{"id":6753,"date":"2015-11-19T22:40:08","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T03:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wtbusportstrial.wordpress.com\/?p=1376"},"modified":"2015-11-19T22:40:08","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T03:40:08","slug":"mens-ice-hockey-terriers-host-wolverines-for-two-game-weekend-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2015\/11\/19\/mens-ice-hockey-terriers-host-wolverines-for-two-game-weekend-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Men’s Ice Hockey: Terriers Host Wolverines for Two-Game Weekend Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Dan Shulman<\/p>\n

BU Men\u2019s Ice Hockey vs. Michigan (Non-Conference) November 20-21, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE OPPONENT<\/span><\/p>\n

Location \u2013 Ann Arbor, Michigan; Mascot \u2013 Wolverines; This Year\u2019s Record \u2013 5-1-1 (0-0-0 B1G), 1-0-1 on the road, 25 all-time meetings, Michigan leads 14-11-0; Fun Fact \u2013 Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson has been behind the Wolverines\u2019 bench for over 30 years, making 11 Frozen Four appearances and two National Championships<\/p>\n

PREVIEW<\/span><\/p>\n

The Boston University Terriers Men\u2019s Ice Hockey Team will put its five-game unbeaten streak on the line this weekend, as they welcome the Michigan Wolverines to Agganis Arena for two games.<\/p>\n

The Terriers are fresh off back-to-back ties against the nation\u2019s top ranked team in Providence College. Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson recorded four points on the weekend to earn Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week in Hockey East. Sophomore goaltender Connor LaCouvee shut down a high-powered Providence offense, receiving Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week Honors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought there was a lot to like about last weekend,\u201d said BU Head Coach David Quinn. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to face a team that will make life more difficult for you. I\u2019m really happy with our progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan played only once last weekend, winning a Friday night bout in Ann Arbor against Niagara, 7-3. Freshman forward Brendan Warren earned his first career weekly honor as he was named the Big Ten\u2019s Second Star of the Week for his three assists against the Purple Eagles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very opportunistic,\u201d said Quinn. \u201cThey really can generate offense, and can make you pay for your mistakes unlike any team we\u2019ve played so puck management is going to be huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time BU and Michigan met was on October 25, 2014 as the Terriers skated to a 3-2 victory over the Wolverines. Despite conceding two power play goals and trailing after the second period, BU staged a late rally as Matt Lane tipped in a Brandon Hickey shot with just over three minutes to go to complete the comeback.<\/p>\n

This season, Michigan is led by a trio of freshman forwards. Kyle Connor, Cooper Marody and Brendan Warren have amassed 26 points in just seven games to pace the Wolverines.<\/p>\n

Some key returners from last year\u2019s squad include junior forwards J.T. Compher (1G, 5A) and Tyler Motte (5G, 0A) along with sophomore defenseman Zach Werenski (2G, 5A). This trio combined for 80 points last season.<\/p>\n

Altogether, the Wolverines have 12 players who have been drafted into the NHL, while the Terriers have 10 draftees.<\/p>\n

In goal for the Wolverines will either be senior Steve Racine or junior Zach Nagelvoort. The two net-minders have split the time throughout their careers, and it seems that 2015-16 will be no different.<\/p>\n

Racine has gotten more of the minutes, posting a .892 save percentage along with a 3.37 goals against average. Nagelvoort has started more games so far and bolsters a .878 SV% and a 3.00 GAA.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing changes no matter who the goalie is,\u201d said Quinn. \u201cI don\u2019t really put too much stock into who the other goalie is. We just got to continue to do all the things that allow us to have some success.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other side of the ice stands BU. The Terriers\u2019 top line has emerged over the last few weeks, combining for 34 points (11G, 23A) through the first ten games. Ahti Oksanen, who scored his first goal on Halloween, leads the team with six tallies on the season.<\/p>\n

A contributing factor to BU\u2019s recent success has been the return of captain and senior defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. In four games, Grzelcyk has scored twice and added a pair of assists.<\/p>\n

In goal for BU this weekend will be sophomore upstart LaCouvee, who has played in eight games this season, posting a .919 SV% and a 2.53 GAA.<\/p>\n

\u201c[LaCouvee] is becoming more confident, he\u2019s being more aggressive,\u201d said Quinn. \u201cHe\u2019s a competitor, and he only played five games last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

BU will be without the services of forward Nikolas Olsson, who is sidelined with an upper body injury for the weekend. Stepping in for Olsson on the fourth line will be sophomore defenseman Brien Diffley.<\/p>\n

Puck drop on Friday will be at 6:05 p.m. and can be seen live on NESN and American Sports Network. Saturday\u2019s matinee will begin at 4:05 p.m.<\/p>\n

PREDICTION<\/span><\/p>\n

After last weekend\u2019s pair of barnburner ties against top ranked Providence, the Terriers have proven they can play with and stop the best in the game. Michigan has struggled with its goaltending this season, and if the Terriers can get pucks past both net-minders along with shutting down the Wolverines high powered offense, three points out of four (a win and a tie) on the weekend shouldn\u2019t be an impossible goal.<\/p>\n

BU\u2019s THREE KEYS TO THE GAME<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Score early and often\n
      \n
    1. The Wolverines play a strong third period, but their first two leave something to be desired. Scoring early would give the Terriers some comfort to play the game their way<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    2. NO PENALTIES\n
        \n
      1. Yes, again this is a key to the game. The Wolverines have an 18% power play that is only getting stronger. BU is going to have to play even strength hockey if they want to win.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      2. Limit Michigan Shots\n
          \n
        1. The Wolverines enter the weekend with a +90 shots on goal differential. If the Terriers can hold Michigan to a limited shot selection, the Terriers will hold a valuable edge.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          By: Dan Shulman BU Men\u2019s Ice Hockey vs. Michigan (Non-Conference) November 20-21, 2015 ABOUT THE OPPONENT Location \u2013 Ann Arbor, Michigan; Mascot \u2013 Wolverines; This Year\u2019s Record \u2013 5-1-1 (0-0-0 B1G), 1-0-1 on the road, 25 all-time meetings, Michigan leads 14-11-0; Fun Fact \u2013 Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson has been behind the Wolverines\u2019 bench […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17194,"featured_media":6754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1026,1028],"tags":[1188,1248],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6753"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}