Men’s Hockey: Terriers set to host Maine
By Owen Gund
For the only time this season, the Boston University Terriers (13-10-3, 9-6-3 HE) will welcome the University of Maine Black Bears (4-14-4, 2-10-2) to Agganis Arena for the first of three regular-season games between the two schools. The teams will meet again at Alfond Arena on March 4th and 5th in what will be the final regular-season games before the Hockey East playoffs.
Both teams are coming off impressive wins on home ice this past weekend. The Black Bears took down Boston College 4-1 Friday night at Alfond Arena, while the Terriers defeated the Providence College Friars in a 5-2 decision at Agganis Arena on Sunday.
The Terriers have some big games coming up after this one, as their next four matchups will be televised on NESN, but BU head coach Albie O’Connell is confident that his veteran-led team won’t look past this Hockey East tilt.
“The game before the Beanpot, you hope that guys are not looking past it. I don’t anticipate us looking past this game. At least with the leadership we have in the room and the conversations that are going on,” O’Connell said in his weekly media call on Thursday.
O’Connell also noted that how some players perform in this game will factor into the coaching staff’s decision on who will play in Monday’s Beanpot matchup against Harvard.
“I think it’s an important time for individuals to play well,” O’Connell said. “The guys that get a chance to play in that game because if they play well and the team has a good result, there’s a pretty good chance that the lineup will be the same for that Monday, so individually it’s a very important time for guys to play at the peak of their game.”
O’Connell and his staff’s biggest personnel decision is who to trust in between the pipes for these important upcoming games. Drew Commesso is with Team USA at the Olympics for the next couple of weeks, and coach O’Connell reiterated on Thursday what he has said ever since Commesso made the decision to join Team USA: there is an open competition for the net between Ashton Abel and Vinny Duplessis.
“It’s gonna be competitive right through today,” O’Connell said ahead of Thursday’s practice. “Both guys are pushing for the job. I think at the end of the day [Thursday], we’ll have a better feel, but both guys have played well all week… it’s going to go off of who we feel is going to give us the best opportunity to win a game tomorrow.
For the Black Bears, sophomore forward Lynden Breen leads the team in scoring with thirteen points on the season, while senior defenseman Jakub Sirota is second with twelve. In goal, sophomore netminder Victor Ostman should get the nod after a 32 save outing last weekend against BC.
The Terriers are in third in Hockey East with 29 points, and they will have the chance to break the 30 point threshold on Friday. Puck drop is at 7:30 at Agganis Arena.
Featured Image by Patrick Donnelly