April 10, 2009

WASHINGTON - Matt Gilroy's improbable ascent from walk-on freshman to coveted professional prospect culminated tonight in being named as Boston University's second all-time Hobey Baker Award winner.

It obviously was a special and exciting moment for the New York native and his family--Gilroy admitted afterwards that none of the three finalists had any idea who was going to win--but it also was a thrill for his fellow seniors. They have watched a friend and roommate come a long way from being an unknown commodity compared to some of the big-name recruits in his class. Over his career, Gilroy became an outstanding player who turned down over 20 NHL offers to lead the team to a Frozen Four as well as winning college hockey's biggest individual honor tonight.

Immediately after the award ceremony, Gilroy's four-year roommates John McCarthy, Steve Smolinsky, and Brandon Yip reflected on a special evening, as did fellow seniors Chris Higgins and Jason Lawrence.

"I'm extremely proud of him," McCarthy said. "Even if he didn't win it, everything he's accomplished this year and over the last four years: It's such a great story that he came in unrecruited. He had to ask to come. It kind of comes full circle now because he's going out on top."

"He deserved it 100 percent," said Smolinsky. "Coach gave him a chance, and just watching him grow over the last four years has been unbelievable. You couldn't ask for a better teammate, a better captain."

With plenty of Terrier fans on hand as well as the BU band cranking out the tunes during the ESPNU commercial breaks, it was yet another special night in a season of many highs for the program. "It was awesome," Yip said. "Seeing his whole family down there and having the whole team here made it pretty special for him. We're excited to see him bring home the Hobey Baker."

"It's definitely well deserved," Lawrence added. "He's a heck of a player and a better person off the ice than he is on the ice. It's a great award, and he means a lot to this team."

It didn't take long for his fellow freshmen to see how much the rookie Gilroy could mean to the team back when he was vying for a place in the Terrier lineup. "As soon as we got to school, we started playing shinny games, and he was one of the best guys on the ice," McCarthy said. "But Coach is always slow with the freshmen, and he took his time getting us into the lineup. Matt got in the lineup four games in and has been there ever since."

"I think we saw it early on freshman year," agreed Higgins. "When he got in the lineup, he stayed in there the whole time and played with Dan Spang, another great player and All-American. He kept getting better and better every year. You could just tell the signs that Matty was going to be a special player and a Hobey Baker candidate."

Smolinsky was Gilroy's defensive partner for several games while Brian Strait was injured. At times, Smolinsky admitted, Gilroy's offensive skills run the risk of turning a teammate into a spectator. "Fun, it's fun," Smolinsky said about that experience. "It's unbelievable, just watching him get that puck and go is unbelievable. He does pretty much whatever he wants out there. Sometimes you get yourself caught watching him what he's going to do because you never know what he's going to do. He's a special player and an even greater guy."

This year we learned just how great a guy Gilroy is off the ice. Ironically, the Terriers' uncharacteristically average campaign last year turned out to be a great motivator for Gilroy to return to right the ship as one its captains. The team really didn't have a single win in a really big game last year despite having ample talent and a respectable record.

"We both agreed that not winning the Beanpot last year and not making the NCAAs was a huge disappointment in our book," McCarthy recalled. "Our record wasn't terrible, but, as you said, we didn't win any big games; we didn't play in a lot of big games. So we talked at the end of the year and said we were going to make sure we played in a lot of big games [this year]. We had never played in the Frozen Four, and that was a goal of ours from the beginning. We knew we were going to have 10 freshmen this year, and we knew we were going to have to get them to buy in to the system quickly in order to have success, and it turns out that they did."

Coach Jack Parker often has said that having Gilroy and McCarthy as co-captains has been like having additional assistant coaches. Gilroy is certainly not afraid of laying down the law, even if it's with his brother, freshman Kevin Gilroy.

"It's part of being the captain," McCarthy said. "You've got to speak up when guys are not doing what they should do or not playing to their potential. He does that very well. I think the guys have a lot of respect for him. When he speaks up, guys listen."

Yet for the seniors, Gilroy's friendship always will mean more than his many honors or even his great job as captain.

"He's been such a great leader but more than that he's been such a great friend to all of us," Higgins said. "It's been a great four years; it's been a privilege playing with him, and I'm just so happy for him right now.

Only one thing could make these seniors even happier than they are right now. On Saturday night, we'll see what Matt Gilroy and his classmates can do for an encore.