Hockey Travels to Harvard
November 23, 1999 | Men's Ice Hockey
The Terrier hockey team, playing a rare midweek game, travels to Harvard on Tues., Nov. 23rd to take on the equally-surprising Crimson. Not much was expected of either team this year, but they both come into the game ranked in this week's Top-15 poll. The game will be broadcast live on WROL-AM (950) Boston; WCRN-AM (830), Worcester; and WPLM-AM (1390), Plymouth.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY @ HARVARD UNIVERSITY November 23, 1999 7:00 p.m. Bright Hockey Center
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: For the eighth time in 12 games, the Terriers find themselves on the road. Thus far, they have been in Anchorage, Alaska for two games; in Albany, New York for two games; at Vermont, at Merrimack, and at New Hampshire for single gamesThey come into tonight's game with a 3-3-1 record away from homeStatistically, the leaders have been Tommi Degerman (Helsinki, FIN) and sophomore Dan Cavanaugh (Springfield, MA), each of whom has 10 points. Degerman has 4-6-10, while Cavanaugh has 2-8-10. Degerman is tied with freshman Brian Collins (Shrewsbury, MA) for the lead in goals in the seven road games, while Cavanaugh has the lead in assists by himself. Close behind in total points is senior Chris Heron (Mississauga, ONT), who has 3-5-8 away from homeIn the net, Rick DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.) has a 2-1-1 record with an .881 save percentage and a 3.18 GAA, while Jason Tapp (Kelowna, BC) is 1-2-0 with a .789 save percentage and a 4.06 GAA.
THIRD OF FIVE VS. ECAC: Tonight's game marks the third of five meetings the Terriers have against ECAC teams, and they are 0-2 in the previous two. They lost to RPI in the ECAC/Crowne Plaza Face-Off, 3-2, on October 15th in Albany, NY and at Vermont, 7-4, on October 23rd. Following tonight's game, the Terriers still have meetings schedule against Yale on January 23rd and against Harvard in the Beanpot opener on February 7thIncluding this year's 0-2-0 record against ECAC teams, the Terriers' all-time record against ECAC teams is 371-275-20.
VS. HARVARD LAST YEAR: The Crimson scored three first-period goals and never looked back en route to a 5-3 win over the Terriers on November 24, 1998 at Walter Brown Arena. The loss dropped the Terriers' record to 2-7-1Prior to that, B.U. had won five straight decisions over Harvard.
SHEEN LATEST TO BE SIDELINED: Junior defenseman Colin Sheen (Hopkinton, NH) suffered a broken left wrist in the second period of Saturday night's 5-5 overtime tie against New Hampshire. He underwent surgery yesterday (Monday) to repair the injury, and he is expected to be out of action at least four to six weeks. It marks the second time this year that Sheen will be sidelined for a period of time. He missed the Merrimack series (November 5-6) and the UMass/Lowell game (November 12th) with the flu.
JOINS CRONIN ON THE INJURED LIST: Sheen thus joins freshman defenseman John Cronin (Duxbury, MA) on the injured list. Cronin, who had already shown he was one of the bright young prospects not just on the Terrier team but also in Hockey East, suffered a broken left thumb in the first period of the UMass/Lowell game on November 12th. It was originally thought that he might miss the entire season, but the prognosis was changed so that he, too, will be sidelined until the end of December.
PRIEM TO PLAY DEFENSE: With an already thin Terrier defense depleted by injuries to both Sheen and Cronin, head coach Jack Parker will move freshman Ryan Priem (Minnetonka, MN) back to the blue line. Thus far this season, Priem has played in 5-of-11 games, but all his action has been at right wing. Defense is not new for him, though, as he played there his last three years in high school. As a junior at The Blake School, he was Honorable Mention All-Conference after scoring 6 goals and assisting on 15 others. His senior year, he had 5-17-22 and was named All-Conference, the team's best defensive player and was one of 25 Minnesota Players to Watch, according to the Minneapolis Star & Tribune. After graduating from The Blake School in 1998, he spent a post-graduate year at The Taft School where he played defense and had 1-10-11.
DiPIETRO TO START IN NET TONIGHT: For the second time this year, freshman Rick diPietro will start in net for the Terriers. Last Saturday night, he had 26 saves in the 5-5 overtime tie at New Hampshire. It marked the fifth straight game in which he has had 25 saves or more. The stretch began with a 25-save effort in a 3-0 loss to Niagara on October 16th. Next came a 25-save performance in a 3-2 win over Providence on October 30th. That effort earned him the Hockey East Rookie of the Week honor. Then, in order, was a 29-save showing in a 5-2 win over Merrimack on November 5th; a 29-save performance in the 4-3 victory over UMass/Lowell on November 12th; and finally, there was Saturday night's effort at New HampshireHis only sub-25-save game was in his career debut when he stopped 14 shots by Alaska/Anchorage in a 5-3 win on October 10thPrior to tonight, the only other time this year in which he has started back-to-back games was vs. Providence on October 30th and Merrimack on November 5th.
ONE LINEUP CHANGE UP FRONT: In an effort to get more scoring balance from his lines, Coach Parker has made a lineup change. Junior Carl Corazzini (Framingham, MA), who has centered the Terriers' first line all season, has been moved to the right wing on the third line. During his first two years with the Terriers, Corazzini played right wing so the position is not new to him. His spot on the first line will be taken by freshman Brian Collins. For most of the first half of the season, Collins has been the second-line center. However, he has also centered the third line and played left wing on the first line.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last season, the Terriers were 2-8-1 overall and 1-4-1 in the league at this point of the season. The problem was not on offense as the team had scored 40 goals. There was a concern on defense, though, as the 11 opponents had scored 46 goals. This season, the team has scored four more goals, 44, than a year ago, while the defense has allowed 9 less goals, 37, than last season.
UNDEFEATED IN LAST SIX: The Terriers come into tonight's game with a 4-0-2 mark in their last five outings. Prior to this stretch, they had lost three in a row. In the last six games, B.U. has outscored its opponents, 25-18, while it has been outshot, 174-162. The difference in shots has been particularly obvious the last three games when UMass/Lowell, Northeastern and New Hampshire have combined for 96 shots, while the Terriers have had 67. The River Hawks (November 12th) had 32 shots (13-13-6-32) while the Terriers had 21 (8-8-5-21) in a 4-3 victory. The following night, in a 4-4 overtime tie, Northeastern had 33 shots (7-15-10-1-33), while the Terriers had 16 (4-4-3-5-16). In last Friday night's 5-5 overtime tie at New Hampshire, the shot differential wasn't as great, as New Hampshire had 31 shots (11-12-8-0-31) to 30 for the Terriers (8-10-10-2-30) In special teams play over the last six games, the Terriers are 8-for-33 (24.2 percent), while the opponents are 5-for-42 (11.9 percent).
SOPHOMORES MAKING THEIR MARKS: This year's sophomore class is already on its way to enjoying more success than it did last year. Below is a comparison.
Through 11 games Last Year Pat Aufiero 2-5--7 (11 gp) 3-4--7 (22 gp) Jack Baker 3-4--7 (10 gp) 6-7--13 (31 gp) Dan Cavanaugh 3-13--16 (11 gp) 6-8--14 (36 gp) Chris Dyment 4-2--6 (11 gp) 1-5--6 (25 gp) Mike Pandolfo 5-1--6 (11 gp) 13-4--17 (34 gp)
HERON, DEGERMAN CLOSING IN ON 100 POINTS: Seniors Chris Heron and Tommi Degerman, who are not just classmates but also linemates and roommates, come into tonight's game with 82 career points. Heron has 35-47-82 in 120 games over the past three-plus years, while Degerman has 36-46-82 in 90 games. Degerman joined the team halfway through the 1996-97 season.
DEGERMAN ON POWER SURGE: The Terriers' senior captain has scored two goals in each of his last two games and all four goals have been on the power play. Degerman, who has points in 7-of-11 games this season, has a team-leading six goals this year, and five of them have come on the power playHis two-goal effort at New Hampshire on Friday night marked the second time this year and the seventh him in his career that he has scored two goals in a game. However, he is still looking for his first collegiate hat trick.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN: The Terriers' seven defensemen this year have combined to score 11 goals and add 15 assists for 26 points in 11 games or an average of 2.4 ppg. Last year, in 37 games, the seven defensemen had 10 goals and 52 assists for 62 points, or an average of 1.7 ppg. The leading goal scorer among the defensemen this year is Chris Dyment who has 4, while John Cronin, who played in the team's first nine games before he suffered his broken left thumb, remains second among the defensemen in goals scored with three. Last year, Pat Aufiero (Winchester, Mass.) and Juha Vuori (Ulvila, FIN) led the defensemen with 3 goals each. Aufiero, who missed the first half of last season with a broken wrist, played in 22 games, while Vuori, who alternated between forward and defense a year ago, played 29 games on the blue line. This year, in 11 games, Aufiero has 2-5--7, while Vuori, who has played in 7-of-11 games, has 0-2--2.
DOG BITES: Pat Aufiero has points in 4 of his last 7 games. During this stretch, he has 2-4--6Dan Cavanaugh is on a seven-game point-scoring streak. During this stretch, he has 3-11--14Brian Collins has points in 7-of-11 gamesCarl Corazzini has a six-game point-scoring streak (2-5--6) Nick Gillis has points in 6-of-11 games this yearChris Heron has a six-game point-scoring streak (3-5--8), while, overall, he has points in 9-of-11 games this year. A year ago, he opened the season with 9-4--13 in his first 10 games and went on to lead the team in goals (18) and finish second in points (35). This year, he has 4-9--13 in 11 gamesMike Pandolfo has 4-1--5 in his last four gamesJohn Sabo has points in 6-of-11 games this year.
TERRIERS AMONG HOCKEY EAST LEADERS: The Terriers, who were picked to finish fifth in the pre-season poll of the nine Hockey East coaches, are currently in second place just one point behind front-running New Hampshire. Their 4-0-2 record gives them 10 points, while New Hampshire is 5-0-1 for 11 pointsIndividually, Dan Cavanaugh is tied for first with BC's Jeff Farkas in scoring in league games only as each has 11 points. In all games, Cavanaugh (16) is second behind Farkas (19)Others in the top-10 in scoring in all games are Degerman and Heron, who are tied for fifth with Maine's Barrett Helsten with 13 points. In league games only, Heron is tied for fourth with three others with 8 points, while Degerman and Corazzini are tied with three others for eighth with 7 points As a team, in all games, the Terriers are first in goals per game (4.00), ninth in goals allowed (3.36), fourth in power play percentage (18.8 percent) and fifth in penalty killing (83.8 percent). In league games, they are first in goals per game (4.17), sixth in goals allowed (3.00), first in power play percentage (23.5 percent), and fifth in penalty killing (88.1 percent).
TEAM BY CLASS: The Terriers' 24-player roster includes: Seniors (5): Forwards (4): Tommi Degerman, Bobby Hanson, Chris Heron, Greg Quebec Defense (1): Juha Vuori
Juniors (5): Forwards (3): Carl Corazzini, Nick Gillis, Scott Perry Defense (2): Keith Emery, Colin Sheen
Sophomores (7): Forwards (4): Jack Baker, Dan Cavanaugh, Mike DiMella, Mike Pandolfo Defense (2): Pat Aufiero, Chris Dyment Goalie (1): Jason Tapp
Freshmen (7): Forwards (3): Brian Collins, Ryan Priem, John Sabo Defense (2): Mike Bussoli, John Cronin Goalie (2): Ricky DiPietro, Andy Warren
TEAM LEADERS: Senior left wing Tommi Degerman is the team captain, while senior center Chris Heron and junior right wing Carl Corazzini are the assistant captains. Corazzini is the first underclassman to serve in one of the captain's roles since Chris Drury was an assistant captain as a junior during the 1996-97 season. The following year, in 1997-98, en route to being voted the Hobey Baker winner as college hockey's premier player, Drury was the team's co-captain along with Chris Kelleher.
AN IMPROVING POWER PLAY: In the last five games, as the Terriers have posted a 3-0-2 record, they have shown marked improvement in their power play. After the first six games, during which the Terriers were 3-3, the team had converted on just 4-of-37 man advantage situations for a dismal 18.8 percent efficiency. During the last five games, they have converted on 8-of-27 chances for a 29.6 percent efficiency. For the season, they are 12-of-64 (18.8 percent)All season, the team has played exceptionally well killing penalties, and comes into tonight's game having killed 57-of-68 chances by their opponents (83.8 percent).
FRESHMEN MAKING MARK ON OFFENSE: Four of the five freshmen skaters have scored at least one goal this year. The leaders are Brian Collins, who is tied with Mike Pandolfo for second on the team with 5. The only freshman without a goal is wing Ryan Priem, who has played in just 5-of-11 games. As a group, the freshmen have accounted for 11 of the team's 44 goals or 25.0 percent of the offense.
79th YEAR OF COMPETITION: This is the 79th year of intercollegiate play for the Terrier hockey team. Including this year's 6-3-2 start, the Terriers have compiled a record of 1150-655-84 for a .631 winning percentage.
DECADE OF THE TERRIERS: Since the 1989-90 season, B.U. teams have amassed an impressive 273-106-29 mark for a .705 winning percentage. They have played in the NCAA Tournament in nine of the 10 years and advanced to the Finals in seven of those years. They won the Division 1 championship game in 1995, while they played in the title game in 1991, 1994, and 1997. Below is how the Terriers have done during the decade.
Year Record .Pct NCAA Tournament 1989-90 25-17-2 .591 Lost to Colgate in semis, 3-2 1990-91 28-11-2 .707 Lost to No. Mich in title game, 8-7 (3 OTs) 1991-92 22-9-4 .686 Lost to Mich St. in Regional, 4-2 1992-93 29-9-2 .750 Lost to Lake State in semis, 6-1 1993-94 34-7-0 .829 Lost to Lake State in title games, 9-1 1994-95 31-6-3 .813 Won NCAA title vs. Maine, 6-2 1995-96 30-7-3 .788 Lost to Michigan in semis, 4-0 1996-97 26-9-6 .707 Lost to North Dakota in title game, 6-4 1997-98 28-8-2 .763 Lost to UNH in East Region, 4-3 (OT) 1998-99 14-20-3 .418 Did not qualify 1999-2000 6-3-2 .636
THREE FOR 600 FOR PARKER: Now in his 27th season, the veteran Terrier coach comes into tonight's game needing just three wins to become the fourth college hockey coach in history to reach the 600-win total. Ranked fourth all-time in total wins among all college hockey coaches, Parker's record to date is 597-288-53 for a .665 winning percentage. Below are the top four coaches in terms of wins. Mason and Peters are still coaching, while Ceglarski has retired.
Coach School Years Wins Ron Mason Lake State, Bowling Green, Mich. State 66-SA 847 Bob Peters North Dakota Bemidji State 64-SA 730 Len Ceglarski Clarkson, Boston College 58-92 674 Jack Parker Boston University 73-SA 597
MOST WINS AT SAME DIVISION 1 PROGRAM: While Parker ranks fourth in total wins, he is first in Division 1 in victories at the same institution. Mason has 558 victories at Michigan State. Peters has 688 victories at Bemidji. However, they have been Division 2 prior to this season. This is their first year with a full Division 1 schedule, and they are 2-7-1. Bemidji is one of the seven teams in the newly formed College Hockey America (CHA) league. The other members are Wayne State of Detroit, Niagara, Air Force, Army, Findlay of Ohio, and Alabama-Huntsville.
PARKER VS. HARVARD/ECAC: The Terrier coach has an all-time record of 28-12-0 (.700 winning percentage) against Harvard, while his overall record against the ECAC is 169-68-7 (.707 winning percentage). Included in the total are the losses to RPI and Vermont earlier in the season. His record against Ivy League teams is 91-33-2 (.724 percent.)
DAYS OF THE WEEK: Below is how the Terriers have fared on the different days of the week this year.
Friday: 2-1-1
Saturday: 3-2-1
Sunday: 1-0-0 RECORD BY MONTH: Below is how the Terriers have fared during the months of October and November this year.
October 3-3-0 November 3-0-2
