Boston University men’s hockey coach Jack Parker does not know yet who will be in net for the No. 12 Terriers against No. 5 University of North Dakota on Friday. However, he’s looking forward to being back behind the bench.
Parker, who did not travel to the team’s game at the University of Massachusetts on Saturday due to back problems, said he is feeling better and that he remembers missing a road game due to health problems once before, about 12 years ago against Merrimack College.
“It’s much more nerve-wracking watching the game when you’re not on the bench and involved in the game, so I went out to dinner with Travis Roy,” Parker said of that night. “Saturday, my back was aching so I didn’t really go anywhere, I just lay on the couch and chilled.”
While Parker was at home, freshman goalie Matt O’Connor was recording 34 saves against the Minutemen to help lead the Terriers to a 3–2 win. O’Connor was named October’s Hockey East Co-Rookie of the Month, sharing the award with Providence goalie Jon Gillies.
However, freshman Sean Maguire, who had a rough start against the University of New Hampshire on Oct. 20, hasn’t been in net since then. As of Thursday night, Parker hadn’t decided who would start Friday, but he said both goalies were likely to play in North Dakota.
Parker said the reasoning for starting O’Connor in both games of the UMass series didn’t have anything to do with avoiding playing Maguire on the road.
“He wasn’t at the top of his game against UNH, and we didn’t want to throw him right back in there until he had time to settle down,” Parker said. “[Assistant coach Mike Geragosian] had time to work with him on some of the things he needs to get better at. They’ve been happy with the progress the last two weeks.”
Although BU swept UMass last weekend, they struggled in the faceoff circle. The Minutemen won 43 faceoffs to the Terriers’ 33 on Friday, and led 42–24 on Saturday.
“Usually when you’re losing faceoffs like we were, especially on Saturday, it’s because you weren’t ready to play,” Parker said. “We lost two thirds of the faceoffs that night. But … in every other phase of the game, we looked ready to play. So it was just a matter of, they were just beating us and we weren’t quite good enough to handle it.”
Parker also pointed out that controlling the puck off of faceoffs isn’t just a center’s job.
“It’s a matter of all five guys trying to win the faceoff, not just the center trying to win the faceoff,” Parker said. “So there are some loose pucks up for grabs and if we don’t get control of it, then they’ve won the faceoff.”
This weekend’s series represents one of a few chances the Terriers have to prove themselves against a tough out-of-conference opponent. North Dakota is expected to finish near the top of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association after losing to the University of Minnesota — one day after Minnesota eliminated BU from the tournament — in the NCAA regionals last year.
Although North Dakota lost its top scorer from last year, forward Brock Nelson, it does return senior forwards Danny Kristo and Corban Knight, who recorded 45 and 40 points last year, respectively. They also boast an experienced defense corps, with just one freshman, first-round St. Louis Blues draft pick Jordan Schmaltz, starting in their most recent game.
“They’re similar to us in skill up front and poise on defense and skill on defense,” Parker said. “They’re bigger than we are, and they’re more experienced.”
North Dakota’s goaltending situation has taken a bit of an unexpected turn. While freshman Zane Gothberg was expected to start, it’s been Clarke Saunders, a junior transfer from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, who has made three of the team’s four starts and earned a .940 save percentage so far.
“In the 3-3 tie I thought [Saunders] played extremely well,” Parker said of Saunders. “Many times, North Dakota was getting outplayed by Alaska-Anchorage and he stood tall for them. He made some big saves.”
Senior captain Wade Megan said the team is looking forward to its first plane trip of the season.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for us to kind of get away from campus a little bit, and a little bonding experience for us,” Megan said.
Both games will be televised live on NESN, and they are more crucial to the Terriers’ season than they may appear. While many fans’ minds may not be on the NCAA tournament during the first weekend of November, a non-conference series against a highly ranked team like North Dakota could make or break an at-large national tournament bid in March.
“Sometimes, these are the games that get you in the national tournament,” Parker said.
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