Men’s Hockey Notebook: No. 13 Terriers look to stay hot against lowly Catamounts
By Patrick Donnelly
The thirteenth-ranked Boston University Terriers (6-2) will look to build on their momentum after taking four of six points from rival No. 1/2 Boston College last weekend as they travel to the University of Vermont for two games with the Catamounts (1-5-2).
The Terriers have not had to travel too far to play games, playing five on home ice, one down the road at BC, one at UMass Amherst and one at Providence. BU head coach Albie O’Connell says his team is looking forward to a change in scenery.
“I think the guys are excited to go on the road and leave Boston, play some games, stay in a hotel and feel like a little bit of a regular year,” O’Connell said. “We’re looking forward to keep playing.”
Vermont is coming out of nearly a month-long pause within their athletic department due to COVID-19. The Catamounts last played on Jan. 8/9, splitting a series against Maine. O’Connell thinks both the Terriers and Catamounts are just eager to get games in.
“From talking to our guys, I think they’re just excited to practice and play,” he said. “I think Vermont is going to be really excited to play because they haven’t played in a bit.”
“It’s not the given year where you’ve already played 25 games by now, and you’re going up and maybe there’s some exhaustion and you get a little bit more excited from playing one team to the other.”
Prior to winning the first game of the Maine series, UVM had failed to register a win through their first six contests.
Offensively, the Catamounts have been led by freshman forward Ray Vitolins, who has six points (1g, 5a) in eight games on the year. Behind him, senior defenseman Christian Evers has had quite the start as far as production goes for a blueliner, with four goals and an assist in eight games.
In goal, senior goaltender Tyler Harmon has taken the brunt of the work for UVM, starting all eight games and holding a record of 1-4-2, a .905 save percentage, a 3.30 goals-against average and one shutout. Meanwhile, in about 69 minutes of action in two appearances, freshman netminder Gabe Carriers has stopped 37 of 38 shots.
The Terriers enter this weekend having gone unbeaten in regulation over their last seven games.
For BU, senior defenseman and assistant captain David Farrance was sidelined last weekend against BC, but should he return he’ll have plenty to build on. The Hobey Baker candidate has 14 points (4g, 10a) in six games on the season, averaging 2.33 points per game as a blueliner.
Behind him, BU has several players producing just shy of a point per game pace in freshman forward Luke Tuch (4-3-7 in eight games), sophomore forward Jay O’Brien (3-3-6 in eight games), sophomore defenseman Alex Vlasic (2-4-6 in eight games) and sophomore defenseman Dom Fensore (1-5-6 in eight games).
Between the pipes for the Terriers, freshman Drew Commesso was also out last weekend, but could continue a strong start to his collegiate career (a .917 sv%, 3.08 GAA and 5-1-0 record) if he returns this weekend. However, the Terriers have gotten solid outings from sophomore Ashton Abel and freshman Vinny Duplessis in Commesso’s absence.
Abel stopped 38 of 43 shots in a wild, back-and-forth 5-4 overtime loss at BC last weekend, while Duplessis stole the show on Saturday in his first career start, saving 40 of 41 shots against the Eagles to earn his first win.
BU will also be without freshman defenseman Cade Webber on Friday, who will be serving a one-game suspension for a high cross-check to a BC player last weekend.
Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 6 p.m. at UCM’s Gutterson Fieldhouse, while Saturday’s contest is also slated to get underway at 6 p.m.
More notes from around the rink:
Potential to see a return to the lineup this weekend
The Terriers have been without Farrance, Commesso, senior captain Logan Cockerill (4g in four games), junior forward Jake Wise, sophomore forward Ethan Phillips and senior forward Jake Witkowski for some time now. O’Connell said the team could be expecting at least one to make a return this weekend.
“I think we’re potentially going to maybe get a guy back, so that’s exciting,” he said.
After Saturday’s win against BC, O’Connell said that Cockerill could possibly return this past Monday, Wise is “getting better,” and the other four are “kind of day-to-day, week-to-week.”
Kaufman makes his return to UVM
Graduate transfer forward Max Kaufman has had a significant impact on the Terriers during his short time with with the program. The former Vermont Catamount was named an assistant captain by his teammates just four games into his time on Comm. Ave.
In three seasons with UVM, Kaufman skated in 94 games, compiling 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points, including 8-13-21 totals during the 2018-19 season. So far, the Pittsford, N.Y. native has four assists in eight games with BU.
O’Connell said Kaufman and the team are motivated for his first return to Gutterson.
“I think he’s excited about it, and I’m sure there’s gonna be some mixed emotions from him,” O’Connell said. “He’s got roommates, classmates and guys that he’s kind of grown up together with that he’ll be playing,”
O’Connell said the team didn’t necessarily ask for a UVM scouting report from Kaufman, but rather suggestions for a postgame meal.
“The one thing that we did ask that he didn’t really have an answer for was looking for postgame food on Saturday night for the team and the ride home,” he said. “He still hasn’t given us an answer back, so he’s gonna have to pick up his game with the area.”
Vlasic showing growth, upside
Vlasic’s six points so far this season are already a career-high as he had just four assists in 34 games all of last season. The 2019 Chicago Blackhawks second-rounder notched his first two collegiate goals against BC last weekend, and has four points (2g, 2a) in his last four games.
The six-foot-six blueliner has become and integral part of BU’s defense group this year. O’Connell says Vlasic’s confidence has skyrocketed lately.
“He’s been tremendous,” O’Connell said. “He’s really taken off, even in practice this week. Just the confidence, you can see it in how he’s handling the puck this week.”
“He’s maturing physically, his game’s maturing and his competitive spirit’s maturing, and he’s kind of taken on a little bit of a leadership role with [Farrance] going down. He’s really stepped up and played a lot of minutes.”
Playoffs are right around the corner
Hockey East announced their format for the standings, playoffs and seeding this week with the release of the Hockey East Performance Index (HEPI). Under this system, BU currently sits second place in the conference, a hair behind BC.
O’Connell thinks the idea of playoff action is intriguing.
“The thought of a postseason is exciting, but we’re just trying to just play games now,” he said. “It does feel strange that there’s only four weekends left, so it is right around the corner. But we’re still trying to continue to get better.”
Featured Image: Graduate transfer forward and former Vermont Catamount Max Kaufman skates during a win against Maine at Walter Brown Arena on Jan. 23, 2021. Photo by Patrick Donnelly.