Think Fast: Terriers Look to Increase Pace of Play with Healthy Blend of Returnees and Newcomers

Albie O'Connell - Bench - 2018 vs. Acadia

Photo by: Rich Gagnon

Think Fast: Terriers Look to Increase Pace of Play with Healthy Blend of Returnees and Newcomers

October 10, 2018 | Men's Ice Hockey

2018-19 Prospectus

By Scott Weighart - Staff Writer

2018-19 BU Men's Ice Hockey Prospectus

BOSTON – When you think about the Boston University Terriers this season, first-year head coach Albie O'Connell wants you to think fast.

Taking the reins after previous coach David Quinn moved up to the National Hockey League to coach the New York Rangers, O'Connell doesn't think fans will notice a dramatic difference in approach. After all, the program went on a 14-2-3 run in the second half of the season before coming up just one win short of making the Frozen Four in a tough loss to Michigan.

However, O'Connell made it clear that his philosophy will be that "speed kills."

"The first thing we talked about as a staff and a group is that we want to be a fast team, and we want to be disciplined," O'Connell said. "That was the biggest thing. In the pace of our practices and the pace of our play, we want to make sure it's very high because we have a really quick team. The faster we practice and the more we push the puck up the ice, the more it will translate into wearing teams down."

Co-captain Dante Fabbro seconded the notion and added a few more thoughts when asked what strengths will differentiate the Terriers from the competition this season. "Our speed definitely for sure, our ability to turn things up quick. When you look at our team last year or the year before, we might have been missing a few things, and we look very deep up and down the lineup."

That depth comes from a healthy combination of proven Terrier talent along with a high number of intriguing newcomers. Among the returnees, junior goaltender Jake Oettinger looked very sharp in Saturday's 7-1 exhibition win over Acadia. Although the netminder faced only 13 shots in two periods of play, three or four of his saves were absolute gems. Oettinger looks poised for a great season.

The defensive corps also looks very solid, as BU lost Brandon Hickey to graduation but returns plenty of strength with Fabbro (29 points last season), Chad Krys (27 points), David Farrance, Cam Crotty, Kasper Kotkansalo and Shane Switzer.

As for the forwards, the best news is that junior Patrick Harper looks primed to pick up where he left off before missing the last half of the 2017-18 season due to illness. Harper has averaged exactly a point per game during his collegiate career, so getting him back is a huge boost given that forwards Jordan Greenway and Brady Tkachuk signed pro contracts after last season.

"He's all good now and looks better than ever," Fabbro said of Harper. "He's a hard-working kid and extremely dedicated to getting better. He definitely adds offensive flair to our team."

When you add Harper to the mix of returning forwards that includes senior co-captain Bobo Carpenter (35 points last season), sophomore Shane Bowers (32 points), sophomore Logan Cockerill (20 points, including a 10-game point streak in the second half) as well as Patrick Curry and Ty Amonte among others, the Terriers have a solid nucleus.

But what about the newcomers? O'Connell shared the lowdown on the new kids in town. "Joel Farabee should be very good. He's playing with Bowers and Harper. In the game the other night, he scored a highlight-reel goal. Even in practice, he shows flashes of high-level ability, so we expect him to have a good year. With his hockey sense and compete level, he's a very motivated kid.

"Jake Wise played well the other night. We expect big things from him from an offensive standpoint. He's playing center, so he's a pretty responsible 200-foot player. For him it's just about getting to our level and getting acclimated to that on top of finding his offensive game, whether on faceoffs or in the neutral zone or the D zone, finding ways to chip in."

Last year, BU reaped huge benefits by pulling in former Rensselaer forward Drew Melanson for one season as a graduate student after three years as an Engineer. Melanson eventually found a niche and scored some clutch postseason goals while adding that much more experience and maturity to the lineup. This year, BU will try that approach with another former ECAC player, Max Willman. The Barnstable, Massachusetts, native played 99 games at Brown before coming to BU. That means that only Carpenter has more collegiate games under his belt than Willman. That experience may prove invaluable for a program that often has several star plays go pro before completing four years.

"Max Willman is not a freshman, but he's kind of a freshman to us," O'Connell said. "He could be very valuable. He's skilled; he's fast; he's competitive—probably one of Brown's best players over the last couple of years. A knee injury allowed him to do a graduate transfer, so we're excited about him. He's a strong guy, hard-nosed, a really good all-around player and a good prospect for the Buffalo Sabres."

Back to the freshmen, Terrier fans enjoyed their first look at Mark Cheremeta during the exhibition game, as the first-ever Florida resident on the Terriers set up Willman with a nifty pass for a goal. "Mark Cheremeta probably has some of the best hands on the team—really slick, really smart offensively. We can get him to play on both sides of the puck, and he's really dangerous.

"A couple of guys have maybe been a little unheralded," O'Connell added. "Matthew Quercia is a big body, local kid. He was terrific the other night—really angry, really aggressive, fast, hard-nosed, and he's a good penalty killer. And Jack DeBoer looked really good the other night. His dad [Peter DeBoer] obviously coaches in San Jose, so he's the son of a coach with good hockey sense. Understands the game, and he looked the best he's looked so far in the scrimmage, which is a good sign.

"Then on the back side we've got Hugo Blixt, who was playing in Tri-City [in the USHL]. He's from Sweden: big, strong, tough kid, good skater, good at everything. Really more of a defensive defenseman but can get up and make a play, too, so he'll give us some size and strength back there."

There was one other newcomer that didn't get to suit up for the exhibition opener. "Then one guy who's a little dinged up right now – Dominic Vidoli out of Culver Academy. He's a really good skater, a really highly competitive kid. So we're hoping to get his services at some point."

Many of the freshmen should be stalwarts in the lineup, but some will be battling for spots in the early going. "The depth is really good," O'Connell said. "It's just a matter of who can establish themselves in a certain role, whether an offensive role, a two-way role, or bringing us some energy or toughness. It just depends on what clicks with the group."

Perhaps most importantly, the team's depth extends to its leadership corps with two co-captains in Carpenter and Fabbro as well as two assistant captains in Krys and Oettinger. "I think the leadership group is as good as we've had since I've been here," O'Connell said. "All of the guys are very good players and lead in different ways.

"Dante will be more vocal; he's good buddies with the whole team. Bobo is more lead by example, and his work ethic is off the charts. Add Chad's personality and Jake's personality—It's just a really good blend. They all have the same values, and they all came back here to win after getting knocked out right before we got to Frozen Four. So they're highly motivated and highly invested, and the guys listen when they talk."

And if the coach is feeling good about his players, his players are also feeling great about their new coach. "It's very exciting," Carpenter said. "Everyone on the team was really happy about it. We all know him. He's a good guy and definitely a good friend, and that connection really helps the guys."

Fabbro agreed that the transition from the Quinn era to the O'Connell Regime has been a comfortable one. "I think their styles definitely differ in the way they want to approach things, but I think a lot of things are similar and will translate over into this year," Fabbro said. "With the talent we have on the ice and the structure that Albie and the coaching staff gives us, they're going to put us in positions to succeed. So far the guys have been extremely happy with how everything's been going, and it's been a fun start to the year."

As the associate head coach last season, O'Connell saw his players improve with age. That ripening process should continue in this campaign. "The experience the guys went through in the second half last year in figuring out how to play will be a huge benefit. A lot of the guys have the ability to make huge jumps. If those guys can make those jumps, we have a chance to be really good. We learned how to not beat ourselves last year, and we're quick."

If the newcomers also prove to be quick studies in adjusting to the collegiate ranks, this year's Terrier team could end up on a very fast track to success.