Thursday, August 10, 2017

Linkorama; Whalers hold reunion at Agganis



On Wednesday night, freshman Brady Tkachuk guested on NHL Network, looking back on his WJSS tournament and ahead to wearing the Scarlet sweater his father, Keith Tkachuk, wore.

NHL.com’s Jon Morosi talked with Jake Oettinger about the WJSS and his hopes to return to the World Junior Championships. (Video)

BU’s 24-12-3 2016-17 season and return to the NCAA tournament is #4 in the BU Athletics Terrier 12.

Terriers will send a squad to compete in this weekend’s 2017 Travis Roy Foundation Wiffleball Tournament in Essex, Vt. This year’s event seeks to raise $600,000 for shortening the path to a cure for spinal cord injuries and helping spinal cord injured survivors in need of adaptive equipment to improve their quality of life.
● TravisRoyFoundation.com report

Looking back
Original New England Whalers’ Reunite at Agganis 
by CDRAL
On Saturday, August 5, members of the 1972-73 New England Whalers gathered at BU’s Agganis Arena to celebrate the 44th anniversary of their winning the Avco World Trophy in the first year of the World Hockey Association.

In an informal setting, teammates mingled and caught up on the last 44 years. Owner Howard Baldwin and Coach Jack Kelley (whose 90th birthday was part of the event) gave short talks and stressed the success of the Whalers was instrumental in expanding the financial success that players enjoy today. The players risked all as did the ownership. Captain Rick Ley spoke for the players - thanking Howard and Jack for giving the opportunity to the players.

Kelley led the Whalers, who played games in both Boston Garden and Boston Arena, to the league title, right after concluding his ten seasons behind the BU bench with back to back NCAA titles in 1971 and 1972.

Present were:  Howard Baldwin (owner), Jack Kelley (GM & Coach),  Ron Ryan (Asst. Coach and Asst. GM), Skip Cunningham (Equipment Manager) Rick Ley, Paul Hurley, Bruce Landon, Terry Caffery, Tim Sheehy, Kevin Ahearn, John French, Larry Pleau, Brit Selby, Bill Berglund, Tom Earl, John Danby (’72 BU captain and All-American) and Chris Henes (Statistician).

Six players have died since we won it all in Boston Garden over Winnipeg and they were acknowledged: John Cunniff. Guy Smith, Al Smith, Ric Jordan, Mike Byers and Tom Williams. Al Smith’s wife and daughter were present as were Mary Cunniff and her two sons Chris and David.

Cunningham has the unusual distinction of being part of the team since its inception to the present. Along the way, he won an Avco World Trophy Ring and a Stanley Cup ring with the Hurricanes.

►The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame will hold its induction dinner on December 13 at Boston’s Westin Waterfront Hotel and it will have a strong Terrier flavor. Among the inductees are BU forty-year coach Jack Parker, former Terrier assistant  and head coach at Dartmouth and Northeastern Ben Smith, and Scott Young, former BU forward and assistant coach, recently named Director of Player Development for the Penguins.
● USHockeyHallofFame.com report and ticket information


Doyle Somerby, captain of the 2016-17 Terriers, plans to test the free agent waters next week. A 2012 Islanders’ draft pick, his ties to New York expire on Tuesday.  With several teams reportedly interested and the Isles still in the mix, Somerby and his agent will explore their options.
LighthouseHockey.com report


Looking ahead
Early projections for the 2018 draft have begun to emerge with several future Terriers rated highly. Future Considerations (report and thumbnails) has pegged Tkachuk at #6, 2018 recruit Jake Wise (photo) at #22 and 2018 recruit Joel Farabee at #35.  HockeyProspects.com’s early ranking has Farabee #3, Tkachuk #4 and Wise honorable mention.

Women’s Team
Former Princeton standout Liz Keady has joined Coach Brian Durocher’s staff as an assistant. A Braintree, Mass., native, Keady previously was an assistant at Harvard for two seasons and at Union College for one season.
● GoTerriers.com report
● USCHO.com report

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