Terriers Take Another
By Red Sox Steve
The first time I became aware of BU hockey, I was about 10 years old. When the Boston Bruins flagship TV station was WSBK, they would televise the Beanpot tournament (the first 2 Monday nights in February, as if you needed to know that), and I got to see what college hockey was all about. The players were huge, the game was fast, and here they were, playing in one of America's oldest arenas, and the home of one of the NHL's original six teams, Boston Gaahdin. Growing up playing youth hockey in Rhode Island, my friends and I would often go to Schneider Arena or Meehan Auditorium to watch either Providence College (led in the '80s by goalie Chris Terreri and coach Lou Lamoriello) or Brown hockey games. I was exposed to college hockey from a very young age.
When I was 17 and finishing my junior year in high school, I recall being invited to the Frozen Four semifinals, which were taking place in Providence, RI. I turned down the ticket, and missed one of the greatest games in college hockey history - the Maine-Michigan game: 28 seconds into the 3rd overtime, Maine's Dan Shermerhorn beat Michigan goalie Marty Turco to send Maine to the championship game against BU, who had defeated Minnesota later that same day. I will never forget it - one of my first days on my new job as a busboy, watching the game that just kept going on ESPN. Definitely had made a mistake choosing work over the Frozen Four. BU wins the 1995 championship in RI that Saturday, its first since 1978 when the Terriers beat the hated bc eagles (why bother capitalizing... if you went to BU before me, after me, or with me, and you were a hockey fan, you hated the BC hockey team... and you can repeat the derisive cheer without needing a drumbeat in the background...).
1995. 1978. These teams had some legendary names. Silk. O'Callahan. Craig. Drury. Grier. Noble. Pandolfo. Kelleher. I'm 32 now - I was less than a year old when the '78 team won it all, but I remember seeing Silk, O'Callahan and Craig's names and photos in the old Walter Brown arena, along with the 1980 Olympic hero, Mike Eruzione, a BU alum whose name is etched in hockey history forever as the captain of the gold-medal winning 1980 US Olympic team. You better believe he's still associated with his alma mater - an assistant coach for a while, and now in charge of Special Outreach for BU Athletics.
The dominance of Chris Drury - I started going to BU games in 1996, but, being a sports fan growing up in New England, had heard Drury's name long before that - he was a star pitcher on the 1991 Trumbull, CT Little League team that had won the world championships. From the time I got there in the fall of 1996 to the time Drury graduated in the spring of 1998, I got to watch one of the most incredible athletes of all time almost every weekend. Drury scored from the point, Drury scored from the faceoff, Drury scored in double coverage, he beat the goalie high, he beat the goalie low, power-play, short-handed, didn't matter; with Drury out there, the opposition was overmatched. It was easier for the opposing coach to cover his eyes during a Drury shift. Hobey Baker winner, Little League world champ, NCAA hockey champion... Drury simply lives in a trophy case with a house built around it!
During the years I was a student, Drury, Bates, Noble, Grier, Kealty, Kelleher, Sylvia, Bates had graduated, while new names donned the Scarlet and White for seasons filled with runs at the Boston college hockey trifecta: Beanpot, Hockey East, NCAA titles. John Sabo, Carl Corazzini, Jason Tapp, Rick DiPietro, Dan LaCouture, Tom Poti, Colin Sheen, Pat Aufiero, Jack Baker, Tommi Degermann, Chris Dyment. The list goes on and on.
There was the time in 2000 when a close friend of mine and I went to T's Pub on Commonwealth Avenue to watch an NCAA game. The Terriers were playing in a regional matchup against St. Lawrence at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. Again, I had friends that had made the trek west on I-90, but I skipped it, this time in favor of academics (see Mom and Dad, I ***WAS*** responsible in college!). This turned out to be the longest college hockey game in NCAA history - Rick Dipietro essentially goaltended for 2 games - he let up 2 goals in the 1st 3 periods of play, and shut out the Saints for the 2nd 3 periods of (overtime) play, finally giving up the game-winner in the 4th overtime. An incredible effort, but a heartbreaking end to the season for the Terriers.
No doubt, I'm not the biggest BU hockey fan ever, especially when compared to my roommates sophomore year. Growing up in Massachusetts (they still have the accents to prove it), these guys knew much more about the ins and outs of the program, and probably still do. I even gave up a Beanpot ticket one year (right behind the net) for a date with a girl (young and stupid, can you tell?). That doesn't mean the games I saw were any less enjoyable - this program is competitive in Hockey East, and the Beanpot and the NCAAs often, which makes the experience of being a fan that much more rewarding. When your coach is in his 36th year, and was a player in the same program like God Parker (oops, I mean Jack Parker. Jack.), it's just another sign of a stable and successful program, no doubt about it.
Section 8 - the Dawg Pound. I sat near the top of the section, right across from Sasquatch (yes, I know his "real" name!). The band seated across the ice starts playing Iron-Man, and he comes down from his seat, takes his shirt off to reveal the hairiest back and chest on any living homo sapien, rivalling only that of, yes, a Sasquatch. He riles up the fans, who then point out the difference between the opposing team's goalie in the net below ("Sieve!") and our guy, Sasquatch. This happened every single home game, and of course, Sasquatch took the B Line to the Fleet Center (TD Banknorth Arena) for Beanpots and Hockey East Tournament games as well. Walking around my neighborhood in NYC, I still want to scream "1949" at someone wearing one of those yellow "Superfan" T-shirts, but they probably won't even know what I'm talking about.
2009 - Have followed BU here and there, but remember, being a Boston sports fan since 2000 has essentially been a "professional" experience, which drowns out the collegiate sports for a fan with my schedule (and cable plan!) - Superbowls, World Series, NBA championships have begun to feel like annual rites of passage from one season to another... "which team is it going to be this year?" or, "what do I make for the Superbowl party?" are the frequent topics of conversation. This championship was different only because it reminds me of all the years that have passed since the last one and what it's like to be a BU hockey fan - I've been to BU hockey games (and Midnight Madness) at Walter Brown much more than any other arena in my lifetime. Gilroy, Connolly, Cohen, Yip, McCarthy and all the rest are now etched into the names of Terrier hockey history forever. No doubt, some young kid watching somewhere is paying attention to what's going on at BU. Congratulations to the 2009 NCAA Men's Hockey National Champions, the Terriers of Boston University.
