Oct. 2, 2008

BOSTON - When the Boston University men's ice hockey team hits the ice for its 88th season in October, its aspirations will be like those of any other Terrier squad in recent years - to be in a position to succeed in March and get the program back to the Frozen Four.

While the past few years have fallen short of expectations, there are reasons to believe that fortunes may change in the 2008-09 campaign.

Five regulars return on defense, including two-time All-American Matt Gilroy, who will serve as co-captain of the Terriers along with a fellow senior, forward John McCarthy.

McCarthy and three other senior forwards (Chris Higgins, Jason Lawrence, Brandon Yip) have been mainstays in the lineup since early on in their freshman season and overall, the team returns eight of its top 10 scorers from a year ago.

"We have the capabilities to be a very strong team, but it will only be if we act like a team," said head coach Jack Parker, who enters his 36th season at the helm of the BU program. "If we are a bunch of individuals, which sometimes crept up last year, we'll never get to where we need to be."

Despite having its season come to an end last spring in the Hockey East semifinals, the Terriers still want to pick up where they left off. BU was playing its best hockey of the year entering the league playoffs, but a slow start put the team in a position where it had to win the league tournament to advance to the NCAAs.

"Historically, we've always gotten off to slow starts and then come on stronger," said Parker. "Last year's early-season struggles hurt us more than ever though. We were able to recover in the league, but our non-conference losses were too tough to overcome in the long run."

Gilroy, McCarthy and junior Brian Strait, this year's assistant captain, led their teammates through an offseason that promoted team-oriented effort, helping to create a mindset that this year's Terriers will be ready from the get-go.

"Our objective is to become a team - as soon as possible," added Parker. "Our captains have been helping us do just that."

This hungry BU squad has added one of the nation's top recruiting classes with highly-regarded newcomers at each position, including goaltending, which seemed to be the team's Achilles' heel throughout the 2007-08 season. Over the past two years, the Terriers have struggled to combine a strong offense with a strong defense for an extended period of time.

"Hopefully, as the season goes on, other teams aren't talking just about our offense or just our defense," said Parker. "I'd like to think that we can be equally successful on both ends of the ice."

It appears that the Terriers won't be sneaking up on anybody this season, however, as they were picked second in the preseason Hockey East coaches' poll.

"The rest of the league obviously thought highly of us to vote us second," said Parker. "But it goes without saying that it all has to be played out on the ice."

GOALTENDING

There is no question that the Terriers' level of success in the upcoming season will be highly affected by the team's play between the pipes.

With probably the youngest goaltending trio in the country, the Terriers return sophomore Adam Kraus in addition to welcoming a pair of freshman netminders from western Canada.

"The position is obviously wide open," said Parker. "Despite the lack of experience, there is a lot of talent to choose from. It will be interesting to see who evolves - or how many evolve - as the goaltenders of record."

Kraus made two starts as a freshman, including a 5-4 win over Northeastern in the Beanpot consolation game. In addition to those two outings, he earned an exhibition start in last year's 3-2 victory over the U.S. National Under-18 Team.

After a standout season with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League, Grant Rollheiser (Chilliwack, B.C.) gained notice and ended up being the first collegiate goaltender selected in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

One province over, Edmonton native Kieran Millan put up strong numbers for the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in 2007-08 and is also ready to challenge for the Terriers' starting job.

"Despite being young, the three of them all have a good deal of maturity," added Parker. "There is skill there, there is competitiveness there, and all three have a chance to win the job."

DEFENSE

In addition to Gilroy, the Terrier defense has the distinction of featuring each of the last three captains of the U.S. National Under-18 Team in Strait, sophomore Kevin Shattenkirk and freshman David Warsofsky.

Add in sophomore Colby Cohen, who joined with Shattenkirk to make an instant impact as freshmen - especially on the power play - and junior Eric Gryba, who has been a regular in the lineup since the beginning of his freshman year, and it's easy to see why expectations are high at the blueline this year.

"We should be in pretty good shape as far as overall skill. There's plenty of experience there, that's for sure," said Parker. "Obviously having a returning All-American in Matt Gilroy gives us a step up in talent on defense. He'll be the leader back there - no question."

Gilroy, who has posted a combined 55 points (17g, 38a) in his three seasons, and Strait form a pairing that's as good as any in college hockey. Gilroy is a talented puck-moving defenseman and Strait was the runner-up for Hockey East's Best Defensive Defenseman award last year as a sophomore while also adding 10 assists.

Shattenkirk and Cohen have been playing along side each other since their days with the U.S. National Team Development Program and finished 1-2 among Hockey East freshman defensemen in assists last year with 17 and 13, respectively. With the comfort level of having a year under their belts, there's no reason to think they won't take their game to the next level.

Towards the end of last year, Gryba started to find a balance with his physical style of play and he has matured into a steady defenseman.

"This is as good a group of offensive defensemen as we've ever had here," noted Parker. "But we have to keep reminding them that their position is defense. They are defense-men."

Offensive prowess aside, the Terriers' ability to defend played a big role in the team's late-season surge in 2007-08.

"The major reason why we wound up in second place in the regular season was because our defense came together as a group and played much better," said Parker. "They are all capable on the defensive end, and when they play hard, they play well. Hopefully they'll continue to take a step up.

"The guys in between - the two juniors (Gryba, Strait) and two sophomores (Cohen, Shattenkirk) - are the guys that are the most important," added Parker. "Those four have all improved with experience and certainly have the ability to be difference makers."

Warsofsky, a Marshfield, Mass., native, was a major player on offense for the U.S. National Under-18 Team last season, tallying 40 points, including 31 assists. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round of this summer's NHL Entry Draft.

"Warsofsky is highly regarded, and for good reason," said Parker. "He's very skilled and will certainly be seeing a lot of ice time for us."

A forward for his first three seasons with the Terriers, senior Steve Smolinsky - arguably the team's fastest skater - will make the move to defense this year due to the abundance of forwards on the roster.

Freshman Ryan Ruikka, a native of Chelsea, Mich., rounds out BU's defensive corps after helping the EJHL's Jersey Hitmen claim their first league championship last season.

FORWARDS

While the Terriers lost their top two scorers - and the top two point-getters in all of Hockey East in league play - to graduation in Pete MacArthur and Bryan Ewing, this year's offense has the ability to be every bit as good as last year's, thanks to experience in all the returning classes and a standout group of newcomers.

"Up front, we've got an awful lot going for us," said Parker. "We've got a bunch of guys back and we've added some pretty good skill. We should be more competitive as far as guys going in and out of the lineup due to others fighting for position and playing harder to battle for ice time."

Led by a strong senior quartet, the forwards will look to maintain the progress exhibited last year. After the 2006-07 squad finished 44th nationally in scoring offense at 2.54 goals per game, the Terriers made a huge jump to sixth in 2007-08, scoring 3.38 goals per game.

"We'll be as skilled, if not more, from top to bottom compared to last year," added Parker. "We probably won't have the top two scorers in the league, but we've got plenty of guys that can really create for us."

Higgins has been a constant in the Terrier offense ever since arriving on campus and has improved his goal total each season, capped by a 14-goal performance as a junior. Having totaled 32 points in each of the last two years, he's a candidate for a 40-point season and needs just 15 more points to reach 100 for his career.

Yip is also ready for a career year, as his most productive season thus far was his freshman campaign, when he tallied 31 points (9g, 22a) en route to Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year honors. Twelve of his 23 points last season came in his last 14 games, so he'll look to pick up where he left off.

A steady two-way forward for the Terriers over the last three years, Lawrence has yet to put up big scoring numbers that he's capable of. He's recorded back-to-back 18-point seasons after putting up 22 as a freshman.

"While Higgins has had the most productive years for us from this senior class, it will be interesting to see how he, Yip and Lawrence will close out their careers scoring-wise," said Parker. "Yip has the potential to be a very strong scorer and Lawrence can certainly step it up and put more pucks in the net."

On of the team's top defensive forwards, McCarthy has established himself as a veteran presence on the team's third and fourth lines and added seven points (3g, 4a) as a junior.

"As a captain, McCarthy will be a big leader not just for our forwards, but for our entire team," said Parker. "He'll be getting more ice time than ever before.

"If one or more of our seniors are able to close our their careers with anything close to resembling the seasons MacArthur and Ewing turned in last year, we'll be in great shape," added Parker.

Also returning is junior Luke Popko, who is the team's top faceoff man and was named runner-up for last season's Hockey East Best Defensive Forward award.

In addition to the upperclassmen, two of the nation's top sophomore scorers are back to build off impressive rookie campaigns. Reigning Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year Colin Wilson was drafted seventh overall by the Nashville Predators in this summer's NHL Entry Draft and classmate Nick Bonino is the Terriers' leading returning goal scorer after recording 16 tallies as a freshman.

Wilson finished third on the team in scoring last year behind Ewing and MacArthur with 35 points on 12 goals and 23 assists, and his 1.12 points per game average in league play was the highest among conference rookies.

"Wilson and Bonino had remarkable freshman seasons and we're all looking forward to see what they'll do when they get back out on the ice," said Parker. "They'll both center lines and help to make them very good lines."

Sophomore Joe Pereira found a regular spot in the lineup last season after a strong performance in the Terriers' 6-3 win over Cornell at Madison Square Garden and will look to take on a bigger role as a sophomore.

Now an upperclassman, junior Zach Cohen was in and out of the lineup as a sophomore but has worked hard to be in a position to compete for time with the younger talent at the position.

"Like the defensemen, I think the middle classes will make or break us, whether it's the Popkos, Perieras, Wilsons, Boninos or Cohens," said Parker.

Sophomore Victor Saponari played in a handful of contests as a freshman and gives the Terriers yet another option at the position.

This year's freshman class, headlined by second-round NHL pick Corey Trivino (Toronto, Ont.), is expected to make an immediate impact.

Trivino was picked up by the New York Islanders after two standout seasons with the Stouffville Spirit of the OPJHL.

Two of the incoming forwards will be joining their older brothers on the Terriers, as Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Kevin Gilroy (North Bellmore, N.Y.) will give the team two sets of siblings and another pair with the same last name (Colby and Zach Cohen).

Saponari, who was selected by his home-state Atlanta Thrashers in this year's NHL Draft, was the third leading scorer for the U.S. National Under-18 Team and Gilroy was one of the top scorers in the EJHL this past season.

After a standout career at Noble & Greenough, Andrew Glass (Wrentham, Mass.) is a hard-nosed two-way player who was selected by the Washington Capitals in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Chris Connolly of Duluth, Minn., brings a solid scoring touch to BU after helping the Omaha Lancers claim the 2008 USHL Clark Cup title.

Ross Gaudet (Burlington, Mass.), a former Catholic Central League MVP at Austin Prep, gives the Terriers one more option at forward following a strong year with the Bridgewater Bandits of the EJHL.

SCHEDULE

Highlighted by 20 dates at Agganis Arena, including the Ice Breaker Invitational, the 2008-09 BU schedule will certainly be a challenge. Five of the six teams that have made an appearance in the Frozen Four during the last two seasons will visit Boston to take on the Terriers, including Michigan, Michigan State and North Dakota.

After a preseason exhibition against New Brunswick on Oct. 5, the Terriers will serve as host for the Ice Breaker, the nation's premier season-opening tournament, on Oct. 10-11. BU and Massachusetts will each face North Dakota and Michigan State in the classic-style tournament, with the Terriers facing the Fighting Sioux on the first day before closing out with the Spartans the following night.

On Oct. 25, the Terriers will host Michigan for the first time since the 1991 NCAA quarterfinals, while Holy Cross (Nov. 25) and St. Lawrence (Nov. 29) round out the home portion of the non-conference schedule.

BU will head west to ring in the new year at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup on Jan. 2-3 in what will be the team's lone non-league road trip of the season. The Terriers will face Rensselaer in the first round before taking on either host Denver or Holy Cross.

"This is certainly our toughest and most competitive non-conference schedule in quite some time," said Parker. "With teams like North Dakota, Michigan State, New Hampshire and Michigan all in the first few weeks, we'll get a good feel for where we stand by the end of October."

The Terriers will play 14 of their 27 Hockey East contests at home, beginning with their league opener against Merrimack on Oct. 17.

The other Hockey East home dates are Northeastern (Nov. 16, Feb. 20); Vermont (Nov. 21-22); Boston College (Dec. 5, Jan. 17); UMass Lowell (Dec. 12, Feb. 6); Maine (Jan. 10); Providence (Jan. 13, March 8); New Hampshire (Jan. 23); and UMass (Feb. 28). The regular-season finale will be a Sunday matinee, as the Providence game on March 8 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

Seven of BU's final eight games before the holiday break will be at home, including a six-game homestand from Nov. 16-Dec. 5. After hosting UMass Lowell on Dec. 12, the Terriers will take a three-week break from the schedule before returning to action in Denver.

As usual, the Terriers will wrap up their non-conference slate at the Beanpot Tournment, which enters its 57th year. BU will face Harvard in the opening round on Feb. 2. The championship and consolation games will take place on Feb. 9.