It took the 2009-10 Boston University men’s hockey team half a season to find its stride offensively. By comparison, the 2010-11 version seems to be well ahead of that curve.
The Terriers topped their highest goal output from a year ago – seven goals – in a 9-3 win over the University of Toronto in exhibition action Saturday night.
“We were certainly geared up to go,” said associate head coach Mike Bavis. “That’s always a positive sign and quite honestly we’ve seen that in practice. It’s been a fun team to coach.”
Bavis was filling in behind the bench for the sidelined Jack Parker, who is still waiting for doctor’s clearance to coach after off-season heart surgery. Parker has said he’s hopeful he’ll have clearance for BU’s season opener next week in St. Louis.
BU’s first line of junior Chris Connolly, freshman Charlie Coyle and senior Joe Pereira stole the show. Connolly tallied two goals and three assists in the effort while Coyle notched a hat trick and an assist in his Scarlet and White debut. Pereira also had three assists.
“It was funny because we haven’t really worked on a whole lot,” Connolly said. “We’re missing a couple guys, and you know, it was just kind of thrown together this week, and it just happened to work out well. Charlie’s a big, strong kid with a lot of skill, and Joe is fast and grinds in the corners. We all kind of complement each other.”
Freshman defenseman Adam Clendening debuted with three assists, and six other Terriers earned a place on the stat sheet in the effort.
One of those players was redshirt sophomore forward Ross Gaudet, who turned a lot of heads en route to a 10-goal season last year. It didn’t take the redshirt sophomore long to keep the scoring trend alive. Eight minutes into the first, Gaudet scored the game’s first goal, tipping a low wristshot by sophomore defenseman Ben Rosen around Toronto goalie Andrew Martin.
The goal kicked off a scoring parade in the first period, which ended in a 3-3 tie. Toronto forward Kyle Ventura responded to Gaudet’s goal with a power-play tally at 10:01 of the first, and exactly 1:10 later, Robert Kay gave the Varsity Blues a 2-1 lead on yet another power-play goal.
The Toronto lead would last about three minutes, until BU’s top line of Connolly, Coyle and Pereira got to work. Pereira started the play with a behind-the-net pass to Connolly, who one-touched the puck to Coyle atop the crease. Coyle roofed the one-time shot over Martin’s right shoulder, tying the score at 2-2.
Toronto forward Byron Elliot put the Varsity Blues back on top with 1:16 left in the first on a highlight-worthy finish.
Elliot took the puck in the left corner of the BU zone and skated toward the BU net. The forward cut to the front of the net, put a big, back-handed deke on senior goalie Adam Kraus and poked the puck home at the opposite post.
Connolly would even the score at three with 10 seconds left in the frame, poking home a pass from Clendening.
Sophomore forward Ryan Santana earned BU the lead in the second period with his first goal in a BU uniform – albeit an unofficial one. The sophomore one-timed a pass in front from freshman forward Matt Nieto for the tally.
With 7:17 to play in the second, the Connolly-Coyle-Pereira line struck again, with Coyle netting his second goal of the game. Connolly started the play by throwing a puck at net as Pereira charged the crease. The puck missed Pereira and bounced off Martin’s pads, but the rebound flew straight to Coyle, who fought off a would-be hooking penalty on a Toronto player to put the puck into the empty net as he fell to the ice.
Rosen picked up his second point of the night &-&- this one a goal &– with 2:42 left in the second, lasering a slap shot from center point right over Martin’s shoulder, off the crossbar, and into the net.
Connolly killed any hope of a Toronto comeback seven minutes into the third with his second goal – and fourth point – of the night, this one a big deflection of a wrister from the point from Clendening.
Clendening and Pereira added their third assists minutes later when Coyle smacked in his third goal of the night, this one off a rebound directly in front of the Toronto net.
With 3:02 left, junior forward Kevin Gilroy poked home BU’s ninth goal off a rebound from the right side of the crease.
Sophomore forward Justin Courtnall was given a game misconduct from the game late in the third period after landing a punch on UT’s Tyler Turcotte during a post-whistle altercation. Turcotte was also given a game misconduct.
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