Photo by: Matt Woolverton
Men's Ice Hockey Enjoying Spring Break Staycation
February 29, 2024 | Men's Ice Hockey
by Scott Weighart, GoTerriers.com
BOSTON – For a good number of Boston University students, spring break conjures up images of a sandy beach in Cancun, Florida, or the Caribbean.
Due to a quirk in this year's schedule, the Boston University men's ice hockey team also gets an uncharacteristic break from competition with 12 days between games. However, they will not be enjoying any sand or sea — perhaps not even the modest grassy knoll behind Marsh Chapel known as the BU Beach.
But don't feel too badly for the Terriers. Currently ranked second in the national polls and PairWise Rankings, BU has clinched home ice for the playoffs and a place in the national tournament. On top of that, the Terriers are coming off a decisive home-and-home weekend sweep against UConn.
This team expects to have plenty of fun despite a spring break staycation.
"Our spring break I think is more fun than any Cancun trip or anything like that," senior centerman Nick Zabaneh said after Saturday's 6-0 win at Agganis Arena. "We know playoffs are coming up, and every game is so important. At this time of year, the whole group dials in together. It's the best part of the year. Everything we've been working for the whole year just comes down to these games. It's really fun to just go out there and compete with my teammates."
Assistant captain Cade Webber agreed, saying, "We'll keep practicing and training. We've got some big goals that we want to accomplish coming up here. Obviously, we're going to use a little bit of rest. We have some guys banged up. We can use this as a positive, get some guys healthy, and then get some good workouts in and get our stamina back up."
Head coach Jay Pandolfo conceded that 12 days off with just two games left in the regular season is not ideal.
"I think you always like to keep playing if you can," Pandolfo said. "I don't love a bye week this late in the season to be honest with you, but it's just how the schedule worked out this year."
Last weekend's goal was to make sure that the team would go into this imposed break feeling good about themselves. Mission accomplished on that front, as BU outscored UConn by a 12-1 margin over two nights.
"Big win on the road last night, and tonight finishing the weekend sweep," Pandolfo said after Saturday's win. "I thought we were pretty good in the first. I thought the second, we really struggled. Then we played one of our best third periods. We didn't give up a chance in the third. That's how we need to shut teams down, and that's what we did. It was great to see."
It's also been great to see the team's goaltending prowess and scoring depth. With two lopsided wins this past weekend, it would be easy to overlook just how well netminder Mathieu Caron has been playing. Over the weekend, the Hockey East Goaltender of the Week stopped 49 of 50 shots for a .980 save percentage. Even more importantly, he made several huge saves early on before the Terriers managed to blow each game open.
Perhaps the high point for the Brown transfer came at 3:50 of the second period on Saturday night. The Terriers had just gone up 2-0 when Andrew Lucas had a golden opportunity on a redirect, only to have Caron flash his pads athletically to his left to make the save. Caron kept the lead at two before the team popped in four goals to make it look easier than it actually had been.
As for the offense, you never know which player or line might dominate on a given night. On Friday, freshman Macklin Celebrini led the charge with two goals and two assists. The 17-year-old keeps showing why he is the presumptive first overall pick in the NHL Draft coming up this June. He's second in the nation with 26 goals.
Yet if you asked most BU fans who is now leading the team in assists, many would probably guess Celebrini or sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson. It's not. It's sophomore left wing Jeremy Wilmer. While Celebrini did score again on Saturday, the offensive star of the night was Wilmer, who had a goal and four assists for a career high of five points.
"I don't think it's surprising to anyone in the locker room," Pandolfo said of Wilmer's team-leading total of 29 assists. "I mean, he makes plays all the time. You see it in practice. A really, really intelligent hockey player who finds space, finds the open guy on a regular basis. It was nice to see him shoot the puck tonight, too. He scored a nice goal."
On his goal, Wilmer was the beneficiary of outstanding neutral-zone play by linemate Devin Kaplan, who drew three defenders toward him before dishing to Wilmer breaking in alone on the right wing for a snipe of a shot that hit the net.
"This past summer, he really took a step," Webber said of Wilmer. "He came in motivated, wanting to get better, and I think that's translated throughout the year. Each game he's getting better and better. His confidence is building. He's not the biggest guy, but he finds ways to get into the dirty areas and win pucks, and obviously his vision is unbelievable."
The goal underscored the complementary talents of that third line. Kaplan is a big, feisty power forward. Wilmer is a small, clever playmaker and Zabaneh might be the fastest skater in college hockey. Together they tallied three goals and six assists on Saturday.
"Playing with those two guys is awesome," Zabaneh said. "They're so skilled, and they bring so much to the table; it makes my job so easy out there. Kap is obviously such a dog, but he can also make such skilled plays. And Wilmer's probably the best playmaker I've ever seen or played with in my life."
"There's a bit of everything on that line," Pandolfo said. "They've been very good for us the last couple of games. It could be a different line for us every night who can produce and help us win hockey games, and right now that's what we're getting."
For his first two seasons as a Terrier, Zabaneh's speed resulted in plenty of chances but only one goal. He had eight goals last year, and he's already one short of matching that total after netting two on Saturday. Remarkably, six of Zabaneh's seven goals this season came in February.
"Just seeing one or two go in, it goes a long way. Helped to relax (me) a little bit," Zabaneh said.
Ongoing votes of confidence from Pandolfo, associate head coach Joe Pereira, and assistant coach Kim Brandvold had a big impact.
"Earlier in the year, Kimmer and Pando were saying, 'Listen, we'd be worried if you're not getting the chances, but you are, so just keep going.' I owe a lot of credit to Pando, Kim, and Joe P. Just this past week, Kimmer brought me out early in the morning just to work on scoring touches and finishing around the net. Stuff like that goes a long way."
Once they get through this break, the Terriers hope to be going a long way in the Hockey East and NCAA tournaments.
"I think we're going to use this to our advantage and be ready to go in a couple Thursdays," Webber said. "Our practices are intense. We play like it's a game. Every drill, guys are going 100%. I know we're gonna add some scrimmages in there, just to keep our skating legs up. I think we'll be fine. And then along with guys resting and get getting healthy, I don't think this is going to hurt us."
But what about bringing a spring break vibe by adding a little sand to the locker room?
"We'll save that for after the year," Webber said with a chuckle. "Hopefully, we'll be celebrating some things."
BOSTON – For a good number of Boston University students, spring break conjures up images of a sandy beach in Cancun, Florida, or the Caribbean.
Due to a quirk in this year's schedule, the Boston University men's ice hockey team also gets an uncharacteristic break from competition with 12 days between games. However, they will not be enjoying any sand or sea — perhaps not even the modest grassy knoll behind Marsh Chapel known as the BU Beach.
But don't feel too badly for the Terriers. Currently ranked second in the national polls and PairWise Rankings, BU has clinched home ice for the playoffs and a place in the national tournament. On top of that, the Terriers are coming off a decisive home-and-home weekend sweep against UConn.
This team expects to have plenty of fun despite a spring break staycation.
"Our spring break I think is more fun than any Cancun trip or anything like that," senior centerman Nick Zabaneh said after Saturday's 6-0 win at Agganis Arena. "We know playoffs are coming up, and every game is so important. At this time of year, the whole group dials in together. It's the best part of the year. Everything we've been working for the whole year just comes down to these games. It's really fun to just go out there and compete with my teammates."
Assistant captain Cade Webber agreed, saying, "We'll keep practicing and training. We've got some big goals that we want to accomplish coming up here. Obviously, we're going to use a little bit of rest. We have some guys banged up. We can use this as a positive, get some guys healthy, and then get some good workouts in and get our stamina back up."
Head coach Jay Pandolfo conceded that 12 days off with just two games left in the regular season is not ideal.
"I think you always like to keep playing if you can," Pandolfo said. "I don't love a bye week this late in the season to be honest with you, but it's just how the schedule worked out this year."
Last weekend's goal was to make sure that the team would go into this imposed break feeling good about themselves. Mission accomplished on that front, as BU outscored UConn by a 12-1 margin over two nights.
"Big win on the road last night, and tonight finishing the weekend sweep," Pandolfo said after Saturday's win. "I thought we were pretty good in the first. I thought the second, we really struggled. Then we played one of our best third periods. We didn't give up a chance in the third. That's how we need to shut teams down, and that's what we did. It was great to see."
It's also been great to see the team's goaltending prowess and scoring depth. With two lopsided wins this past weekend, it would be easy to overlook just how well netminder Mathieu Caron has been playing. Over the weekend, the Hockey East Goaltender of the Week stopped 49 of 50 shots for a .980 save percentage. Even more importantly, he made several huge saves early on before the Terriers managed to blow each game open.
Perhaps the high point for the Brown transfer came at 3:50 of the second period on Saturday night. The Terriers had just gone up 2-0 when Andrew Lucas had a golden opportunity on a redirect, only to have Caron flash his pads athletically to his left to make the save. Caron kept the lead at two before the team popped in four goals to make it look easier than it actually had been.
As for the offense, you never know which player or line might dominate on a given night. On Friday, freshman Macklin Celebrini led the charge with two goals and two assists. The 17-year-old keeps showing why he is the presumptive first overall pick in the NHL Draft coming up this June. He's second in the nation with 26 goals.
Yet if you asked most BU fans who is now leading the team in assists, many would probably guess Celebrini or sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson. It's not. It's sophomore left wing Jeremy Wilmer. While Celebrini did score again on Saturday, the offensive star of the night was Wilmer, who had a goal and four assists for a career high of five points.
"I don't think it's surprising to anyone in the locker room," Pandolfo said of Wilmer's team-leading total of 29 assists. "I mean, he makes plays all the time. You see it in practice. A really, really intelligent hockey player who finds space, finds the open guy on a regular basis. It was nice to see him shoot the puck tonight, too. He scored a nice goal."
On his goal, Wilmer was the beneficiary of outstanding neutral-zone play by linemate Devin Kaplan, who drew three defenders toward him before dishing to Wilmer breaking in alone on the right wing for a snipe of a shot that hit the net.
"This past summer, he really took a step," Webber said of Wilmer. "He came in motivated, wanting to get better, and I think that's translated throughout the year. Each game he's getting better and better. His confidence is building. He's not the biggest guy, but he finds ways to get into the dirty areas and win pucks, and obviously his vision is unbelievable."
The goal underscored the complementary talents of that third line. Kaplan is a big, feisty power forward. Wilmer is a small, clever playmaker and Zabaneh might be the fastest skater in college hockey. Together they tallied three goals and six assists on Saturday.
"Playing with those two guys is awesome," Zabaneh said. "They're so skilled, and they bring so much to the table; it makes my job so easy out there. Kap is obviously such a dog, but he can also make such skilled plays. And Wilmer's probably the best playmaker I've ever seen or played with in my life."
"There's a bit of everything on that line," Pandolfo said. "They've been very good for us the last couple of games. It could be a different line for us every night who can produce and help us win hockey games, and right now that's what we're getting."
For his first two seasons as a Terrier, Zabaneh's speed resulted in plenty of chances but only one goal. He had eight goals last year, and he's already one short of matching that total after netting two on Saturday. Remarkably, six of Zabaneh's seven goals this season came in February.
"Just seeing one or two go in, it goes a long way. Helped to relax (me) a little bit," Zabaneh said.
Ongoing votes of confidence from Pandolfo, associate head coach Joe Pereira, and assistant coach Kim Brandvold had a big impact.
"Earlier in the year, Kimmer and Pando were saying, 'Listen, we'd be worried if you're not getting the chances, but you are, so just keep going.' I owe a lot of credit to Pando, Kim, and Joe P. Just this past week, Kimmer brought me out early in the morning just to work on scoring touches and finishing around the net. Stuff like that goes a long way."
Once they get through this break, the Terriers hope to be going a long way in the Hockey East and NCAA tournaments.
"I think we're going to use this to our advantage and be ready to go in a couple Thursdays," Webber said. "Our practices are intense. We play like it's a game. Every drill, guys are going 100%. I know we're gonna add some scrimmages in there, just to keep our skating legs up. I think we'll be fine. And then along with guys resting and get getting healthy, I don't think this is going to hurt us."
But what about bringing a spring break vibe by adding a little sand to the locker room?
"We'll save that for after the year," Webber said with a chuckle. "Hopefully, we'll be celebrating some things."
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