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Men's hockey: youth, experience, and attitudecould confound pollsters' 5th place prediction

By Brian Fitzgerald

After the Terrier men's hockey season went south last year with a 14-20-3 record, coach Jack Parker sees a change in latitude with this season's 2-0 start. He also notices a change in attitude among his players.
"There has been a better attitude all summer and fall," he says. "It's an amazing changeover."

Coach Jack Parker is hoping Chris Dyment (MET'02) can help solidify a defense that was inconsistent last season. Photo by Tim Winn

Fortunately for Terrier fans, BU has struggled through a losing season just twice in the past 24 years. During that stretch, the team enjoyed three seasons where it won more than 30 games, and made it to the Final Four five times -- including a national championship in 1995.

What happened last year? Without naming names, Parker says that attitude was the team's biggest problem. "There were a lot of individual agendas instead of a team agenda," he says. "This season we're getting fabulous leadership from our two cocaptains and the rest of our senior class."
Cocaptains Mike Pandolfo (MET'02) and Chris Dyment (MET'02) are not just team leaders, however. They are also prolific scorers. The former led the team in goals (16) last year, and the latter was the top-scoring defenseman (11 points) in the 1999-2000 season. But the seniors aren't the only Terriers with high expectations. According to the highly regarded publication Red Line Report, the freshman class is "the best in the country."
"I think we know what we'll get out of our seniors and freshmen," says Parker. "It really comes down to our juniors and sophomores. They will be the guys who really determine how far we go this year, because there are a lot of them." There are 13, to be exact. "The two classes in between are probably the most important to our success," he says.

The big question is the sophomore class. Can the forwards establish more of a presence in the attack zone? Last year they tried to make themselves at home near the goaltender's crease, but defensemen evicted them time and time again. "I think we'll be around the [opponents'] goal a lot more, and staying there instead of just cruising through," says Parker.

He says that two freshmen forwards, however, will be instrumental in storming the goal: Justin Maiser (CGS'03) and Brian McConnell (CGS'03), who played in the U.S. National Team Development Program. When both announced last May that they would attend Boston University, Parker commented that McConnell was the big, physical center the team needed and that Maiser was a smooth skater and a good finisher. Sure enough, when the Terriers defeated St. Francis Xavier University, 4-0, in a preseason game October 5, Maiser scored twice, including a persistent effort that saw him tip the puck. The goaltender made the initial save on the tip, but Maiser scored on the rebound. In another play, Maiser battled for the puck at the top of the St. Francis crease and knocked over the X-men's goalie -- which prompted a mini-brawl. "Maiser got both goals by being in front of the goaltender, fighting for loose pucks and getting the rebounds," says Parker.

	Hardy Kornfeld, a MED professor of medicine and pathology, got hooked on motorcycle racing while taking a racing course that he hoped would make him a safer rider. Photo by Fred Sway

Did Parker see a recurrence of the attitude problem in BU's 6-5 victory over RPI in the season opener on October 11? The Terriers had a 6-1 lead early in the third period, but barely managed to hold on for the victory. "I think we just took a little nap in the third," he says. "It wasn't as if they dominated us and we couldn't get out of the zone. We gave up two critical goals late, but for the most part we dominated that game from start to finish. With six minutes to go in the game, we were still outshooting them, 54-12."
It's not possible to forecast a successful season from just two games, but the Hockey East picture is certainly cloudy this year, with defending national champion Boston College slipping down a few rungs, being picked third in the preseason poll of conference coaches. Interestingly, Providence was picked to be number one -- the Friars earned enough points to finish atop the poll, even though they didn't receive any first-place votes. BU was chosen to finish fifth, but with all the teams so evenly matched, the poll just may be a crap shoot.

"On paper, I think it's New Hampshire and Providence, but what's amazing this year is that there are as many as seven teams that could make the top four spots, and nobody would be surprised," Parker says. "There is going to be an unbelievable battle for that top spot, too."

26 October 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations