Boston University men's ice hockey

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The Boston University Terriers men’s ice hockey program is one of many NCAA Division I sports at Boston University. Until 1983, BU played in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The team has competed in the Hockey East Association since the conference’s creation in 1983 [1]. Men’s ice hockey is one of the most popular sports at Boston University and has a very large fan base on campus.

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[edit] 2007-2008 Season

BU has played pretty poorly through the first half of the current season. However, they second half they played much better and the team finished ranked #2 in Hockey East.

[edit] 2006-2007 Season

BU had a very successful 2006-2007 campaign, finishing with an overall record of 20-10-9. The Terriers finished their regular season in 3rd place in the Hockey East. BU won their 28th total and third consecutive Beanpot tournament title, defeating rival Boston College [2] in overtime. At the end of the season, BU continued their surge for the NCAA tournament by earning home ice in the Hockey East quarterfinals and knocking off the University of Vermont two games to one. BU advanced to the Hockey East semifinals at the TD Banknorth Garden but suffered a devastating 6-2 loss to Boston College, the eventual tournament champions and national runners-up. Boston University was then placed in the NCAA tournament as the 2nd seed in the Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids, MI) and 9th seed overall [3]. BU met 10th overall seed Michigan State University in the first round and lost 5-1. Michigan State eventually went on to win the national championship. Highlights from the season include multiple awards by senior goaltender John Curry. Some of the honors include: Hockey East Player of the Year, RBK All-America First Team, National leader in shutouts, and Hobey Baker Award finalist [4] [5]. Senior Sean Sullivan and sophomore Matt Gilroy were also named by RBK to the All-America Second Team. Junior Pete MacArthur finished first on the team in all scoring categories with 36 total points off 16 goals and 20 assists. [6].

[edit] Post-Season Results

The Terriers have four national championships under their belt. These wins serve as the only national championships in Boston University Athletics [7]. They won their first title in 1971 and repeated as back-to-back champions in 1972. Both of these titles were won under head coach Jack Kelley [8]. Six years and two coaches later, in the 1977-1978 season, the Terriers won their third national championship. This was the first title under current head coach Jack Parker. BU’s most recent national championship win came in the 1994-1995 season, again under Parker [9]. The Terriers also proudly show off five runner-up finishes in the NCAA tournament as well as twenty frozen four appearances. They last reached both the Frozen Four and the semifinals in the 1996-1997 season. BU also holds thirteen regular season conference titles and eleven postseason conference tournament championships in their time split between the Hockey East and ECACHL [10].

[edit] Beanpot Results

Boston University, sometimes jokingly referred to as “Beanpot University,” [11] participates every year in an NCAA mid-season hockey tournament called The Beanpot. This highly anticipated event is a four team tournament that includes the Boston-area teams of Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Boston College. The tournament is played on the first two Mondays of February. The Terriers get their clever nickname due to their astonishingly successful history in the tournament. Of the 55 tournaments played since the 1952-1953 season, Boston University has walked away victorious on 28 occasions, winning more than half of the time. Last year’s final included a match-up versus rival Boston College and resulted in the Terriers’ third straight Beanpot championship on an overtime goal by Brian McGuirk.

[edit] Rivals

[edit] Boston College

BU hockey has an ongoing rivalry with Boston College. The two teams keep a very competitive rivalry as they continue to show that they are among the top programs in NCAA hockey. The rivalry starts every year as BU battles BC on back-to-back days on the first Friday and Saturday in December for a home-and-home series. On a lighter note, a game between BU and BC on December 1, 2006 was postponed due to foggy conditions in Boston College's Conte Forum [12]. The rivalry is sometimes referred to as the Green Line Rivalry or The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue because of the proximity of the schools and the means of transportation to get from one campus to another. [13].

[edit] Cornell

The rivalry between Boston University and Cornell dates to 1925 when Boston University beat Cornell 7-2. Between the years 1967 and 1977, both Boston University and Cornell won the ECAC crown five times in the ECAC Hockey League [14].

The schools renewed the rivalry over Thanksgiving weekend of 2007, with a sold out game dubbed "Red Hot Hockey" at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. After scoring three goals in the first several minutes of play, BU went on to win 6-3.

[edit] National Championships

BU won the national championships in 1971, 1972, 1978, and 1995.

[edit] Agganis Arena

BU currently plays their home games at Agganis Arena in Boston, MA. The hockey rink at the arena is named Jack Parker Rink after the current head coach of the men’s hockey team. Agganis Arena first opened its doors on January 3rd, 2005 for a hockey game versus The University of Minnesota [15]. The student section at BU, also known as “The Dog Pound,” is located in sections 117-119 and 107-109 at Agganis Arena [16].

[edit] Current Terriers in the NHL (2007-2008)