MacArthur Chat Transcript from ESPN.com
February 15, 2006 | Men's Ice Hockey
BOSTON - Boston University men's ice hockey sophomore forward Pete MacArthur (Clifton Park, N.Y.) was the featured guest on Inside College Hockey's live chat session on Tuesday afternoon on ESPN.com. Please find the complete transcript below.
MacArthur currently leads the Terrier team with 28 points (12-16) in 28 games. During the team's current 11-game win streak, which culminated with the team's 27th Beanpot championship on Monday night, the sophomore has accounted for 16 points (7-9). Further, he was named the Beanpot MVP, is ranked 65th in the nation in points per game and has had multiple-point outings on 10 occasions.
MacArthur and the rest of the BU team will take on the University of New Hampshire in the first half of a home-and-home series on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
To purchase tickets for Terrier home games, or for more information, click here or visit the Ticket Office at 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or call 617-353-GOBU (4628).
Joe Gladziszewski: Welcome to The Show at ESPN.com, today we're joined by Peter MacArthur, a sophomore center for the Boston University Terriers. BU is the hottest team in the country right now and is getting ready for a big weekend against UNH. Pete MacArthur: Thanks for inviting me to be on The Show and I look forward to answering any questions you might have.
RIck, New Jersey: Pete, when you meet recruits who are visiting BU, what do you stress to convince them they should become Terriers? Pete MacArthur: The first thing is that there aren't many coaches in the country that are better than Jack Parker. Not many coaches have had more success than him on a national level or in Hockey East. They do a great job teaching you about being a professional on and off the ice and preparing you both for a hockey future and off the ice.
Doug, Framingham, MA: From a fans perspective, it appears that the improvement on the offensive end has been the result of less dump-and-chase and more carrying of the puck into the zone, looking for plays. Did Coach Parker specifically change the strategy or did it just sort of evolve? Pete MacArthur: We haven't changed any strategy at all. If you look at it more in depth it's actually that we're playing better defensive hockey and we're not hemmed in our zone so much. We have more energy to make those plays instead of being spent from chasing guys around in our D-zone.
Mikey, Quincy MA: Peter, What do you think is the single factor that has led to the BU 11 game win streak ? ( i.e - mechanics,team mentality,line pairings ) Followup to that, do you think Coach Parker will pair you with Boomer and Roche as the #1 line for next season ? Pete MacArthur: As far as the win streak goes, it starts from everyone on the team believing that we can do it. If you have one guy in the locker room that doesn't think you can win those games, then it probably doesn't work out. Secondly, it's taking it a shift a time and game-by-game and period-by-period. Just winning all of those little battles, and if you do that it usually results in a lot of wins. Pete MacArthur: As far as the line combinations, we leave that up to the coaches. It's their decision and we have nothing to do with it.
Anthony (West Hartford, CT): Hey Peter...just wanted to let you know, in case you haven't heard the chants, you have become a real fan favorite pretty much since you walked through the door. My question is about David Van Der Gulik. He's only had one goal since his return, the empty-netter vs Harvard, but the team's win streak and VDG's return were so close, it's hard to ignore and take as a coincidence. What does he bring to the team, even when he's not scoring goals, to help bring you guys to the level you're playing at currently? Pete MacArthur: He just brings so many intangibles into that locker room and out onto the bench. He's one of our hardest working players and one of our best defensive forwards if not the best, along with Brad Zancanaro. Even though he's not scoring, it's definitely no coincidence that we've gone on the streak since he's come back. It's going to be scary when he starts putting the puck in the net, but you can't say enough about what he does for our team.
Erin (Clifton Park, NY): Peter, My question is, what is your favorite part of being a Boston University Terrier? GO BU!!! I'm coming down for the Hockey East Championships Pete MacArthur: It's just being able to put that jersey on every night and represent all that we get a chance to do. When you look back we get a chance to represent NHL hockey players, Olympic hockey players and other great athletes in other sports. To be able to put that jersey on and play in the game is something that I'll definitely cherish for the rest of my life.
Robert: Which current NHL player do you most idolize? Pete MacArthur: People aren't going to expect this one, but for some reason I like Henrik Zetterberg. I just like him because every time he's on the ice and every time he touches the puck something good happens. He has a blend of quickness and skill that not many people have.
Bill: Newton, MA: Can you comment on the contributions of the freshmen? For an "unheralded" class they sure seem to be having a positive impact. Pete MacArthur: I truly believe that we would not be where we are if it wasn't for the freshman class. The forwards and the defenseman have taken to their roles and haven't complained. They've meshed nicely with the team and with each other. To be able to put them on the ice in the important situations that we have is a real benefit for the cllub. They are almost veterans now and we don't see them as rookies anymore.
Mark (White Plains, NY): Peter: How would you compare the mood/feeling of the team heading down the stretch of the 2005-06 season as opposed to last year? Is there more confidence among the players in terms of getting the job done in the postseason this time around? Pete MacArthur: I think you could say that there's definitely a little more confidence in the eyes of the guys on the team. We're trying not to think too much about the postseason because we still have six regular season games left and we want to lock up home ice. We have confidence that we'll be able to do that. If you do look ahead to the national tournament and Hockey East playoffs we do have the experience from last year to help us know just how hard it will be to help us attain our goals.
JD Spanburgh, Massena, NY: With so much momentum and your current winning streak, is the team feeling unbeatable and could this be a disadvantage? What are you guys doing to keep level-headed? Pete MacArthur: I definitely don't think that we feel unbeatable, but we do have a bit more confidence now that we're on the streak than we did at the beginning of the season when we were struggling. As far as keeping this thing going, like I've said a million times, we're going to try to the little things and worry about the next shift and the next game and the next period and hopefully that will take us a long way.
Rick New Jersey: Congratulations on Monday's win, Pete, and thank you for the skill and passion you bring to BU Hockey. Undoubtedly Coach Parker has the team refocused on the importance of this weekend's games. What can you and the senior leaders do to make sure that the team brings the same level of intensity, grit and thoroughness to these two games that was generated against BC? And, has the winning streak become a burden or an incentive? Pete MacArthur: We know that we haven't locked up home ice and that's one of our goals at the beginning of the season. We also want to take the season series from UNH and in order to do that we need to sweep because they beat us at home earlier this year. They also crushed us in the Hockey East playoffs last year so we want to get some revenge. It definitely won't be hard to get up for these games. Pete MacArthur: You can never say that a winning streak is a burden. You play the game to win, and you want to keep on winning. Once we lose a game we're not going to be happy at all. If you lose you've got to start all over again and we want this to last. Who knows how long it will be? Joe Gladziszewski: And a programming reminder, be sure to catch Saturday's game between the Terriers and the New Hampshire Wildcats on ESPNU at 7 p.m. EST. Joe Gladziszewski: We have time for one more question for Pete.
Jim, The Dugout: Where did the idea for the "MacArthur Leap" come from? Was it something you planned, or did it just happen and you decided to keep doing it? Pete MacArthur: I saw Freddy Meyer do it once, and it just kind of happened. My family told me that I should keep doing it, but now emotion just kind of overtakes me and I get really excited and slam myself into something. Joe Gladziszewski: Last one Pete, INCH has received some feedback that we're underestimating the Terriers by ranking them a little low in the INCH Power Rankings. Tell me from the BU perspective what makes you guys worthy of more praise? Pete MacArthur: We just have a very balanced team from the goaltender out. We don't have an area of weakness. We have good penalty killing, good power play, good offense, great defense and great goaltending. Pete MacArthur: Thanks for all of the questions and thanks for having me in the chat. Joe Gladziszewski: And our thanks to Pete MacArthur of the BU Terriers for joining us. Be sure to check in again next Thursday at 1:30 p.m. EST for another chance to talk college hockey with InsideCollegeHockey.com.
