AMHERST – While many key members of the Boston University men’s hockey team were, ‘Trying to do too much, trying to be too fancy,’ on Friday night, according to BU coach Jack Parker, freshman forward Alex Chiasson was able to net his first two collegiate goals by being aggressive, gritty, smart and simple.
‘Chiasson looked like a force out there as far as getting on pucks,’ Parker said. ‘He was playing hard, and he was making the next right play without trying to be, ‘Hey, look at me. I’m gonna make a big play.”
It was those ‘right plays’ that led to both of the St. Augustin, Quebec, native’s goals. With less than seven minutes left in the first and the Terriers on the power play, Chiasson parked himself in front of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst net to try and create some traffic in front of Minuteman goalie Paul Dainton.
It paid off when sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky’s wrist shot from the point was deflected and ended up falling in front of the UMass crease. Chiasson didn’t give up on the play, and eventually the loose puck found its way onto his stick. He displayed patience and good hands as he corralled the puck and waited out Dainton, beating him with a shot into the right side of the goal.
Six and a half minutes later, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound right-winger struck again. He showed more calmness and poise as he held the puck behind the UMass net, allowing a scoring chance to develop in front.
When it did, in the form of sophomore forward and linemate Corey Trivino streaking into the slot, Chiasson hit him with a perfect pass. And again, he didn’t give up on the play, allowing him to collect Trivino’s rebound on the left doorstep and deposit it into an open net.
Chiasson’s goals were just two of several opportunities his line, which also included freshman Wade Megan on left wing in addition to Trivino at center, created on the night. Despite not playing together in either of BU’s two exhibition games, the line exhibited good chemistry and hard work all game.
‘That whole line was our best line,’ Parker said. ‘I thought Megan played really well, too. Trivino made some nice distributions and played well defensively and looked like a real clever center-iceman.’
But playing with new running mates wasn’t the only difference for Chiasson between preseason and Friday night. Despite the fact that he came to Commonwealth Avenue with a reputation as a power forward who knew how to score, he didn’t show that off against St. Francis Xavier University or the US National Under-18 Team.
Instead, he struggled to handle tough passes and finish around the net. But that certainly wasn’t the case against the Minutemen.
He also played much smarter after taking two irresponsible penalties against the U-18 Team. On the first, he slashed the stick right out of a player’s hands. On the second, he went in elbows high on a check, resulting in an easy call for the refs.
But on Friday, when Chiasson got physical, it was clean, just like the rest of his game. Parker said the Terrier faithful should expect more of what Chiasson displayed against UMass and less of what he showed against the U-18s.
‘I don’t think he’s gonna be a problem taking penalties,’ Parker said. ‘I don’t think he’s gonna be a problem at all.’
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