“
“
Quotable
I don’t think the fans [in North Dakota] are as ruthless as Agganis. BU men’s hockey forward Matt Nieto.
Page 8
The Empty Net
Hope and Change
Frank Marasco So, another season of Boston University basketball opens up Friday night. This one, however, will possess a tainted air, as the Terriers have been banned from America East postseason play — the America East tournament. Of course this is disappointing for fans in the short term. Disappointment, of course, leads to frustration, sometimes anger. We create villains in our mind — those responsible for our disappointment are evil! “BU ruined the basketball season! America East is a bunch of jerks!” But there are no villains here. I understand and have no problem with the decision by BU to move to the Patriot League, as well as America East’s decision to ban BU from winning its conference title this season. You are BU. Things went fine with America East. You guys had some good times and got along for a while, but you’ve grown apart — you need a change. You were working in a mailroom in Toledo and you’ve just been offered a management position in New York. You’re not turning that down, and you shouldn’t. Bolt! Go! Make a better life for yourself. And make no apologies for doing it. It’s not personal. It’s life. You are America East. You were dating the hottest girl at your school and she just dumped you … but she still wants you to take her to prom. You don’t want to take her! She just dumped you! You’re only human. So, you let her keep some of her things in your locker for a little while, you wave at her in the halls and you take your lumps like an adult — but you’re not letting her lean on your shoulder during the slow dance. Hey, you’d be the nicest guy around if you did, but how could I expect that from you? You’ve got at least some pride. Don’t you? America East doesn’t want their conference champion to be a team who’s skipping town the next day. That’s bad for the conference (and it makes them look like a bunch of
Marasco, see page 7
Sports
No Games Scheduled President Barack Obama will be spending Election Day playing pickup basketball with Scottie Pippen...
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Poulin
goes to
Finland
The Boston University women’s hockey team is without junior captain MariePhilip Poulin as she is competing with Team Canada in the Four Nations Cup in Finland. P. 8.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Notebook: O’Connor leads goalie competition By Kevin Dillon Daily Free Press Staff
Arguably the largest question mark entering the 2012–13 Boston University men’s hockey season was between the goal pipes, as freshmen goaltenders Matt O’Connor and Sean Maguire were set to battle for the starting goalie job. Before the season, BU coach Jack Parker said the two netminders would probably alternate starts until one goalie stood out as the permanent starter. However, six games into the season, O’Connor has already gotten significantly more playing time than Maguire and he has done nothing to warrant a spot on the bench. The Toronto, Ontario native is undefeated in his four starts in a scarlet and white uniform. Perhaps his best performance came in the Terriers’ 3–2 win over the University of Massachusetts on Oct. 27, when he stopped 34 shots and kept BU in the game long enough for senior defenseman Sean Escobedo to score the game-winning goal. O’Connor also made 15 saves on 15 shots during the second half of a 4–1 loss to the University of New Hampshire on Oct. 20. Maguire made his first collegiate start in that game, but allowed four goals on the first 14 shots he faced before getting pulled in favor of O’Connor. However, Maguire bounced back from his tough first outing with a strong 31-save performance against No. 6 University of North Dakota on Nov. 2. Despite Maguire’s strong play, the Terriers lost the matchup 4–2 and Maguire fell to 0–2 on the season. While O’Connor (1.81 GAA, .942 save percentage) has outperformed Maguire (4.61 GAA, .854 save percentage) early on, sophomore defenseman Alexx Privitera said the team is happy with both goaltenders. “We’re comfortable playing in
MICHAEL CUMMO/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE PHOTO
Freshman goaltender Matt O’Connor has taken an early lead in the starting goaltender competition, winning all of his four starts and recording a .942 save percentage. front of both those guys, and it’s good to have our two freshmen that we’re comfortable playing in front of both of them,” Privitera said. Potent Opponents During a weekend in which the Terriers traveled to the Midwest to face North Dakota, the Grand Forks Herald reported three of the highprofile non-conference teams BU will play against next season. BU will take on the University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan and Michigan State University
during the 2013–14 season, according to the report. The team is also hosting North Dakota during the same season. The Terriers have “something like 14” non-conference games on the schedule next season, according to Parker. That is a large increase from the five non-conference games it has scheduled during the 2012–13 season — not including Beanpot games — due to the upcoming college hockey conference realignment. It remains unclear whether the
Terriers will be hosting each of these opponents or traveling to them, but it is clear that BU has at least four national powerhouse teams on its schedule for next season. “Brand-name hockey teams, we like to call them,” Parker said. “We like that aspect. I found that, in the long run, you’re better off playing the big-time schools than the notso-brand-name schools, because you don’t take them as seriously.
Men’s hockey, see page 7
BU drops to No. 5 in USCHO rankings after tie, loss to Eagles By Sarah Kirkpatrick Daily Free Press Staff
The Boston University women’s hockey team dropped to No. 5 in the USCHO rankings this week after holding the No. 3 spot for four consecutive weeks. The Terriers (7–2–1, 3–1–1 Hockey East) tied 5–5 and lost 7–1 against Boston College (3–3–1, 2–2– 1 Hockey East) in their most recent series. BC jumped one spot to No. 7. However, BU coach Brian Durocher said he does not view the drop in the rankings as negative. “I don’t count on it too much at all,” Durocher said. “If you’re anywhere in the top 10, you have a wonderful reflection on your program. “It doesn’t matter if you’re first or fifth or 10th, as long as you’re in that group, it’s a real positive to that program.” Durocher said the focus is less about the rankings and more on the
The Bottom Line
Wednesday, Nov. 7
The Daily Free Press
Thursday, Nov. 8
No Games Scheduled ... Republican candidate Mitt Romney will be performing dressage with his horse Rafalca.
upcoming opponents. “We’ve got to think about one thing, and that’s [the University of New Hampshire], or wherever’s next on the schedule.” University of Minnesota (12– 0–0) remains in the top slot with its seventh straight unanimous No. 1 selection.
Poulin with Team Canada Junior co-captain Marie-Philip Poulin was absent from the lineup on Saturday against BC and will also miss Friday’s game against UNH to play for Team Canada in the Four Nations Cup in Finland. “It certainly shuffles the lines a little bit, and it takes an impact player away,” Durocher said of Poulin’s absence. “Any time you have a player that scores two points a game, or averages thereabouts, it’s a void that has to be filled by the team, not by one person.”
Friday, Nov. 9
W. Basketball vs. BC, 7 p.m. M. Basketball @ Northeastern, 7 p.m. W. Hockey @ UNH, 7 p.m. M. Hockey @ Merrimack, 7:30 p.m.
Durocher said he feels confident in his team’s ability to overcome the absence of its star forward. “Louise Warren stepped up over at Boston College ... I could pick out three, four, five, six people who could step forward up at UNH and help fill that void.” Poulin, who was recently named Hockey East Co-Player of the Month, leads the team this season with 16 points on four goals and 12 assists.
Giving up goals The Terriers conceded a total of 12 goals during the most recent games against BC. Going into the series, BU had only given up a total of 15 goals in eight games. This series was an anomaly for junior goalie Kerrin Sperry, who posted a 2.07 career goals-against average prior to the series. Durocher said that there is no particular person to blame for the recent
Saturday, Nov. 10 W. Rowing @ Foot of the Charles, 8 a.m. W. Tennis @ Harvard Invitational, All Day
struggle. He attributed the results to BC’s strong play and also a need for his team to improve as a whole. “I don’t think we played very well in either game ... [BC] had the better of us.” Durocher said aggressiveness is going to be the key headed into upcoming games. “It’s just little things, but if you don’t keep the pressure on people, they’re probably going to make less mistakes and end up with more opportunities, more shots — and that creates problems for you,” Durocher said. Penalty kill problems BU has had some struggles this season on the penalty kill, giving up nine power-play goals already this season, including four during the BC series.
Women’s hockey, see page 7
Sunday, Nov. 11
M. Hockey vs. BC, 5 p.m. Wrestling @ Binghamton open, All Day W. Tennis @ Harvard Invitational, All Day