Terriers Head to Durham to Kick Off Pivotal Home-and-Home

BU looking to get back to .500 before Red Hot Hockey
by Chris Aliano

The Boston University men's ice hockey team (3-6-0, 2-5-0 HEA) travels to Durham, New Hampshire tonight to take on the Wildcats of UNH (3-6-2, 3-2-1 HEA) in the first game of a pivotal home-and-home series for both teams.  The contest is the first between both programs since BU edged UNH 2-1 in the Northeast Regional championship game last March.

Both teams are off to uncharacteristically poor starts.  BU has struggled with injuries throughout the first month of the season, and heads into tonight's contest the healthiest they've been all season (with the exception of sophomore forward Chris Connolly, who is questionable with a separated shoulder injury).  UNH has played strong within the conference, but struggled mightily in non-conference showdowns (0-3-1 against Miami and Wisconsin).

Therefore, this weekend's series has never mattered more for both perennial powerhouses.  While playing within the unfriendly confines of the Whittemore Center is a daunting task for any team, the Terriers have had more success than anyone else in Hockey East, posting a 9-6-5 mark at the Whitt.  Still, the Wildcats have played quite well within the conference this season, and they'll have the extra incentive to take it to the Terriers after BU stood in its way to a Frozen Four appearance last season.

One of the toughest things to adapt to when playing at UNH is the bigger rank size.  Dimensions at the Whitt are ten feet wider than they are at Agganis and most other rinks in Hockey East.  While it factors into opponents' game plans, the Terriers have adjusted well to the larger sheet in Durham.

"Historically we've played very well there," Parker said.  "In general, it's a lot tougher for a team that plays in a smaller rink to go play in a big rink.

"We have to make sure we play with a lot of poise."

The Wildcats' style of play is to use the rink's larger dimensions and catch teams off guard on the initial rush, something UNH has mastered on the biggest of stages.  In last year's first-round NCAA tournament game, UNH won in overtime against favored North Dakota by catching the Fighting Sioux asleep on the draw and capitalizing on an odd-man rush just one minute after the extra frame began.

"I think the thing's that made them a good college hockey team for a long time, year in and year out is that they can really attack you on the initial rush," Parker said.  "We have to be smart defending them and not giving up odd-man rushes.

"You can get jumpy playing defense there."

That can be difficult to do in such a big rink.  The Terriers did not fare well playing on a larger sheet than their own earlier this season against UMass in the season-opener.  Still, sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky feels more open ice is something that could help the Terriers.

"We're a fast team so hopefully that will benefit us even more," he said.   

UNH is led by senior Bobby Butler, who was named the Hockey East Co-Player of the Week and leads the Wildcats in points (14) and goals (9).  Defenseman Blake Kessel has had a strong start to his sophomore season with 12 points (3g, 9a) to rank tied for second in the country amongst defensemen in points per game (1.20).  Senior Peter LeBlanc has added 11 points (4g, 7a).  In net, senior Brian Foster has started all 11 games and has posted an .878 save percentage and a 3.95 goals-against average.  A usually adept UNH defense has been uncharacteristically porous in 2009, giving up four goals per game.

The Terriers are expecting freshman forward and leading goal-scorer Alex Chiasson back in the lineup this weekend, as well as sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky.  Should Connolly not be able to go, Warsofsky could see some time up front with the forwards, taking Connolly's spot on the first line alongside Bonino and Joe Pereira.  Last Saturday, sophomore netminder Grant Rollheiser made his season debut, one night after fellow sophomore goalkeeper Kieran Millan was pulled in favor of junior Adam Kraus in the 6-3 Merrimack Massacre.  While head coach Jack Parker was unsure if Rollheiser would be 100 percent for the weekend, there is a good chance he will platoon both goalies again this weekend.

Remember to tune into tonight's broadcast live on WTBU's Alternate Stream, and follow Tristan Hobbes' live-blog throughout the contest on wtbusports.com.