Terriers Put On Exhibition But Remain Work in Progress

Men's Ice Hockey Players high-five their teammates on the bench after a goal

Photo by: Kyle Prudhomme

Terriers Put On Exhibition But Remain Work in Progress

October 5, 2021 | Men's Ice Hockey

by Scott Weighart, GoTerriers.com

BOSTON – As preseason hockey games go, the average Boston University men's ice hockey fan might have thought that the Terriers indeed put on an exhibition.

But what Terrier coach Albie O'Connell saw was not a masterpiece but a work in progress. Yes, his team beat Holy Cross, 5-1, behind four unanswered goals in the second period, outshooting the Crusaders, 18-6, in that 20-minute interval. The Terriers killed off all five Crusader power plays while scoring a shorthanded goal. Eleven of the 20 Terrier skaters produced at least one point. The fourth line of junior Sam Stevens and first-year wingers Brian Carrabes and Tristan Amonte drew rave reviews, as did recent top-10 NHL draft pick Tyler Boucher. But there were plenty of indicators that the best is definitely yet to come in the 2021-2022 season.

"We're a competitive group," O'Connell said. "I think we've got a lot of depth. Arguably our best line tonight was our fourth line. That's a good sign. But we definitely need to get in better game shape. Our penalty kill was aggressive; it was very good. I think we need to improve our power play. Although we scored a couple of goals, I think our breakout can improve. We've got to shoot more and we need our top players to execute in those situations. There was some youthfulness: We took too many on the men ice penalties, which was frustrating. There were a couple of miscues in that regard, and that can end up costing you your season or moving on when you have those type of mistakes."

But if there were a number of areas that will require video scrutiny and subsequent improvement, it's clear that this edition of the men's ice hockey team has huge upside due to an exciting blend of talent, experience and depth.

The team did lose Hobey Baker nominee David Farrance, as the defenseman signed with the Nashville Predators right after last season ended, but 11 of the top 12 scorers have returned along with all three netminders. Sophomore Drew Commesso, who was a second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft, posted a 6-3-1 record and a .915 save percentage as a rookie. Meanwhile, sophomore Vinny Duplessis turned out to be a huge find last season when Commesso was shelved for a month, producing a stellar .939 save percentage and a 4-1-0 record.

For that matter, O'Connell advised that we should not forget about Ashton Abel between the pipes. The Alberta native showed flashes of brilliance two seasons ago but couldn't get on the ice for months due to the COVID pandemic.

"He looks great," O'Connell said. "I felt bad for him two summers ago. He was stuck in a town where he couldn't do anything, so he didn't skate for about eight months. He came here and was pretty rusty and wasn't able to train or be able to get on the ice and do the things goalies especially need to do."

So with all of these options in goal, what should BU fans expect in terms of whether we see a stalwart in goal or more of a rotation?

"I don't really know," O'Connell said. "We're not sure. We're going to see day by day. I thought Drew was good tonight. I thought he was poised. He didn't have a ton of work but made some good and timely stops. I'd feel comfortable with any of them in net. I think we're in the same situation that we're in with other areas of the team: We've got good depth up front, in the net, and in the back end."

Likewise, the depth of the skaters is a pleasant problem. When everyone is fully healthy, the team has 27 skaters but can only dress 19 for each game. Unlike some years in BU history—where "a few good men" was the mentality at times, there will be some real talent among the healthy scratches on any given night in this era.

"Practice is going to be important, and we've had a very competitive training camp," O'Connell said. "Some guys are still coming back and getting healthy. There will be tough decisions for us as a staff. We welcome it, though, and we're going to put the guys out there who play the way we want and help the team, whether it's a freshman or a senior."

Saturday's fourth line certainly played like they didn't intend to relinquish a lineup spot anytime soon.

"Look at Sam tonight; he had a great training camp," O'Connell said. "I think he gained 10 pounds this summer. We asked him to have a great summer and gain some weight and get stronger because he's such a smart player. He made a big impact in camp, and he had a big impact scoring a shorty tonight. He was good on draws and he had some physicality. And that's a guy who was a little in and out last year, but he's competing and fighting for it. We played that fourth line more and more as the game went on."

Given that there was a shortened season last year along with several players making their collegiate debuts, there is a long list of breakout candidates this season, too.

"(Junior Robert) Mastrosimone showed what he could do," O'Connell said. "I think he had nine shots tonight, and he was all over the ice. He's a guy who could really break out. (Junior) Ethan Phillips is a guy who was ready to break out last year, and then he got shelved with an injury. I think (senior captain) Logan Cockerill should have a really good year. (Sophomore) Luke Tuch, (junior) Alex Vlasic, the three junior defensemen (Vlasic, Domenick Fensore and Case McCarthy) should be some of the best defensemen in the league. So we've got a lot of guys who are ready to take that step. I'm not saying that they'll be the best players in the league, but they should be able to make an impact every night."

Meanwhile, the first-year players lived up to their billing on Saturday night. Boucher has received the most attention after the Ottawa Senators picked him 10th overall this summer, and he didn't disappoint the crowd of 1,922 at Walter Brown Arena last weekend—or his teammates.

"The team voted him the top player of the game," O'Connell said. "He ended up with a goal and some big strong physical plays, and he's just scratching the surface."

Freshman Ty Gallagher was a seventh-round pick for the Boston Bruins this summer, so he could eventually join former Terrier standouts Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk across town eventually. He sniped a power-play goal through traffic on Saturday. O'Connell described Tristan Amonte — brother of senior Ty Amonte and son of Terrier great Tony Amonte — as "terrific tonight" and also said that freshman defenseman Braden Doyle "had some good moments" while Carrabes "played well." So there is plenty of good news with the newcomers.

The program's 100th season officially starts this weekend with a home-and-home series with UConn. Playing in front of fans on Saturday was a good reminder of how much they were missed last year.

"It was amazing," O'Connell said. "To actually hear the band and then to hear the roar after a goal and the excitement on top of our guys' excitement, that was great. It was so nice."

So the first baby steps this season have been in the right direction. Can this deep and talented team set its sights on the Frozen Four?

"To get there is a going to be a lot of work," O'Connell said. "I think as we move on, we'll just continue to get better. We've gotten a lot better this month. We had a good training camp, but we're a long ways away from where we need to be. It's a journey, and we're going day by day. Today was a good day."

If the Terriers continue to accentuate the "work" in this work in progress, they can be hopeful of putting on quite a few impressive exhibitions through the winter and into the spring.