The Daily Free Press Year XLIII. Volume LXXXIX. Issue XXIII
Hockey Preview Issue
Inside This Issue: Season Preview, P. 3 | New Coach, P. 4 | Moscatel, BU’s Own Rudy, P. 5 | Power Rankings, P. 6 | Women’s Hockey Preview, P. 8 MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
From left to right: BU head coach David Quinn, sophomore defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, senior captain Garrett Noonan, sophomore defenseman Ahti Oksanen, senior captain Patrick MacGregor.
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THursday, ocTober 10, 2013
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New coacH, youNG core, FresH sTarT By Kevin Dillon Daily Free Press Staff
For so long, it had been the familiar figure of Jack Parker, complete with a tweed jacket, patrolling the Boston University men’s hockey bench. The 2013-14 season marks the beginning of a new era, though, as David Quinn will begin his reign as head coach of the Terriers. Quinn, who was hired in March to take over after Parker retired at the end of the 2012-13 season, helped lead the Terriers to a national championship in 2009 as associate head coach before moving to multiple coaching positions within the Colorado Avalanche organization. He made the transition from the professional game back to the college game over the summer, and he has been pleased with the team’s progress in his limited work so far. “They have been great, I couldn’t be happier,” Quinn said. “Their effort has been outstanding on the ice. I know they have done a good job in the classroom, and socially, things have been going well. It has been a great group of guys to be around, and I know they’re excited to start actually playing games against someone other than themselves.” The Terriers enter the season even more shorthanded than they anticipated at the end of last season, as two key upperclassmen left the program over the summer. Forward Sahir Gill left the team to pursue a professional career, while defenseman Alexx Privitera departed for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the
United States Hockey League after he was suspended for the final 13 games of the 2012-13 season, due to a series of on-ice misconducts. The absence of Privitera and Gill leaves BU shorthanded in terms of depth at both the forward and the defense positions. Gill would have had the most career points on the team if he had returned, and he was projected to be among the team’s top-six forwards. Privitera had a conferencehigh 72 blocked shots before he was suspended, and was expected to be among the top-four defensemen on the team. The absence of veteran depth places all the more emphasis on the newcomers this season, as BU has nine freshmen looking to make an impact. Of the nine freshmen, six are forwards, which means much of BU’s depth will be made up of firstyear players. With Gill gone, one of the freshman forwards is likely to spend significant time among the team’s top two lines. “I don’t know which one it will be, but one of them is going to earn an opportunity,” Quinn said. “It’s a great year to be a freshman.” Robbie Baillargeon spent Saturday’s preseason game as the first-line left wing and on the top power-play unit, while fellow freshman forward Nick Roberto scored a goal and spent time on the top power-play unit as well. Both of those newcomers could earn that top-six spot, while Tommy Kelley, Brendan Collier and Kevin
Duane are also possibilities. Whichever freshman gets that top-six spot will supplement a group that includes juniors Cason Hohmann and Evan Rodrigues and sophomores Danny O’Regan, Matt Lane and Sam Kurker. O’Regan was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team last season after leading the Terriers with 38 points. He will likely team up with Rodrigues again on the top line, while Hohmann centers the second unit. Lane and Kurker are newcomers to the top two lines and combined for 12 points as third liners last season. Four of those 12 points came in the final six games of the season, and both Lane and Kurker showed significant improvement as the season went on. “At the end of the day, if you’re going to have success, your returning players have to become better players,” Quinn said. “To me, the guys like Kurker and Lane and guys like that, those guys have to make the next jump. The good news is that they were better freshmen at the end of the year than they were at the beginning of the year.” Just like the forwards, the defense will be led by its upperclassmen, especially senior captain Garrett Noonan. It had been speculated that Noonan would forgo his senior year in favor of a pro contract with the Nashville Predators organization, but the Norfolk native returned to BU for the 2013-14 season and
brought his 61 career points with him. Fellow senior captain Patrick MacGregor will also return to the blue line with sophomores Matt Grzelcyk and Ahti Oksanen. Grzelcyk and Oksanen were among the top 10 offensive performers on the team a year ago, combining for 40 points. Grzelcyk’s plus-12 rating was tied for second best on the team behind Rodrigues’s plus-15. “These guys are incredibly coachable,” Quinn said. “It makes you feel good as a coach that they’re actually listening or trying to listen.” Rounding out the defensive corps will likely be freshmen Doyle Somerby and Dalton MacAfee. Somerby, who played at Kimball Union Academy with Roberto, is 6-foot-5 and can provide a physical presence to complement the offensive abilities of Grzelcyk, Oksanen and Noonan. There will not be much change in the goaltending situation for the Terriers since last season, as sophomores Sean Maguire and Matt O’Connor will return between the pipes for the second straight season. Maguire, who had a 2.54 goals-against average and .926 save percentage in 21 games played last season, was the starter at the end of the season while O’Connor was out with a punctured lung. O’Connor posted strong numbers before his injury, though, and had a 2.86 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage through 19
games played. “Every year is different, obviously,” Quinn said. “But Maguire, to his credit, had taken the job. They’re both going to play and I’m going to judge them based on what I see this year and what I see in practice every day.” BU will have a young squad this season, but it has a strong group of returning defensemen that will lead them to some success. Even with its strong defensive unit and talented young group of forwards, though, it will be a tough year for the Terriers in Hockey East. BU is ranked No. 19 in the country entering the year, which is behind five other Hockey East teams, including newcomer No. 8 University of Notre Dame. The addition of Notre Dame, plus a tough non-conference schedule that features No. 3 University of Wisconsin, No. 7 University of North Dakota, No. 11 University of Michigan and No. 15 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will make earning a spot in the NCAA tournament a serious challenge this season. There are many unknowns and the Terriers’ opposition looks tough, but for now Quinn will just look to get his BU head coaching career off on the right foot. “You think you know what a job entails when you see it as an assistant coach from afar,” Quinn said. “Then you have those responsibilities and you’re like, ‘I have to do that?’ There is a lot to it, but I love it.”
uNFiNisHed busiNess: NooNaN Looks To Leave mark oN bu By Tim Healey Daily Free Press Staff
For Garrett Noonan, this season is different. The senior defenseman has witnessed plenty in his first three years on the Boston University men’s hockey team — scandal, teammates going pro, the first coaching change since the Vietnam War — but he has yet to experience the euphoria associated with winning a championship, that same euphoria felt by generations of former Terriers who were part of teams that won 29 Beanpots, seven Hockey East tournaments and five national titles. So here he is, three years after first arriving on Commonwealth Avenue and days before the first game of his final season in scarlet and white, one of five seniors still looking for that elusive first trophy. “I’m not one of those guys to look down memory lane,” Noonan said last week in the bowels of Agganis Arena between practice and a lifting session. “It’s been a hell of a ride, and I never would have chosen a different place — I’d come here 1,000 times again if I had the opportunity.” “Now, though, it’s business time,
and we have to leave something here.” Saturday, when the Terriers open at Agganis Arena against the University of Massachusetts, Noonan will officially embark on that quest, which began more implicitly last spring — March 26, to be exact, the day David Quinn was named the program’s new head coach. Immediately after his introduction, Quinn met with Noonan and Matt Nieto one-on-one to discuss their plans for the 2013-14 season. Neither player needed much persuading. Nieto had basically made up his mind to sign with the San Jose Sharks at that point, and Noonan was determined to see his college commitment through to the end. What ensued was a newfound determination on Noonan’s part to prepare for this fall unlike any other before it. He has been eating better, getting better nights’ sleep, working out every morning — in short, he has heeded Quinn’s advice about the lifestyle of a professional hockey player. Quinn knows, as Noonan noted, having returned to BU after working for the Colorado Avalanche the last three seasons.
This way, when Noonan, who has slimmed down noticeably as a result, likely signs next spring with the Nashville Predators, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft, he’s ready. “He’s in great shape,” Quinn said. “He’s a guy that needs to be if he’s going to play the amount of minutes we’re going to need him to play. The way he plays, he’s an up-and-down [the ice] player. He’s obviously got a lot of skills. I couldn’t be happier, and I hope he’s as happy that he’s back as I am.” Safe to say, Noonan is. Noonan’s love for the school began long before he was a student here, before even BU started actively recruiting him. Growing up in Norfolk, less than an hour south of Boston, Noonan grew up rooting for the Terriers for reasons he cannot pinpoint, other than that BU was one of the top teams around while he grew up. From the time he was born until the time he was a freshman, BU was in the Beanpot finals all but two years. Even when Noonan went to watch his brother, Pat, play for
noonan, see page 6
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Senior captain Garrett Noonan enters the 2013-14 season in search of his first trophy.
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becomiNG THaT ‘bu Guy’
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
First-year head coach David Quinn instructs the Boston University men’s hockey team during its exhibition game against St. Francis Xavier University at Agganis Arena on Saturday. By Meredith Perri Daily Free Press Staff
After five seasons of coaching the Boston University men’s hockey team, Jack Parker won his first NCAA championship in a bout against Boston College. The year was 1978, and, in what would become a 40-year tenure as one of the most successful collegiate hockey coaches of all time, Parker had just given BU a look into the future. Little did Parker know that, as he worked toward his first national title, a part of his future sat just 12 rows behind the BU bench and had just made the decision to ditch his local Friars of Providence College to become a fan of the Terriers. That impressionable 11 year old who took note not only of who was on the ice, but also of the plaid jacket that Parker wore, was none other than David Quinn. Almost 35 years to the day later, with Parker having announced his retirement, Quinn would become the 11th head coach in BU hockey history. The once highly touted NHL prospect, however, had not planned on becoming a coach when he first donned a BU sweater in 1984. *** Six years after he became a fan of the program, as the Terriers prepared to start their first season as members of the newly-founded Hockey East Conference, Quinn took his first strides on the ice at Walter Brown Arena. “You think to yourself, ‘Wow, I really am here, at this level,’” Quinn said. “You play hockey all those years, and you play because you love it, and all of a sudden you’re at the college level — bigtime hockey.” Quinn, the Minnesota North Stars’ first-round pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, took some time to adjust to this new echelon of play as a freshman. According to Parker, however, the soon-to-be All-Hockey East and All-New England defenseman left his mark in his sophomore and junior seasons with the Terriers. One problem, however, always seemed to stand in Quinn’s way: his health. “He was missing games here
and there with injuries that seemed like they were out of sync with the way he got hit or how hard it was,” Parker said. “We didn’t really know what was going on, but when he was healthy, he was really terrific.” Ironically enough, it took Quinn’s healthiest season — his sophomore year where he played the most games and registered the most points of his BU career — for Parker and team physician Robert Leach to question some of the bumps and bruises that ailed the Cranston, R.I. native. With the Terriers having just defeated Boston College 9-4 to win their first Hockey East Championship in 1986, Dr. Leach suggested that Quinn get his blood tested. Two weeks later, Quinn was in the middle of making a serious decision. The North Stars wanted him to sign an NHL contract, but doing so meant that he could not play in the 1988 Olympics. The rising junior decided to talk to his coach. When Quinn went to talk to Parker, however, he noticed that Dr. Leach would also become a part of the conversation. The blood tests had come back, and the results showed that Quinn had Christmas disease – a type of hemophilia that caused his blood to clot at a decreased rate. “At the time, they wanted me to stop right away,” Quinn said. “I don’t know how I did it, but I talked BU into letting me play. I signed a waiver, and played my junior year but missed half of my season because of a lot of bleeding issues.” Quinn stayed healthy during the second half of his junior season and prepared to try out for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team. A pick-up basketball game in June of 1987, however, derailed what was left of Quinn’s hockey career. After spraining his ankle in the game, Quinn developed compartment syndrome, a condition that can lead to muscle and nerve damage as well as issues with blood flow. The 20-year-old spent five weeks in the hospital and nearly bled to death. Quinn understood that he would, realistically, not have a professional hockey career and returned to BU for his senior year. Although he could no longer play, he continued to support BU hock-
ey as the co-captain of the team. “Obviously Jack wasn’t going to take the captaincy away from me, but it was difficult to be an active captain when you weren’t playing,” Quinn said. “It was a difficult time. You’re 20 years old, and you think you’re going to play hockey for a long time moving forward, and all of a sudden you can’t.” *** About four years later, Quinn had a second chance at a professional career when he began taking a new medicine that raised his clotting factor to 100 percent. He tried out for the 1992 Olympic team and played minor league hockey for close to a year-and-ahalf, but he had to inject himself with the expensive medicine every day before he got on the ice. “I was making progress, and I was getting better and better,” Quinn said. “But I told myself when I came back that if I wasn’t a legitimate NHL prospect, or playing in the NHL after two years, I was going to move on with my life.” While this marked the end of Quinn’s playing career, it came at the perfect time as former BU assistant coach Ben Smith had accepted a job as the head coach of Northeastern University’s hockey team. In 1994, Smith hired the once-again retired player as one of his assistants — something Quinn said gave him an immediate boost because it put him at a high level in the very beginning of his coaching career. “Right then and there,” Quinn said, “I knew this was something that I wanted to do.” From there, Quinn helped to develop the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s first Division I men’s hockey program as the team’s assistant coach and head recruiter. He also spent time as the head coach of the USA Hockey Under-17 team in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was eventually named the USA Hockey Developmental Coach of the Year in 2003. In 2004, BU had a job opening, and Parker said he knew Quinn would make a solid addition to the program. “Mike Bavis was the other assistant at the time, and Mike kept
in with, ‘We’ve got to get David here. We’ve got to get David here,’” Parker said. “He had been away from the program, and now he came back with a different point of view from working with other coaches.” For the next five seasons, Quinn developed one of the top defensive corps in the country and recruited players that became integral in the Terriers’ 2009 NCAA championship win, Parker’s third national title as BU’s head coach. During that time, Quinn and Parker began to discuss the possibility of Quinn eventually taking over for the storied head coach. Despite these conversations, Quinn said Parker never promised him the position. “He certainly said to me, ‘Hey, obviously you’re a candidate. You’re a BU guy. It’s going to be a BU guy. If you do the job I think you can do, you’re going to put yourself in a better position to be the next coach at BU,’” Quinn said. Hours after the Terriers celebrated winning the national title, Quinn received a call to become the head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. “I told him, as I told my other assistants over the years, if you want to be head coach, you have to go out and get [other] jobs,” Parker said. “I told him that if he thought he wanted to be head coach here, that I was leaving in the not-so-distant future, and he’d be better off getting a head coaching job someplace else.” After three seasons as the Monsters’ bench boss, and after leading the team to its first-ever playoff game, Quinn moved up in the Avalanche’s system. He finally got his chance at the NHL, just not as the player he had dreamed of being when he was younger. Instead, he worked as an assistant coach to former Terrier teammate Joe Sacco during the lockout-shortened 2013 hockey season. The day after Parker announced his retirement, Quinn received a phone call from Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch. A mere two weeks later, and a day after Quinn flew into Boston to work out an agreement, Lynch introduced the
newest member of the BU men’s hockey program. “[He] was in tune with our idea of what a student athlete is,” Lynch said. “Someone who wants to excel in academics as well as in athletics, someone who wants to be the very best competitor they can be, someone who really wants to win a national championship and represent Boston University in the best way possible. Those are the type of things that really pushed David to the top of the heap.” Over the course of the past six months, the players have learned to adapt to Quinn’s coaching style. “It’s high intensity,” said senior co-captain Garrett Noonan at Hockey East media day. “I think he’s preaching a lot of things that will make us a real hardworking hockey team, and that’s what we want to be — hard to play against.” *** As he sat in the stands of the 1978 NCAA Tournament 35 years ago, Quinn could not have anticipated the path his career would take. After dropping from the highs of being a first-round draft pick to the darker times of dealing with his hemophilia, the 47-yearold coach now has his dream job. For all the comparisons that have been made and can be made of how Quinn will measure up to Parker, the new head coach has the goal of making his own spot in BU’s hockey history. No moment better shows that than when Quinn stepped behind the bench for the first time in a game on Saturday. While the Terriers were only playing an exhibition against St. Francis Xavier University, it gave Quinn a sense of what it is like to work in one of the most prestigious college hockey positions in the country. “Anytime the season starts, you’re excited,” Quinn said after the game. “I thought about my father a lot. My father passed away about three-and-a-half years ago, and it really had hit me when I was standing [behind] the bench. I know everyone asks, ‘Are you caught up in replacing Jack?’ and all that, but that wasn’t anything I thought about. “I was standing there for four minutes thinking about my father.”
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Jake Moscatel: BU’s very own Rudy
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Senior Jake Moscatel dreamed of playing for BU his entire life, but getting there was not easy. By Kevin Dillon Daily Free Press Staff
This is the story about someone who stopped at nothing to achieve his childhood dream. It’s about a boy who grew up wanting to play for one of the most historic college athletics programs in the country, worked his way into the school, and started out as a practice player before finally seeing time in the spotlight in his senior year. He was told over and over he could not make it, but he proved the doubters wrong. It sounds a lot like the story of Rudy Reuttiger, a former University of Notre Dame football player whose inspirational tale was recalled in the 1993 film ‘Rudy.’ This story, however, does not involve a steel mill, Touchdown Jesus or any young Vince Vaughn
cameos. This is the story of Jake Moscatel, a second-year senior on the Boston University men’s hockey team – the team he dreamed of playing for his entire life. A BU family Going to BU athletics events was a Moscatel family tradition that dated back to when Jake’s grandfather, Anthony Moscatello, was the director of BU Photo Services. Anthony brought his kids, including Jake’s father Jim, to all of the BU football, basketball and hockey games. In fact, Jim can recall watching Jack Parker as a player for the Terriers when he was six years old. Jim went on to attend BU just like the rest of his siblings, and
when Jim had kids, it was only natural that he followed in his father’s footsteps and took them to the BU hockey games. “It’s just been a big part of our life,” Jim said. “When your whole livelihood and your family’s income is directly from BU, it is a big part of us.” Jake, a Lexington native who inherited his family’s love of the Terriers, grew up idolizing Chris Drury. He was also a pretty good hockey player, as several colleges were looking at Jake as a potential recruit while he was a 14-yearold at Belmont Hill High School. Even then, though, he was not interested in playing for another school. He wanted to be a BU hockey player. At the time, however, playing for BU was not an option.
7 Questions with...
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The Terriers had a freshman class of 10 players and there was no space for him on the roster. So when Jake and his father talked to Parker about potentially playing at BU, Parker told Jake to play a year of junior hockey.
years playing for a startup D-III program, Jake decided to transfer to BU as a student. Getting into BU based on academics alone was not something Jake thought he could ever do, but sure enough, his dream school accepted him.
The detours
A foot in the door
Jake joined the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League and scored 10 goals and six assists in 39 games with the team. While with the Junior Bruins, he played alongside several future Hockey East players and against future teammate Ben Rosen. The big takeaway from the year in juniors was the increased understanding of the game. His year passed, though, and, once again Parker did not have an available spot for Jake on his squad. Instead of BU, Moscatel took an offer to play with the University of New England — a Division III school that was entering its first season in the ECAC-East. The year before Moscatel joined the team, UNE lost games against Boston College’s and Northeastern University’s club hockey teams. It was clear from the beginning that Jake did not belong there. UNE only won three games in Moscatel’s first and only season with the Nor’easters. He led the team with seven goals as a freshman. “My dad — he was always saying, ‘Jake, you should be playing [at BU],’” Moscatel said. “Even when I was at UNE, he was like, ‘You should be playing hockey at BU.’ It was almost like, ‘Yeah, dad. Relax.’ I knew I was good enough, but he always believed in me.” Instead of spending all four
Simply making it to BU was not enough to satisfy Jake, though. Moving to Boston only decreased the distance he had to travel to make it to Parker’s office — a trip he made rather frequently. “I don’t know if it’s embarrassing or not, but I probably walked into coach’s office asking for a tryout about 20 times,” Jake said. “It was one of those things where I think coach put me on the team because he was kind of sick of me. I kept asking for a tryout, and I think he eventually said, ‘Let’s shut this kid up and just give him a locker room stall.’” Apparently, it took a long time for Parker to get “sick of him.”Jake spent the next yearand-a-half playing with BU’s club hockey team, a squad just about anyone at BU that owned a set of equipment could play for. The level of competition was a step down from the opponents he faced at UNE, but he was at least getting regular ice time and staying in hockey shape. Being in hockey shape was key for Jake, as he was ready to jump on his opportunity to join the team when it came. That chance arrived in December 2011 after Corey Trivino was kicked off the team and Charlie Coyle left to play major junior hockey. A team that had been deep at the forward position was suddenly down to 14 forwards and seven defensemen, leaving a
Moscatel, see page 7
Senior Captain Patrick MacGregor Interview by Meredith Perri, Daily Free Press Staff
1.
Who do you think is the funniest guy on the team? With Sean Escobedo gone, I’m going to have to go with [freshman forward] Brendan Collier. His Boston accent is very, very, very thick. He’s very talkative, which I like, very outgoing, and he just makes the boys laugh.
2.
What’s your favorite BU memory off the ice? I think just hanging out with all of the guys every day off the ice to be honest – in the rooms and around the rink and stuff like that.
7.
What songs are on your pre-game playlist? A lot of country, a lot of heavy metal and a little bit of classic rock… Lynyrd Skynyrd.
6.
What’s your favorite movie? “Warrior.” It really gets me fired up. I watched it before the Merrimack game last year, and I almost had to go outside my room and fight somebody.
3.
If you were a character from the Mighty Ducks, who would you be and why? A Bash Brother, because they’re very aggressive and I like their attitudes.
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
4.
Who do you think is going to win the World Series? (Eight second pause) I’ll say the Red Sox so everyone is happy. I’m a Yankee fan, so I’m out of the playoffs here, so…
5.
What has been your favorite class at BU so far? Favorite class I would have to say is one of my communication classes with a professor who’s very outgoing. It’s a laid-back class, and you learn a lot – COM 321 [Mass Communication Research].
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THursday, ocTober 10, 2013
HOCKEY EAST PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS
THE DAILY FREE PRESS
The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University 43rd year ✦ Volume 85 ✦ Issue 23
Chris Lisinski, Editor-in-Chief Sofiya Mahdi, Managing Editor
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Kyle Plantz, City Editor
Sarah Kirkpatrick, Sports Editor
Brian Latimer, Opinion Editor
Michelle Jay, Multimedia Editor
Sarah Fisher, Photo Editor
Christina Janansky, Features Editor
Sarah Capungan, Layout Editor
Shakti Rovner, Office Manager The Daily Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Monday through Thursday 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 © 2013 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
Noonan wants to leave legacy noonan: From Page 3
Northeastern University at historic Matthews Arena from 2002 to 2006, nothing could compare to the lure of BU’s Walter Brown Arena, where Noonan later player his high school home games with Catholic Memorial. “I went [to Matthews] all the time, but I never loved it,” Noonan said. “[BU is] always something that I’ve wanted and had a connection with. It was my dream school.” So when Noonan says that he wants to win, that he wants to leave a legacy, he means it. And when he says last season left a bad taste in his mouth, he means that, too. Last year didn’t exactly live up to Noonan’s expectations. He finished with six goals — 10 fewer than he netted in his sophomore campaign — and 96 penalty minutes, 20 more than any of his teammates. It wasn’t a step back, necessarily, since a blueliner’s impact often can’t be measured in numbers, but it was far from satisfying. That’s why Noonan has high expectations for learning under Quinn, a former BU defenseman who is heralded for his tactics at that end of the ice. Noonan pointed to his backward skating and one-on-one defensive zone coverage as areas that have
already gotten stronger in limited instruction time with the new bench boss. Noonan, who was named captain last week along with senior defenseman Patrick MacGregor, knows he has to grow more than just skillswise. “[Quinn] wanted me to be a leader,” Noonan, who was also an assistant captain for the second half of his junior year, said. “I had done some things last year — some stupid penalty stuff — so it wasn’t like I had acted like a leader. … I kind of let the emotions get the best of me and I didn’t have as good of a year as I wanted to, so I have some making up to do.” That’s why it all comes back down to the same goals: hoisting a trophy, giving Quinn that first championship, adding to the banners in the Agganis rafters. “We haven’t done anything since I’ve been here,” Noonan said. “You think about all the great players who have played at BU, they’ve all done something great here and won some championships. It’s about time our class does something like that. I think that’s what unfinished business means. We haven’t done anything. It’s time to turn this program around.”
For small Class of 2015, a much increased role on young BU team By Tim Healey Daily Free Press Staff
David Quinn has only occupied Jack Parker’s old office for a handful of months, but the Boston University men’s hockey coach has already adopted one of his predecessor’s favorite phases. “This is a meritocracy,” Quinn said, sitting in his new office last week. “Those who play well will be rewarded with further play.” Cason Hohmann and Evan Rodrigues learned this firsthand. Just 12 months ago, the thensophomore forwards were coming off of largely unremarkable rookie campaigns, two question marks on an offense — and a team — chock full of them. Hohmann put up only eight points in 35 games in 2011-12, while Rodrigues had 12 in 36. Were the 5-foot-8, 178-pound Hohmann and 5-foot-10, 175-pound Rodrigues going to be viable college hockey players? After getting muscled around at times, occasionally to the point of frustration as 18-year-olds fighting for spots in a Hockey East lineup, were they going to make the all-important freshman-sophomore jump? The answer, it turns out, was a resounding yes. The pair blossomed, finishing tied for third on the team with 34
points apiece, with Rodrigues (14 goals, 20 assists) edging Hohmann (10 goals, 24 assists) in terms of scoring. They assumed significant roles on special teams, while helping solidify the top two lines for a team that made it all the way to the Hockey East championship. The big season culminated in the two of them, along with former Terrier Ben Rosen, participating in the New York Islanders development camp in July. Now, on a team that features 17 freshmen or sophomores and just five seniors, two of whom will probably not play regularly, these two juniors — the only members of the Class of 2015 — are the models of success in more ways than one. “Your team’s success is always tied to the returning players,” Quinn said. “Last year’s freshmen have got to be better sophomores, and last year’s sophomores have got to be better juniors, and last year’s juniors have got to be better seniors. You always need people to do what Cason Hohmann and Evan Rodrigues did last year — make that big jump.” “But it’s hard. It’s a big jump for a lot of them.” To read the rest of this story, please visit us online at www.dailyfreepress.com.
By Kevin Dillon Daily Free Press Staff
Boston College – Boston University saw the impact a good freshman class could have on a season last year when its two goaltenders, top-scoring forward and top-scoring defenseman were all first-year players. BC’s freshman class has the potential to have an even bigger impact than BU’s did last year, with five recruits drafted within the first four rounds of the NHL draft and two others who played with the United States National Training and Development Program U-18 team. Throw in Hobey Baker finalist Johnny Gaudreau, preseason first-team Hockey East defenseman Michael Matheson and a couple of highly-skilled seniors, and Jerry York has a chance to capture his third Hockey East regular season championship in the past four years. University of Massachusetts-Lowell – It would be foolish to ignore what Norm Bazin and UMass-Lowell have done over the past two years. In 2010-11, the Riverhawks lost 25 games. Since then, the Bazin-run Lowell squad has lost 24 games over two seasons and made it to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever. This year’s team is not much different from last year’s, only losing captain Riley Wetmore to graduation and top-tier defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to a pro contract. Lowell will have four “second lines” of forwards again this year, and return the bulk of a solid defensive unit. Connor Hellebuyck will continue to build on his stellar freshman season, and the preseason No. 1 team in the country will likely make its third trip to the NCAA tournament in a row.
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University of New Hampshire – UNH’s roster is not flashy, as there is only one player on the team that has been drafted into the NHL. The Wildcats, however, have strong college hockey players throughout the lineup, including its top scorer from last season Kevin Goumas and preseason All-Hockey East defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. UNH led the league in team defense in conference games last season (2.15 goals-against per game), and was the best team on the penalty kill by far — killing 92.3 percent of the penalties it took. Expect captain Eric Knodel to once again head a strong defensive effort that leaves UNH among the top teams in Hockey East. University of Notre Dame – Notre Dame is a bit of a wild card entering its first season in Hockey East. The Fighting Irish have perennially been among the top teams in the nation and are returning a talented group of senior forwards in Bryan Rust, Jeff Costello and T.J. Tynan. Add highly-touted sophomore Mario Lucia to the list, and Notre Dame is sure to have one of the best offenses in the league. A tough travel schedule coupled with a transition to a new league, however, are variables that could potentially make this a more difficult season for Jeff Jackson’s crew. Boston University – BU can be among the top five teams in Hockey East as long as it stays healthy. The departures of Alexx Privitera and Sahir Gill this offseason leave the Terriers’ depth thin this year, so an injury to a key forward or defenseman would likely drop BU behind quality teams like Providence College or Merrimack College. The goaltending tandem of Sean Maguire and Matt O’Connor is an area of strength for BU, which will look for big contributions from a thin group of upperclassmen that features senior defenseman Garrett Noonan and junior forwards Cason Hohmann and Evan Rodrigues.
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Providence College – The Friars success begins and ends with its goaltender, as last season’s Division I Hockey Commissioners’ Association Rookie of the Year Jon Gillies gives his team a chance to win every game it plays. In front of him, though, Providence did not have any studs in terms of goal scoring last season, as only three of its forwards had double-digit goal totals. Nonetheless, those three players are all returning for the Friars this season, as is the majority of Providence’s core group of players. If sophomores Mark Jankowski, Nick Saracino and Paul de Jersey continue to develop as offensive threats, the Friars could be looking at a deep postseason run this year.
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Merrimack College – Similar to the way the Friars will rely heavily on Jon Gillies to win games, Merrimack will ask senior forward Mike Collins to carry a heavy load of the team’s offense this season. Collins was fifth in the league in scoring last season with 38 points, 14 of which came on the power play. The Warriors will also need a strong year from their goaltending one-two punch of Sam Marotta and Rasmus Tirronen, who no longer have 6-foot-5 mauler Kyle Bigos in front of them on defense.
University of Maine – Like BU, Maine get its first look at a new head coach this season. Red Gendron will have leading scorer Devin Shore back, which is a plus for him. He will also not have to deal with killing off Joey Diamond’s 147 penalty minutes from last season, which is also a plus. This looks, however, to be another rebuilding year for the Black Bears, who finished last season as the worst offensive team in Hockey East (2.03 goals per game). Goaltender Martin Oullette is a senior now and is a solid starter, but he is not the type of goalie that can carry a team out of the bottom-tier of the league.
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University of Massachusetts – UMass is always a good enough team to make games close, but always finds itself toward the bottom of the league. Do not expect anything different this year, even with the team returning its top three forwards in Branden Gracel, Conor Sheary and Michael Pereira. Senior defenseman Joel Hanley will be a strong option on the blue line for the Minutemen, but there are too many questions at goaltender for them to have much success this season. Junior Steve Mastalerz, who had a 2.96 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage last season, is the only goaltender returning for UMass. Those numbers were both outside of the top 10 for goaltenders in the league, and show that the Minutemen need some stability in goal if they want to start winning.
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University of Vermont – Coach Kevin Sneddon has some talented players to work with, like leading scorer Chris McCarthy and former second-round pick Connor Brickley. The Catamounts, however, have minimal offensive skill behind their first line and have several question marks along the blue line. Sophomore Brody Hoffman will be asked to move mountains again after a strong showing in his freshman season, but it will likely be another long year for fans at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Northeastern University – Kevin Roy is a great player, and Cody Ferriero can make things happen offensively. However, this year is primed to be another disappointing one for Jim Madigan and the Huskies, who still have defensive and goaltending question marks. Things just do not look good for Madigan, who has already rejected top recruit Michael Szmatula’s request to be released from his National Letter of Intent. Roy will win the Huskies some games, but it will not be many.
THursday, ocTober 10, 2013
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Former walk-on Moscatel to serve as key Sperry seeks consistent play leader for Terriers during 2013-14 season MosCaTel: From Page 5
spot open for a practice player — something that Jake knew. During a history class, Jake was sure to let then-captain Chris Connolly know that he was available if the team needed practice players. Connolly, who had played pick-up games with Moscatel before, told Parker about the offer. That was the only break Jake needed. “[Connolly] knew I wasn’t a complete slouch,” Jake said. “So he went and talked to coach, and coach gave me a phone call, and the next thing I know, I was on the team.” Jake broke the news to his dad by calling him up and asking him what was going on. When Jim replied, “nothing,” Jake casually remarked to his father that he had made the team. “I have to admit when he called me up and told me, my jaw hit the ground,” Jim said. “I went, ‘What?’ And sure enough, he was practicing the next day. It was a complete surprise to me.” Proving he belonged Being a member of the practice squad was not good enough once he finally made it. Jake wanted to get on the ice, but he was still behind multiple players that had been with the team since their freshman years. He was halfway through his junior year at the time and knew plenty of the players from pickup games and his time in junior hockey, but the rest of the team was in midseason form while he was busy playing catch-up. Jake
BU selected to finish 2nd in Hockey East woMen’s hoCkey: From Page 8
Improved Player as voted by her teammates, is likely to step forward as a top defenseman in the absence of Doyle, along with senior assistant captain Kaleigh Fratkin and freshman defenseman Sarah Steele. The backbone of the Terriers returns in the form of senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry, who was named Hockey East Tournament MVP after allowing three goals in three games, including a 42-save shutout against Providence College. Sperry was solid in regular season play as well, as her goals-against average of 2.20 was second in Hockey East behind BC netminder Corinne Boyles (1.83 GAA). BU was selected by Hockey East coaches to finish second in the conference behind rival BC. However, Durocher said he feels the Terriers are capable of finishing atop the Hockey East with some hard work. “I think we’re going to be a little bit of a different team, [but] still a good team,” Durocher said. “... We’re going to have to fight for every inch we can get, every shift’s going to be important, and it’s going to be a challenge for us from top to bottom. But the kids are ready to play. The kids don’t assume they can have a bad period or a bad game and come up with the win.”
even admits that he might have been a little out of place at first. “You’ve got to fall in line with even some of the freshmen,” Moscatel said. “You kind of feel like a rookie. You don’t really know what to expect.” That junior season moved by quickly, though, and at the end of the year, Parker told Jake he might not need him back for his senior year. Jake stuck around for summer workouts, though, and he was good enough that he remained on the roster another season. His spot on the team was not necessarily secure, but he kept sticking around. “He wanted to be on this team so badly that he was really nervous right off the bat, but once he got relaxed, you could see that, ‘gee, he’s starting to play pretty well.’” Parker said. “Now, you can see that he actually had some hockey skill other than just being the guy that was trying to work harder than everyone else.” Jake watched a lot of games from the press box and the stands until Jan. 4, when then-captain Wade Megan was out of the lineup with an injured shoulder. With Yasin Cissé leaving the team to play major junior hockey as well, the chance finally came for Moscatel to play a game for the team he followed his entire life. “One of the most remarkable things I have ever seen in sports,” Jim said about watching his son skate in a BU uniform. “I was just so proud — it was kind of a dream fulfilled. As a parent, I can’t put it into words how wonderful it is to see your kid achieve his dream. That was amazing to me.” Jim claims to have cheered
louder than everyone else in Matthews Arena combined when Jake scored his first career goal nine games later at Northeastern. Jake suited up in 15 games for the Terriers last season and played well enough that he was invited back for another year with the team. Since he had another year of eligibility, the 2013-14 season would be his second senior year. “Had he done something a little differently, he might not be playing hockey,” Jim said. “Instead, he [was] playing for Jack Parker, a storied franchise with one of the greatest coaches of any sport. He did it all on his own.” From walk-on to leader
New coach David Quinn has stressed the importance of his senior class to the success of his team in the upcoming season over and over. The term “senior” barely does Jake justice, though, as he will turn 25 years old in December. Jake, who played against 2007 Beanpot hero Brian McGuirk in high school, is five or six years older than some of his teammates. “They kind of keep me young,” Moscatel said. “You’re playing with 18-year-olds and they kind of give you a little more energy than you’re used to. I feel like I can be a leader and a mentor and they can also give me some fresh legs and give me a little energy.” Moscatel projects to be one of the bottom-six forwards on the team this year, a role that suits his hit-first style of play. One thing is for sure — he will play more than Rudy ever did.
sPerry: From Page 8
that one of the biggest things in the postseason run was that when you’re in that final game and you’re under that kind of pressure in front of all those people, the biggest thing you’ve got to do is just let it all go. Just play your game. “ ... I think that maybe our team got a little bit too caught up in the flashiness of Minnesota and their big undefeated season — and not taking anything from them, they’re a great team — but personally I feel like I went in with confidence, but I think that if I could do it again, I would go in with even more confidence.” Returning to a national final will not come without challenges, as BU enters the season having lost its top three scorers and one of its top defensemen from 2012-13. However,
Sperry said her goals going into her senior year extend far beyond that elusive national championship and more upon being a constant presence for her team. “You can always say you want to win this or win that, but I like to say that my biggest goal is to be consistent, snd hopefully consistently good,” Sperry said. “The worst thing is to have a string of five great games, but then have a string of six terrible games. I want to stay pretty steady.” “... I want to be a leader for my team. I want to be a leader who leads by example ... I think that I can be there for my teammates, not only on the ice, but off the ice as well. Just trying to be there as a support outlet. And I am the final barrier to the puck going in, so I hope that I’m also there to support them in the back.”
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
Women’s hockey team looks to continue winning ways By Sarah Kirkpatrick Daily Free Press Staff
The No. 5/7 Boston University women’s hockey team is certainly well-adapted to the spotlight. Last season, the Terriers put up yet another successful postseason run, a trend that has made the women’s hockey team one of the top athletic programs at BU in recent years. The Terriers have made the NCAA Tournament every year since 2010, advancing to the national title game in 2011 and 2013. In 2013, BU cruised through the Hockey East Tournament and NCAA quarterfinal and semifinal before meeting an undefeated University of Minnesota squad in the national final. Just like every other team the Gophers faced last season, the Terriers could not come up with a win, falling 6-3, with Minnesota becoming the first women’s hockey team in NCAA history to go undefeated in a season. Nonetheless, BU has proven itself to be a perennial threat at the national level. This year, the Terriers — in addition to much of the Hockey East Conference — undergo a bit of a personnel makeover as the team commences its quest to replicate its recent dominance in collegiate women’s hockey. “I’d love to tell you that there’s a whole bunch [of momentum] that gets carried over [from last year’s postseason run], but it’s probably balanced out by expectations at the same time,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “I think the experience we have of doing well in the playoffs here the last number of years and being in big games is something that will aid a number of our players, but now it’s time for some new faces to take on a challenge.”
Forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who led the team in points last season (55), will be absent as she plays for the Canadian National Team in the 2014 Winter Olympics. BU is not the only team in Hockey East to lose a top player to Olympic duty — forward Alex Carpenter from No. 2 Boston College and Northeastern University forward Kendall Coyne will represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics. “We’re surrounded by wonderful teams, and I know it’s going to be a real competitive landscape as you look at the three kids who departed for the Olympics,” Durocher said. “They all come off of the top three teams, and I think that brings everybody a little closer together. As the season gets rolling, I’m sure we’re going to see a little parity and a great challenge for everybody.” A bigger challenge arises for BU in replacing its second- and third-best scorers from last season, forwards Jenelle Kohanchuk (46 points in 2012-13) and Isabel Menard (45 points), who graduated following the season’s conclusion. “I’m hoping Wayne Gretzky’s got a year of eligibility, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Durocher said jokingly. “It’s a tall order, without a doubt, that when you lose players like that, you always hope you can turn around and recruit the same type of players. But they don’t show up at your doorstep everyday. We still, as I mentioned, have some very good players here in house, but almost in a tier effect we’ve [got to have] people step forward.” One of those in-house players is
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The BU women’s hockey team celebrates after beating Mercyhurst in the March 22, 2013 NCAA semifinal. BU will look to return to the Frozen Four despite losing its top three scorers from last season.
sophomore forward Sarah Lefort, BU’s top goal-scorer in 2012-13, who returns looking to duplicate her impressive rookie campaign. Lefort’s 24 goals tied BC forward Haley Skarupa for the highest total among all freshmen in Hockey East. In addition to being runnerup for Hockey East Rookie of the Year behind Skarupa, Lefort was named to the USCHO.com AllRookie Team. Senior captain Louise Warren returns for the Terriers after a
15-goal performance in 2012-13. Junior forward Kayla Tutino also contributed 15 goals for BU last season. Durocher said he expects improvement from sophomore forwards Dakota Woodworth (three goals, one assist in 2012-13), Rebecca Russo (one goal, four assists) and Jordan Juron (four goals, four assists), in addition to strong freshman seasons from forwards Maddie Elia and Samantha Sutherland.
An early blow this season to the Terrier defense is a torn labrum for senior defenseman Shannon Doyle. She will miss the entirety of the 2013-14 season after undergoing surgery to repair the injury. Doyle made up half of BU’s best defensive pair alongside junior defenseman Shannon Stoneburgh and blocked a league-high 89 shots last season. Stoneburgh, last year’s Most
Women’s Hockey, see page 7
Sperry: A leader in BU’s record books, a leader off the ice
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry will return as a veteran presence in net for the Terriers. By Sarah Kirkpatrick Daily Free Press Staff
For Kerrin Sperry, it has been quite the ride. In three seasons with the Boston University women’s hockey team, the senior goaltender has led one of the nation’s top collegiate women’s hockey programs to vast success. To this point, she has a career goalsagainst average of 2.14, a .920 save percentage and an overall record of 64-23-7. She has a conference tournament MVP award under her belt and has amassed countless Player of the Week awards within the Hockey
East Conference. One could describe a player with these statistics and accomplishments in many ways — detailed, disciplined, prepared, tough and a leader. But Sperry’s leadership, preparedness and toughness extend far beyond the rink. The North Reading native joined the Army ROTC program due to her desire to serve the U.S. military. “I’ve always been intense,” Sperry said. “As a kid I was intense, as an adult I’m very intense. But the desire to serve my country just came from growing up during first
of all, the worst event in the history of our country, 9/11, and then seeing the aftermath of that, in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and seeing the impact it’s had on our country ... I think that made a huge impact on me. I think it made me proud to be able to serve my country and instill a desire in me to serve my country. “Not only that, but it’s about making a sacrifice and I think that basically I’m willing to sacrifice for my country, and I feel very, very, very strongly about it. I’m not quite sure where that came from, but I think it’s because I have so much respect for the people who sacrificed
for our country.” Sperry noted several parallels between goaltending and ROTC. “Specifically for goaltending, goaltending’s a very detail-focused position,” Sperry said. “... If you don’t plan, if you don’t prepare correctly, the puck’s going in the net, and it goes up on that scoreboard. In the Army, the results are much more dire ... you have to look out for your buddies, you have to look out for your country ... You have to be prepared and the standards are very high.” Furthermore, both positions require a high level of leadership. “Goaltending, you’re a leader on the ice,” Sperry said. “... I’m a senior and I’m a leader. I have to stay composed, I have to stay stable for my team to stay composed or stable, and if you’re in the Army and out in the field, they always emphasize in ROTC that you’re a leader. You’re constantly a leader and people are looking at you.” In hockey, Sperry has become not only a leader for her teammates, but also a leader in the record books. Last season, she set program records for wins in a season (24), career wins (64) and career shutouts (11). Four of those shutouts came in 2012-13, including a Hockey East Tournament semifinal matchup against Providence College — one of Sperry’s proudest moments as a Terrier, she said. Sperry stopped 42 shots in that game, effectively shutting out Providence and propelling the Terriers to the Hockey East Championship game. But despite Sperry’s unbelievable efforts in that game, she gives most of the credit to her teammates.
“I think that my proudest moment, one of my proudest moments, was when ... we played a Providence team that came to play,” Sperry said. “They were getting tons of shots on net, for some reason. the ice must have been tilted to my defensive zone, but we continued to play our game. And that carried over into the next game when we played Northeastern [University].” In that next game, when the Terriers battled the Huskies for the Hockey East Championship, Sperry made 35 saves, giving up only two goals. BU won by a score of 5-2, giving it an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Sperry was named Tournament MVP. “We had had trouble with them all season,” Sperry said of Northeastern. “They were just a very tough team to play against, and we went out there with confidence, an amazing amount of confidence. And they kept trying to come back, and girls were clawing at each other’s helmets, just trying to make sure that rebounds didn’t go in my net. And I think that was my proudest moment, just seeing my teammates really, really putting it out for every shift and that was awesome.” That momentum carried through the NCAA Tournament, as the Terriers reached their second national championship game in three seasons against the undefeated University of Minnesota. Sperry made 23 saves in that final game, but BU could not stop the top-ranked offense in the nation, falling to the Gophers by a score of 6-3. “The postseason run was very successful, but it wasn’t without adversity,” Sperry said. “And I think
Sperry, see page 7