In the most recent USCHO Division I poll, the Boston University men’s hockey team is ranked No. 4 in the nation.
The Terriers (3-2) are coming off of a terrific home-stand featuring a 7-0 rout of Sacred Heart University and a hard-fought 3-0 victory against No. 6 Quinnipiac University.
Sophomore forward Jordan Greenway, who opened the scoring both nights this past weekend, earned Hockey East Player of the Week.
Through five games, three things stand out as most impressive: defensive play, goaltending and the Terriers ability to both start and finish games. Two areas must be improved, though: the team’s discipline and middle-of-the-game performances.
Defense
BU has only allowed eight goals this season, good for first place in the Hockey East and second in the nation.
Senior defenseman Doyle Somerby has been a rock on both defense and special teams. Somerby is undoubtedly the anchor of this team’s defense, and his team leading plus-minus rating of +6 proves that good things happen when the captain is on the ice.
While a more defensive-minded defenseman like Somerby will often wait on alert at the opposition’s blueline, more offensive-minded defensemen like sophomore Charlie McAvoy and freshman Chad Krys will frequently press into the offensive zone. Terrier defenders, especially McAvoy and Krys, have played aggressive but smart this year.
We saw aggressive play from former Terrier Brandon Fortunato during his two years with the team. Unfortunately, Fortunato would often turn the puck over and be caught out of position, surrendering a fast break opportunity to his opponent.
So long as the BU defense continues to play aggressive and smart, expect defenders to contribute on offense more often.
Goaltending
Freshman goaltender Jake Oettinger has stepped up in a big way to help keep the Terriers in games. The 17-year-old has recorded back-to-back shutouts this past weekend, en route to being named the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week.
His .947 save percentage is good for fifth in the nation (first among goalies who have played at least five games), while his 1.42 goals-against average ranks third nationally.
There is an old adage in hockey that says that in order to have a successful penalty kill, your goaltender must be your best penalty killer. Oettinger and his penalty-kill unit have only allowed two power-play goals this year, despite being shorthanded a whopping 43 times (more on this later).
Oettinger has looked sharp when he’s been called on this season, especially on the penalty kill.
At even strength, the Terriers are more often than not in their opponent’s end of the ice. He plays a very smart game; he is always in position, and he rarely coughs up rebounds. He’s extremely quick with his pads, especially when going post-to-post.
Strong Starts and Finishes
Through five games, BU has scored five first-period goals while only allowing one, showing that the team shuts down its opponents early in games. This is important, because as I’ll discuss later, the second period has not been friendly to the Terriers.
Additionally, the Terriers have scored 12 goals in the third period of games thus far. This number is obviously skewed by the five goals scored in the third period of the game against Sacred Heart (2-3-1). Still, it shows that BU finishes games with authority, as evidenced by a commendable comeback effort during the team’s first game against No. 3 University of Denver.
Despite these triumphs, though, there are still a few things to clean up if the Terriers want to be present at the United Center in Chicago for this year’s Frozen Four. Specifically, their discipline (or lack thereof) and their struggles in the middle of games.
Discipline
Penalties have plagued the Terriers all year. To date, BU’s genuine lack of discipline has showcased its brilliant penalty kill, which has bailed the team out on multiple occasions already in the season’s first three weeks of action. Unfortunately for Coach Quinn’s squad, a 95.3 percent penalty kill percentage, while absolutely incredible, is far from sustainable.
BU has surrendered an ugly 43 power-play opportunities in just five games. To make a legitimate run at the National Championship, the Terriers will have to stay out of the penalty box. Or, at the very least, cut down on their average 21.2 penalty minutes per game.
Coach Quinn must stress the importance of discipline to his young team, before they dig themselves into a hole they cannot climb out of.
Middle-of-the-Game Woes
While the Terriers have only allowed four goals in the second period of games so far, they’ve only scored three. This is very uncoincidentally linked to the number of penalty minutes.
During this past weekend’s matchup with Quinnipiac (5-2-1), BU was penalized 16 times, resulting in 12 power-play opportunities for the Bobcats. The Terriers had an answer for everything the Quinnipiac threw at them, but this theme of taking a dozen penalties a game should not beat teams like the Bobcats, and will not in the future.
