Johnson, Whitney Named To U.S. Junior Team
December 6, 2001 | Men's Ice Hockey
Sophomore center Gregg Johnson (Windsor, CT) and freshman defenseman Ryan Whitney (Scituate) have been named to the U.S. National Junior Hockey Team that will compete at the 2002 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship. The tournament, featuring the world's top players under 20 years old, will be held December 25, 2001 to January 4, 2002 in Pardubice and Hradec Kravlove, Czech Republic.
The Terrier hockey program will also be represented on the coaching staff, as John Hynes, who lettered for the Terriers from 1994-96, will be an assistant coach on the team.
Both Johnson and Whitney will join with the other 20 players in Ann Arbor, MI on December 16th where they will practice for three days before leaving for Switzerland on December 19th. The team will play an exhibition game against Switzerland on December 21st and against Sweden on December 22nd.
The U.S. team will leave for the Czech Republic where it will play its first game on Christmas Day against the host Czech Republic team. Their other games will be against Sweden on December 27th, Belarus on the 28th and Slovakia on the 30th.
Should the team advance to the medal round, it would play in the quarterfinals on January 1st. The semifinal round is slated for January 2nd with the medal games scheduled for January 4th.
With the U.S., the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, and Belarus in Group A, the Group B teams include Finland, Canada, Switzerland, Russia, and France.
Johnson and Whitney will miss at least two Terrier games-the December 20th and 21st games at the University of Nebraska/Omaha, and, should the U.S. team advance to the medal round, they would also miss the January 4th home game against Northeastern. However, they should be back in time for the January 6th game against Northeastern.
Through the first 12 games of the season, Johnson has established himself as one of the most improved players in Hockey East, while Whitney is one of the top young defensemen.
With just two games left on Friday (December 7th) and Sunday (December 9th) against UMass/Amherst before the first-semester break, Johnson leads the Terriers in assists with 9 and is second in total points with 12, while he is tied for second in plus-minus with a plus-7. Offensively, his best game this year came in the Terriers' 8-4 win over Harvard on November 20th. He scored his first collegiate hat trick and had a plus-3 to lead the way. Overall, he has had at least one point in 7-of-12 games.
His is also centering the Terriers' top line that includes sophomores Kenny Magowan (Kelowna, BC) on the left wing and Frantisek Skladany (Martin, Slovakia) on the right wing. As a unit, they have a combined total of 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points in 12 games.
A year ago, Johnson played in 35 of the Terriers' 37 games and had 5-5-10. He finished the season with a minus-4 and did not have any power play goals.
Whitney, one of the most highly-sought after defensemen last year, has lived up to his advanced billing. He has played in all 12 of the Terriers' games and has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. He is tied with seniors Chris Dyment (Reading) and Pat Aufiero (Winchester) for the lead in scoring among the defensemen.
"We knew that there was a good chance they would make the team," Terrier head coach Jack Parker said of the selection.
"They have both had a great first half of the season for us, and they have seen a lot of ice time," the coach went on. "And, I would expect they will see a lot of ice time for the Junior Team.
"We have had a lot of our players on the U.S. Team in the past, and it has been a tremendous boost for them when they come back," concluded the coach. "And, I expect the same will be try for Gregg and Ryan."
Johnson and Whitney are the latest Terriers to be selected as members of the U.S. National Junior Team. Including them, there have been 37 B.U. players who have played at the World Junior Championships. The most veteran was Scott Young, who played on the 1985, 1986, and 1987 U.S. World Junior Teams.
