10-8-2015

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXIX. ISSUE VI.

after last season ended in heartbreak,

BU WANTS...

ONE MORE WIN

(and they’re ready to make that happen)

2015-16 HOCKEY PREVIEW FROM LEFT: SENIOR FORWARD MIKE MORAN, SENIOR ASSISTANT CAPTAIN DANNY O’REGAN, SENIOR CAPTAIN MATT GRZELCYK, SENIOR ASSISTANT CAPTAIN MATT LANE, SENIOR FORWARD AHTI OKSANEN. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

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2015-16: Year of redemption?

Sophomore defenseman Brandon Hickey.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DFP FILE PHOTO

BY ANDREW BATTIFARANO AND SARAH KIRKPATRICK DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Unlike his first year at the helm at Boston University, just about everything went right for head coach David Quinn in his second season leading the men’s hockey team.

Expectations were high and results soon followed. The team found ways to win seemingly every night. Trophy ceremonies and dog piles became a recurring event by the time March rolled around.

A Beanpot championship. The Hockey East regular-season and postseason titles. A Frozen Four berth. The Terriers had collected about every team accolade that you could, except for one: a national title.

Despite holding a one-goal lead with under 10 minutes to play in the national cham-

pionship game last season, BU succumbed to Providence College, falling just short of the ultimate prize. For a team that had so often found ways to win, losing in the fashion it did seemed unfathomable.

And that stung.

So for Quinn and his team, the final loss hurt more than it would have if it had come earlier in the season. But whatever bitter taste was left in BU’s mouth after that defeat has dissipated. Quinn’s viewing this season with a mix of both excitement and optimism. The talent is there and the goal is the same, though this time they’d like just one more win.

“Our guys are excited about the season and the challenge ahead of us,” Quinn said.

“You just have to put it behind you. One thing I think we did a great job of last year

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was putting everything behind us night-tonight, focusing just on the task at hand. It’s the only way to have success. I talked to our captains and a bunch of our returning players, and they can’t wait to get going.”

The road to Tampa, Florida, and this year’s Frozen Four won’t be any easier for this group, however. A tough Hockey East and non-conference schedule includes eight opponents ranked in the preseason USCHO top-20 poll.

Internally, too, there’s the question about whether or not this team can transition after losing key players. Hobey Baker winner Jack Eichel and his 71 points are now in the NHL. The team’s second-leading scorer in Evan Rodrigues is also no longer part of this unit. Hockey East Second Team All-Star goaltender Matt O’Connor, a stal-

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wart in the crease all season long, will not be patrolling the pipes this year.

But Quinn anticipates his returning players will embrace the challenge, and that his seven incoming freshmen will make an impact right away.

“I have equally high expectations,” Quinn said, “because you know we’ve got a group of guys that had a taste of a successful season and I think they fully understood why we had the success we had last year.”

Anyway you put it, this year’s group, with all the potential it has, will have a slightly different feel than it did a season ago, starting with the offense.

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3

Terriers return full, more experienced defensive corps PREVIEW, FROM PAGE 2

six scorers are now elsewhere. With that in mind, there’s a bit of a shakeup within the team’s top two offensive lines.

The only permanent member of BU’s first line that remains is senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan. Eichel and Rodrigues may be gone, but O’Regan’s 50 points will be an asset the team is glad to have around. Having played on the wing last year, O’Regan will shift back to the center position, and will likely be flanked by senior Ahti Oksanen and freshman Jordan Greenway.

Oksanen, who played half of the season on BU’s vaunted first line, finished second on the team in goals with 25. His goal-scoring knack with Greenway’s playmaking ability should keep the top group balanced. So far, Quinn has seen a consistency from Greenway that few freshmen give this early during their time in college. Greenway is coming off a strong career (85 points) in two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program.

Another freshman impressing the coaching staff thus far is Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, who is expected to center the second unit with sophomore A.J. Greer and junior Robbie Baillargeon joining him on the wings. Forsbacka Karlsson brings a lot of different skills to the game, and has been called a “well-rounded player” by Quinn.

Greer battled through some inconsistencies early on in his first year, but caught fire late, scoring some important points during BU’s stretch drive. Baillargeon returns as a top-six forward after dealing with ups and down and the effects of mononu-

cleosis last season. The two, who combined for 23 points last year, will be looking to add more to BU’s offensive depth.

As for the bottom six forwards, senior assistant captain Matt Lane and fellow senior Mike Moran figure to play the center spots, while junior Nick Roberto, sophomores Nikolas Olsson and Chase Phelps, along with freshmen Bobo Carpenter and Ryan Cloonan should all expect to compete for ice time at wing.

Carpenter, a North Reading native, has a shot as well as anyone on the team, according to Quinn, and Cloonan, another local kid from East Longmeadow, has speed to give the bottom lines some energy.

Quinn has liked what he has seen so far from the forwards, but noted that each returning player needs to improve off what they did last year.

“Obviously when you lose a Hobey Baker winner, it’s going to hurt, but if you’re going to have a great program, you need great players leaving, you need great players staying and you need great players coming,” Quinn said. “And we feel like we’re in that situation now.”

Defensemen The Terriers commence the season without returning All-American and team captain, senior Matt Grzelcyk, who will sit out for the first several weeks of the season while recovering from offseason knee surgery. The loss is significant, but Quinn showed no concern in the team’s ability to play without him.

“We’re not going to have the best de-

fenseman in college hockey, in my opinion, when the season starts,” Quinn said. “But if there’s a team built to absorb that, I think it’s ours. … Any team is going to miss Matt Grzelcyk, but we may be less impacted than others because of the depth we have on D.” All members of BU’s defensive corps from last season return, including last year’s four freshmen, a year older and a year more experienced, which makes them dangerous, according to Quinn.

“I think there’s going to be a whole new confidence level for them,” Quinn said. “Not that they weren’t confident anyway, you don’t get to the national championship game without four freshmen that aren’t confident. And, boy, they all played great in the NCAA Tournament, played well in the Frozen Four.

“The good news is we’ve been in some big-pressure games, they’ve handled it well, and I think that’s going to bode well for us moving forward.”

Sophomore Brandon Hickey (6-foot2, 190 pounds) led Hockey East last year with 91 blocked shots. His defensive partner in 2014-15, sophomore Brandon Fortunato (5-foot-10, 160 pounds) was second among all defensemen in scoring (one goal, 17 assists) after Grzelcyk last season.

Heavy-hitting junior Doyle Somerby (6-foot-5, 225 pounds), sophomore John MacLeod (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and last year’s team-voted “Most Improved Player,” sophomore Brien Diffley (6-foot-2, 185 pounds), also return.

BU adds two talented freshmen to an already competitive position: the 6-foot-1,

211-pound Charlie McAvoy, a former player for the USNTDP, and Shane Switzer, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound blue liner who played for the Lloydminster Bobcats last year.

Goaltenders Quinn is hesitant to name a starting goaltender for the year just yet, but feels confident in his netminding corps to replace O’Connor, who signed with the Ottawa Senators this offseason.

In Saturday’s exhibition game against Acadia University, sophomore Connor LaCouvee got the start in net, and allowed two goals in 29 minutes of play. Senior Sean Maguire played the final 31 minutes, stopping all 15 shots he faced.

Maguire took a redshirt year last season with a head injury, but was effective his freshman and sophomore seasons when he split time with O’Connor. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick owns a save percentage of .923 and 2.69 goals-against average in his BU career.

LaCouvee, alternatively, as a freshman in 2014-15, served as O’Connor’s backup. He played eight games and had a goals-against average of 2.58 and a .913 save percentage.

Freshman Max Prawdzik, an Andover native, could see time in net as well.

As a senior captain at the Brooks School in North Andover, he backstopped his team to a New England Prep Large School championship, and was named the 2015 Independent School League MVP after posting a 1.25 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

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4

Mike Moran:

Fulfilling a hockey dream

Senior forward Mike Moran looks to continue being a strong two-way player for the Terriers in his final season.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA NADEL/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

BY ANDREW BATTIFARANO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

He puts on the scarlet and white sweater, laces up his skates and joins his teammates in a single-file line into the tunnel that connects the bowels of Agganis Arena to the playing surface.

After taking a couple of steps and high-fiving some young face-painted fans sitting in the lower section near the Boston University bench, Mike Moran hits the ice for warmups. But as he takes a couple of strides and turns to the other side of the ice, he looks up into the stands.

At the top of section 102, he peers high into a suite and sees a framed BU No. 11 jersey.

To most, the jersey and the numbers stitched on the back of it mean little. But to the 24-yearold Moran, his uncle Mark Bavis’ uniform represents more than just red and white polyester.

It symbolizes a family, tradition and a hockey dream.

Growing up in Massachusetts, two things were always near and dear to Moran’s heart — hockey and, more specifically, BU hockey.

For as long as he can remember, Moran has been in and around Boston University. Before he could even walk, he was sitting in the stands at hockey games. When he was only two weeks old, he was making the trip to Walter Brown Arena.

Just about every Friday and Saturday night, his father would drive him, his brother and sister the 45 minutes from their home in Marshfield to BU’s campus.

With his fresh face pressed up against the glass in the first row of the arena, Moran watched some of BU’s best teams from the 90s and early 2000s. He soon fell in love with the players, teams and ambiance of Walter Brown.

The games, as exciting as they were for a young Moran, were only part of the experience. The postgame became quite the thrill, too.

“Just like any little kid, we’d get to meet the players,” Moran said. “So, looking back now, when little kids come in, I love to interact with them because I’ve been there and I know how they get excited because I definitely got excited when I went in there and saw guys like Ryan Whitney, Brian McConnell. It was really something special as a kid growing up to be around.”

The meet-and-greet sessions were a special time for Moran, and they left an indelible mark on him. Talking to the players on a personal level meant a lot to him. He chatted with all-stars, future NHLers and legendary coach Jack Parker. But two players really became idols for him — his uncles Mark and Mike Bavis.

Although Moran was at most two years old when they played with the Terriers, the twins were what Moran aspired to be when he was their age. They were players that added a combination of skill and grit to teams that reached four NCAA Tournaments and three Frozen Fours. For them, the team came first and stats were secondary.

To Mike Bavis, his team and the BU community became something akin to a tight-knit family.

“A big part of our lives was spent at BU with some people that we had such close relationships with — teammates and people around the athletic department,” Bavis said. “And obviously Jack Parker and his family. It was always a big part of our lives after we arrived there.”

The mark that BU left on the Bavises resonated with Moran. So much, in fact, that by the time he was in grade school, he knew that BU was the college for him. Despite his father attending school across town at Northeastern University, Moran felt more at home on Commonwealth than Huntington Avenue.

So sitting in front of the TV in his basement back home, Moran, clad in his own BU gear, watched the Terriers hoist the Beanpot and Hockey East trophies.

He dreamt that one day that would be him.

As soon as he was ready and able to, Moran was on skates whenever he could be. He tried to consume as much hockey as possible.

He and his friends did other things and ventured into other sports, like football and baseball, but nothing compared to the culture of Massachusetts junior hockey.

“Growing up and playing here is always fun because there’s so much hockey,” Moran said.

“Everywhere you look, almost everyone that I knew growing up was playing hockey. Obviously you get your buddies playing other sports. But I look back and I had a blast, I wouldn’t have done it any other way.”

And when he was on the ice, he tried to emulate his uncles as much as possible. He scored when the opportunity was there, and did a lot of that when he was younger, but becoming a well-rounded player on both ends of the ice was what he truly wanted. In keeping with family tradition, he started wearing the No. 8, just like his uncle Mike. Every time he took the ice, his family was with him, especially in his mind.

This was never more apparent than in 2001.

On the morning of September 11, Mark Bavis, then a scout for the Los Angeles Kings, was aboard United Airlines Flight 175 when hijackers crashed it into the World Trade Center.

A day that affected thousands of people truly hit home for the Bavis and Moran families.

“Not only did that change my life,” Moran said, “it changed a ton of peoples’ lives.”

He had lost one of the most influential and transfixing figures in his life. After that tragic day, Moran decided he not only wanted to be

I

like his uncles on and off the ice, but he wanted to honor his uncle Mark in any way he could.

In just a few years, he’d get that chance.

After basically spending his entire life in Massachusetts, Moran eventually made the move south to Watertown, Connecticut, where he attended the Taft School.

During his time at the prep school, he was a multi-sport athlete, excelling at football, baseball and hockey. He was good at all three, but of course, his hockey performance stood out.

He captained the hockey team during his final year at Taft, leading in both goals and points. After graduation he was ready to move on to junior hockey and the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Moran hoped his numbers (43 points in 37 games) and the work ethic he displayed in the BCHL would be enough to make an impression with the BU coaching staff, so he could one day commit to the school he long wanted to attend.

Lucky for him, someone who knew him pretty well just happened to be a coach.

At the time, his uncle Mike was an associate head coach for Jack Parker. Bavis knew that BU had a spot to fill, and although Moran wasn’t the flashiest of recruits, he would fit well into BU’s system as a hard-working player.

“He was playing junior hockey, he was an older player,” Bavis said. “It was Buddy Powers and myself [recruiting him]. There was never any question of his character and as he would get older, he would improve. If that was the case, he’s the type of kid you want on your team.

“I think of guys like John McCarthy, back in my time, he was a guy that worked hard, kept improving and ultimately was a big part of a national championship team,” he added. “And I think Mike kind of fit that bill, in terms of being a multi-sport athlete, so he could continue to improve as he got older.”

Parker took Bavis’ word and agreed to allow Moran to commit to the Terriers. What had long been a dream for Moran was finally setting in as a reality.

When Moran stepped on to campus as a freshman in 2012, he was no longer sitting behind the glass watching the Terriers; he was over the glass playing for them.

Even more surreal was the fact that he was playing, in part, for his Uncle Mike. Bavis didn’t let the family connection get in the way of coaching and developing Moran, though.

When Moran made a bad play, Bavis would let him know. There was no sugarcoating.

t’s just something special to be able to wear No. 11 and know that you’re able to do the same thing your uncle did.

“It was really funny because growing up, he was just always around,” Moran said. “He would give me tips and stuff, but it was special playing for one year and just be able to learn from him.

“And he shoots straight, he would tell me I was terrible and he was telling me when I was doing good.”

Freshman year, Moran tried to establish himself in any role that the team would need him in. He wasn’t the scorer that fellow freshman Danny O’Regan was, so Moran tried to hone in on being more of a defensive forward, looking to keep the energy and momentum going when he had a shift, even though his fourthline ice time was limited.

Nothing better symbolized this attitude than the number he chose to wear on his jersey.

Although he’d worn No. 8 for much of his hockey career, he chose to wear No. 11, just like Uncle Mark.

“It was just something, I felt that, not that I needed to do, but I really wanted to do,” Moran said. “Not only say that I played here but I played with the same number that my Uncle Mark did. … It’s just something special to be able to wear No. 11 and know that you’re able to do the same thing that your uncle did.”

And since freshman year, he’s done a lot of what his uncle did.

Moran’s worked even more to become an all-around hockey player, focusing on being a good player on both ends of the ice. So far, he’s more than fulfilled this role.

As a whole, the team struggled in his second season, but Moran became a better player as a sophomore. At the end of the 2013-14 season, he was named BU’s Most Improved Player.

He continued to excel in both zones during his third year, becoming a key component in the team’s magical season. Like his uncles before him, he got to hold the Beanpot trophy. He won a Hockey East title. He made the Frozen Four.

And it wasn’t just because of his teamfirst mentality. He also chipped in some timely goals, like the breakaway goal he scored in the Beanpot Championship. Because of his performance, Moran will also figure to play a more prominent role this season, according to head coach David Quinn.

“He certainly understands, he accepts his role, he embraces his role,” Quinn said. “You may not see him on the score sheet, but he’s scored some important goals — the goal at BC last year. He’s as likeable as a guy as we have here and he’s going to be a big part of our team moving forward.”

Warmups come to a close and Mike Moran lines up with his team on the blue line.

As the national anthem blares over the sound system, he looks down at his own jersey, his own No. 11. With the attitude, work ethic and character he’s exuded on and off the ice, he can take pride in what he’s accomplished.

His family sure has.

“He’s a great kid and carries himself well and he certainly represents his family well and he represents BU very well,” Bavis said. “We’re certainly proud of that.”

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Sean Maguire Senior goaltender Sean Maguire returns to BU after taking a year off to recover from a concussion.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA NADEL/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sean Maguire set to return after year away from BU hockey

BY JUDY COHEN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

It was tough to be a bystander last year, to watch his team have the success it did without him, lifting trophy after trophy without him, to have to sit out every night and not be able to help.

He was happy for BU coach David Quinn, the program and everyone involved, but for Sean Maguire, watching the team do well was equivalent to someone else taking his girlfriend on a date.

However, sitting was a necessity.

On March 3, 2014, while the team was practicing for its coming Hockey East playoff matchup against the University of Notre Dame, Maguire was in goal. There was a 3-on-2 rush coming down the ice, and Maguire’s best friend, then-sophomore center Mike Moran, had fallen while he was crashing the net.

Only the netminder didn’t see it.

Instead he slid to where the pass was coming, anticipating a save, and the two collided. Moran’s knee hit him in the head, and Maguire fell backward, smacking his head again on the ice.

It was his first concussion, and it was a severe one.

It affected much of his life. Maguire noticed differences in his personality, he had trouble focusing on things, his eyesight was skewed. His peripheral vision on his right side was damaged and one of the hardest things for him to get back as he recovered.

His cognitive ability was slow.

It’s in his nature to keep going and push through things, but he knew he had to pace himself and make sure he was better. He didn’t want to rush it. With brain injuries like that, you can’t mess around, he said.

“I’ve seen so many people try to get back into things way too early, and then their career ends the next year,” he said. “So I made the decision with my family and the

doctors I was seeing that it would be a good idea to take a year off of contact sports and just make sure that my brain heals properly and adequately so that I can play for the rest of my career.”

He wanted to play, he really did. He was “pissed off” for a couple months about having to take a break from playing the game he loved. It was hard, but he knew the choice he was making was the correct one. Now, he feels better than he did before he left.

But the process of recovering for the 22-year-old was difficult. He didn’t feel like himself for a while, not completely until he was back at BU this past summer skating with the team and preparing for his senior season. The time in between was hazy.

“I think, honestly,” he said, “if I had to give it to you the way that I’ve seen it and kind of dealt with it is the last year was kind of like … it was a chunk of time where it was just kind of a blur really. I mean, I don’t have many memories from it. I don’t want many memories from it.”

It took time before he could get back to working out. He trained a little bit over that summer but couldn’t do much. In the couple months following the hit, he started with little things. The intense exercises didn’t begin until September, half a year after he sustained his injury, when his doctors back home in British Columbia cleared him for contact sports.

Still, he needed more time.

Maguire took the first semester of last year off, staying home in Powell River and working a couple jobs, anything to keep busy. He worked in a gym and also spent time working in his mom’s office.

The period at home was a positive experience for Maguire, as he could just rest and not worry about having somewhere to be all the time.

“I was just a normal kid for a couple months, and it felt pretty nice, too, just to kind of relax and let life happen instead of having so much stuff on the go,” he said.

“I’m always… I always have a lot of stuff to worry about, you know? It’s nice to kind of have that freedom for a couple months.”

Each day, he’d wake up, make breakfast, walk his dogs, go to work, work out and skate for practice. He’d usually hit the ice with the Powell River Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League, the local junior team.

If anything needed work technically, it was his skating. Time away from the ice made finding his edges again difficult, though he laced up once a week with his goalie coach, Jeff Battah, once he was cleared in September.

The weight of all his gear took some getting used to again, too.

“It’s kind of, it’s a weird feeling taking six months off and having to lug around all that stuff again,” Maguire said.

But it didn’t take long for the netminder to find his feet — just a couple sessions.

He could still see the puck well, that doesn’t really change, he said, and though his ability to read plays like he used to was rusty, that’s coming back, too.

“I’ve been on the ice long enough now.

I feel pretty comfortable in my ability,” he said.

For the spring semester, he was back in Boston. He wasn’t training a lot, but he took three classes and was getting back into the swing of things school-wise. He’d also check in with Larry Venis, the head athletic trainer at BU, and Doug Comeau, the medical director of Athletic Training Services.

In April, he was officially cleared to be back on the BU hockey roster.

He spent the majority of the summer on Commonwealth Avenue, save three weeks in July that he used mostly to see his family back home, and another one in Pittsburgh for Penguins development camp, where he faced a tough challenge.

Maguire hadn’t had any in-game experience since his last start on Feb. 28, 2014, but at camp, he had the chance to play in front of 10,000 people and said he performed well.

“I thought that was a big test for me, honestly, mentally,” he said.

There’s more ice in Boston than there is in Powell River, Maguire said, so being here was the best option for him in order to stay in shape.

That’s also when he started feeling entirely himself again, back to who he is, when he was back on campus and having fun, back to the Maguire who has a career .923 save percentage and a 2.69 goals against average.

Now he’s treating his return as though he never left.

“It feels, like I said, kind of like a blur that whole year, so I think I kind of… I feel like that time just went by, I feel like I didn’t even get hit, you know?” he said.

He still wears the same mask he did before he got hit, deep red with a thick white stripe running right down the middle. “[It feels] like I’m still here, like it didn’t happen. That’s how I’m trying to deal with it, like I’m back, it’s just how it feels.”

He still does the same in-game stretch he did before he got hit: leave the crease, skate to where the goal line meets the boards, turn back, spread arms out, bring arms in, bend over, glide back to the net.

But there are things he doesn’t do anymore, too, or at least things he’s trying not to do.

He doesn’t pull his hands back on shots like he had a tendency to. Now he keeps them out in front of his body. His time away gave him a chance to fix that area of his game, among others.

Habits that had once been engrained in him could be eliminated. With the opportunity to just practice without the pressure of having to play a game every week, Maguire could hone his skills and is now, in his words and in Quinn’s, an even better goalie than before.

“He seems to be all the way back and then some,” Quinn said. “He looks the best since I’ve been here, both mentally and physCONTINUED ON PAGE 13

6

Sean Skahan New strength and conditioning coach Sean Skahan comes to BU with 13 years of NHL experience under his belt.

PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Skahan brings NHL experience to strength and conditioning program

BY JUDY COHEN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The floor shakes as another weight hits the ground with an all-encompassing mix of a clang and a thud. With steely eyes and folded arms, Sean Skahan observes the Boston University men’s hockey team as the players make use of the weight room.

Music fills the enclosed space, lined with windows on one side that look out into the pristine hallway encircling the ice and mirrors along the other. Underneath the more public parts of Agganis Arena’s interior, the Terriers take advantage of all sorts of exercise equipment to be in the best shape they can be. Skahan is there to help them do just that.

The new strength and conditioning coach of the Boston University men’s ice hockey team has spent the past 13 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, but he returned to his native Massachusetts this summer to take a job with the Terriers.

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for BU hockey,” Skahan said. “I get to work in one of the nicest facilities in the country.

I’m also from here, I love this city. It’s a city that’s passionate about their sports, and I actually started here as an intern a long time ago … but I’m excited to be back and back home and trying to help these young men.”

BU coach David Quinn added that Skahan’s resume made him a prime candidate for the job.

“We’re a program that aspires to recruit people that are going to play in the National Hockey League,” he said. “When you can get a strength coach who is from the area, who has been a strength coach in the NHL for 13 years and has the respect and the background and the knowledge that Sean has, to me it was really a no-brainer.”

Skahan replaced Anthony Morando and brought with him professional knowledge that he can and aims to pass onto the

team. There’s a difference in his approaches and some of his philosophies but nothing drastic, Quinn said, as is to be expected from strength coach to strength coach. The basics remain the same, since there’s only so much that can be altered in terms of what athletes this age need to do.

Now, with the regular season just days away, Skahan is settling into a rhythm with the team. Minimally he’ll see the guys twice a week. They spend time stretching, warming up properly and going through corrective exercises. Then it’s core strengthening, followed by lifting. Conditioning takes place too, but it’s mostly on the ice, save for some extra work that can be taken care of in the weight room.

Among those differences are that younger players can be worked harder than some of the older NHLers. Skahan noted that college-age athletes can handle more stress put on them, whereas veteran professionals may need to have some improvised exercises since they can’t handle the same types of workouts.

At this age, and with BU being one of the youngest teams in college hockey this season, Skahan pointed out that getting these players in their late teens and early 20s can have a positive impact on how they develop going forward.

He had experience with that as some of the players drafted by the Ducks stuck around the organization. Though it’s not

I

think that’s the reason [Skahan] wanted to come back, because he knows the impact a strength coach can make at our level” -David Quinn

But Skahan also keeps an eye on how things are going away from the rink. He follows the team through the use of heart rate monitors and determining their load based on how hard they work, but he also has them check in with him regarding how they feel on a daily basis. He surveys their mood, stress levels and just how everything affects them.

It’s not quite the same as working with the pros.

“Because of the fact that these guys are students first, they have a lot going on in their lives, which is different from a professional who might be, could be a single guy, could be a married guy with children, it’s a big difference,” Skahan said.

necessarily the majority of athletes he’s worked with, he’s been in that position before and is certainly in it now.

“I think that’s the reason he wanted to come back, because he knows the impact a strength coach can make at our level,” Quinn said. “It’s so different at the NHL level, so I think he was looking forward to the challenge and making a difference with guys here.”

That experience has had him around players drafted by Anaheim that became superstars, like scoring juggernauts Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, and will aid him in helping the Terriers out too.

“I really think that I can benefit them by having some real world experience in what it

takes to be in the NHL,” Skahan said.

The biggest focus for Skahan is doing his best to make sure the areas of the body being used in hockey are strong so that all measures can be taken to prevent injury. He said it’s important to break things down on an individualized basis and provide the players with the necessary exercises for them specifically.

Part of that is customizing some workouts by position. There’s not a huge separation between what forwards and defensemen might need to do, but goalies are prone to different injuries than the other skaters are, so Skahan spends time helping the netminders avoid those injuries. He added that, for forwards and defensemen, he looks more at what injuries the players might have already had.

“We’re trying to work through that, work around that and get them better,” he said. “But for the most part, in my opinion, skaters are skaters. There’s not that big of a difference, but again it goes back to kind of everyone being different. That’s the main key.”

Conditioning comes into play when Skahan takes the players’ ice time into account. Some guys get more than others, but those who log fewer minutes still need to be in that same kind of game shape.

“We have to maintain their fitness, and we’ll do that by providing extra conditioning and, again, going back to the monitoring situation, seeing what they need versus other guys who might not need as much or might need more,” he said.

Ultimately, Skahan’s goal is to help each member of the team achieve his individual goals and get BU to Tampa in April to win just one more game than it did last year.

“That’s what I want to do,” he said. “I want to help them win a national championship and help them feel confident about themselves and help them be healthy and strong and resilient.”

“No question.”

7

Robbie Baillargeon

Robbie Baillargeon looks for a strong season in 2015-16 after missing significant time in 2014-15 with mononucleosis.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA NADEL/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Baillargeon envisions bounce-back after disappointing 2014-15

BY SARAH KIRKPATRICK DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

It’s about an hour before Boston University is set to face Acadia University in an exhibition game, and Robbie Baillargeon is alone on the BU bench. He looks around the ice, but avoids conversation with any of the passing team managers or trainers. The Agganis Arena speakers blare Top 40 hits and the BU fans begin to fill the stands, but Robbie isn’t distracted.

He stares ahead silently, backward BU hockey cap on his head, his face showing no discernible emotion. He acknowledges no one, and nothing but his own thoughts as he prepares to open the 2015-16 season.

What are you going to do in the first period? He puts himself in game mode.

The second period? He pictures a good play, a good pass.

The third? He lays out the whole game in his head, period-by-period, play-byplay.

Robbie has always been a person who envisions his dreams and plans — “He’s always known where he was going to go,” says his mother, Maika. Moreover, he’s quiet.

He’s not an openly emotional person. He’s stoic. He’s thoughtful, considerate, not one to talk trash or begin a fight on the ice. He keeps to himself, stays in his own thoughts.

He’s humble, too. He doesn’t like to brag or disclose his goals, but he knows what he wants.

He’s driven, and he’s a visualizer, and that has always worked in his favor. But this past season, it didn’t go how he envisioned.

In Robbie’s first year playing for the Terriers in 2013-14, he recorded 27 points, and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. The short version of the story is that Robbie was BU’s leading scorer as a freshman, and then, a year later, in 201415, he wasn’t.

The longer version of the story is a bit more complicated than that.

Bob Baillargeon can tell during the team’s warmups whether his son will have a good game. He was Robbie’s coach from when Robbie first started skating until he reached high school, and has a vision of Robbie’s stride and strength unlike anyone else.

To begin his sophomore season, Robbie battled a sore throat that just wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t anything new. Robbie was born 10 weeks premature, so his immune system has never been perfect. He takes all the right vitamins and eats all the right foods, as guided by Maika, who’s a nurse. (A nurse and a hockey coach is the perfect set of parents, Robbie notes.) Still, every year, Robbie gets sick. It usually takes him longer than most people to recover from common illnesses.

So every year, just in case, Robbie gets tested for mononucleosis.

Robbie scored the first goal of BU’s 2014-15 season. All was poised to be yet another stellar season. But Bob could tell about two or three games in that Robbie’s shifts were shortening, he wasn’t up to speed.

Over the next six games, Robbie descended into the background. He couldn’t win battles in the corners, he couldn’t stay steady on his skates. He had just one point — an assist — in that six-game span. He didn’t complain, he just put his head down and kept playing. No excuses.

Maybe it was just a slow start, maybe it was just a slump.

But for the first time, the mononucleosis test came back positive. They had the answer, at least, but there wasn’t much that could be done besides resting, hydrating and taking the right medications. Some days, his coaches told him not to bother even coming to the rink. He missed the next nine games.

As Robbie watched from the sidelines, BU grew better. In the year Robbie

led his team in scoring, the Terriers only mustered a 10-21-4 record. By the time Robbie returned to playing in January, his team had already surpassed that win total — 11-3-2.

But even as he sat, Robbie took solace in BU’s success. Even if his year wasn’t going well, he always put the others first, and took joy in the thought of lifting a trophy with his teammates.

He returned to play on Jan. 3 for a game against Union College. At the time, he felt ready, but looking back, he admits he probably came back too early.

Though his sickness had disappeared, he still hadn’t gained back the strength he had lost. Even then, things started to get better — he had points in back-to-back games against the University of Wisconsin on Jan. 9 and 10, and then went on a four-game point streak between Jan. 30 and Feb. 14.

But his body couldn’t keep up. He felt constantly behind his teammates. He felt like he was always playing catch-up.

In a game against the University of Notre Dame on Feb. 20, he was a minus-2 on the night, and was benched the following evening. Back-to-back games required too much stamina. He was benched again a week later during the team’s regular-season finale against Northeastern University.

So, during BU’s bye week in the first weekend of March, Robbie went home to Enfield, Connecticut. He talked to his parents, visited with his close friends from high school, took a moment to reminisce, relax and unwind.

He watched on TV as Merrimack College upset Northeastern, setting up BU’s Hockey East quarterfinal matchup for the upcoming weekend. His parents — his main confidants, the number-one people who never told him he couldn’t do anything — provided a quiet, comforting environment for him to reflect, to remain calm, to reconsider the next few weeks ahead.

It gave him time to reevaluate his expectations for th e postseason. Even though the first several months of the season didn’t go as he had envisioned, he wasn’t about to let that set the tone for the playoffs.

Robbie’s always had success in big games, according to his prep school coach, Cushing Academy’s Robert Gagnon. Over the course of his career — at Enfield High, Cushing Academy, and in the U.S. Hockey League for the Indiana Ice and Omaha Lancers, he’s performed at the top of his game. It’s how the Ottawa Senators ended up selecting him in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft.

In Robbie’s first game back after his trip home, a 6-2 quarterfinal win over Merrimack, he had a goal and an assist. He was a plus-1 in BU’s Hockey East title game against the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Further on in the playoffs, he had an assist in the Frozen Four against the University of North Dakota.

“When he came back in the playoffs, he started getting his swagger back a little bit,” Gagnon said.

Robbie had another big moment earlier in the year, too. In the Beanpot final against Northeastern on Feb. 23, he scored on a rebound to give BU a 2-1 lead — his first goal in 136 days, the first since his tally back in October.

That goal is something he’ll always remember, he says.

When BU lost in the national title game in April, most of the players weren’t afraid to show their emotion. Some hunched over or kneeled on the ice, some openly sobbed, tears streaming, faces red.

Robbie didn’t cry. While his teammates surrounded him in various collapsed states, CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

8

2015-16 BU MEN’S HOCKEY TEAM 1 | Max Prawdzik

11 | Mike Moran

Before BU: Played at the Brooks School in North Andover, where he won a New England Prep Large School title his senior season. Was named the 2015 Independent School League Hockey MVP.

Last season: 38 games played, 4 goals, 1 assist.

Freshman | Goaltender Andover, Massachusetts 6’3” | 170

2 | Shane Switzer

Freshman | Defenseman Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 6’2” | 190

Before BU: In 2014-15, played for the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta JuniorHockey League.

4 | Brandon Hickey

Sophomore | Defenseman Leduc, Alberta 6’2” | 190

Drafted by Calgary Flames in 2014 (third round, 64th overall) Last season: 41 games played, 6 goals, 11 assists. Led conference with 91 blocked shots.

5 | Matt Grzelcyk (captain) Senior | Defenseman Charlestown, Massachusetts 5’10” | 176

Drafted by Boston Bruins in 2012 (third round, 85th overall) Last season: 41 games played, 10 goals, 28 assists. Beanpot MVP, Hockey East First Team All-Star, CCM First Team All-American.

Senior | Forward Marshfield, Massachusetts 6’1” | 205

12 | Chase Phelps

Sophomore | Forward Edina, Minnesota 6’1” | 194

Last season: 38 games played, 2 goals, 2 assists.

13 | Nikolas Olsson

Sophomore | Forward Escondido, California 6’0” | 205

Last season: 31 games played, 6 goals, 5 assists.

14 | Bobo Carpenter

Freshman | Forward North Reading, Massachusetts 5’11” | 185

Before BU: Played for Sioux City Musketeers of the U.S. Hockey League, and tied for the league lead in goals with 35. Son of former NHL star Bobby Carpenter and brother of Boston College standout Alex Carpenter.

7 | Charlie McAvoy

15 | Nick Roberto

Before BU: Played for the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons, winning a gold medal with the U-18 team. Projected first-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Last season: 41 games played, 4 goals, 8 assists.

Freshman | Defenseman Long Beach, New York 6’1” | 211

8 | Ryan Cloonan

Freshman | Forward East Longmeadow, Massachusetts 5’10” | 174

Before BU: Member of the Boston Junior Bruins, where he ranked fifth in the U.S. Premier Hockey League in scoring in 201415 with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists).

10 | Danny O’Regan (assistant captain)

Senior | Forward Needham, Massachusetts 5’10” | 185

Drafted by San Jose Sharks in 2012 (fifth round, 138th overall) Last season: 41 games played, 23 goals, 27 assists. Hockey East Second Team All-Star.

Junior | Forward Wakefield, Massachusetts 5’10” | 187

16 | John MacLeod

Sophomore | Defenseman Dracut, Massachusetts 6’2” | 200

Drafted by Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014 (second round, 57th overall) Last season: 37 games played, 2 goals, 7 assists, 51 blocked shots.

17 | Ahti Oksanen

Senior | Forward Kirkkonummi, Finland 6’3” | 215

Last season: 40 games played, 25 goals, 13 assists. Ranked third in the nation in power-play goals (9).

PHOTOS COURTSEY OF BU ATHLETICS

9

18 | Jordan Greenway

22 | Tommy Kelley

Drafted by Minnesota Wild in 2015 (second round, 50th overall) Before BU: Won gold with U.S. U-18 team at the 2015 World Championship. Spent two seasons with USNTDP, combining for 85 points in 105 games.

Last season: 4 games played.

Freshman | Forward Canton, New York 6’5” | 230

19 | Robbie Baillargeon Junior | Forward Enfield, Connecticut 6’0” | 190

Drafted by Ottawa Senators in 2012 (fifth round, 136th overall) Last season: 30 games played, 3 goals, 13 assists.

20 | Brien Diffley

Sophomore | Defenseman Burlington, Massachusetts 6’2” | 185

Last season: 40 games played, 1 goal, 10 assists, 39 blocked shots.

21 | Matt Lane (assistant captain) Senior | Forward Rochester, New York 5’10” | 184

Last season: 41 games played, 8 goals, 10 assists.

MOST WANTED SHOP THE NEUMEL AND OTHER FALL FAVORITES AT THE UGG ® STORE.

Junior | Forward Natick, Massachusetts 5’10” | 187

23 | Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson Freshman | Forward Stockholm, Sweden 6’1” | 192

Drafted by Boston Bruins in 2015 (second round, 45th overall) Before BU: Member of the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, leading his team and ranking 16th in the league in scoring.

25 | Brandon Fortunato Sophomore | Defenseman North Hills, New York 5’10” | 160

Last season: 41 games played, 1 goal, 17 assists, 38 blocked shots. First player to earn no penalty minutes in an entire season since Jack Parker in 1965-66.

26 | A.J. Greer

Sophomore | Forward Joliette, Quebec 6’3” | 215

Drafted by Colorado Avalanche in 2015 (second round, 39th overall) Last season: 37 games played, 3 goals, 4 assists.

27 | Doyle Somerby

Junior | Defenseman Marblehead, Massachusetts 6’5” | 225

Drafted by New York Islanders in 2012 (fifth round, 125th overall) Last season: 39 games played, 1 goal, 6 assists, 55 blocked shots.

28 | Dillon Lawrence Junior | Forward Toronto, Ontario 6’3” | 195

Last season: No regular-season appearances.

30 | Connor LaCouvee

Sophomore | Goaltender Qualicum Beach, British Columbia 6’1” | 200 Last season: 8 games played (418 minutes), 2.58 goals-against average, .913 save percentage.

31 | Sean Maguire

Senior | Goaltender Powell River, British Columbia 6’2” | 202 BOSTON LOCATIONS: 75 NEWBURY ST. & FANEUIL HALL MARKETPLACE

Drafted by Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012 (fourth round, 113th overall) Last season: Redshirted.

10

t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r a t b o s t o n u n i v e r s i t y

45th year | Volume 89 | Issue VI The Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Thursdays during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing Co.,Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University students. No content can be reproduced without the permission of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2015 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Mike DeSocio, Editor-in-Chief Joe Incollingo, Managing Editor Samantha Gross, Multimedia Editor

Justin Pallenik, Sports Editor

Olivia Nadel, Photo Editor

J.D. Capelouto, Campus Editor

Katie Aramento, Editorial Page Editor

Katelyn Pilley, Layout Editor

Mina Corpuz, City Editor

Sonia Rao, Features Editor

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager

Sophomore forwards ready to make leap in 2015-16 season

BY ANDREW BATTIFARANO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

For head coach David Quinn and his staff, to get back to the Frozen Four it’ll take incremental improvements in all facets of the game.

As obvious a statement as this is, it’ll be more difficult in practice than it is in theory. To return to the national title game, each of the returning players from last year’s squad — 18 in all — are expected to step up from where they were a season ago.

“We need last year’s freshmen to be better sophomores,” Quinn said. “We need last year’s sophomores to be better juniors.

That’s what happened to us last year. All the guys coming back had better years than before, and that has to be the case this year.”

That means each class of players needs to do better not only from a statistical standpoint, but also in terms of maturity and leadership roles. That includes the Class of 2018 — the sophomores.

A group that once consisted of five forwards is now down to three.

Forward Jack Eichel, Hobey Baker winner, national leader in points and arguably the best freshman to ever play at Boston University, is no longer skating on Commonwealth Avenue. Drafted second overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, the gifted teenager signed a professional contract.

Eichel and his team-leading 71 points are gone.

While he recorded just four points in his first season in the scarlet and white, promising forward J.J. Piccinich is no longer a member of the team. A fourthround pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014, Piccinich decided to leave college for major junior hockey, joining the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

With those two departures, that leaves a trio of sophomore forwards — A.J. Greer, Nikolas Olsson and Chase Phelps.

Last year, these three combined 22 points, not even a third of Eichel’s individual point total.

But, according to Quinn, these three have already shown progression in the few practices the team has had so far this season.

There’s confidence that these forwards are ready to make the leap.

A.J. Greer Freshman year usually comes with a mix of success, learning experiences and inconsistencies.

Adjusting to the college game with its faster pace and older players can be a tough change.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A.J. Greer, Nikolas Olsson and Chase Phelps are ready to make the jump in their sophomore season.

In short, it’s a difficult time for most.

Add in being one of the youngest players in all of college hockey, and that’s what Greer had to deal with in his rookie season at BU. As one of the top performers at Kimball Union Academy, Greer accelerated through the prep school to join the Terriers a season early.

As a 17-year-old for most of the first half of the season, it wasn’t an easy adjustment for the 6-foot-3, 215-pound power forward. At times, this raw product displayed promise, but just couldn’t put it all together as he had when he notched 92 points in 61 career games at Kimball Union.

“I think it’s a different game, going from prep school to college,” Greer said. “And taking that role from prep school that

W

I was as a scorer and a guy who people would rely on, to more of a role as a bottom-six guy and I had to fight my way up the lineup, which I had some ups and downs last year, [but] I didn’t attain the goal that I wanted to stats-wise.”

It took time, practices and some scratches from the lineup, but Greer got things going and seemed to catch his stride when the Terriers needed him most.

He worked his way up the depth chart, joining BU’s second line during the postseason run. He wasn’t scoring at a prodigious rate, but the progress was there, and Greer’s true potential became apparent.

It all came together for him in the national semifinal game. In a play that swung the momentum, Greer blasted a one-timer that fooled University of North Dakota netminder Zane McIntyre and

e’re obviously coming back a lot hungrier than last year.” Olsson said. “We had a lit tle taste of it, but we didn’t get what we wanted, obviously.”

knocked his water bottle off its moorings.

“I think it was a long process and it went great at the end of the year,” Greer said. “I got my shot and I think I proved to everyone that I could at least impact the game a little.”

So after a strong end to the season, Greer trekked home to Quebec and worked his skating stride and speed — things he hopes make both him and the team better.

During the summer, Greer also lived out one of his lifelong dreams. When the Colorado Avalanche selected him in the second round of the NHL Draft, it was a culmination of what he’s worked for his entire life. A special moment for him and his family, yes, but Greer has his eyes set on what he can do this year to help out the Terriers.

“It was a dream come true when they called the 39th pick, it’s something I looked forward to for sure,” Greer said. “But I’m just kind of focusing on this year and winning a national title.

“I think I have a legit chance to show who I am as a leader and also have a bigger role on the ice as an impact player.”

Nikolas Olsson While Greer had to learn the ropeWhile Greer had to learn the ropes of a new, faster, stronger game, Olsson, on the other hand, had an easier time adjusting to the college level.

Having played two seasons with the U.S. National Team development program and then two years with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL, Olsson felt

better prepared for what it would take to play against the older competition in Hockey East.

Other than some injury issues early in the season, Olsson looked well-suited within BU’s system. He was second among the freshman forward group in points, using a combination of skill and power in front of the net to work around opposing defenses. He scored in some big moments as well, finishing with three points in two Beanpot games, while also notching a goal in the Hockey East Championship.

Along with his offensive skillset, Olsson continually provided a physical element to the game, throwing hits like a defenseman might.

So what does Olsson plan to do differently coming into his second year? Not much, actually.

“I kind of want to adapt a little bit bigger of a role and maybe contribute a little bit more, but whatever the team needs me to do,” Olsson said. “Hopefully [I’ll be] just an energetic forward who will make plays. I liked how I played last year, so I’m probably going to try to mimic that, maybe score a couple of more goals and a few more points and impose a little more skill.”

Quinn said Olsson is more than ready to have a more prominent role this year, just based on the way he’s looked thus far in practices and training. According to BU’s bench boss, Olsson is in “the best shape of his life,” so he’ll be ready to have that statistical jump this year.

Aside from the goals and the hits that Olsson wants to keep CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

11

Chris Dyment, former All-American, returns to alma mater

BY SARAH KIRKPATRICK DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Chris Dyment is a Boston University guy through and through. He played four seasons for the Terriers from 1998 to 2002. He met his wife, Erica, at BU, got married at Marsh Chapel, had all friends from BU as his groomsmen — “It was one big BU wedding!” he said. So, really, it was a “no-brainer,” in the words of Dyment, to return to BU when he was offered a position as the program’s Director of Hockey Operations.

When former associate head coach Steve Greeley left BU in August to take a position with the New York Rangers, he started talking with Dyment about the possibility of joining the staff. Dyment had just taken a job as an assistant coach at Bentley University, but jumped at the chance to work for his alma mater.

On Sept. 2, Albie O’Connell was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach, and last year’s director of hockey pps, Scott Young, filled O’Connell’s spot. Dyment formally filled Young’s vacancy two weeks later.

“Chris is a hard-working guy,” said O’Connell, who was a senior captain during Dyment’s freshman season at BU. “He’s very knowledgeable about the game of hockey, he’s very passionate about BU hockey as a program. And he was very excited about the opportunity to come back.”

Dyment had a heralded BU career as a defenseman, tallying 72 points in 142 games. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick was a two-time Second Team All-American, and was named to two Hockey East All-Star teams.

He also served as captain of the 2001-02 team.

After graduating, Dyment had a six-year minor pro career, with stints in the American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League. Dyment also spent the 2007-08 season playing in Italy. Upon retiring from hockey, he worked in construction for a few years, then started

out as a hockey instructor north of Boston.

He spent the last two seasons coaching junior hockey for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs of the U.S. Premiere Hockey League. He said he appreciated the chance to go straight to the position of head coach without having to be an assistant coach first, but there was a catch: He didn’t have much of a staff surrounding him, and was responsible for all of the organization’s day-to-day operations.

Dyment said he thinks getting thrown into the fire taught him a lot. He served as a father figure to his players, most of whom lived far away from home.

He was also responsible for travel arrangements and scheduling.

In many ways, he’ll need those skills for his new position with BU, where he’ll be in charge of scheduling, organizing team meals and communicating with staff at Agganis Arena and at other schools.

“I think [Dyment] is a guy that’s paid his dues coaching junior hockey and doing all the things you have to do to run a junior program,” said BU head coach David Quinn. “And he’s a good hockey guy, great guy, well-respected.”

So far, Dyment said, the challenges haven’t been too extreme. Young filled him in on all of his responsibilities and gave him all the contacts he needed.

Dyment also shares an office with Young, so if any questions arise, he’s in a convenient setup.

“Obviously I’m going to have a lot of questions every day, so it’s good to just turn around and say ‘hey’ instead of writing an email or making a phone call,” Dyment said. “I just turn around, and he’s right there.”

Dyment welcomes the opportunity to work on the BU staff, as it gives him the chance to work in a successful environment and learn more that will help him pursue eventually his dream career.

“It’s a way to learn the ropes,” he said. “Ideally, I’d love to be an assistant coach or a head coach someday, but for right now, being so early on, I think it’s just a great way to learn how things are done

PHOTO BY SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Chris Dyment, a former BU defenseman, took a position with the Terriers as the team’s new Director of Hockey Operations.

in the professional manner they do it in, and the successful way they do it.”

With the Terriers primed for another successful season a year after falling in the national title game to Providence College, Dyment said he had a hard time pointing to just one thing he was excited about prior to the year.

“The attitude of all the players and the staff has been great,” he said. “I just think we have the right attitude right now. I’m just anxious for the season to get started.”

“Chris really loves BU,” Quinn said. “We’re fortunate to get him.”

That BU enthusiasm has remained intact his entire adult

life. Even on the road with his junior team, amid a hectic schedule, Dyment watched BU hockey every chance he got — and did so passionately.

“That last game, against Providence, I was in a hotel room in Pittsburgh by myself,” Dyment said. “I think I was screaming so loud, the entire hotel could hear me.”

Greer, Olsson, Phelps ready for more prominent role in second season SOPHOMORES, FROM PAGE 10

providing, he also made note of how he wants to be an example off the ice, especially for the newcomers. Being in their shoes last year, Olsson said the sophomores should be valuable teachers for this crop of rookies.

“I think that all of our sophomore forwards are going to try to provide an example for the freshmen coming,” Olsson said. “Just give them tips and just let them know things we may have done last year to succeed in our freshman year early on.”

Coming so close in their first year to a national title but just having it slip away is enough motivation in itself for Olsson and this sophomore group. The talent is in place, now it’s just a matter of exe-

cution to reach the final pinnacle.

“We’re obviously coming back a lot hungrier than last year,” Olsson said. “We had a little taste of it, but we didn’t get what we wanted, obviously. We’re coming back and we know our potential.”

Chase Phelps It wasn’t all about adjusting to the NCAA for Phelps.

Yes, the game was quicker and better than it was when he played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. But moving from a prep school that has an enrollment just north of 400 to a school like BU that has more than 30 times that number of students was something Phelps had to first get used to.

Add in transitioning from a

tiny town of 23,000 like Faribault, Minnesota, to a big city like Boston, and freshman year was a bit of a culture shock for Phelps.

“I went to school at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota in a small town,” Phelps said. “Moving up to Boston, away from home, and I was kind of playing a whole new men’s game.”

And a new game it was.

Phelps, playing on the fourth line for most of the season, recorded two goals and two assists, notching his first collegiate point a little over a month into the season.

This year, though, his coach has already noticed a change in his play that will potentially propel him forward.

“I can already see the difference in Phelps,” Quinn said.

“Phelps is more confident, he’s much more sure of himself.”

And with that newfound confidence, Phelps, like his fellow sophomores, is also now vying for an increased role with the forward group this season. With some more ice time, Phelps feels he can contribute more to the offense.

“Personally, I just want to play well from top to bottom,” Phelps said. “Produce a little bit more than last year. And work on playing to my strengths and all aspects of the game. … I’d like to move up on the food chain a little bit and I’ll keep working toward that as the year goes.

“And whatever happens, happens.”

Better preparation, more confidence and improved awareness of what it takes to be successful is what this sophomore forward class has, according to Quinn.

They’re a year older and wiser, ready for the challenges that come with defending a Hockey East title. And while it might seem to be asking a lot out of a group of three young players to contribute so much to the team, they feel more than up to the task. After all, they’ve already played in big games.

And they’d like to do it again.

“It’ll definitely be a big adjustment, I think I’m ready for it, as well as the other sophomores,” Greer said. “We’re a really good group coming from a big year, and we know what it takes to get there.”

12

20 Questions with senior assistant captains Danny O’Regan and Matt Lane ML: Yeah, it’s up there. (points to phone)

BY SARAH KIRKPATRICK, JUDY COHEN AND ANDREW BATTIFARANO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

DO: Oh, okay.

Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

16. Favorite class you’ve taken?

1. What are your goals for this season?

DO: History of Pirates.

Danny O’Regan: To win the Beanpot, Hockey East and the national championship.

ML: You took that?

DO: No. I’ll say History of Boston.

Matt Lane: Yeah, same. To win. To win one more game than we did last year.

ML: Mine would have to be GE 101. Earth and Environment.

2. Game you’re most looking forward to this season?

ML: We’ve got a lot, we’ve got a good schedule. I would say, pretty equal would be the first Providence College game, the first Boston College game and the Madison Square Garden game [against Cornell University].

DO: Yeah, I was gonna say that one.

Madison Square Garden.

3. If you had a goal song, what would it be and why?

DO: What are some recent songs?

I was gonna say something Taylor Swift...

ML: Justin Bieber?

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Danny O’Regan and Matt Lane are assistant captains for the 2015-16 season.

5. Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup this year?

8. If you both weren’t playing hockey, what do you think the other one would be doing?

DO: [Senior forward Mike] Moran’s like 30, he gets it going pretty quick. I’m gonna go Moran.

DO: I’m going [Washington] Capitals.

DO: Matt would be a slot receiver in the NFL.

ML: [Pittsburgh] Penguins are the obvious pick, but they’re not deep enough on the blue line.

ML: I was gonna say the same thing, I gotta pick something different.

We’ve gotta be a little more creative.

[Danny] would definitely be the three-hitter on the [Toronto] Blue Jays.

ML: Same. Not really many people can grow a beard. You can say Hickey’s the hairiest guy on the team. By far the hairiest guy on the team.

DO: Never have been.

ML: Nope. I’ll go with Tampa Bay [Lightning].

DO: I think I’m gonna stick with T-Swift.

ML: I’ll go with “Good Vibrations” [by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch]. Just because [junior forward] Tommy Kelley’s been playing it a lot.

DO: “Let It Go”? No, “Leave the Night On” [by Sam Hunt].

4. Favorite NHL player?

DO: [Detroit Red Wings forward] Pavel Datsyuk. No brainer, guy’s a magician.

ML: Probably [Chicago Blackhawks forward] Jonathan Toews, because he’s a winner.

DO: Slot receiver for the Redskins.

They need one.

6. Which NHL team has the nicest jersey?

9. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

DO: Let’s go with the Avalanche.

I’m gonna say Colorado.

DO: Chips. Tostitos and salsa are my go-to, but I’m not picky when it comes to potato chips at all.

ML: I’m gonna go Anaheim. The Ducks.

7. Go-to move on a breakaway?

DO: Dump and chase. (laughs) No, you can say five-hole.

ML: Bar down.

WINTER SESSION AT TCNJ! JANUARY 4 –22

Travel, blended and online courses may start sooner.

Most undergraduate courses are 4 credits.

Check for summer courses, too.

ML: A bowl of Cheerios. You get the little bit of liquid, the little bit of girth. You could survive.

10. Who would be in the BU Hockey Boy Band?

ML: I got it for sure, [sophomore goaltender Connor] LaCouvee and [sophomore forward A.J.] Greer, [sophomore defenseman Brandon] Hickey…

DO: Diff? [sophomore defenseman Brien Diffley] He’s got the look.

ML: Well, we have a rule that it has to be short, so you have to take that into account.

DO: I like it long. That Ronnie Bass look. Just write “Sunshine.”

ML: Yeah, same thing.

13. What movie always makes you cry?

ML: I cried pretty hard in “Southpaw.” And I feel like it’s such a classic, but I’ve gotta go with “Hardball.”

DO: Is “The Notebook” a crier? I don’t want to say that. “Toy Story 3” is a really good answer. Yeah, do that, I did cry at that one.

ML: You did?

DO: Yeah.

14. If you were a superhero, what would your name and power be?

ML: I don’t see anybody from the freshman class in that band, I don’t see anyone from our class.

ML: I would be The Ghost. More of a “now you see me, now you don’t” type style.

DO: No [senior forward] Ahti [Oksanen]. He’s more of a solo country artist.

DO: I’m gonna be The Duck. The ultimate boot.

ML: [Sophomore defenseman Brandon] Fortunato? He can rap.

DO: LaCouvee, Hickey, Greer, you’ve gotta throw Diff in there.

ML: LaCouvee, Hickey, Greer, Fortch, Diff.

Visit: www.tcnj.edu/intersession

12. Do you prefer Brien Diffley’s hair long or short?

11. Who has the best facial hair on the team?

15. Favorite emoji?

ML: The monkey is a classic.

DO: Mine is also the duck. Or whatever that is. Is that a chicken?

ML: It’s a chick.

DO: I use it as a duck. Let’s call it a duck.

DO: Hickey grows a gross one.

ML: I’ll go with the fireball.

ML: [Junior defenseman] Doyle [Somerby]’s gets pretty Velcro-y.

DO: There’s a fireball?

17. If you were a vegetable, what kind of vegetable would you be and why?

DO: I would be a carrot, because I don’t like carrots, and I wouldn’t eat my own kind.

ML: I’ll go with sweet potatoes. I’m hard on the outside and sweet on the inside (laughing).

18. Biggest phobia?

DO: None. I’m afraid of fear. Nah, I’m gonna say insects in general.

Ugh. ML: When I first got my license, I used to be afraid of driving by 18-wheelers.

DO: No, I got it. When you think it’s a glass of water, but it’s actually seltzer water.

ML: A four-foot putt to break 80?

No, I’ll go with falling off the ninth floor at TD Garden.

19. If your dorm room were on fire and you could only grab three things, what would they be?

ML: After my three roommates...

DO: My poster of a lion, my recliner and the TV. ML: I’ll go, my sword hanging on the wall, my toothbrush and my Jordans.

20. If you had three wishes, what would they be?

ML: Probably a weekend party with Justin Bieber. That’s one.

And I want one snap in the NFL. DO: I want one at-bat against [Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher] Clayton Kershaw.

ML: And I would be a spot-up shooter for the [Cleveland] Cavaliers. Nah, let’s get rid of that and go personal masseuse.

DO: I wish I could fly. And I wish the temperature around me was always 70 degrees.

13

CHECK OUT MORE HOCKEY CONTENT ONLINE DAILYFREEPRESS.COM/SPECIAL/HOCKEY2015/ Rejuvenated Maguire looks ‘confident’ on cusp of comeback MAGUIRE, FROM PAGE 5

ically.

“I’ve never been more confident in him,” he added. “Honestly, I’ve never been more confident in him.”

Maguire doesn’t want to let things stress him out as much as he used to allow them to. He’s going to let things come to him and try not to worry about what he can’t

control.

He wants to be a good student, a good hockey player and a good person. Every time he steps on the ice, he wants to be his best.

He doesn’t want to take a day off.

“I think that I can play in this league,” he said. “I’m a good goalie in this league.”

In Saturday’s exhibition

game against Acadia University, Maguire took the ice in front of an Agganis Arena crowd for the first time since his injury. Halfway through the second period, he swapped his spot on the bench for one in the crease. None of the 15 shots he faced got past him, and he earned the 4-2 win and an assist on the game-winning goal.

He looked focused, turning shots aside or swallowing them into his chest. When the Axemen picked up the pace, he kept in step with them, shutting them out for his 30-plus minutes between the pipes.

“He looks great,” Quinn said.

“Forget about what I’m seeing on the ice, just what I see off the ice.

He’s as confident and as settled and he’s in a good place. I’m expecting a good year out of him.”

“I know that if I just stick to what I know how to do and not worry about what I can’t control, then I’m gonna have a good year,” Maguire said.

“I mean,” Quinn added, “no one works harder than Sean.”

Kelley siblings make family proud with hockey success B KELLEY, FROM PAGE 16

to do this, work on your shot,’ and she listens to every single word.

“When they were smaller, I think if Tommy criticized her she didn’t like it, but now she takes everything and does whatever he says,” she added.

During the women’s team’s exhibition win over the University of Guelph on Sept. 26, Tommy said senior forward Dakota Woodworth’s father came up to him between periods and told him how much Mary Grace looked like her brother on the ice. Tommy and Woodworth had been teammates when they were 10 years old.

“He was like, ‘Wow, you guys play exactly the same way,’” Tommy said. “I was watching the rest of the game. I think we do play very similar, just kind of work hard up and down the ice, both skate well, both have good offensive ability and play the game both ends of the ice.”

They look pretty similar off the ice as well, with matching heads of white-blond hair and bright smiles.

“I guess everyone has said to her, ‘Oh my god, you look just like TK with your cage on,’ so she thinks that’s great,” Mary Jean said. “She’s like ‘Yeah, if I tied my hair up, I could be Tommy.’”

Mary Grace said she’s even inherited Tommy’s nickname.

Ever since this summer when some of the other athletes or older kids on her team found out she was his little sister, they’ve been calling her Little TK. “It’s been funny,” she said.

“Whenever I see any of the older kids, they’re like, ‘Hey, it’s Little

TK!’” And they’re similar in their work ethic, too.

“It’s amazing how hard they both work,” Mary Jean said.

“They will never give up. They will persevere, and it’s their passion.

“They’re both so driven, so competitive …” she continued.

“Very competitive with one another and in everything they do.”

Tommy started his hockey career at age six, a couple years after he learned how to skate.

He played for the Natick Comets first before moving onto the Minuteman Flames, followed by the South Shore Kings and then Top Gun Youth Hockey.

Most recently, he was co-captain of the varsity hockey team at St. Sebastian’s School for his 2012-13 senior season in which he finished second in scoring on the team. During Tommy’s junior year, only senior assistant captain and then-teammate Danny O’Regan had more points than him.

It was during his senior campaign that he attracted the attention of former head coach Jack Parker and former associate head coach Mike Bavis. In an All-Star game he had made for his fall prep league, Tommy impressed on the ice so much that Bavis wanted to talk to him postgame about playing for the Terriers.

In deciding to come to BU, Tommy would be reunited with O’Regan and have the chance to play in the Beanpot, something Mary Jean said meant a lot to him.

With Tommy and Mary Grace having conflicting game schedules throughout their ad-

olescences, Mary Jean said she would end up going to Mary Grace’s games while her husband, Tom, would attend Tommy’s. But when Tommy was named co-captain of his team at St. Sebastian’s, Mary Jean had to help run the snack bar at games, as it was the job of the captains’ parents to do so. “[Mary Grace] said, ‘Well, if I’m captain of my high school team, you’ve gotta be at every game of mine,’ and I said, ‘I promise you I will,’” Mary Jean said. “So sure enough, she was captain last year, and I went to every game.”

Mary Grace helped guide her team at Dexter Southfield School to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council title game last season and finish as runners up. She also was named to the New England All-Scholastic team and was tabbed a Division II First-Team All-Star.

Before her time with Southfield hockey, the forward played 10 years with Assabet Valley and won a Tier I National Championship as a member of the team in 2012. Mary Grace’s first team was also the Natick Comets, though she and her brother never played together.

She committed to BU on the later side like Tommy as well.

Mary Grace toured the school in the spring of 2014, but didn’t commit until the fall, though Mary Jean said her daughter knew almost immediately after her recruiting visit she wanted to come to Commonwealth Avenue.

Besides the fact that Tommy was already at school, Mary Grace said she loved the campus and the

city, while her mother said head coach Brian Durocher played a part as well.

And BU runs in the family for Tommy and Mary Grace, at least on their mother’s side.

Though both of their parents attended Boston College, all three of Mary Jean’s older brothers went to BU. Her oldest brother, Jim Connors, actually skated for the Terriers and won a national championship with the team in 1972.

When Tommy was born, even, his uncles gave him a small BU wooden hockey stick that he would use to push a puck around the floor with as soon as he could walk.

It might have been destiny then that the two wound up at BU, Mary Jean said, where they see each other fairly often around campus, almost every day and mostly in passing in the dining hall. For both of them it’s nice to see the other, whether it’s briefly or if their mom comes to visit and bring them something from home.

“It’s kind of weird,” Tommy said. “I walk through the dining hall and I see her. I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s my sister right there.’ She’ll yell my name if she’s walking by me or if I’m around. It’s good to have her here.”

Their parents are certainly happy they’re at BU as well, close to home and together.

“He’s so happy, so far so good, and she’s so happy, and as a parent, that’s all you want,” Mary Jean said. “You want your kids to be happy, and right now they couldn’t be happier, and we couldn’t be either.

“We both love watching them, it’s still pretty amazing,” she added. “I don’t know if it’s hit me yet that they’re both there.

We’re so blessed to have both D1 hockey players. It’s pretty amazing, but they’ve worked so hard, you know, they deserve it.”

Mary Jean said she was already trying to plan how to make it to each one of their games this season, revealing a tentative and travel-intensive plot to be able to see each of their games Thanksgiving weekend.

Mary Grace and the women’s team have a tournament game in Vermont at 1:00 p.m. against Cornell University on Nov. 28, the same day Tommy and the men’s team play Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden against the Big Red at 8:00 p.m.

Then the next day, Mary Grace has a second tournament game vs. Ohio State University at 1:00 p.m. again.

If Mary Jean and Tom drive to Vermont for the first game, they can drive to the Burlington Airport and fly into LaGuardia using Tom’s Delta miles to see Tommy. Then they can stay the night in New York before heading back to Vermont to catch Mary Grace’s second game. “[Tom’s] like ‘You are absolutely crazy,’” Mary Jean laughed.

“I said, ‘We gotta do it! We gotta do it!’ We only have the two of them, we only have two kids, I’m like ‘We have to, we have to!’

“Never did I think they would be together,” she said. “I don’t think they ever thought they’d be together, but they are overjoyed.”

14

After transfer journey, Crossley readies for life as a Terrier B CROSSLEY, FROM PAGE 15

ty, as he’s already alluded to her running the point on the power play.

However, Durocher will shower Crossley with just as much, if not more, praise for her off-ice qualities.

“The one thing that stuck out the minute she got here is that she’s a fantastic person and a great team-

mate,” Durocher said. “She really takes a lot of the initiative to be a leader, to be somebody who isn’t afraid to speak up. It’s a great plus to have a nice individual and a quality individual come into the program.”

But when it comes to excitement levels, nobody even remotely compares to Crossley herself. She spent all of last year rehabbing and

feels she’s in the best shape of her life now because of it.

She even is on track to graduate in May, play for BU next year while working towards her Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology. Above all, she’s overjoyed to finally pull on the BU jersey.

“It feels like it’s Christmas Eve,” Crossley said. “Hockey is coming up

and I couldn’t be more excited to put on the Terrier jersey. I wish that there were words exciting enough to describe the feelings that I have about it.”

It might be hard to put the emotions into words, but a new and hopefully prosperous chapter is set to unfold.

“It’s a relief and it’s been a long

time coming,” Crossley said. “I cannot wait to lace up my skates this year and even just touch the ice for warm ups.

“It doesn’t even have to be for the game — just touching the ice for warm ups with my team and getting ready to start playing. I’m just thrilled to join my teammates on the ice finally.”

Durocher finds unexpected destiny with women’s hockey BP DUROCHER, FROM PAGE 15

I almost quit coaching because I didn’t get the job at Colgate,” Durocher said. “It was a learning experience where I could reflect back and know that I did some things well and I did some things that I wish I did differently.”

Following his dismissal from Colgate, Durocher joined the staff at Brown University before resuming his tenure at BU in 1996 as an associate head coach under Parker.

Durocher oversaw six Beanpot championships and one Hockey East Tournament title in eight years during his third stint on Commonwealth Avenue. But it would be a small piece of 20-yearold advice that Parker once gave him that would wind up defining his coaching career.

“He recommended that I expand my horizons,” Durocher remembered from a conversation he had had with Parker in 1985.

Durocher did just that when he took the reins of the brand new BU women’s ice hockey program on June 3, 2004. He signed his first head coaching contract with Parker’s blessing and set out to build a program from the ground up. “[Parker] and Mike Lynch and other people here had faith in me when we started this women’s program,” Durocher said. “‘Hey, here’s the right guy to get it going because he’s been in coaching and he’s also a Boston University person who knows people, who knows the land-

scape.’ When you’re starting that’s very helpful and very important, not just knowing the hockey traditions, but knowing the school.”

The first few years were anything but easy for Durocher and the Terriers, as the program’s growing pains outweighed the rewards.

BU went 12-17-4 in its inaugural season, finishing sixth in Hockey East. Over the next two years, the Terriers compiled a combined 34-29-6 record as players gradually grew accustomed to Durocher’s system.

Though Durocher had gained roughly four months of head coaching experience as an interim at Colgate, he was far from established when he took the BU job. He was constantly learning the ins and outs of the day-to-day operation of the team as much as the next rookie head coach. Yet, his time with the Raiders influenced the way he guided his young players.

“I learned an awful lot [at Colgate],” Durocher said. “And when they didn’t give me that opportunity, I still was able to look back on that when this program started — of how things were done, what I did and particularly the head coaching segment of it. I had to say, ‘Ok, what things were good and what things could I have done better.

Let’s make sure that I put those in place or act on those things in the best order possible at BU.’” As the number of available scholarships increased and he and

his assistants, Kerstin Matthews and Erica Silver, instilled a culture around the program, wins soon followed. By 2010, Durocher’s bunch had taken the next step, putting together consecutive winning seasons for the first time in team history and taking home their first Hockey East championship.

One year later, the Terriers made a giant leap. After registering their first-ever 20-win campaign with a 27-7-4 mark, they advanced to the NCAA Tournament as an atlarge bid, where they would finish as the NCAA runners-up to No. 1 University of Wisconsin.

Since making a national splash, BU has remained one of the premier programs in the country.

The Terriers have captured four consecutive Hockey East titles and five of the last six dating back to the 2009-10 season. They earned another national championship game berth in 2013, this time falling at the hands of U.S. Olympian Amanda Kessel’s University of Minnesota team.

“The biggest thing that I’m shocked about is that we’ve been able to win five out of the last six championships,” Durocher said. “It certainly isn’t me, it’s the kids that have played here. We were fortunate to have really good players.”

Indeed, Durocher has seen some of the most prolific icons in women’s hockey walk through the doors of Walter Brown Arena. From Tara Watchorn to Jillian

Kirchner, Holly Lorms to Lauren Cherewyk, Kasey Boucher to Marie-Philip Poulin, he’s coached a number of special talents throughout his tenure.

But for him, every single one of his players represents something more than just a name on a roster.

“To me, it’s a great honor to have coached everybody that’s come through the doors here,” Durocher said. “It’s an unbelievable honor and it’s terribly exciting because they’re talented kids who play the game at a super high level.

“It’s something that I’ll always cherish and will always try to keep in touch with these kids because they’re part of my family. I have an immediate family at home of three daughters and a wife, but I have an extended family of everybody that I’ve coached. Certainly all the BU women, they’re the ones that have been the most recent of my life and the ones that I’ve been head coach for.”

As much as his players mean to him, Durocher means just as much to them. He represents more than a coach. He’s a mentor, and an important cog in their development, not only as players, but also as people.

“He really cares about us,” said junior forward Maddie Elia. “He always puts us first and that’s really important, so we’re comfortable playing for him and we always listen and respect him.”

“He’s a very dedicated coach,”

echoed junior goaltender Victoria Hanson. “He knows all of us, all of our strengths, our weaknesses and what we’re capable of. … He has a great repertoire, he’s been at BU for years so having that behind him and going to BU as well, he has the pride that comes with it. He coaches with all his heart each game. He trusts us to go out and play our best and play our game and that works for our team.”

A thread in the fabric of BU hockey for more than 40 years, Durocher has built a legacy that was both expected, yet completely unforeseen. In 1996, when he stepped foot on the Charles River Campus for the third time in as many decades, his path seemed clear.

Now, 19 years and 210 wins later, Durocher is still the fixture of BU hockey he was always meant to be. Except, his name doesn’t follow Parker’s in the record books.

It stands alone.

“When I talk about getting this job, talk about hitting a home run, well it’s been a grand slam,” Durocher said. “… I didn’t think 30 years ago, or 25, or 20 years ago that this was going to be, potentially, my last job in the game. But each day, each week, each year that I’ve been in it, I’m pretty certain it’s where I’m going to stop coaching.”

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Baillargeon fills summer in Boston with shot training, yoga BBAILLARGEON, FROM PAGE 7

he stood stunned, but devoid of any drastic emotion.

Nearly five-and-a-half months later, he revisits the moment. He had envisioned playing in the national championship game his entire life — it was his dream. Even in a year where he personally struggled, an opportunity for his team to take home the ultimate prize would have been an unbelievable feeling.

“It was…”

He trails off, takes a deep breath, exhales, searches for the right words to describe the opportunity.

“Definitely something that you’re always going to remember, no matter what the outcome was,” he says, more quietly.

Robbie’s watched the national championship game since he was young. His grandfather even played in the Frozen Four in 1952. Robbie felt an immense sense of pride in the chance to carry on the family name, and a school tradition. He’s watched friends and former teammates play in the title game. He sat in a hotel room with a friend in 2009, while away for a showcase

tournament, and watched as BU took home the crown over Miami University with a thrilling overtime win.

That’s his mindset for the entire title game. I’m in that same spot.

That could be me today.

It almost was. BU took the lead into the third period, but a mishandled puck and a shift of fate allowed Providence College to tie the game, then take the lead. BU didn’t recover.

“We were going into the third period, we were up 3-2, just being one period away from having that same feeling…”

He fades off yet again, trying to formulate a proper sentence to describe his emotion.

I

“I’m still thinking about it,” he says.

Providence — led in part by the heroics of Robbie’s former Indiana Ice teammate, goaltender Jon Gillies — won, 4-3. The pain didn’t hit him until much later that night, when he sat silently with his parents at his hotel. It was a heartbreaking ending to an already individually disappointing season.

There were no right words, Maika says. Nothing comforting could be said. They didn’t leave him until 3:30 in the morning.

When Robbie was young, he was given a sign that stated: “Never, ever, ever give up.” A simple message, but one that he’s taken to

don’t know if [Robbie] understands how good he is.”

heart. Just because last year didn’t pan out the way he wanted it to, why let that distract him?

“It sucked that a great year had to end like that, but at the same time, it didn’t ruin it all,” Robbie says. He lists off winning the Beanpot and Hockey East, making the Frozen Four. He thinks the team has the personnel and drive to qualify for the Frozen Four again this year, with perhaps a Beanpot and conference title in there, too.

As for him?

“I know my goals,” he says about his upcoming junior year. He then points to his head and smiles.

“They’re up here. I want to keep them up there.” He says he’s written them down, however.

Humble and mysterious as he may be, Robbie got to work this summer. He didn’t want another three-goal, 13-assist season. He remained on campus for the summer, forgoing Senators camp to take a class and work with local trainers. He went to yoga sessions specifically designed for athletes.

He worked with acclaimed shooting coach Glen Tucker, who has trained countless NHL stars. He

used computer programs to improve his eyesight and reaction time.

And he feels better. All of his muscle that turned into body fat while he was sick has restored itself to muscle, and he’s added some weight on top of that. He feels stronger. Simply, he looks better, and can see results, which has led to an improved confidence.

“This is the best I’ve seen him in his hockey career,” Bob said.

“I’m his hardest critic, and I’ll put that out there. This is the best I have ever seen him.”

Gagnon fully believes that Robbie has the capacity to achieve his dreams of being an NHL player. Robbie’s current coach, BU head coach David Quinn, says that Robbie has everything it takes to be an elite player at the college level.

Gagnon says: “I don’t know if he understands how good he is.”

Robbie brought that “never, ever, ever give up” sign to college, too, as a subtle reminder of what he wants, and where he’s going. It’s still prominently displayed in his bedroom, and he looks at it every day.

15

BU WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY DEFENSEMAN

Gold medalist with Team Canada at

* 2012 IIHF World Women’s U18 Championships

* Hockey East All-Rookie Team in 2013 * Hockey East Second-Team All-Star in 2013

brian

DUROCHER Named BU’s first women’s ice hockey

* head coach June 3, 2004

alexis

CROSSLEY

* 2008 Hockey East Coach of the Year * 5 consecutive 20-win seasons

PHOTO BY HERATCH EKMEKJIAN / COURTESY OF BU ATHLETICS

After sitting out last season, junior defenseman Alexis Crossley is rearing to get her Terrier career underway.

BY JONATHAN SIGAL DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

After being named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team following her freshman season at the University of New Hampshire, everything seemed to be going right for Alexis Crossley.

But then turbulence came and the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native’s life — at least in terms of hockey — did a complete aboutface.

The blue liner injured her wrist and shoulder, requiring season-ending surgeries in October to follow suit. Coach Brian McCloskey, who recruited Crossley to UNH, was fired after allegedly assaulting one of his players.

With a lengthy recovery period and severed relationship with her former coach creating a bleak reality, Crossley was admittedly at a bit of a crossroads. A new path was needed, so the now-21-year-old went searching for answers.

Little did Crossley know at the time, but one email to Brian Durocher, the head coach of the Boston University women’s hockey team, would entirely change her life.

“I emailed Coach Durocher and it was kind of late in the year, so it was hard to expect too much of a response,” Crossley said.

“But I just emailed and told him I was really interested in coming to BU if he had a spot available. I had to reach out and contact him.”

Durocher, who has been at the Terrier helm for the last 11 seasons, began conversations with Crossley about trading in her Wildcat jersey for a scarlet-and-white Terrier sweater. She pondered the opportunity and, after receiving a release from UNH, made the jump from one Hockey East program to another.

Ironically, though, Crossley was apprehensive about what life in Boston would have in store when she began her recruitment process while enrolled at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Minnesota. Durocher’s side was a serious possibility, but the two parties ultimately went separate ways.

“Originally when I was first looking at where I was going to play my college hockey career, it kind of all came down to BU and UNH,” Crossley said. “Ultimately, I didn’t choose BU at first because I come from a fairly small town and I went to high school in a really, really small town, and I think the city kind of intimidated me at first.”

Nonetheless, Crossley firmly put her UNH career in the rear-view mirror ahead of the 2014-15 academic year, fully aware that NCAA regulations require those who transfer to sit out a season. For the biology major on a pre-dental track, that wasn’t a problem whatsoever.

It provided Crossley with ample time to fully heal from her surgeries and work on her weaknesses. In fact, she wasn’t even that far removed from the team during the 2014-15 season.

She still practiced with them during the

week, went to meetings and participated in gym sessions. Game day was the only major difference, but even on those occasions, Crossley had an intriguing vantage point: recording statistics in the press box.

“The normal day [I] was just like a typical athlete or a typical hockey player,” Crossley said. “I went to class, went to practice and went to workout. The different things for me were on game days, where the team would head upstairs and then come down to put their gear on and go on the ice.

“I spent most of my time during those periods either in the gym before the game or during the press box during the game,” Crossley continued. “I was really lucky that [Sports Information Director] Kevin [Edelson] gave me the chance to do that where I was able to find my role in the stats part of our games rather than being on the bench myself.”

During games last year, it was a commonality in the Walter Brown Arena press box to hear Crossley shouting out from where then-junior forwards Sarah Lefort and Kayla Tutino — her teammates — were firing at the net.

The job even led to some playful teasing from her teammates, as she would deliver shot charts to the locker room in between periods. It didn’t matter if Durocher or Tutino or someone else was offering jovial remarks, though. All that mattered was Crossley was a part of the team in some fashion and participating in BU’s journey to a 25-9-3 record.

“It was a good way to incorporate myself in the game,” Crossley said. “Instead of just sitting in the stands watching, I was able to almost feel like I was participating more than I would normally have been.”

As integrated as the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, resident was with the team last year, the fact of the matter is that she wasn’t on the ice when it mattered most. That narrative changes this year.

By all measures, Crossley, who spent good portions of last year working one-onone with Darcy Gould, an associate strength and conditioning coach at BU, is poised for a major role on the team.

She’ll quite humbly insist on the contrary, but even her teammates recognize that a special player will at last be fighting tooth and nail for the pole position in Hockey East and beyond.

“I wanted her to come here so badly when I committed, but she took her path to UNH,” said senior forward Rebecca Russo, who played with Crossley for two years at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. “Now she’s here, though, which is unbelievable for our team.

“She’s one of our best defenseman this year, whereas last year she was our practice player. Now we’re playing on the same ice again [and] it brings back some memories since she knows where I am on the ice always.

It’s a great addition to the team definitely.”

As for the defenseman’s head coach? Just like Russo, he recognizes the blue liner’s abili CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

BU WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY COACH PHOTO BY MICHELLE JAY/DFP FILE PHOTO

Durocher is entering his 11th season as head coach of the BU women’s hockey team.

BY JUSTIN PALLENIK DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Five national championships, 22 Frozen Fours, 30 Beanpot titles — the Boston University men’s ice hockey program boasts one of the most decorated histories in all of college hockey.

A select group of 11 men have been given the opportunity to call themselves the head coach of BU’s sacred athletic institution, the last of which being the legendary Jack Parker. Parker, the winner of 897 Division I contests. Parker, the guide for over three dozen All-Americans. Parker, the engineer behind the premier program of the late-20th century.

When Parker retired following 2012-13 season, he left behind larger-than-life shoes to fill. As then-BU Director of Athletics Mike Lynch searched for his replacement, he came across a familiar name. Once a shortlist was compiled, Lynch reached out to those who had made the cut, planning to schedule interviews. Only, one of the candidates gave him a less-than-conventional response.

“You’ve got the wrong guy,” Brian Durocher told him.

For someone who had spent the better part of his life within the realm of BU hockey, this reply seemed unthinkable. However, for someone who already had his dream job, it was a foregone conclusion.

A native of Longmeadow, Durocher was destined for a coaching career from a young age. His great-uncle, Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, retired with the fifth-most victories in Major League Baseball history. Pedigree aside, Durocher was a student of athletics his entire life.

“I would always go across the street, because I grew up right across from a playground,” he said, “… and I used to always go over and sit and watch the kids that were about five years older than me and hope they would let me go out and throw a pass once, or catch a pass from them or take a swing in baseball. I always kind of studied the game and watched what they were doing.”

Durocher took his practiced eye to BU hockey in 1974, where he manned the pipes for some of Parker’s earliest teams. During his freshman campaign, he sported a 172-1 record, highlighting a season in which BU finished 26-5-1. By his senior season, he co-captained the team with U.S. Olympian Jack O’Callahan and led the Terriers to their highest winning percentage in school history as well as the program’s third national title.

After eight days of calling himself a professional hockey player, Durocher hung up his skates and donned a whistle, beginning his coaching career as an assistant with the American International College in 1978. Two years later, he reunited with Parker, taking an assistant coaching position at his alma mater.

“When I was a player for him, he kind of sensed that I was a student of the game, that I liked the game,” Durocher said of

his early relationship with Parker. “When I wasn’t playing here … I was always involved. I was always thinking, asking questions, I was trying to be a good person, so maybe he saw that.”

While apprenticing under Parker, Durocher developed a feel for the practicalities of the profession: recruiting, organizing practices and training schedules, understanding hockey strategy. His initial five-year stint at BU “put foundations in place” for his continued coaching education.

Durocher’s career grew clearer when he joined Terry Slater as an assistant coach at Colgate University in 1985. Slater, a legendary coach in his own right, had begun to garner attention for his rejuvenation of the Raiders’ hockey tradition.

Having the chance to learn under both Slater and Parker proved invaluable for Durocher, as the two icons taught him two opposite, yet equally important, aspects of coaching.

“They were both very successful coaches, but Jack was a real X’s and O’s guy, where Terry was the master psychologist,” Durocher said.

Independence defined Durocher’s time at Colgate. Without other assistant coaches to help shoulder the burden of running a team, Durocher was left with a lion’s share of the day-to-day responsibilities. Based on workload alone, Durocher cites his time with Slater and the Raiders as the point where he grew the most as a coach.

“Having to do all the recruiting basically and still be a part of the games and practices as much as I could be, it was a big learning lesson,” he said. “I had to either sink or swim and we had an awful lot of success. It was probably the best seven-year run they had there in the history of the program. I don’t take, by any means, all the credit or a ton of the credit, but I take some of it and that was important.”

The Raiders reached new heights in 1989-90 when Durocher helped Slater’s bunch to a 31-6-1 record, an Eastern Conference Athletic College title, a Frozen Four knockout of BU and a berth in the national championship game.

However, shortly after Colgate’s magical run, tragedy struck, as Slater passed away during the middle of the 1991-92 season at the age of 54.

For Durocher, Slater’s death represented a troubling time in more ways than one.

While he understandably felt grief and anguish over the loss of his longtime mentor and friend, he also took over as interim head coach in Slater’s wake.

Durocher led the Raiders to a 13-10 record and a berth in the ECAC Tournament, but they were dispatched in the first round, concluding a tumultuous season. Hoping for the best, Durocher continued interim head coaching responsibilities during the offseason. Yet Colgate eventually rejected his bid for the full-time job.

“I’m 14 or 15 years into my coaching and CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Siblings on Ice Thursday, October 8, 2015

Tommy, Mary Grace Kelley bring sibling connection to BU

BY JUDY COHEN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

She had begged her mother, a figure skating coach, to teach her to skate, but at age three, Mary Grace Kelley was deemed too young.

“Honey, you’re not old enough,” Mary Jean had said.

“You’re too little.”

Her older brother, Tommy, had already begun learning the year prior when he was four years old. Like small siblings do, Mary Grace looked up to him and wanted to keep up as best as she could. He offered to help in the way he knew how.

“Mommy, I will teach her to skate,” Tommy told Mary Jean.

“We’ll go to the rink, you can do your lessons and I will take her.”

They headed over to Boston College where Mary Jean held her classes. It was a February holiday on a Monday, and an hour and a half after the pair took the ice, Mary Grace was skating on her own with her brother.

For three years, the two of them were in figure skates. Tommy had a black pair that he mistook for hockey skates until the rink’s Zamboni driver asked him

when his mother would “get him out of these figure skates.” He threw Mary Jean a panicked look.

“Oh my god, you’re kidding me,” his face read. “I am not in hockey skates?”

She switched him over to hockey the next week, and since she herself figure skated, she thought her daughter might want to as well. But, again, like her brother, Mary Grace craved a pair of hockey skates, too.

“Mommy,” she said. “I wanna wear a cage like Tommy.”

The two were incredibly close growing up, as they had no other siblings, and are even closer now that they’re both at BU playing for the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams as junior and freshman forwards.

But they had their squabbles, like brothers and sisters do. He’d spend hours on Legos, and she’d come around the corner with a bat and wreck them. They’d be playing knee hockey, and he’d get her in the nose and urge her not to cry so their mom wouldn’t find out.

The long living room in their Natick house lent itself to countless knee hockey games, and the driveway was perfect for

shooting pucks. The two would spend hours outside working on their shots, long enough for their mother to have to call them back in.

“I’d have to say to the both of them, ‘Ok, you’ve shot enough pucks, let’s come in for dinner.’

‘Oh yeah, a few more, a few more, Mom, yeah, we’ll be right in, we’ll be right in. Could you turn the lights on?’” Mary Jean recalled.

“I’m like, ‘No, I’m not turning them on, you’re coming in for dinner, let’s go.’”

The basement was filled with a sporting goods store’s worth of equipment. Baseball bats, baseball gloves, lacrosse sticks, everything. You name it, they had it, Tommy said.

For just hockey alone, though, close to 70 sticks line the walls in the room. They’re mostly broken or not used anymore, but they stay there. One side was reserved for Tommy’s gear, whether it was old or new, hung up on a shelf. Mary Grace’s things were on the other side, spread out all over the place, according to her brother.

They grew up with hockey always on the television and places they could always go to play.

PHOTO BY NICKI GITTER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Siblings junior forward Tommy Kelley and freshman forward Mary Grace Kelley bring a family connection to BU hockey.

He didn’t always get to her games, but she would be at his.

Part of the reason the two look so similar on the ice, Mary Grace said, is because she would watch what Tommy would do and try to put that into her game. Her brother added that he’d point different things out to her that he

noticed and that the two watched the same players growing up and ended up adopting the same style of play.

“They are so close, and big brother is always telling her what she has to do,” Mary Jean said. “‘You gotta get stronger, you have CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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