SB Nation Boston: All Posts by Ryan Durling

Boston Marathon Explosion: All games hosted at Stanley Cup of Chowder tonight

2013-04-15T21:55:48Z

Yes, we're done playing hockey 'til October. But that's no matter. If you're watching anything tonight, come talk about it at Stanley Cup of Chowder, as we share our support for our friends in Boston.

The Bruins game has been postponed for the evening, but that doesn't mean that we can't share our support with fans and non-fans alike in the Hub.

Hockey East Power Rankings: Lowell soars to first league title

2013-03-11T15:00:07Z

You'd think that a first place finish in conference would be enough to get Lowell the first spot in the power rankings, wouldn't you?

1. Lowell There's no compelling argument for why the RiverHawks shouldn't be here, unless you consider Power Rankings to be a predictive measure, in which case this spot probably belongs to BC, because of the whole "been here before" thing.

2. Boston College The Eagles edge out Providence for second because, did you see Johnny Guadreau on Saturday night?

3. Providence Five months ago, nobody expected Norm Bazin's team to be atop the standings come March, but I'm sure that even fewer thought they'd have to beat the Friars to get there. Still, Nate Leaman's squad will need more than Jon Gillies to get them into the big tournament.

4. UNH The Wildcats are a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but to make it to Boston, they'll need to beat the team that's vexed them all season long. After losing and tying arch-rival Maine, UNH needs to string together a few wins so they don't head into the tournament on a backslide.

5. BU The Terriers could lose in two and be out of the postseason, or they could win the next eight games they play this year. Inconsistency has been their problem, and this isn't a time of year when inconsistent teams have much success.

6. Merrimack Mark Dennehy's got his squad playing some of their best hockey of the year (Saturday's loss notwithstanding), and they're going to be tough for BU to eliminate.

7. Maine The Black Bears caught UNH at the right time and took it to the Wildcats last weekend at the Whittemore Center. They'll need a lot more of that magic if they hope to stretch their recent success against BC.

8. Vermont It's anyone's time, but the Cats are going to need some magic to get past Lowell with the way the RiverHawks are playing.

9. UMass It's always nice to end the season with a win, even if it's as meaningless as they come.

10. Northeastern The Kevin Roy-to-the-Q watch is officially on.

Report: Jack Parker to retire as Head Coach of Boston University Terriers

2013-03-10T22:17:32Z

After 40 years behind the bench, Boston University head coach Jack Parker will retire from his position, reports ESPN.

According to a tweet from ESPN's John Buccigross, Boston University men's hockey head coack Jack Parker will be stepping down from the post, which he has held for 40 years, on Monday morning, March 11th, 2013.

Parker, who also played his college hockey at BU, has become a fixture on Comm Ave, one of the founding coaches of Hockey East and also owns the third-most victories (894) at the Division I level all-time (second most wins among active coaches, next to only BC's Jerry York). All of his wins have come at BU, making him the winningest coach at one school in NCAA Hockey history.

Parker also turns 68 years old on Monday. He has had multiple stints away from the team, and has had multiple heart surgeries. He has won three national titles, most recently in 2009. Five times, Parker has been named Hockey East coach of the year, and the Terriers have won seven Hockey East championships, most recently winning in 2009. Parker also has had a hand in 28 of the past 47 Beanpot titles that BU has won, winning 21 as a head coach.

Report: Jack Parker to retire as Head Coach of Boston University Terriers

2013-03-10T22:13:51Z

We've learned Jack Parker will announce his retirement tomorrow after 40 years as Head Coach of Boston University. #espn #cawlidgehawkey
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) March 10, 2013

Parker also turns 68 years old on Monday. He has had multiple stints away from the team, and has had multiple heart surgeries. He has won three national titles, most recently in 2009. Five times, Parker has been named Hockey East coach of the year, and the Terriers have won seven Hockey East championships, most recently winning in 2009. Parker also has had a hand in 28 of BU's 29 Beanpot titles, winning 21 as a head coach.

Hockey East, Week 18: Conference play heats up as Merrimack, BC battle for first

2013-02-15T14:18:02Z

Boston University will look to bounce back this weekend after a disappointing stretch lately.

Following another exciting Beanpot, Hockey East fans can turn their attention solely to the Hockey East race. With only four weekends left in the regular season, it is now or never for teams to start peaking.

Here are three things to keep an eye on this weekend:

1. Boston University is 1-5-1 in their last seven games, including the two most recent losses in the Beanpot, a tournament Jack Parker's program used to own. The longtime bench boss questioned if he had lost the locker room following a 7-4 loss in the Beanpot consolation game. BU has fallen into 5th place in the league standings, but has two games in hand on UNH and PC, their two nearest competitors. With the easiest schedule remaining of any team in the conference, the Terriers' quest for redemption begins this weekend in Orono, playing 9th place Maine. This weekend will be imperative in determining if BU can turn the tide or if this is another lost season on the Kenmore end of Commonwealth Ave.

BU takes on a Maine team that had struggled on home ice all season until two weekends ago. Minus a disastrous final two periods in Burlington Saturday night, Tim Whitehead's club has been playing much better of late. Maine has struggled to score goals much of the season, but will face a BU team whose defense has been less than stellar of late.

2. The two Massachusetts state schools renew their rivalry this weekend when UMass-Lowell and UMass-Amherst get together for a home-and-home series. The River Hawks will look to curb a two-game losing streak while UMass will try to distance themselves from the pack at the bottom of the standings. Goaltending continues to be shaky for UMass-Amherst. If freshman goalie Connor Hellebuyck returns to the lineup for UML, he could provide a boost. This weekend could very well be decided by which team's top three forwards can find the back of the net. Scott Wilson, Derek Arnold and Riley Wetmore for UML will look to out-duel UMass' Michael Pereira, Brendan Gracel and Connor Sheary.

3. Boston College, fresh off the school's fourth consecutive Beanpot title, is one point ahead of Merrimack and UNH for the top spot in the league. The Eagles will play both teams this weekend, first at Merrimack Friday before hosting UNH Sunday. Jerry York's program is about winning post-season titles. The Eagles have racked up many such titles over the past decade and a half, but the regular season crown is still always an accomplishment. With a solid weekend the Eagles could distance themselves from the rest of the pack. Merrimack comes into the weekend hot, and it is always a tough game at Lawler Arena, but BC has the firepower to cause Merrimack goalie Sam Marotta fits. On Sunday BC will look to keep a beleaguered UNH squad down. The Wildcats have fallen on tough times lately. Even when Dick Umile's team has played well, they have lately found a way to lose.

Beanpot 2013: Boston College, Northeastern battle for 61st Beanpot

2013-02-12T00:12:47Z

Boston College and Northeastern have taken to the ice for pre-game warmups in advance of their second Beanpot Championship game in three years. Here are the lines for the 2013 Beanpot Championship game:

Boston College

Johnny Gaudreau - Pat Mullane - Danny Linell

Kevin Hayes - Bill Arnold - Steven Whitney

Quinn Smith - Patrick Brown - Brooks Dryoff

Destry Straight - Michael Sit - Brendan Silk

Teddy Doherty - Patrick Wey

Isaac MacLeod - Michael Matheson

Travis Jeke - Colin Sullivan

Parker Milner

Brad Barone

Northeastern

Kevin Roy - Garrett Vermeersch - Vinny Saponari

Steve Morra - Braden Pimm - Cody Ferriero

Robbie Vrolyk - Mike McMurtry - Adam Reid

Jarrett Fennell - Zak Stone - Ryan Belonger

Mike Gunn - Josh Manson

Dax Lauwers - Colton Saucerman

Ben Oskroba - Dan Cornell

Chris Rawlings

Bryan Mountain

Both teams have had a week off due to the weekend's postponement of games, but this is the fourth time the Eagles and Huskies have seen each other, so don't expect any feeling out process to start this one.

Northeastern comes into it with added motivation, since they were trumped by a 9-3 score at home in their last meeting with Boston College.

Hockey East Week 17 Preview: Points still crucial, despite Nemo lightening load

2013-02-08T15:05:58Z

Several games on this weekend's Hockey East schedule have been postponed, including Friday's contest for each of the Beanpot schools, but crucial points will be at stake for the three contests still on the docket for Saturday and Sunday.

Maine at Vermont (Saturday, 7:05 p.m. on WCAXtra)

With a win at Gutterson Fieldhouse in the first Hockey East game of the weekend (following revised scheduling due to Winter Storm Nemo), the Catamounts can clinch the season series from their visiting New England state university rivals to avenge a season sweep last season.

Maine enters the weekend without a loss in its last four games after ousting UMass-Lowell by a 4-3 count last Sunday at Alfond Arena and skating to a 2-2 draw with Providence on Friday.

Senior Joey Diamond was the hero for the Black Bears as he scored twice, including the game-winner with 1:01 left in overtime, to earn Hockey East Co-Player of the Week honors. The Long Beach, N.Y. native posted five points on the weekend, also including both of Maine's goals in the draw.

Junior Martin Ouellette, the conference's reigning Goaltender of the Month, made a career-high 35 stops in Sunday's victory and his offense improved to 6-0-0 when scoring more than three goals.

In their lone game of the weekend, the Catamounts hit the road for the first true occasion since Dec. 20, 2012 and suffered a tough 4-1 loss to Boston College - their sixth in the last seven games. Senior defenseman Anders Franzon scored his first goal of the season to account for all of UVM's offense, while Brody Hoffman has started all 25 games between the pipes to remain the lone rookie in the nation to open every game for his team.

Massachusetts at Merrimack (Sunday, 4 p.m.)

Sunday afternoon's match-up between the Minutemen and Warriors will mark the first of the season, but will not be aired on NESN because of the late schedule change. Last year, Merrimack took both of the meetings at Lawler Arena which came in the final five weeks of the season that were key to its positioning into the No. 5 seed in the final league standings.

The Warriors jumped at the chance to gain points in the standings this year and after beating No. 12 UMass-Lowell and No. 4 New Hampshire, soared to 20th in the nation and earned Hockey East Team of the Week honors. In Friday's 1-0 win over the River Hawks, which was the school's first by that score since beating Army in 2008, Justin Hussar scored the lone goal and was named the league's Rookie of the Week.

Junior Sam Marotta made 76 saves on the weekend for the Defensive Player of the Week Award. Marotta, a Bridgewater, Mass. native, posted a career-high 51 saves in Saturday's 4-1 road win at UNH - also the highest mark by a Merrimack stopper since Andrew Brathwaite in 2008.

UMass trounced Boston University with a 5-1 win at Mullins Center last Friday night as junior Michael Pereira posted two goals and two assists to set a new career-high. The penalty kill was also a strength in the contest as it went a perfect 6-for-6 and improved to 30-for-33 since the start of the Dartmouth Tournament after Christmas. Classmate Branden Gracel posted a goal and two assists as well.

Providence at New Hampshire (Sunday, 4 p.m. on CBSSN)

No. 4/5 UNH and Providence were scheduled to play a Friday-Sunday home-and-home series, but Sunday's nationally-televised game at Whittemore Center will now serve as the opening half of the set. The Friars opened the season set with an impressive 6-5 road win over the 'Cats on Jan. 19 - their first in Durham since 2004.

The Wildcats continued a five-game unbeaten streak over Northeastern with a 3-1 win last Friday, although it snapped a span of 150:29 of scoreless play at Matthews Arena (with a pair of goals just 44 seconds apart in the second period, from Grayson Downing and Eric Knodel). Sophomore Casey DeSmith made a season-best 47 saves against the Huskies, while Jeff Silengo scored the lone Wildcat goal in Saturday's 4-1 loss to Merrimack.

With a pair of wins over PC, UNH can claim at least a share of first place in the Hockey East standings for the first time since Feb. 28, 2011.

In the Friars' 2-2 tie in Maine on Friday, senior Alex Velischek became the third player on the team this year to hit 100 career games, joining his father and former PC great Randy as the first father-son tandem to turn that feat. By salvaging the tie, the Friars finish their season series with Maine with an undefeated record for just the second time in Hockey East history.

Joshua Kummins covers Hockey East for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.

Beanpot 2013: Boston College takes on Northeastern in Monday Final

2013-02-04T23:11:58Z

The Eagles defeated Harvard last week while the Huskies beat Boston University on the strength of a Kevin Roy hat trick. Those two teams will face off in the consolation game prior to the championship.

BOSTON -- The go of the 2012-13 Hockey East season has not been smooth for the Northeastern Huskies, but on Monday night at TD Garden, everything will be wiped clean.

The Beanpot Tournament will take center stage on Causeway Street beginning at 5 p.m. that evening, and the underdog Hounds have set their sights on the venerable prize.

It will be a fresh start, and head coach Jim Madigan made that clear on Wednesday afternoon at the annual Tournament Luncheon in the Garden's Budweiser Legends Club. For the Huskies, the record will then stand at 0-0 and the chance to win is equal.

"The Beanpot always comes at the right time of the year," Madigan said. "So if you are playing well as you approach the Beanpot, you are obviously looking at [it to launch] you into the last stretch and the playoff run...And if you are not playing well, you can use it as a launch to...win a big, significant tournament and help you through the last ten games of the year."

NU has not seen success in the tournament for much of its 60-year history, leaving fans on Huntington Avenue searching for when their moment will arrive. The Huskies have played for a title just 14 times in its history in Boston, winning it just four times - all in the 1980's.

Madigan is the school's posterboy for Beanpot success. He is the only NU face to have been part of three of 'Pot trophy-raising campaigns - two as a player from 1984-85, before helping the squad to the 1988 title as an assistant coach to former Boston Bruin Fernie Flaman.

When asked for the first words that come to mind when talking about the Beanpot, Madigan called it the "Boston Championship, giving the winner a chance to sit as "the king of the hill in this city against three other real good opponents who have always been at a national level."

"For Northeastern, we have not had the success we wanted in the last few years in this tournament, it's an opportunity for us to gain credibility in this city and get us on the mantle of winning it. It's an athletic must, it's a social must. It's the city championship where the whole city participates in one event."

More confidence for Monday's game comes from the fact NU has already emerged victorious against the opposing Terriers - a 6-5 win less than three weeks ago, on Jan. 18.

"What both teams can take from that game, no matter if we won or they won, it's understanding...The familiarity of having played each other within a three-week time just helps you game plan a bit more. They know how we play, we know how they play."

Entering Friday's game with New Hampshire and Monday's clash with perennial Beanpot, NU will be without some key bodies though, as a pair of defensemen - freshman Dustin Darou and senior Drew Ellement - remain on the sidelines and will for a considerable chunk of time with lower body injuries.

"We'll have to get some contributions from some other guys, some freshmen...Josh Manson played 30-plus minutes on Saturday...so even though he is a sophomore, I would consider him an upperclassman who is ready to log some minutes. We'll end up playing four freshmen there and Dan Cornell will assume some more minutes."

However, one key forward could make his return in the near future.

"Everyone is banged up at this time of the year," Madigan said. "But we are hopeful to have [Ludwig] Karlsson back, so that would be a good sign...so that gives us some balance up front on our lines. We'll work out with five or six D and work with a rotation there that will keep everyone in the game."

Senior captain Vinny Saponari has quite a share of Beanpot memories, which also span to Commonwealth Avenue and the Terriers. He will line up against his former mates in the Garden for the first time on Monday and feels the Huskies just need to play their game, like it is just the ordinary.

"I think it is important to preach to the young guys," Saponari, a Powder Springs, Ga. native said. "Last year, we were young too and I don't think we were prepared for the stage, prepared for the pressure that comes in playing in the Beanpot."

"It was a big stage and we didn't handle it well. I think it is important this year to just preach that we prepare the same way, like it's a normal day, and look at it the same way. The year before, we didn't [have a good start] and it cost us. We lost pretty embarrassingly and it left a bitter taste in our mouth."

TIP OF THE CAP, JERRY!

For his accomplishments as a player and coach in the Beanpot Tournament, Boston College legend Jerry York was named as the lone inductee into the Tournament Hall of Fame for 2013.

York helped the Eagles capture the title as a player in 1965 in his only trip to the championship game, despite scoring three goals and four assists as a senior in 1967 in a losing effort - the third-highest point total by any player in a single Beanpot.

Additionally, he has led his alma mater to a 24-12 record and six titles in the 'Pot during his time behind the bench, including the last three in as many years.

BC, BU PERSONNEL UPDATES

For the Eagles, freshman defenseman Michael Matheson, who was injured early in a 9-3 win on Jan. 19 at Northeastern, will return to a revamped line-up on Friday night against Vermont, according to head coach Jerry York. However, classmate Colin Sullivan will not be back and a timetable was not disclosed.

On the BU side, freshman Matt O'Connor will get the starting goaltender nod against the Huskies on Monday night, beating out Sean Maguire. Sophomore Evan Rodrigues is also expected to return to the line-up Friday at UMass.

FROM THE STAT FILES

The current Boston College senior class has yet to lose a Beanpot game, while BU's group would become the first since 1965 to leave Commonwealth Avenue without a title if the Terriers do not win on two successive Mondays. ... Northeastern head coaches have never placed higher than third in a Beanpot during their second year behind the bench. Three, including Greg Cronin in 2007, have placed third. ... 29-time tourney winner Boston University is 17-2 in semifinal matches against the Huskies, a stretch that began with seven consecutive wins. The Terriers have advanced to the title game in 27 of the last 30 years. ... Harvard has lost to the eventual national champion (Boston College in 2008 and 2010, Boston University in 2009) in three straight Beanpots before two years ago. ... Harvard or Northeastern has not won the title since 1993. The Huskies are currently in a title drought that has reached a full quarter-century. ... Since 1952, Boston schools have won ten national titles and in each of those campaigns, the winner captured the Beanpot that February.

ON THE TUBE

NESN will provide annual coverage of the tournament once again this year. Tom Caron will call the play-by-play for both semifinals and the championship, while Boston Bruins color analyst Andy Brickley and rinkside reporter Naoko Funayama will also join the broadcast.

Joshua Kummins covers Hockey East for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.