I know that some of you have come by here looking for a bit of news on the Terrier’s recent suspensions. Do I have an opinion on it? Of course I do. I think it was an extremely dumb thing for the players to do. For anyone who doesn’t know, the “Tiger Four”, Brian McGuirk, Dan McGoff, Bryan Ewing, and Brandon Yip have all been suspended indefinitely from the team. The speculation is that the guys were drinking when they shouldn’t have been. While they are old enough, it did violate a team rule on when they could, and thus they have been suspended. Parker discussed it in greater detail after the recent game against the U-18 team.
In light of the suspensions, several things have occurred. First off, Pete MacArthur has been named captain of the team, in a move that looks to be permanent. Ryan Weston and Matt Gilroy have been named assistant captains. Parker is hoping that this will provide some much needed leadership both on and off the ice. Of course, in addition to the suspensions, we have a couple players injured as well, with Jason Lawrence still recovering from a separated shoulder, and Colby Cohen suffering a broken finger at last weekend’s Boston College game. This leaves the Terriers with 18 skaters, and 3 goaltenders, the basic minimum to bring a team onto the ice. Ryan Mognahan, Victor Saponari, Craig Sanders and Steve Smolinsky have all seen ice time as a result of these losses.
Well, did it work? Yes and No. The Terriers lost a heartbreaker to UMass Lowell on Friday night, 4-3, after taking a quick lead, with Chris Higgins scoring in the first minute. Adam Kraus got the start in goal, and while he looked a bit shaky, he is trying to make a statement for getting more ice time. Following this loss, the boys defeated the United States U-18 team at home on Saturday night. While it really was men against boys, I really wasn’t that impressed with our effort. There were several guys playing hard, including MacArthur and Kielt, but the overall effort still does not seem to be there. I only hope that the energy MacArthur exhibited on the ice duirng the game will translate into results with the other players. That was the main positive coming out of the weekend. Our goaltending situation is still in shambles.
Who knows when these guys will be back. They deserved what happened, making a boneheaded decision when the team is already struggling. They have not helped our cause, and were rightfully punished by Parker. When they return, I hope that they will realize the opportunity they have, playing at Boston University. It may be a down year, but they still have a chance to turn it around. McGuirk and the rest of the “Tiger Four” had better make it worth it, and then they’ll have a real reason to drink.
Next game is at Agganis on Thursday. I have to miss my first home game this season, so if someone wants to write about it, please let me know and I will post your recap here.
