Quiet captain earning his keep

No matter which forwards he skates beside or which position he fills for the Terriers, senior captain John McCarthy takes it in stride. It’s only natural for the quiet leader of the BU attack. He spent so long playing fourth-line center in his first three seasons that he long ago convinced himself that was his chosen role on the team.

But after beginning the year on the third line, playing left wing with a rotating cast of freshmen to lend some wisdom to the incoming class, McCarthy has since become a top-six forward and a critical part of the Terriers’ potent second scoring unit. And if the saying goes that experience counts in the postseason, then McCarthy’s 150 games played at BU might have had something to do with his remarkable play in the Hockey East Tournament, where he registered six points (1 goal, 5 assists) and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

For three years, McCarthy filled in anywhere that BU coach Jack Parker needed him. He was a gritty, gutsy skater that didn’t light the lamp often, with just 16 points before this season. On Nov. 16, in a game against Northeastern University, Parker moved the senior up to the second line to skate with senior winger Brandon Yip and sophomore pivot Nick Bonino. McCarthy made the most of the opportunity, assisting on Bonino’s game-winning goal, and he hasn’t left the line since.

Through 41 games, McCarthy has nearly doubled his previous career totals, scoring six goals and helping on 22 more. He rarely takes the spotlight, often thinking two passes ahead when he sees an opportunity developing. While Yip and Bonino have enjoyed career years playing alongside McCarthy, it is his effort that goes largely unnoticed. Rewind the tape on many of their highlight-reel goals, and there is McCarthy, digging deep in a corner to pull the puck out and set up the score.

So it makes sense that when McCarthy had a chance to send home the winning goal in the Hockey East final Saturday, his rebound attempt hit off the post and sat in the crease for Yip to deposit.

Lining up

It was a tough weekend to play right wing for BU. Both nights at the TD Banknorth Garden, the Terriers lost one in the first period, though for very different reasons.

Friday against Boston College, Yip threw an elbow hard into the back of Eagle defenseman Tim Filangieri 90 seconds into the game, sending him hard into the boards and earning Yip a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind.

Sophomore Joe Pereira’s bizarre injury Saturday against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell forced the Terriers to skate with 11 forwards for the second night in a row. Skating behind the UML goal, Pereira’s stick caught between post and netting, shattering in several places and hitting hard into his stomach. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital before the game was over with a ruptured spleen. Parker said after the game that he was uncertain if the injury would require surgery, and that he does not expect Pereira to return this season.

Parker juggled his lines constantly both nights, mostly rotating his three remaining right wings among each of the four left wing-center combinations. He also chose to send out just three lines for some time each night. Saturday night he benched sophomore Colin Wilson and senior Chris Higgins, two of the team’s top three scorers, during the second period. Parker said that consistent television timeouts gave the skaters all the rest they needed, allowing him to use three lines rather than four when he felt it was necessary.

Bracketology

BU will play in Manchester, N.H. this weekend in the Northeast Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Though the Terriers are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, they did not draw No. 16 Bemidji State University in the first round because the selection committee tries to avoid intra-conference matchups. BU faces Ohio State University, which could not be seeded against the No. 2 University of Notre Dame because they both play in the CCHA.