Get excited: BU men’s hockey crushed it on Saturday

Learn more about the players and season ahead

BU Men’s hockey killed the game against Prince Edward Island last Saturday, winning 10-2. With a new batch of skaters joining the face-off, the first game sets the stage for the rest of the season. The puck drops for the second game at 7pm against US National under 18 tear at Agganis Arena.

Although the team is ranked fourth for all NCAA hockey teams in the preseason ratings, assistant captain and junior Nikolas Olsson said they, “are only focused on the games at hand and not on the rankings.” He said that the combination of a remarkable freshman class and a strong foundation of returning players “could be a special group of guys.”

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Sophomore Charlie McAvoy, a top defenseman last year at BU and a USA World Junior team member last winter, is expected to do great things again this year. He was drafted to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL draft this June, the 14th pick overall.

BU created a lot of buzz this summer at the NHL draft. Three other first-rounders join the Terriers as part of the nine-man freshman class: Dante Fabbro, Clayton Keller, and Kieffer Bellows. Fabro was drafted to the Nashville Predators as the 17th overall pick, Keller to the Arizona Coyotes as the seventh overall pick, and Bellows to the New York Islanders (the same team as senior Doyle Somerby) as the 19th overall pick. Both Keller and Bellows previously played for the US National Under 18 team, a team many current Terriers have been a part of, including Olsson and McAvoy.

Bellows is excited to, “power through” anything that comes in the way of the team with his new teammates. He doesn’t feel daunted playing against men older than him, rather he’s excited. “The team atmosphere is very fun and loose, but when it comes to game time I know all the guys will be ready to go,” said Bellows.

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Olsson, the newly voted assistant captain for the team, feels that having been picked by his teammates for this position was a great privilege. “It is a great honor to have been named an assistant captain of such a prestigious program,” said Olsson. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. When asked about how he’ll prepare, Olsson said that with all the younger guys looking up to him he’ll need to hold himself to a higher standard and set a good example.

Captain, Senior Doyle Somerby, felt the same as Olsson about being a team leader. Growing up so close to BU and dreaming about being on the team, to actually become a captain his senior year, was, “very humbling.” Somerby grew into his new role as captain this summer by spending quality time with the incoming freshmen on campus to make them feel welcomed. It’s become a tradition for Somerby to, “pass on what the leaders I’ve had passed on to me.” For him, this involves being available for his teammates both on and off the ice as often as possible.

Because of both past performance and the preseason rankings, there’s a lot of pressure on the Terriers to really crush it this season. The big expectation for the team to do well doesn’t phase the team leaders. “That just adds fuel to the fire,” said Somerby. The key is to only control what you can control. Olsson said that if they can work hard as a unit then they can do great things. When asked how they expect to live up to the ranking, Somerby said that they can only live up to their fullest potential – you can’t live up to a number. “We are really emphasizing the day-to-day grind and improving each day because with our roster this year we can really push ourselves to a high level.”

With leaders this confident in their teammates, and this calm and collected under pressure this season will definitely be one for the books.

Barron Roth Photography

The confidence the team has isn’t that they won’t have difficulties, but in their ability to overcome those difficulties. Olsson responded with, “absolutely,” when asked about any anticipated difficulties. One can always hope there won’t be any, but acknowledging that in reality there will be gives the Terriers a better chance of coming through victorious. “There is no such thing as a perfect season,” said Olsson. Dealing with difficulties is taxing. Somerby attributes their past success to “staying positive with a strong work ethic,” and is ready to emphasize that team strength throughout the season.

The team has reported having a lot of fun in practices so far. Seeing their potential, Somerby said he’s excited to see the team in game situations. “We definitely have a lot of depth throughout the roster with a lot of skill. I am looking forward to finding out where our ceiling of potential truly is,” he said.

Everyone is excited to get the season underway. “I am most excited to play in front of and for the great BU fans,” said Bellows.

BU’s spirit reputation has preceded the season. Olsson and Somerby agree: “I just want all students to know that we play our best in front of a packed house of our peers at Agganis.”

“So come and get loud with us. It’s going to be a hell of a season.”

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