only 10 times in 41 games last year.
McGuirk, who notched only an assist in limited action last season, opened the scoring nearly 13 minutes into Friday’s game. Ryan Weston flew up on the right side of the net, taking the defenseman with him, and left a pretty pass for McGuirk to go five-hole for a 1-0 lead.
Toronto goalie Brian Dunnigan (17 saves) kept the BU attack at bay for the next 15 minutes before Ewing struck, taking a pass from Kenny Roche along the end line and depositing a back-handed shot top shelf.
“I thought he was our best player,” Parker said of Ewing. “He moved the puck well, he made some real clever passes. He also made some plays where he was getting in himself, using his own speed.”
After Laliberte slapped home a rebound early in the third for a 3-0 advantage, Weston and McGuirk teamed up again on a 2-on-1 about three minutes later that appeared to result in a goal, but was never officially ruled one by the refs.
After the two forwards exchanged passes, McGuirk slipped the puck to Weston, who slapped it high into the net. The puck appeared to ricochet off the center bar that dissects the inside of top of the goal and connects to the crossbar – prompting Weston to raise his hands in celebration and the student section behind the net to join him. But the lamp never lit and the refs never stopped play.
“The way it hit the net, I mean, it sounded like the net, it didn’t sound like post,” McGuirk said. “But the replay was too quick, so I couldn’t see it, but it sounded like it went in. It’s a tough call for the ref.”
Pete MacArthur made sure BU’s next goal went in when he one-timed a pass from Dan Spang past Dunnigan’s replacement, Ryan Grinnell, with about 12 and a half minutes to play. BU’s second line of McGuirk, MacArthur and Weston combined for three points on the night, but may find itself in the middle of a shuffle when Parker looks for a replacement for Laliberte on the first line come Saturday.
Goalies John Curry, Stephan Siwiec and Karson Gillespie combined for 13 saves in a physical game that featured several small skirmishes and 20 penalties.
“I thought that [BU was] physical, I thought they were very aggressive and they worked hard,” said Toronto head coach Darren Lowe. “It was their first game, so I’m sure they’re going to be a lot better.”
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