COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Four Boston University men's ice hockey standouts, including rising senior
Luke Tuch and rising sophomore
Lane Hutson, will skate for head coach David Quinn ('88) and Team USA at the upcoming IIHF Men's World Championship, which will take place May 12-28 in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia.
In addition to Tuch and Hutson,
Drew Commesso, who just completed his third and final season with the Terriers before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks in April, and 2009 national champion Nick Bonino will represent the United States. No other school boasts more skaters on Team USA than BU. In addition, Bonino (35) and Hutson (19) are the oldest and youngest players on Team USA, respectively.
Commesso, who played for Quinn at the 2022 Winter Olympics, was outstanding for BU this past season, particularly in the postseason. He was named the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Manchester Regional after he stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced. Commesso allowed just four 5-on-5 goals over his final five starts and posted a .923 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average in the postseason. In addition to being named to the All-Regional Team, he was selected to the Hockey East All-Tournament Team after stopping 60 of the 63 shots he faced to help lead BU to a overtime wins in both the semifinals and the championship game. The youngest goaltender to ever start for the U.S. Men's Olympic Team, Commesso stopped all 29 shots he saw in his Olympic debut, an 8-0 win over China, before making 24 saves in his only other start, a 3-2 win over Germany that helped the U.S. finish undefeated in preliminary-round play. Commesso finished Olympics with a .963 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average; both marks ranked second among all goalies who made at least two appearances.
Hutson, who won bronze at this year's World Junior Championship, had a debut season for the ages at BU. A First Team All-American, Hutson was the best defenseman in the nation regardless of class this season. The Walter Brown Award winner as the top American-born player in New England, Hutson surpassed Brian Leetch as the highest-scoring freshman defenseman in Hockey East history, totaling 48 points on 15 goals and 33 assists, one better than Leetch's 47 (9g, 38a). Hutson's 48 points is the most by a freshman blue liner since 1986-87 and Hutson ranks fifth all-time among freshman defensemen in points. Nationally, Hutson led all defensemen in both goals (15) and points (48). He ranked seventh among all skaters in total points, was tied for sixth overall with 33 assists and was first among freshman defensemen in plus-minus as a plus-25.
Tuch was a terrific player and leader for the Terriers as he helped them reach the Frozen Four for the first time since 2015. He recorded career highs in goals (9), assists (11) and points (20) in an impressive junior campaign. He assisted on a pair of game-winning goals during the postseason, including the primary assist on the overtime-winning goal against Providence in the Hockey East semifinals. Tuch had three multi-point games, including one goal and two assists in a 6-3 win over rival Boston College in January. For his career, Tuch has tallied 41 points (21g, 20a) in 82 career games. He'll get the opportunity to skate with his brother, Alex, who currently plays for the Buffalo Sabres.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh, Bonino returned to the Penguins at the trade deadline this season after skating for Quinn with the San Jose Sharks. Bonino, who won bronze at the 2015 and 2018 World Championships, has skated in 823 regular-season NHL games for six different teams during his 14-year career. He totaled 19 points (10g, 9a) this season, his ninth year with 10 or more goals. As a Terrier, Bonino scored the game-tying goal with 17.4 seconds remaining in regulation to send BU to overtime in the 2009 national title game against Miami, which the Terriers went on to win. In 116 career games as a Terrier, Bonino scored 45 goals and added 72 assists for 117 career points.
Team USA will train in Munich starting Saturday (May 6) and play a pre-tournament game there against Germany on May 9. The U.S. will open play in the IIHF Men's World Championship against host Finland on May 12 in Tampere, Finland, at 4:20 p.m. local time/9:20 a.m. ET. All U.S. games in the tournament will air live on NHL Network.
