I have been back from the Friends of BU get together for a
little over two hours.  It was great to see the players,
coaches, parents and hockey friends.  Jack gave his overview of
the team, Hockey East and the other leagues.
 
First, J.P. McKersie is doing phenomenally well.  He was
supposed to be at the rehab hospital for six weeks, but he was
released after only one week.  He is currently an outpatient,
and is doing very well with his therapy.  It looks like J.P.
may be able to return to Boston in November and begin taking
classes in January.  He would continue his therapy here in
Boston during this time.  J.P. is looking forward to returning
to Boston so he can be with the team this year.
 
As for the team, Jack has moved Chris O'Sullivan to left wing
to add depth up front.  He thinks BU is in good shape at
defense and in goal.  The captain of the team is Jacques
Joubert (announced in April) and the two assistant captains are
Rich Brennan and derek Herlofsky.  On the coaching side Dave
Silk received his gradute degree and has moved on, so BU has
only three coaches at this time.
 
Jack sees Hockey East shaping up with BU, UNH, NU and Maine the
top four teams.  He thinks Merrimack has their best team since
joining HE and is a contender for home ice.  He thinks Lowell
will be weaker due to the loss of Roloson and several other
seniors from last year.  UMass (Amherst) is an unknown to Jack,
and he thinks BC and PC will improve under their new coaches.
 
Nationally, Jack sees BU, Havard, Minnesota and Michigan as top
5 teams.  He thinks it will be Harvard and Clarkson at the top
of the ECAC; Michigan, Michigan State and Lake State at the top
of the CCHA; and Minnesota, Colorado College and Denver at the
top of the WCHA.
 
Jack is no longer a member of the Ice Hockey Committee.
Merrimack AD and Hockey East Commissioner Bob DeGregorio is the
new Hockey East representative on the committee.
 
BU has just rebuilt and expanded the team's weight room and
Jack is very happy with the results.  The school is also
planning on building a new hockey arena to be ready before the
end of the decade.  It is still early in the planning stages,
but the seating capacity should be between 6500 and 8500.  BU
is also looking into refurbishing Walter Brown Arena and Case
Center with an addition which would include all new locker
rooms for hockey, basketball, football, men's and women's
soccer, and field hockey.
 
Finally, BU kicks off the season with Midnight Madness
beginning at 11:00pm on Sunday 2 October.
 
Sean Pickett     -     Go BU Terriers, 1994 Hockey East
Champions!
 
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