Fresh off an Ice Breaker title, the No. 10 Boston University men’s hockey team returns to Agganis Arena for its home and conference opener against the University of Massachusetts at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Terriers (2-0-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) knocked off No. 15 University of Wisconsin, 4-3, in their season opener Friday. Senior forward Joe Pereira tallied two goals, while junior defenseman David Warsofsky notched a goal and two assists and freshman forward Charlie Coyle chipped in a goal and an assist. BU’s first three goals all came courtesy of the top power-play unit.
The scarlet-and-white won the tournament Sunday with a 5-4 triumph over the No. 19 University of Notre Dame. Freshman forward Sahir Gill led the way with a goal and three assists and Warsofsky added another goal and assist.
Junior goalie Grant Rollheiser made several big saves down the stretch, including one on a breakaway and another on a 3-on-1, and sophomore defenseman Sean Escobedo registered the deciding goal off a Gill faceoff win with 1:07 left in the game.
“I think they’re jacked up,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “We’re coming off a pretty good weekend as far as wins are concerned, and as far as the way we played, too. I thought we played pretty well in many areas of the game. I like the fact that we fell behind in both games and came back. And we won the third period in both games.
“So, all those things add up to a pretty good start for us. Now it’s a matter of seeing if we can put that together in a game that’s more important, really, because it’s a league game.”
The Minutemen (0-2-0, 0-0-0 HE), who lost their top five scorers from last season, don’t have much to show for their opening weekend in terms of wins, but they hung tough in a hostile environment during a series at the No. 13 University of Minnesota. They lost 5-3 Friday and 5-4 Saturday, falling behind early in both games before embarking on two comebacks that ultimately came up short.
“I was very impressed watching UMass on tape against Minnesota,” Parker said. “They’re a very, very fast team. They’re a young team, too, just like we are. But they are fast as heck. So, we’ll have our hands full with them.”
Don’t expect the Terriers to try and slow the game down, though. They seem perfectly content to play an up-tempo style.
“I think it’ll definitely be a little bit different than what we played this weekend,” said Pereira, one of BU’s co-captains. “The Wisconsin and Notre Dame games were physical games when you look at the tape. But I feel like we’re a fast team, so I think it’ll be an advantage to us to play fast out there.”
The most interesting sub-plot Saturday night will be Pereira facing off against his younger brother Michael, a freshman forward for UMass, for the first time in a game that counts. The younger Pereira recorded a goal and an assist in his first weekend of collegiate hockey.
“It’s definitely something you look forward to, having all the family and friends there,” said the elder Pereira. “We were always bringing it up over the summer when we played against each other, who’s gonna win and who’s gonna get the upper hand. I think it’s pretty cool. But when the puck drops, that first shift, it comes down to BU versus UMass, and that’s what’s more important.”
Another storyline of note is the return of junior center Corey Trivino and sophomore winger Alex Chiasson to BU’s lineup. The duo was suspended for the first two games for violating team rules last season.
Parker said Trivino and Chiasson will play on the same line, but that he had yet to finalize who would play left wing with them. Freshman Matt Nieto played there Thursday in practice and Parker said he “looked pretty sharp with that line.”
The top line of Pereira, Coyle and junior Chris Connolly will stay together after combining for four goals and three assists last weekend. The trio totaled an eye-popping five goals and seven assists the week before in a 9-3 exhibition win over the University of Toronto.
Meanwhile, Gill will move from center to right wing to play on a line centered by sophomore Wade Megan. Nieto, redshirt sophomore Ross Gaudet and junior Andrew Glass appear to be the most likely candidates to play left wing on that unit.
Game notes
After losing 3-2 at UMass in last year’s season opener, the Terriers won the next two matchups with the Minutemen by a combined score of 13-5 to take the season series. … The two teams won’t have to wait long for a rematch, as they’ll meet again next Friday at Mullins Center. … Freshman forward Yasin Cisse will not play for BU after twisting his ankle against Wisconsin. … Junior Kieran Millan will start in net for BU. He and Rollheiser split starts last weekend, but Parker said the starting job is Millan’s to lose. “It will not be a straight rotation. Millan’s the number-one goaltender.” … Senior goalie Paul Dainton is questionable for UMass after suffering a leg injury Saturday, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette. Freshman Jeff Teglia will get his first career start if Dainton is unable to play.
Update: The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports this morning that Teglia will indeed get the start. He gave up four goals in 46 minutes of relief action last Saturday against Minnesota.
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