Boston College Athletics
Men's Hockey: 2011-12 Season Outlook
September 26, 2011 | Men's Hockey
Sept. 26, 2011
As Boston College prepares for its 89th season of hockey, it does so under the direction of Jerry Yorkfor the 18th straight time. As York prepares for his 18th season guiding his alma mater and his 40th season of head coaching, he does so with a consistent, calculated approach, coupled with unbridled intrigue and enthusiasm.
For York and his assistant coaches - Mike Cavanaugh, Greg Brown and Jim Logue- have put together a 2011-12 club that features 18 returning letterwinners from last winter's team - no doubt a source of great encouragement. Last year's Eagles finished the season with a 30-8-1 record and won the Ledyard Classic title at Dartmouth College, the Beanpot title, the Hockey East regular-season championship and the Hockey East Tournament championship.
Yet the staff also must adjust and evaluate, for absent from this year's roster are four of last year's top five scorers, 45 percent of its total offense and a 144-game starter in goal - no doubt a source of intrigue and perhaps a reason to pause for concern.
"As you start a new year, you always look back at last year's team and its graduating seniors," the coach said. "In this case, it's one of the truly outstanding groups."
In four seasons at Boston College, each member of the graduation class of 2011 were integral components of teams that captured three Hockey East Tournament titles, three Beanpot championships, two NCAA Division I Championships and one Hockey East regular-season title, establishing a four-year standard previously unreached among a program that has piled up an unparalleled total of league titles and NCAA Tournament victories since York assumed control of it in 1994.
"They left an indelible mark on BC hockey," the coach said.
Joe Whitney, last year's team captain and Brian Gibbons, one of two of last year's assistant captains, became the fifth and sixth players in the York era to eclipse 100 career assists, joining Hobey Baker recipient Mike Mottau and All-Americans Brian Gionta, Ben Eaves and Jeff Farkas. Meanwhile John Musebackstopped BC to 89 wins and was the team's goaltender for nine tournament championships, tallying a school-record 3,696 career saves.
Yet in addition to vacancies left by graduating seniors, York and his staff must cope with the loss of 52-point scorer Cam Atkinson, 20-goal scorer Jimmy Hayes and promising young defenseman Philip Samuelsson.
"Another factor is that we've lost three undergraduates to NHL contracts," the coach said. "When you look at our roster without Cam Atkinson, Jimmy Hayes and Philip Samuelsson- each who elected to turn pro - there are some pretty big holes to fill."
The group - six in total - combine for 780 games of experience, an average of 130 games per player.
"Having said that, we think our returning players are ready to step up and play bigger roles," York said.
So the staff will continually evaluate the personnel, allowing players to fill roles previously occupied by graduates or vacancies that were previously occupied by players opting to sign professional contracts, all the while aiming to integrate a group of nine newcomers that naturally undergo adjustments to competing at the collegiate level.
"The incoming freshmen have plenty of potential and will be given chances to really help us in this building process which we go through trying to establish our identity and set goals for our club for the 2011-12 season."
The team is built on sound defense. Six-foot-1, 200-pound junior Parker Milner returns as the leading candidate to assume goaltending duties. Also returning are six sturdy defensemen, including 2011-12 team captain Tommy Cross and first-team All-American Brian Dumoulin, whose average height and weight is 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds and who have combined to total 403 games of experience.
"Defensively, we return the key ingredients to our club," York said.
Up front, the programs's forwards are known for dynamic skating abilities and offensive creativity. Ten letterwinning forwards return, including senior assistant captains Barry Almeida and Paul Carey.
"Paul Carey and Barry Almeidaare two players that have quietly done a very good job with our hockey team," the coach said. "They're noticed by coaches and they're noticed by teammates."
Coupled with 20-point-scoring juniors Chris Kreider, Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney, the returnees accounted for 48 percent of last year's goals, 59 percent of the team's assists and 55 percent of the team's total points.
The team's season will begin at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. on Oct. 7. At that time, 20 to 21 skaters among a roster of 27 will dress, preparing to begin a collective quest aimed to conclude at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. on April 7, exactly five months from its official beginning.
GOALTENDERS
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 2/1
Newcomers: 2
"John Muse was rock solid for four years. Now we're looking at junior Parker Milner who has played some very strong games for us in goal and certainly should be the No. 1 candidate to take the spot. He's going to be pushed by three other goaltenders. Chris Venti is coming back for his fourth year with us and the addition of Brian Billett and Brad Barone will make that position very competitive."
Parker Milner, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior, and Chris Venti, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior, are the returnees in net. Milner has played in 19 games during his first two seasons. He went 10-2-1 as a freshman, including an 8-1-1 record, a league-low 1.93 goals against average and a league-high .921 save percentage in league play, and 3-2-0 as a sophomore. Venti returns for his senior campaign having played in five games.
Two newcomers - Brad Barone and Brian Billett- will provide York and his staff with options and depth at the position. Barone, a Medfield, Mass. native, comes to the Heights having recorded an 18-11-5 record in 37 regular-season games as a goalie for the South Shore Kings in 2010-11. Billett, a Brunswick, Maine native, played each of the last three seasons with the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, and notched 62 regular-season victories and was selected an East Coast Junior Hockey League All-Star three times.
DEFENSEMEN
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 6/1
Newcomers: 1
"Tommy Cross will be a major factor for us and we anticipate an outstanding year from our captain. Edwin Shea, who is now in his fourth year, will bring a lot of experience. Each of those two players, coupled with the three outstanding juniors in Brian Dumoulin, Patch Alber and Patrick Wey, make us feel very optimistic about the returnees at the position."
Tommy Cross, who served as one of two assistant captains prior to his election as captain for the 2011-12 season, and Edwin Shea, a veteran of 95 collegiate games, are the senior returnees along Boston College's blueline.
Cross, a Simsbury, Conn. native, has played in 90 games in his three seasons. Last winter, he recorded career-bests in goals (seven), assists (11) and points (18). A second-round draft choice of the Boston Bruins, Cross earned Hockey East All-Tournament honors last March after he registered five points - one goal and four assists - in four playoff victories en route to the championship.
"Tommy Cross has had a major impact on our program as far as leadership - right from his freshman year on," York said. "His work habits, his ability to be an outstanding teammate and his genuine interest in academics are a few examples of so many positive things from Tommy Crossthat we've seen."
Shea, a Shrewsbury, Mass. resident, has registered a positive plus-minus rating in each of his three seasons. The 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman enters his senior campaign with a plus-31 mark in 95 career games.
Three junior defensemen - Patch Alber, Brian Dumoulin and Patrick Wey- have 194 games of combined experience.
Alber played in 17 games as a freshman - without missing one postseason contest en route to a league tournament title and national championship - and played in 34 games as a sophomore. A Clifton Park, N.Y. native, Alber has amassed a two-year plus-minus rating of plus-35.
"Patch Alberhas been a surprise," York said. "He was a recruited walk on who has earned a scholarship. Patch will play a lot of minutes for us this year."
Dumoulin is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior who was a 2010-11 first-team All-America selection. He tallied 33 points - three goals and 30 assists - during his 37-game sophomore season. He captured the league's top defenseman honor as well as the Bob Manahan award as the best collegiate defenseman in New England.
Wey is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound product of Pittsburgh, Pa. He has played in 64 games in his two seasons.
Dumoulin and Wey - and forward Chris Kreider- each were participants in last winter's World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., as members of the U.S. National Junior Team that captured a bronze medal.
Isaac MacLeod, at 6-foot-4, 210-pounds, returns for a very pivotal sophomore season having seen action in 24 games in year one. A native of Nelson, British Columbia, MacLeod is a fifth-round draft choice of the San Jose Sharks.
The lone newcomer joining the Eagles' defensive corps is Mark Begert, a 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman from West Vancouver, British Columbia. Begert played the 2010-11 season with the Coquitlam Express of the British Columbia Hockey League after playing the previous two seasons with the North West Giants of the BC Major Midget League.
FORWARDS
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/4
Newcomers: 6
"I like our look up front. We have two very good senior left wingers in Paul Carey and Barry Almeida. They will spearhead that senior class. The junior class includes three very key players for us in Chris Kreider, Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney. We expect them to be strong, dominant players in the conference this year."
Senior forwards Barry Almeida and Paul Careyrepresent Boston College's two returning players with more than 100 games of collegiate experience entering the 2011-12 season. Almeida leads all BC players with 115 games played. The 5-foot-8, 183-pound senior has 52 career points - 23 goals and 29 assists. Carey has seen action in 103 career games and has 56 career points - 27 goals and 29 assists.
"This year, the play of Paul Carey and Barry Almeidais going to show dividends of the hard work they've put in over the last three years. They will be key players for us up front in all areas of the game."
Three junior forwards - Chris Kreider, Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney- return having seen action in at least 70 games in their first two seasons.
Mullane leads the group with 81 games and 57 combined points through his sophomore campaign. The Wallingford, Conn., resident concluded his sophomore season particularly productive down the stretch, tallying a six-game point-scoring streak during which he tallied nine points, including seven points during postseason play. The versatile 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior is the leading returnee to the team's power-play units and the top returnee at the faceoff circle. Mullane registered 14 man-advantage points as a sophomore and boasts a career faceoff win percentage of 58 percent (579-of-995).
Kreider has played in 70 games and has registered 47 career points. A two-time participant in the World Junior Championships in late December and early January as well as the World Championships in May as a member of the U.S. National teams, Kreider enters his junior campaign having benefitted from vast exposure to international competition. A 205-pound freshman to start the 2009-10 season, Kreider enters his junior season listed at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds.
Whitney has played in 78 games and has tallied 44 points in his first two BC seasons. The 5-foot-7, 162-pound junior registered 16 points in 36 games as a sophomore. He recorded 28 points during his 42-game freshman campaign.
York also points to 6-foot, 210-pound sophomore Bill Arnold, last year's recipient of the Bernie Burke award to the most outstanding freshman, and 6-foot-3, 215-pound classmate Kevin Hayes, a first-round draft choice of Chicago, for added production and impressive sophomore campaigns.
Senior Tommy Atkinson, who saw action in 20 games last winter, and junior Brooks Dyroff, who played in nine games in 2010-11, will add depth to the Eagle forward lines.
Six newcomers - Johnny Gaudreau, Danny Linell, Michael Sit, Quinn Smith, Cam Spiro and Destry Straight- will bolster the Eagle forward lines and compete for ice time.
Gaudreau, who hails from Carneys Point, N.J., was a fourth-round selection of Calgary in the 2011 NHL Draft after earning United States Hockey League (USHL) Rookie of the Year honors as a member of the Dubuque Fighting Saints in 2010-11. Linell, of Great Neck, N.Y., earned team MVP honors as a senior forward at Choate Rosemary Hall. Sit is a product of Edina, Minn., who registered 40 points in 30 games and earned All-Lake Conference honors as a senior captain. Smith, a Fairfield, Conn. native, played the 2010-11 season for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL after having played his prep school hockey at Avon Old Farms before graduating in 2010. Spiro is a Hingham, Mass. resident, who earned NEPSIHA All-New England honors as a senior at Tabor Academy. Straight, a West Vancouver, British Columbia native, totaled 67 points in 49 regular-season games for the Coquitlam Express of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2010-11.
"As we look at our six-forward freshman class, this will be our first look at them in college hockey," York said. "We'll be observing and evaluating them on a daily basis. There are spots open, there are minutes open and we are going to need to have help from the freshman class."
