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October 15, 2008 E-MAIL PRINT

Team of the Week: Boston University

CHN Staff Report

For a team whose recent seasons have been marked by startling swings in the quality of play -- from wretched to sublime, often in the same game -- Boston University's thorough season-opening sweep of recent powerhouses Michigan State and North Dakota was certainly impressive.

"The first 4-5 minutes both nights we were back on our heels a bit, feeling out the opponent," BU coach Jack Parker said. "Once we got our legs under us, we played a full game on both nights. We didn't do that last year, we would let teams linger around."

The team already had high expectations for itself. But while trying not to get carried away, for a team that hasn't been to the Frozen Four since 1997 -- after regularly doing so for a decade -- the expectations just rose that much more.

"It was disappointing because we were so inept the first semester last year," Parker said. "But we have eight of our top 10 scorers back, and five of the top six defensemen.

"We thought we had a better feel for this season because we thought we had great leadership in the summer from our captains."

Those expectations coming into the season were tempered, perhaps, only by the inexperience of the goaltending. Last season, the goaltending was poor. This year, it's a clean slate, but the two players who rotated at the Icebreaker are both freshmen.

Nonetheless, Kieran Millan, who stopped 23 shots against North Dakota, and Grant Rollheiser, who stopped 13, both played well.

"They both handled it well. They didn't see a lot of shots, but they played with poise, and that gave the team confidence," Parker said.

Parker said the Terriers will stick with the two freshmen rotation for now, as the team heads into Hockey East play, leaving sophomore Adam Kraus the odd-man out, at least temporarily. Ideally, one or both freshmen would continue to run with it.

"They're both competing hard and that's all we can ask for," BU senior defenseman Matt Gilroy said. "They're both competitive kids and we'll see where it ends up. We weren't sure at all. You play pickup hockey, drills, but until you're in a game -- it's a totally different atmosphere for them. But they both played with confidence like they've done it before, and that was nice to see."

Though the goaltending was indeed sub-par for the Terriers last year, the defensive zone play needed work too. BU has some talented offensive defensemen, including the All-American Gilroy and Kevin Shattenkirk, who had two goals last weekend. But Gilroy is a former forward, and despite this being his senior year, he's still learning.

"I think offense comes easy to a lot of us, so we don't really work at that, but they're always on our case about defense, and it works," Gilroy said. "I think I'm ust a little more confident in my own zone. I was running around a little too much, just because I wasn't sure. But the repetitions we get in practice -- our forwards are some of the best around -- so that helps a lot."

Gilroy is paired with more of a shutdown defenseman in Brian Strait, which obviously helps. But Parker believes Gilroy's mindset has improved in his dedication to defense.

"Mostly (our defensemen's) reputation is based on talented offensive play. But we've been stressing defense first and the offense will come," Parker said.

Dave Warsofky, the only freshman on defense, had a very strong weekend, just adding to the good feelings.

Getting back to the Frozen is a long way off, although it can't be emphasized enough how important it is for the Pairwise to win these early non-conference games. But for now, BU wants to just be steady -- steadily good.

"We end up starting slow and picking it up, but we don't want that anymore," Gilroy said. "We want to be a steady team, instead of just here and there. It's not easy with our schedule, but it's something we're working at."

Said Parker, "The fact that we've been in the national tournament a lot and haven't been in the Frozen Four, that's aggravating, it's disconcerting. But that doesn't apply pressure to us at this time of year."

BU fans might not appreciate it as much, but rival Boston College's national title last season also helps boost the spirits of Eastern schools.

Without making excuses, Parker rightly noted how the cycle has undeniably shifted West in the past decade or so.

"I know (it's cyclical) in recruiting," Parker said. "Massachusetts is not as strong as it was. When you look at the Select 16s and Select 15s (at the summer camps), there's more people from California and Texas than Massachusetts. That doesn't bode well, since Massachusetts is our prime recruiting area."

Making BC's run, and this past weekend's results, good for the psyche.

"It was nice this past weekend that Hockey East did so well," Parker said. "Last year, we finished second and Vermont third, and neither made the NCAA tournament because of how poorly we played in non-conference games."

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