Meyer, Sabo Named To U.S. Junior Team
December 6, 2000 | Men's Ice Hockey
Terrier sophomore defenseman Freddy Meyer (Sanbornville, NH) and right wing John Sabo (Harding Township, NJ) have been named to the U.S. Junior Team that will play at the World Junior Championships, Dec. 26, 2000-Jan. 5, 2001 in Moscow and surrounding cities of Russia.
Joining them on the roster will be goalie Rick DiPietro (Winthrop), who played for the Terriers last year but left after his freshman year to sign a contract with the New York Islanders. In the NHL draft last June, the Islanders made DiPietro the first goalie ever selected number one in the draft.
Meyer, who missed the team's first four games this season as a result of back surgery performed during the summer, has played in nine games and has two goals and six assists for eight points. He is the team's top-scoring defenseman, while he is tied with junior Mike Pandolfo (Burlington) for fifth overall on the team.
Last weekend (December 1-2), he had two goals and two assists in the Terriers' 5-2 and 4-2 sweep of UMass/Amherst. Each of his goals came on the B.U. power play. For his performance, he was named to the Hockey East Honor Roll. Meyer has been on an offensive tear lately with 2-5-7 in his last five games.
For Sabo, this will mark the second year he has been on the U.S. Junior National Team. Last year, he was with the U.S. Junior Team that played in Sweden. He played in all seven games but did not figure in any of the scoring.
This season, Sabo has appeared in all 13 of the Terrier games and has two goals and four assists for six points. His best totals were against Merrimack on November 3rd. In the Terriers' 5-4 loss to the Warriors, he had a goal and two assists.
He scored his other goal in a 5-2 loss to Denver on November 24th.
As a result of their being with the U.S. Junior Team, the pair will not be with the Terriers at the Badger Showdown in Milwaukee, WI, December 29-30. In the first round (December 29th), the Terriers will meet defending NCAA champion North Dakota, while host Wisconsin will meet Princeton. The consolation and championship games will be played the next evening.
If the U.S. team advances to the medal round and plays on the final day of competition, both Meyer and Sabo could miss the Terriers' January 6th home game against Boston College. However, they are expected to be back with the team in time for the January 7th game at BC.
Terrier players are no strangers to being on the U.S. Junior Team.
In fact, over the years, 35 B.U. players have been members of the team.
What's more, Sabo is one of seven Terriers who have been selected to the team at least twice. Of the seven, Scott Young is the only B.U. player who was on three U.S. Junior Teams-1985, 1986, and 1987.
The others who were on two national teams were Tony Amonte in 1989 and 1990, Clark Donatelli in 1984 and 1985, Mike Kelfer in 1986 and 1987, Scott Lachance in 1991 and 1992, Tom Poti in 1996 and 1997, and Keith Tkachuk in 1991 and 1992.
