4 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 30 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 28 BEANPOT TITLES 6 HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TITLES

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1 o f r n m i a a t i i d o e n m 4 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 30 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 28 BEANPOT TITLES 6 HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TITLES player profiles Media Information...18 BU Athletic Communications...18 Media Outlets...19 Radio/TV...20 men s ice hockey 17

2 BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEN S ICE HOCKEY media information ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS 285 Babcock Street Boston, MA Fax: www. Brian Kelley Senior Assistant Director (Hockey Contact) bkelley@bu.edu Scott Ellis Assistant Director msellis@bu.edu Stefanie Howlett Assistant Director howlett@bu.edu Brad Kasnet Assistant Director bkasnet@bu.edu MEDIA CREDENTIALS Requests for men s ice hockey media credentials for Boston University home games at Agganis Arena must be made to Brian Kelley, BU s senior assistant director of athletic communications, by noon eastern time the day prior to a game or series. requests (sent to bkelley@bu.edu) must originate from a company address and fax requests (sent to ) must be on company letterhead. The request must include name, affiliation, address, phone number, fax number and address. All credentials can be collected on game day from the media will call area inside the west entrance to the Arena. INTERVIEW POLICIES Student-athletes are not to be contacted directly, but rather through BU Athletic Communications. Student-athlete interviews will take place on Thursday either before or after practice. Interviews conducted before practice must be completed no later than 20 minutes prior to the scheduled start of practice. Interviews may also take place at other times that day and can be arranged through Brian Kelley. Requests for interviews on different days will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Interview requests for Coach Parker can either be directed to the hockey office ( ) or through Brian Kelley. A post-game press conference will be held in the media work room at Agganis Arena with both coaches. Post-game player interviews will be handled by special request and will take place outside each team s locker room after the 10-minute cool down period and upon completion of the press conference. PRESS FACILITIES Agganis Arena s media workroom is located in the northwest corner of the building at ice level. Food and beverages will be available prior to the start of the game, along with game notes, statistics and media guides. In addition to wi-fi access within the arena, the media room has individual Ethernet ports and telephone lines. The press box is located on the concourse level on the west side of the building, with an open seating area centered between radio booths. Writers and game operations personnel will have assigned seating within the main press box. RADIO/TV Radio/TV wishing to broadcast or tape the game must contact Brian Kelley to gain access to the designated booths, which include a complimentary phone line (if an ISDN line is required, it must be ordered through Agganis Arena at ). The visiting radio booths are located alongside the press box, while the television booth is located directly across from the press box/radio booths, on the east side of the Arena at concourse level. PHOTOGRAPHERS Photographers wishing to shoot games at Agganis Arena must also contact Brian Kelley for credentials. Photographers may shoot from the area behind the glass in front of section 116 (accessible from the media workroom area), from the TV booth on the east side of the building or from the catwalk by special request. DIRECTIONS TO AGGANIS ARENA From the North 1. Take I-93 or Route 1 South to Boston. Exit onto Storrow Drive. 2. Continue on Storrow Drive to the Kenmore Square Exit. 3. At the first set of lights, turn right onto Beacon Street. 4. Bear right at the far end of Kenmore Square onto Commonwealth Avenue. 5. Continue on Commonwealth Avenue to Agganis Arena (approximately 1 mile). From the South 1. Take I-93 Route 3 (Southeast Expressway) North to Boston. Exit onto Storrow Drive. 2. Continue on Storrow Drive to the Kenmore Square Exit. 3. At the first set of lights, turn right onto Beacon Street. 4. Bear right at the far end of Kenmore Square onto Commonwealth Avenue. 5. Continue on Commonwealth Avenue to Agganis Arena (approximately 1 mile). From the West 1. Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) East. Take Exit 18 on the left (Brighton/Cambridge). 2. Follow Signs to Cambridge. At the second set of lights, turn right. 3. Continue on Storrow Drive to the Kenmore Square Exit. 4. At the first set of lights, turn right onto Beacon Street. 5. Bear right at the far end of Kenmore Square onto Commonwealth Avenue. 6. Continue on Commonwealth Avenue to Agganis Arena (approximately 1 mile). HARRY AGGANIS WAY COMMONWEALTH AVE. 18

3 4 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 30 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 28 BEANPOT TITLES 6 HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TITLES NEWSPAPERS Boston Globe 135 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA (617) , 2872 or 3235 Boston Herald One Herald Square Boston, MA (617) The Patriot Ledger 400 Crown Colony Drive Quincy, MA (617) The Middlesex News 33 New York Avenue PO Box 800 Framingham, MA (508) Brockton Enterprise 60 Main Street Brockton, MA (508) Salem Evening News 32 Dunham Road Beverly, MA (978) ext. 350 Lawrence Eagle-Tribune PO Box 100 North Andover, MA (978) Lowell Sun 15 Kearney Square PO Box 1477 Lowell, MA (978) Lynn Daily Item PO Box 951 Lynn, MA (781) ext. 242 NEW ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL 110 West Squantam St. North Quincy, MA (617) HOCKEY MEDIA GROUP P.O. Box 963 Duxbury, MA (888) R A D I O S TAT I O N S WWZN-AM 1510 RADIO 308 Victory Road Quincy, MA (617) WBUR-FM 90.9 RADIO 890 Commonwealth Avenue 3rd Floor Boston, MA (617) WTTT-AM 1150 RADIO 308 Victory Rd. Quincy, MA (617) WBZ-AM 1030 RADIO 1170 Soldiers Field Road Boston, MA (617) WEEI-AM 850 RADIO 20 Guest Street, 3rd Floor Boston, MA (617) WIRE SERVICES Associated Press 184 High Street Boston, MA (617) TELEVISION STATIONS CN8 179 Amory Street Brookline, MA (617) NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NETWORK 480 Arsenal Street, Building #1 Watertown, MA (617) New England CABLE NEWS 160 Wells Ave. Newton, MA (617) COMCAST SPORTSNET 42 3rd Ave Burlington, MA (781) WBZ-TV Channel 4 (CBS) 1170 Soldiers Field Road Boston, MA (617) WCVB-TV Channel 5 (ABC) 5 TV Place Needham, MA (781) WFXT-TV (Fox) 25 Fox Drive, Box 9125 Dedham, MA (781) WHDH-TV Channel 7 (NBC) 7 Bulfinch Place Boston, MA (617) WLVI-TV Channel Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA (617) STUDENT MEDIA The Daily Free Press 842 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA (617) WTBU-FM Radio 640 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA (617) ONLINE MEDIA collegehockeynews.com hockeyjournal.com hockeysfuture.com insidecollegehockey.com insidehockey.com nhl.com uscho.com media outlets 19

4 BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEN S ICE HOCKEY terriers on the radio/tv All of Boston University s regular-season hockey games, both home and away, will be broadcast live on the radio, while a minimum of 13 games will be televised. Now in the second year of its partnership, every BU game this season will be broadcast live on WWZN 1510-AM The Zone, Boston s Sporting News Radio affiliate. All games will be streamed live online at and 1510TheZone.com. Now in his 24th season as the voice of the Terriers, Bernie Corbett will handle the play-by-play responsibilities. For the 16th season, he will be joined in the booth by color commentator Tom Ryan, the captain of the Terrier hockey team. Corbett also co-hosts BU All-Access, a weekly magazine-style radio show that covers all of BU s 23 varsity sports. Of the 13 TV games - a total that would increase to 14 with an appearance in the Beanpot title game - over half of them will be carried live on CN8, The Comcast Network, which enters its third year as the Terriers primary broadcasting partner. The package s debut will take place on Oct. 25 with a home contest against Michigan and will include three other home games in addition to road games against Vermont, New Hampshire and Northeastern. Entering its 26th season, the New England Sports Network has carried college hockey games since its inception and will broadcast four BU contests. NESN, which will be carrying the Beanpot Tournament on Feb. 2 and 9, will also be televising a Hockey East package that includes two additional Terrier games. ESPNU enters its first year as a provider of Hockey East coverage and will televise two of the Terriers games: Nov. 19 at New Hampshire and Dec. 6 at Boston College. OCTOBER CN8 NESN ESPNU Sun. 5 NEW BRUNSWICK (exhibition) 7:00 p.m. Fri. 10 NORTH DAKOTA 1 7:30 p.m. Sat. 11 MICHIGAN STATE 1 7:30 p.m. Fri. 17 MERRIMACK* 7:00 p.m. Sun. 19 at New Hampshire* 5:00 p.m. Sat. 25 MICHIGAN 7:00 p.m. NOVEMBER Sat. 1 at Vermont* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 7 at UMass Lowell* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 14 at Massachusetts* 7:00 p.m. Sun. 16 NORTHEASTERN* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 21 VERMONT* 7:00 p.m. Sat. 22 VERMONT* 7:00 p.m. Tue. 25 HOLY CROSS 7:00 p.m. Sat. 29 ST. LAWRENCE 7:00 p.m. DECEMBER Fri. 5 BOSTON COLLEGE* 7:30 p.m. Sat. 6 at Boston College* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 12 UMASS LOWELL* 7:00 p.m. JANUARY Fri. 2 vs Rensselaer 2 6:30 p.m. Sat. 3 vs Denver/Holy Cross 2 6/9:00 p.m. Sat. 10 MAINE* 7:00 p.m. Tue. 13 PROVIDENCE* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 16 at Merrimack* 7:00 p.m. Sat. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 23 NEW HAMPSHIRE* 7:30 p.m. Sat. 24 at New Hampshire* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 30 at Merrimack* 7:00 p.m. FEBRUARY Mon. 2 vs Harvard 3 5:00 p.m. Fri. 6 UMASS LOWELL* 7:00 p.m. Mon. 9 vs Boston College/Northeastern 3 5/8:00 p.m. Fri. 13 at Maine* 7:00 p.m. Sat. 14 at Maine* 7:00 p.m. Fri. 20 NORTHEASTERN* 7:00 p.m. Sat. 21 at Northeastern* 8:00 p.m. Fri. 27 at Massachusetts* 7:30 p.m. Sat. 28 MASSACHUSETTS* 7:00 p.m. MARCH Fri. 6 at Providence* 7:00 p.m. Sun. 8 PROVIDENCE* 2:00 p.m. All times EST *Hockey East game 1 Ice Breaker Invitational 2 Wells Fargo Denver Cup (Denver, Colo.) 3 Beanpot Tournament (TD Banknorth Garden) Home games at Agganis Arena denoted in CAPS 20

5 season outlook Roster...22 TV Roster...23 Season Outlook men s ice hockey

6 BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEN S ICE HOCKEY roster NUMERICAL Roster NO. NAME YR. POS. HGT. WGT. S/C DOB HOMETOWN/LAST TEAM 2 Eric Gryba Jr. D R 4/14/88 Saskatoon, Sask./Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) 3 Kevin Shattenkirk So. D R 1/29/89 New Rochelle, N.Y./U.S. National Under-18 Team 4 Ryan Ruikka Fr. D R 3/31/88 Chelsea, Mich./Jersey Hitmen (EJHL) 5 David Warsofsky Fr. D L 5/30/90 Marshfield, Mass./U.S. National Under-18 Team 6 Joe Pereira So. F R 3/28/87 West Haven, Conn./South Kent School 7 Brian Strait (A) Jr. D L 1/4/88 Waltham, Mass./U.S. National Under-18 Team 8 Steve Smolinsky Sr. D R 5/22/86 Plymouth, Mass./Salisbury School 9 Corey Trivino Fr. F L 1/12/90 Toronto, Ont./Stouffville Spirit (OPJHL) 10 Chris Higgins Sr. F R 4/30/86 Lynnfield, Mass./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) 11 Zach Cohen Jr. F L 2/6/87 Schaumburg, Ill./Tri-City Storm (USHL) 12 Chris Connolly Fr. F L 7/23/87 Duluth, Minn./Omaha Lancers (USHL) 13 Nick Bonino So. F L 4/20/88 Unionville, Conn./Avon Old Farms 14 Andrew Glass Fr. F L 7/14/89 Wrentham, Mass./Noble & Greenough 15 John McCarthy (C) Sr. F L 8/9/86 Andover, Mass./Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) 16 Kevin Gilroy Fr. F R 7/8/87 North Bellmore, N.Y./South Shore Kings (EJHL) 17 Victor Saponari So. F R 11/15/87 Powder Springs, Ga./Culver Academy 18 Brandon Yip Sr. F R 4/25/85 Maple Ridge, B.C./Coquitlam Express (BCHL) 21 Jason Lawrence Sr. F R 2/2/87 Saugus, Mass./U.S. National Under-18 Team 22 Ross Gaudet Fr. F L 8/26/88 Burlington, Mass./Bridgewater Bandits (EJHL) 25 Colby Cohen So. D R 4/25/89 Villanova, Pa./Lincoln Stars (USHL) 26 Luke Popko Jr. F L 3/29/88 Skillman, N.J./U.S. National Under-18 Team 27 Vinny Saponari Fr. F R 2/15/90 Powder Mills, Ga./U.S. National Under-18 Team 31 Kieran Millan Fr. G L 8/31/89 Edmonton, Alta./Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) 32 Adam Kraus So. G L 7/25/87 Irving, Texas/Alaska Avalanche (NAHL) 33 Colin Wilson So. F L 10/20/89 Winnipeg, Man./U.S. National Under-18 Team 35 Grant Rollheiser Fr. G L 7/24/89 Chilliwack, B.C./Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL) 97 Matt Gilroy (C) Sr. D R 7/20/84 North Bellmore, N.Y./Walpole Jr. Stars (EJHL) ALPHABETICAL Roster NO. NAME YR. POS. 13 Nick Bonino So. F 25 Colby Cohen So. D 11 Zach Cohen Jr. F 12 Chris Connolly Fr. F 22 Ross Gaudet Fr. F 16 Kevin Gilroy Fr. F 97 Matt Gilroy Sr. D 14 Andrew Glass Fr. F 2 Eric Gryba Jr. D 10 Chris Higgins Sr. F 32 Adam Kraus So. G 21 Jason Lawrence Sr. F 15 John McCarthy Sr. F 31 Kieran Millan Fr. G 6 Joe Pereira So. F 26 Luke Popko Jr. F 35 Grant Rollheiser Fr. G 4 Ryan Ruikka Fr. D 17 Victor Saponari So. F 27 Vinny Saponari Fr. F 3 Kevin Shattenkirk So. D 7 Brian Strait Jr. D 8 Steve Smolinksy Sr. D 9 Corey Trivino Fr. F 5 David Warsofsky Fr. D 33 Colin Wilson So. F 18 Brandon Yip Sr. F Head Coach: Jack Parker (Boston University 68, 36th season) Associate Head Coach: David Quinn (Boston University 88, 5th season) Assistant Coach: Mike Bavis (Boston University 93, 11th season) Assistant Coach: Mike Geragosian (UMass Lowell 75/Northeastern 76, 10th season) PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Nick BONINO bo-knee-no Eric GRYBA GRY-ba KIERAN MILLAN KEER-in mah-lahn Joe PEREIRA per-air-ah Ryan RUIKKA RYE-kah Victor and Vinny SAPONARI sap-o-nar-ee Steve SMOLINSKY smoh-lihn-skee Points Of Origin united states Massachusetts (8) Ross Gaudet Andrew Glass Chris Higgins Jason Lawrence John McCarthy Steve Smolinsky Brian Strait David Warsofsky New York (3) Kevin Gilroy Matt Gilroy Kevin Shattenkirk CONNECTICUT (2) Nick Bonino Joe Pereira GEORGIA (2) Victor Saponari Vinny Saponari ILLINOIS (1) Zach Cohen MICHIGAN (1) Ryan Ruikka MINNESOTA (1) Chris Connolly New Jersey (1) Luke Popko PENNSYLVANIA (1) Colby Cohen TEXAS (1) Adam Kraus canada British Columbia (2) Grant Rollheiser Brandon Yip ALBERTA (1) Kieran Millan MANITOBA (1) Colin Wilson ONTARIO (1) Corey Trivino SASKATCHEWAN (1) Eric Gryba 22

7 4 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 30 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 28 BEANPOT TITLES 6 HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TITLES ERIC GRYBA 2 Junior Saskatoon, Sask. DAVID WARSOFSKY 5 Freshman Marshfield, Mass. STEVE SMOLINSKY 8 Senior Plymouth, Mass. ZACH COHEN 11 Junior Schaumburg, Ill. KEVIN SHATTENKIRK 3 Sophomore New Rochelle, N.Y. JOE PEREIRA 6 Sophomore West Haven, Conn. COREY TRIVINO 9 Freshman Toronto, Ont. CHRIS CONNOLLY 12 Freshman Duluth, Minn. RYAN RUIKKA 4 Freshman Chelsea, Mich. BRIAN STRAIT 7 Junior Waltham, Mass. CHRIS HIGGINS 10 Senior Lynnfield, Mass. NICK BONINO 13 Sophomore Unionville, Conn radio/tv roster ANDREW GLASS 14 Freshman Wrentham, Mass. JOHN McCARTHY 15 Senior Andover, Mass. KEVIN GILROY 16 Freshman North Bellmore, N.Y. VICTOR SAPONARI 17 Sophomore Powder Springs, Ga. BRANDON YIP 18 Senior Maple Ridge, B.C. JASON LAWRENCE 21 Senior Saugus, Mass. ROSS GAUDET 22 Freshman Burlington, Mass. COLBY COHEN 25 Sophomore Villanova, Pa. LUKE POPKO 26 Junior Skillman, N.J. VINNY SAPONARI 27 Freshman Powder Springs, Ga. KIERAN MILLAN 31 GOALTENDER Freshman Edmonton, Alta. ADAM KRAUS 32 GOALTENDER Sophomore Irving, Texas COLIN WILSON 33 Sophomore Winnipeg, Man. GRANT ROLLHEISER 35 GOALTENDER Freshman Chilliwack, B.C. MATT GILROY 97 Senior North Bellmore, N.Y. 23

8 season preview When the Boston University men s ice hockey team hits the ice for its 88th season in October, its aspirations will be like those of any other Terrier squad in recent years to be in a position to succeed in March and get the program back to the Frozen Four. While the past few years have fallen short of expectations, there are reasons to believe that fortunes may change in the campaign. Five regulars return on defense, including two-time All- American Matt Gilroy, who will serve as co-captain of the Terriers along with a fellow senior, forward John McCarthy. McCarthy and three other senior forwards (Chris Higgins, Jason Lawrence, Brandon Yip) have been mainstays in the lineup since early on in their freshman season and overall, the team returns eight of its top 10 scorers from a year ago. We have the capabilities to be a very strong team, but it will only be if we act like a team, said head coach Jack Parker, who enters his 36th season at the helm of the BU BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEN S ICE HOCKEY TERRIERS EYE POSTSEASON SUCCESS IN luke popko junior forward program. If we are a bunch of individuals, which sometimes crept up last year, we ll never get to where we need to be. Despite having its season come to an end last spring in the Hockey East semifinals, the Terriers still want to pick up where they left off. BU was playing its best hockey of the year entering the league playoffs, but a slow start put the team in a position where it had to win the league tournament to advance to the NCAAs. Historically, we ve always gotten off to slow starts and then come on stronger, said Parker. Last year s early-season struggles hurt us more than ever though. We were able to recover in the league, but our non-conference losses were too tough to overcome in the long run. Gilroy, McCarthy and junior Brian Strait, this year s assistant captain, led their teammates through an offseason that promoted team-oriented effort, helping to create a mindset that this year s Terriers will be ready from the get-go. Our objective is to become a team as soon as possible, added Parker. Our captains have been helping us do just that. This hungry BU squad has added one of the nation s top recruiting classes with highly-regarded newcomers at each position, including goaltending, which seemed to be the team s Achilles heel throughout the season. Over the past two years, the Terriers have struggled to combine a strong offense with a strong defense for an extended period of time. Hopefully, as the season goes on, other teams aren t talking just about our offense or just our defense, said Parker. I d like to think that we can be equally successful on both ends of the ice. It appears that the Terriers won t be sneaking up on anybody this season, however, as they were picked second in the preseason Hockey East coaches poll. The rest of the league obviously thought highly of us to vote us second, said Parker. But it goes without saying that it all has to be played out on the ice. GOALTENDING There is no question that the Terriers level of success in the upcoming season will be highly affected by the team s play between the pipes. With probably the youngest goaltending trio in the country, 24 the Terriers return sophomore Adam Kraus in addition to welcoming a pair of freshman netminders from western Canada. The position is obviously wide open, said Parker. Despite the lack of experience, there is a lot of talent to choose from. It will be interesting to see who evolves or how many evolve as the goaltenders of record. Kraus made two starts as a freshman, including a 5-4 win over Northeastern in the Beanpot consolation game. In addition to those two outings, he earned an exhibition start in last year s 3-2 victory over the U.S. National Under-18 Team. After a standout season with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League, Grant Rollheiser (Chilliwack, B.C.) gained notice and ended up being the first collegiate goaltender selected in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft. One province over, Edmonton native Kieran Millan put up strong numbers for the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in and is also ready to challenge for the Terriers starting job. Despite being young, the three of them all have a good deal of maturity, added Parker. There is skill there, there is competitiveness there, and all three have a chance to win the job. In addition to Gilroy, the Terrier defense has the distinction of featuring each of the last three captains of the U.S. National Under-18 Team in Strait, sophomore Kevin Shattenkirk and freshman David Warsofsky. Add in sophomore Colby Cohen, who joined with Shattenkirk to make an instant impact as freshmen especially on the power play and junior Eric Gryba, who has been a regular in the lineup since the beginning of his freshman year, and it s easy to see why expectations are high at the blueline this year. We should be in pretty good shape as far as overall skill. There s plenty of experience there, that s for sure, said Parker. Obviously having a returning All-American in Matt Gilroy gives us a step up in talent on defense. He ll be the leader back there no question. Gilroy, who has posted a combined 55 points (17g, 38a) in his three seasons, and Strait form a pairing that s as good as any in college hockey. Gilroy is a talented puck-moving defenseman and Strait was the runner-up for Hockey East s Best Defensive Defenseman award last year as a sophomore while also adding 10 assists. Shattenkirk and Cohen have been playing along side each other since their days with the U.S. National Team Development Program and finished 1-2 among Hockey East freshman defensemen in assists last year with 17 and 13, respectively. With the comfort level of having a year under their belts, there s no reason to think they won t take their game to the next level. Towards the end of last year, Gryba started to find a balance with his physical style of play and he has matured into a steady defenseman. This is as good a group of offensive defensemen as we ve ever had here, noted Parker. But we have to keep reminding

9 4 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 30 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 28 BEANPOT TITLES 6 HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TITLES them that their position is defense. They are defense-men. Offensive prowess aside, the Terriers ability to defend played a big role in the team s late-season surge in The major reason why we wound up in second place in the regular season was because our defense came together as a group and played much better, said Parker. They are all capable on the defensive end, and when they play hard, they play well. Hopefully they ll continue to take a step up. The guys in between the two juniors (Gryba, Strait) and two sophomores (Cohen, Shattenkirk) are the guys that are the most important, added Parker. Those four have all improved with experience and certainly have the ability to be difference makers. 100 for his career. Yip is also ready for a career year, as his most productive season thus far was his freshman campaign, when he tallied 31 points (9g, 22a) en route to Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year honors. Twelve of his 23 points last season came in his last 14 games, so he ll look to pick up where he left off. A steady two-way forward for the Terriers over the last three years, Lawrence has yet to put up big scoring numbers that he s capable of. He s recorded back-to-back 18-point seasons after putting up 22 as a freshman. While Higgins has had the most productive years for us from this senior class, it will be interesting to see how he, Yip added Parker. Also returning is junior Luke Popko, who is the team s top faceoff man and was named runner-up for last season s Hockey East Best Defensive Forward award. In addition to the upperclassmen, two of the nation s top sophomore scorers are back to build off impressive rookie campaigns. Reigning Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year Colin Wilson was drafted seventh overall by the Nashville Predators in this summer s NHL Entry Draft and classmate Nick Bonino is the Terriers leading returning goal scorer after recording 16 tallies as a freshman. Wilson finished third on the team in scoring last year behind Ewing and MacArthur with 35 points on 12 goals and season preview Warsofsky, a Marshfield, Mass., native, was a major player and Lawrence will close out their careers scoring-wise, said 23 assists, and his 1.12 points per game average in league on offense for the U.S. National Under-18 Team last season, Parker. Yip has the potential to be a very strong scorer and play was the highest among conference rookies. tallying 40 points, including 31 assists. He was drafted by the Lawrence can certainly step it up and put more pucks in the Wilson and Bonino had remarkable freshman seasons and St. Louis Blues in the fourth round of this summer s NHL Entry net. we re all looking forward to see what they ll do when they get Draft. On of the team s top defensive forwards, McCarthy has back out on the ice, said Parker. They ll both center lines Warsofsky is highly regarded, and for good reason, said established himself as a veteran presence on the team s third and help to make them very good lines. Parker. He s very skilled and will certainly be seeing a lot of and fourth lines and added seven points (3g, 4a) as a junior. Sophomore Joe Pereira found a regular spot in the lineup ice time for us. As a captain, McCarthy will be a big leader not just for last season after a strong performance in the Terriers 6-3 win A forward for his first three seasons with the Terriers, our forwards, but for our entire team, said Parker. He ll be over Cornell at Madison Square Garden and will look to take senior Steve Smolinsky arguably the team s fastest skater getting more ice time than ever before. on a bigger role as a sophomore. will make the move to defense this year due to the abun- If one or more of our seniors are able to close our their Now an upperclassman, junior Zach Cohen was in and out dance of forwards on the roster. careers with anything close to resembling the seasons MacAr- of the lineup as a sophomore but has worked hard to be in a Freshman Ryan Ruikka, a native of Chelsea, Mich., rounds thur and Ewing turned in last year, we ll be in great shape, position to compete for time with the younger talent at the out BU s defensive corps after helping the EJHL s Jersey Hit- position. men claim their first league championship last season. Like the defensemen, I think the middle classes will make or break us, whether it s the Popkos, Perieras, Wilsons, S Boninos or Cohens, said Parker. While the Terriers lost their top two scorers and the top Sophomore Victor Saponari played in a handful of contests two point-getters in all of Hockey East in league play to as a freshman and gives the Terriers yet another option at the graduation in Pete MacArthur and Bryan Ewing, this year s position. offense has the ability to be every bit as good as last year s, This year s freshman class, headlined by second- thanks to experience in all the returning classes and a stand- round NHL pick Corey Trivino (Toronto, Ont.), is out group of newcomers. expected to make an immediate impact. Up front, we ve got an awful lot going for us, said Parker. Trivino was picked up by the New We ve got a bunch of guys back and we ve added some pretty York Islanders after two standout seasons good skill. We should be more competitive as far as guys with the Stouffville Spirit of the OPJHL. going in and out of the lineup due to others fighting for posi- Two of the incoming forwards will tion and playing harder to battle for ice time. be joining their older brothers on the Led by a strong senior quartet, the forwards will look to Terriers, as Vinny Saponari (Powder maintain the progress exhibited last year. After the Springs, Ga.) and Kevin Gilroy (North squad finished 44th nationally in scoring offense at 2.54 Bellmore, N.Y.) will give the team goals per game, the Terriers made a huge jump to sixth in two sets of siblings and another pair , scoring 3.38 goals per game. with the same last name (Colby and We ll be as skilled, if not more, from top to bottom com- Zach Cohen). pared to last year, added Parker. We probably won t have the Saponari, who was top two scorers in the league, but we ve got plenty of guys selected by his home-state Atlanta that can really create for us. Thrashers in this year s NHL Draft, Higgins has been a constant in the Terrier offense ever since arriving on campus and has improved his goal total each season, capped by a 14-goal performance as a junior. Having totaled 32 points in each of the last two years, he s a candidate for a 40-point season and needs just 15 more points to reach eric gryba junior defenseman 25

10 BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEN S ICE HOCKEY season preview was the third leading scorer for the U.S. National Under-18 Team and Gilroy was one of the top scorers in the EJHL this past season. After a standout career at Noble & Greenough, Andrew Glass (Wrentham, Mass.) is a hard-nosed two-way player who was selected by the Washington Capitals in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Chris Connolly of Duluth, Minn., brings a solid scoring touch to BU after helping the Omaha Lancers claim the 2008 USHL Clark Cup title. Ross Gaudet (Burlington, Mass.), a former Catholic Central League MVP at Austin Prep, gives the Terriers one more option at forward following a strong year with the Bridgewater Bandits of the EJHL. SCHEDULE Highlighted by 20 dates at Agganis Arena, including the Ice Breaker Invitational, the BU schedule will certainly be a challenge. Five of the six teams that have made an appearance in the Frozen Four during the last two seasons will visit Boston to take on the Terriers, including Michigan, Michigan State and North Dakota. After a preseason exhibition against New Brunswick on Oct. 5, the Terriers will serve as host for the Ice Breaker, the nation s premier season-opening tournament, on Oct BU and Massachusetts will each face North Dakota and Michigan State in the classic-style tournament, with the Terriers facing the Fighting Sioux on the first day before closing out with the Spartans the following night. On Oct. 25, the Terriers will host Michigan for the first time since the 1991 NCAA quarterfinals, while Holy Cross (Nov. 25) and St. Lawrence (Nov. 29) round out the home portion of the nonconference schedule. BU will head west to ring in the new year at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup on Jan. 2-3 in what will be the team s lone non-league road trip of the season. The Terriers will face Rensselaer in the first round before taking on either host Denver or Holy Cross. This is certainly our toughest and most competitive non-conference schedule in quite some time, said Parker. With teams like North Dakota, Michigan State, New Hampshire and Michigan all in the first few weeks, we ll get a good feel for where we stand by the end of October. The Terriers will play 14 of their 27 Hockey East contests at home, beginning with their league opener against Merrimack on Oct. 17. The other Hockey East home dates are Northeastern (Nov. 16, Feb. 20); Vermont (Nov ); Boston College (Dec. 5, Jan. 17); UMass Lowell (Dec. 12, Feb. 6); Maine (Jan. 10); Providence (Jan. 13, March 8); New Hampshire (Jan. 23); and UMass (Feb. 28). The regular-season finale will be a Sunday matinee, as the Providence game on March 8 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Seven of BU s final eight games before the holiday break will be at home, including a six-game homestand from Nov. 16-Dec. 5. After hosting UMass Lowell on Dec. 12, the Terriers will take a three-week break from the schedule before returning to action in Denver. As usual, the Terriers will wrap up their non-conference slate at the Beanpot Tournment, which enters its 57th year. BU will face Harvard in the opening round on Feb. 2. The championship and consolation games will take place on Feb. 9. AS PARKER SEES IT Once again, the Terrier head coach has looked into his crystal ball to make predictions on the coming season. Here is how he sees the battle for the top spots in Hockey East, the WCHA, the CCHA and the ECACHL. You know Hockey East is going to be strong when Maine is picked as the ninth-place team. I think there will be more of a battle for the top four spots than we ve ever had. There are seven or eight teams with top-four aspirations. I can see why Boston College was picked first, not only because they are the defending national champions, but because they are strong in goal and on defense and are bringing in a very good freshman class. It will be interesting to see how UNH will look without Kevin Regan in goal. I think that Vermont could end up being the top team in the league. The are very well coached and play a tenacious defensive system. It s tough to call Northeastern a darkhorse anymore, as their younger guys have another year under their belt and could be very dangerous. The CCHA seems to be a little topsy-turvy each year, but I would be surprised if Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame weren t the top three teams. I think the Wolverines would be the favorite of the group. Miami has had a good run over the past few seasons and it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up. 26 Clarkson in my pick in the ECAC. They were close to the Frozen Four last year and I think they ll be back in the national picture. I think the Ivy teams like Cornell and Dartmouth will rebound and Harvard is certainly capable of finishing at the top of the league. St. Lawrence never seems to be down long, so they could be up there as well. My darkhorse pick, however, is Colgate. I They were right on the edge of becoming a top team in the ECAC last year and I would not be surprised at all to see them make a major move. Out west, you ve got to go with the usual suspects, as Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado College and Denver will all be in the mix once again. If I were to pick one out of that group, I d go with Minnesota. Teams like Duluth and Michigan Tech probably have the best chance of breaking into that top five.