Boston College Athletics
Hockey Begins Preparations for 1998-99 Season
June 21, 1999 | Men's Hockey
September 29, 1998
CHESTNUT HILL - Led by head coach Jerry York and senior captain Brendan Buckley (Needham, Mass./Needham), the Boston College hockey team will begin preparing for its 1998-99 season when it opens practice on Tuesday afternoon, September 29.
The Eagles return 19 lettermen from the 1997-98 team that finished with a 28-9-5 record, won the HOCKEY EAST Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournaments championship game.
Joining Buckley as team leaders are senior forward Chris Masters (Lexington, Mass./Matignon) and junior defenseman Mike Mottau (Avon, Mass./Thayer Academy), who were chosen as assistant captains of the 1998-99 squad.
The Eagles return two All-America selections to their lineup. Mottau and sophomore forward Brian Gionta both earned Titan All-America second team accolades last winter. Mottau led the nation's defensemen in scoring last year with 49 points. He played in 40 of the team's 42 games last winter, missing two contests while playing with Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship in Finland. In the Eagles' post-season run, Mottau gained All-Tournament honors at the HOCKEY EAST Tournament, at the NCAA East Regional in Albany, and at the NCAA semifinals and championship game in Boston.
Gionta earned HOCKEY EAST Rookie of the Year honors last year. He finished his spectacular rookie campaign as the nation's top-scoring freshman with 62 points -- 30 goals and 32 assists. He was the nation's seventh-leading scorer regardless of class.
In addition to its returning lettermen, York and his staff have added four talented newcomers to the roster. Freshmen Ales Dolinar (forward), Jeff Giuliano (forward) and Brooks Orpik (defenseman), and junior Cory Bilodeau (defenseman; transfer from RPI) are all expected to make immediate contributions.
The Eagles open the 1998-99 season on Friday, October 8 against Ohio State in the opening round of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.
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REASONER UPDATE
Marty Reasoner scored the game-winning goal in the St. Louis Blues' 3-2 preseason victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, September 28.
Reasoner, the Blues' No. 1 draft pick in 1996 and Boston College's leading scorer for each of the last three years, stole the puck from a Blackhawks defender and snapped a long wrister past Chicago goalie Marc Lamothe at 16:13 of the second period.
He leads the Blues in preseason scoring with five points, on two goals and three assists.
"I have to admit he's been really good," St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville said. "He's been a nice surprise. We have a young kid who really sees the ice well, anticipates well and has a nice set of hands. He was a top scorer at the college level for good reason. He has good sense (offensively). His anticipation and sight is at the NHL level."
Note: This information was taken from Dave Luecking's article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 29, 1998).
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