BU-St. Francis Xavier Recap

Terriers Skate to Draw with St. Francis Xavier
Bonino, Trivino Score in Exhibition-Opener
By Chris Aliano

The Boston University men’s ice hockey team returned to the ice for the first time since April, but only managed a tie against St. Francis Xavier in the exhibition-opener for the 2009-10 season at Agganis Arena.

After Corey Trivino netted the go-ahead goal for the Terriers at 15:50 in the second period, Bryce Swan of the X-Men knotted the contest at 17:39 in the third period to even the score. That result would hold for the remainder of Boston University’s first meaningful game since the 2008-09 national championship game.

For the Terriers, National Rookie of the Year Kieran Millan turned away all seven shots he faced during the 30:54 he played. Junior Adam Kraus replaced him halfway through the second period, allowing two goals while collecting seven saves through the remainder of the 2nd and 3rd periods and overtime. Their counterpart and first star of the game, Joseph Perricone, turned away an outstanding 51 shots while allowing two goals.

There were several new faces on the ice at Agganis to open the season. Seven freshmen started for the Terriers, and with several holes to fill across the lineup some of them will be expected to play beyond their years. Among those freshmen were highly touted defenseman Max Nicastro and forward Alex Chiasson. Nicastro showed intensity throughout the contest, never being afraid to get into the face of his opponents. Chiasson tallied his first career point as a Terrier, assisting on sophomore Corey Trivino's goal in the 2nd period.

After the game, head coach Jack Parker was relatively pleased with the effort displayed by his team, specifically the freshmen defensemen.

“There’s probably less pressure on them as far as the pace of the game then there was on our forwards because the game is going at such a different pace on their end,” Parker said. “Whenever our defensemen got a puck in our zone there wasn’t people on them because their fore-check wasn’t as hard.”

The penalty kill unit looked impressive throughout the contest, stopping the X-Men on eight-of-nine power play opportunities. Parker did not seem to be surprised by this statistic, saying most of the players on the penalty kill unit were on the ice for much of last season. On the power play, the Terriers, who led the nation in converting power plays last season, went 1-for-4. Bonino converted the first opportunity at 18:57 in the first period. Parker felt his players were over-handling the puck while on the power play, especially during the extended 5-on-3 chance in the first period.

St. Francis Xavier tied the contest at 1-1 when Nick Pageau scored on Kraus at 11:58 in the second period. Brennan Wray and Brent Morrison assisted on the goal. Even after Boston University regained the lead four minutes later, the X-Men never seemed to back down to their opponents. The end result was a respectable draw against the defending national champions. Swan snuck the puck past a sprawling Kraus with just over two minutes to play, with Ryan Sparling and Morrison tallying assists. Both teams recorded just one shot in overtime to preserve the tie.

One of the main questions coming into the contest was how Parker would utilize the freshmen throughout the four forward lines, and he took an interesting approach Saturday night. Chris Connolly and Kevin Gilroy were the wings for Bonino on the first line, while Zach Cohen and Chiasson assisted Trivino on the second. Luke Popko, Andrew Glass and Joe Pereira comprised the third line, and Parker strung together an all-freshmen fourth line with Justin Courtnall, Wade Megan and Ryan Santana.

On defense, Eric Gryba and Sean Escobedo were the first pair, with captain Kevin Shattenkirk and Ben Rosen behind and David Warsofsky and Nicastro behind them. While Parker stressed afterward these lines were hardly permanent and they would be completely different next Saturday, it was interesting to see how he divvied up the talent. Nicastro and Warsofsky are two defenders who can score in bunches, while Escobedo and Gryba are lockdown blue-liners. On offense, Gilroy looked a step behind the rest of the first line but played a solid game. Chiasson struggled in front of the net, while Zach Cohen was the best forward of the night, according to Parker.

The Terriers will next play host to the U.S. National Under-18 Team on Saturday, Oct. 10 for an exhibition contest. The 2009 national championship banner will be raised before the game.

Notes and Notables
Colby Cohen, Grant Rollheiser and the brothers di Saponari all were scratches in tonight’s contest, so you can factor that into the lineup situation as well. Parker expects all four back next week. Cohen and Rollheiser were resting injuries, while the Saponaris were in Miami due to a death in the family…Andrew Glass and Ben Rosen assisted on Bonino’s goal…BU could not convert on over three minutes worth of a 5-on-3 extended power play in the first period…Joe Pereira returned to the ice for the first time since March when he ruptured his spleen in the Hockey East Tournament…Ross Gaudet dressed as an extra forward, and saw his first career ice time in the third period, substituting in and out of the fourth line…