BU-U.S. U-18 Team Recap

BU Tops U.S. Under-18 Team After Banner-Raising Ceremony
Pereira Nets Game-winner
By Chris Aliano

The Boston University men’s ice hockey team edged the United States Under-18 Team 3-2 in the final exhibition contest of the preseason Saturday night at Agganis Arena, during a night that saw the 2009 NCAA championship banner raised during a special ceremony before the game.

Junior Joe Pereira, who missed most of the preseason after rupturing his spleen during the Hockey East Championship game last March, netted the game-winner with eight seconds remaining in the second period. Pereira found himself one-on-one with a U.S. U-18 defender at the far point after senior Luke Popko won a faceoff, found sophomore Andrew Glass who promptly passed it up to Pereira. The first star of the game, Pereira, later admitted he used the defender to set up the shot.

“[Andrew] Glass made a great play off the boards. I kind of waited for the defense to commit to me and I used him as a screen to put it on net and was lucky enough to win it.”



Sophomore goaltender Kieran Millan started the game and saw action for two periods, recording nine saves while allowing his first two goals of the season. Junior Adam Kraus came into the contest for the third period and rebounded from a rough outing last week by stopping five shots—including two shots off of breakaways—to preserve the victory.

Junior Nick Bonino and sophomore Chris Connolly also scored for the Terriers. Bonino drew his team even at 12:07 in the first period after an early pair of penalties called against the Terriers gave the Under-18 team a 5-on-3 opportunity during the first two minutes of regulation. The Under-18’s quickly capitalized, getting on the board 12 seconds after sophomore Vinny Saponari was sent to the box for roughing. Justin Faulk gathered a pass from Boston University recruit Matt Nieto, who verbally committed to become a Terrier earlier last week, and wristed a shot by Millan. Jon Merrill also assisted on the play.

Bonino got on the board ten minutes later, sneaking an impressive wraparound goal by Campbell after senior Zach Cohen found him alone behind the net. Saponari assisted on the play as well, one week after he and brother Victor were unavailable due to a death in the family. Connolly lit the lamp later on in the first, scoring at 17:55 after one-timing a shot by Campbell after tic-tac passes from sophomore David Warsofsky and freshman Max Nicastro set him up.

In the second, Brandon Saad pulled the Under-18’s even midway through the period at 10:54 on a power play. Derek Forbort found Austin Czarnik behind the net before setting up Saad in front of the net by the right circle, beating Millan to notch the score at 2-2. That set up Pereira’s heroics later in the period, a feat that the Under-18’s were unable to match after neither team found the back of the net during the third period.

After the game, head coach Jack Parker was pleased with the overall effort of his team, noting that his players started slow but played well throughout.

“There were times when we looked really sharp,” he said, “But there were other times when we thought we were better than we are and thought we were better than them, taking chances and making foolish passes and turning the puck over and giving them opportunities.”

An area he believes the team needs to improve on, he said, was the penalty kill.

“I was disappointed in our penalty kill and in the penalties we took. We didn’t look anywhere near as s harp as we have to be, and we certainly took some stupid penalties,” he said.

Parker started Zach Cohen, Bonino and Saponari up front with Colby Cohen and Kevin Shattenkirk on defense, but switched the lines around as the game progressed. The play of the freshmen was impressive for the second straight exhibition game, with Max Nicastro looking especially sharp. While the starting lines Saturday may not be exactly what Parker puts on the ice for the season-opener against UMass Amherst, he stressed that this year’s team shares no ties with the previous year’s, despite the accomplishments.

“We’re nothing more than a hockey team trying to figure out who we are this year,” he said.

Before the contest began, the parents of last year’s senior class were in attendance to help unveil the new and updated banners that will now hang in the rafters of Agganis. Parker reflected on the ceremony after the game as well.

“It was nice to have all the trophies out there so all the fans could see how great of a year we had last year one more time,” he said.

Boston University will open its season this Friday, Oct. 16 on the road in Amherst, as the Terriers kick off the 2009-10 campaign against the UMass Amherst Minutemen. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Stay tuned to wtbusports.com for continuing coverage of everything BU Hockey.

Notes and Notables
Sophomore Ross Gaudet was on pace to be the fourth-line starter, but suffered a dislocated shoulder for the second time in two seasons. He is expected to miss up to two weeks...Grant Rollheiser was inactive for a second straight game…Justin Courtnall and Ryan Santana came into the contest midway through the second period, replacing Wade Megan and Alex Chiasson. Santana is competing with Kevin Gilroy for the fourth-line center position…