Sophomore Danny O’Regan was named Hockey East Warrior Hockey Co-Player of the Week after a three-point weekend against Providence.
After scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals on Friday for the No. 17 Boston University men’s hockey team and then tallying an assist on Saturday, sophomore center Danny O’Regan picked up the title of Hockey East Warrior Hockey Co-Player of the Week Monday afternoon.
With his three-point weekend against No. 6 Providence College, O’Regan is tied for the team lead in goals with three, and he is tied for second on the team in points (six) among forwards.
The Needham native split the award with Friar (5-1-1, 1-1 Hockey East) junior Ross Mauermann, who had three goals and two assists during the home-and-home series.
By having the two players share the award, Hockey East further proved the point of both Friar coach Nate Leaman and Terrier (4-4, 2-1-0 Hockey East) coach David Quinn that the weekend series, which featured two games that were tied heading into the third period, represented a “typical Hockey East weekend.”
Who’s starting in goal?
At the beginning of the season, Quinn said sophomore goaltenders Sean Maguire and Matt O’Connor looked even in goal. From there, however, he went on to say that he was not the type of person to predetermine that the goalies would rotate each weekend.
“I’ve talked to O’Connor and [senior goaltender Anthony Moccia],” Quinn said before the Terriers’ game against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “I told them, ‘Listen, if [Maguire] goes in there and plays outstanding, we will probably put him back in [Friday]. Just like you would want me to offer you the same opportunity.’
“We have the luxury of having two great goalies, so I feel confident. It will all work out.”
After four weeks’ worth of games, neither Maguire nor O’Connor has started in both games of a weekend series. Instead, the two have platooned, something that Quinn discussed after O’Connor made 42 saves in a game against the then-No. 4 University of Michigan but did not get the start the following day against Michigan State University.
“I look through the eyes of everybody,” Quinn said on Oct. 31. “O’Connor is like, ‘Hey, I played great,’ And I say, ‘You’re right, you’ve got a great argument, but Maguire has played well too, you know?’ It’s just a different view. I think they understand it. I think those two guys understand the situation that we’re in.”
The penalty paradox
One of the main themes this season has been the amount of penalties the Terriers have taken. Quinn has said several times this season that he wants to see the team have four penalties or fewer per game.
BU met that requirement this weekend when it had two penalties Friday night and four Saturday night. In fact, after eight games this season, the Terriers have, on average, 10.8 penalty minutes per game. That is the second best total in the Hockey East conference with Maine’s 10-minute average leading the league. Right now, though, the problem is the timing of the penalties more than the amount.
A look at Saturday’s game shows just that. With the Terriers holding onto a 1-0 lead heading into the final four minutes of the second period, sophomore forward Sam Kurker was called for tripping. With fewer than 30 seconds left on the penalty, sophomore forward Mike Moran then picked up a call for cross checking, giving the Friars a key five-on-three opportunity. Providence went on to tie up the game just six seconds into the two-man advantage, giving them the momentum heading into the final period of play.
Sam Kurker asked to step up
Quinn said at the beginning of the season that he would hold players responsible for their actions on the ice. The first time Quinn noticeably took action was during the Terriers’ first game of the season on Oct. 11. Kurker took two offensive penalties in the first 22 minutes of the game, and spent the rest of the contest sitting on the bench.
A few weeks later, Kurker did not dress for the Terriers’ game against Michigan State (3-3), and, on Saturday, the sophomore had one of the penalties that led to Providence’s game-tying goal.
Quinn said before the Providence series that he has continued to talk with Kurker throughout the season to help him improve.
“We had a chat today, watched a lot of video,” Quinn said. “ … He and I talked at length about what he’s going to have to do to continue to improve to be an effective player here. He’s young, too. He’s a kid that’s a 19-year-old sophomore who has to understand what he has to do to be a productive player here because we need him. There’s no way around it.
“We need him to be the player he’s capable of being. It’s our job to get it out of him. We talked about protecting the puck and being more physical.”
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