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Sportsnet: Bonino | Sullivan
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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: From daughter's birth to Stanley Cup, Penguins' Bonino has enjoyed a whirlwind ride
The Pittsburgh Penguins traded for Nick Bonino last offseason and promoted Mike Sullivan to head coach 28 games into the 2015-16 regular season. Both moves proved to be successful as the two former Boston University standouts helped lead the Penguins to the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup title, which was clinched on Sunday in a 3-1 victory at San Jose.
History was made on Sunday as Sullivan became the first BU alumnus to hoist the Stanley Cup as a head coach. He is the sixth American-born coach to guide a Cup-winning squad and he is the first person to score 100 points as a player at the NCAA Division I level and then go on to win an NHL title as a head coach.
Bonino is the seventh former Terrier to play for a Stanley Cup champion and it's the ninth time a BU player's name will appear on hockey's premier trophy as Jay Pandolfo and Scott Young each won two Cup titles. Joining Pandolfo and Chris Drury, Bonino is the third Terrier to win both NCAA and Stanley Cup championships.
Playing on his third NHL team in three years, Bonino found a home centering a line with fellow collegians Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin and was impressive throughout the playoffs.
The Farmington, Connecticut, native led all Eastern Conference players with 14 assists in the playoffs and he blocked 50 shots, the most of any forward in the league. Bonino added four goals, including the game-winner in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and an overtime series clincher against Washington in the Eastern Conference Final, for 18 points. All four of his goals were scored in either the third period or overtime.
Bonino's point total tied Chris Drury for the most ever by a Terrier in the NHL playoffs. Drury tallied nine goals and nine assists for the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs.
In addition to Bonino and Sullivan, two other Terriers are celebrating as members of Pittsburgh's staff. Andy Saucier, who was BU's video coordinator as a student, is the Penguins' video coach and former All-American and Olympian Clark Donatelli is the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Saucier is the grandson of legendary BU coach Jack Kelley, who served as team president of the Penguins from 1993-2001. Donatelli, who started the year as the head coach of Pittsburgh's ECHL affiliate (Wheeling Nailers), replaced Sullivan, who was the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bench boss before earning his second NHL head-coaching job in December.
Sullivan took over a Pittsburgh squad that was out of the playoff race in mid-December and went on to guide them to a combined 49-24-5 record during the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
Terriers on the Stanley Cup
1991 - Scott Young (Pittsburgh Penguins)
1992 - Shawn McEachern (Pittsburgh Penguins)
1993 - Ed Ronan (Montreal Canadiens)
1996 - Scott Young (Colorado Avalanche)
2000 - Jay Pandolfo (New Jersey Devils)
2001 - Chris Drury (Colorado Avalanche)
2003 - Jay Pandolfo (New Jersey Devils)
2007 - Joe DiPenta (Anaheim Ducks)
2016 - Nick Bonino, Mike Sullivan - Head Coach (Pittsburgh Penguins)
