Tag Archives: Chris Connolly

Mar 24 2012

Catching Up With Chris Connonnly (BU Men’s Hockey)

By Elizabeth Thomas 

BOSTON, MA- The Boston University Terriers are set to face off against the University of Minnesota in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional Tournament on Saturday, Mar. 24.

This will be head coach Jack Parker’s record setting twenty-fourth tournament appearance, which is an NCAA record. Also, this will also be the second time seniors Kieran Millan and Chris Connolly will experience the postseason, too. Both players are just two of the only names on the current roster that helped BU win a national championship in 2009.

I had a chance earlier this week to sit down and chat with Connolly about the tumultuous season, as well as his outlook on the upcoming Frozen Four tournament. Below is our conversation.

Is it exciting or nerve racking to return to the NCAA tournament – not having played in it since your freshman year?

“I think it’s more exciting than nerve racking, but that’s speaking for myself since I have been fortunate to have been there before. I think it’s a mixture of both for most of these guys who haven’t been there. It’s exciting for a new group like this to get back there and have a chance to win the national championship.”

Have you and Coach Parker discussed a different game plan going into Saturday’s game or will it still be the same lines we’ve seen all season?

“I think we have to focus on what we do well and try to execute that. It’s a team we’ve never seen before in a different league, so we looked at video and what their tendencies are and just concentrated on what we do well, and just focused on that for this game.”

You and senior goaltender Kieran Millan played your entire Boston University college careers together and you have experienced a great deal of success together. What is it like to potentially be playing in your last game together, and understanding the strong bond you have shared with one another since freshmen year?

“We only have maybe a maximum of four games left.  It’s hard to think that we’ve been playing together the past four years and maybe will not again if we can’t win. The class you enter college with is the class you are going to be closest with and Coach Parker always makes a huge emphasis of it. Right away when you come in as freshmen he has a meeting and usually says ‘stick with this group because these are the guys you are going to spend day and night with for the next four years. I’ve just been blessed to have Kieran back there for the last four years and I think he’s one he best, if not the best in college hockey with the things he’s been able to do. So just to be able to watch him develop and have all the success he has, has been great and very rewarding.  He’s also an amazing guy off the ice as well and I do regard him as a very close friend.”

The whole team has been under intense national media scrutiny since December with the dismissal of Corey Triviro and Max Nicastro, accused of sexual assault and rape. That same week Charlie Coyle left college to go to the NHL. How did it feel going through that turmoil and how did you help the team move forward for the post season?

“It’s unfortunate and it’s something you absolutely never expect or ever want to see someone go through and these guys are as close to anybody that you’re going to meet in college. We see them every day. They are kind of like brothers to us, and I just told the guys that we just got to start taking some strides forward. We can’t change the situation and as unfortunate as it is, we still have an opportunity to do something special as a team. We’re still going to have them with us in sprit even though they can’t physically be with us. They are still a big part of our team, and that’s how we’ve been able to move forward and face some of the adversity we’ve had so far.”

Do you believe that this hardship has affected the team’s chemistry or was this an incident that you were able to just put on the backburner? Is this something that might still affect the team to this day?

“I think it’s something that has brought us closer as a team really. There are a lot of people who like to criticize about things they really don’t know. We know who those guys really are. And like I said, it really did just bring us closer. If anything, we used it as motivation to prove some of the naysayers wrong, that we can still do something special. To be able to have the team we’ve had, to have an automatic bid into the national tournament and have an opportunity to win another championship, is testament to the guys in that room and the kind of character those guys have. We are very much still united as a team.”

You seem to have brought some positive light out of it, with the formation of the “BU Hockey Task Force” which you and the assistant captains formed, focusing on how to behave respectfully as a BU hockey player while off the ice.  What did you want the current team and future BU hockey players to learn from this?

“I hope it’s something that sticks. That we are trying to make guys more aware of certain situations and make guys more careful of what they are doing out there and just to be more aware. College is supposed to be one of the best times of your life, but at the same time you have to be careful. We are in a city school setting and there are a lot of other colleges in the area too. [We just want] them to think and be safe. I think it’s a great idea, and can only help the guys and the incoming freshmen from here on out to just give them the right steps to take when put in certain situations.”

So, it’s something you’d like the team to carry on after you leave in hopes the team will not have to go through the same difficult situations you had to endure this season?

“Yeah, it never hurts to have a little more information and if any of the guys ever have questions on things. I think this will help guide them through it. [We want] to make sure that they are well prepared for certain instances if they were to come about again. It’s not only something that can help everybody on the team in particular, but also everybody at the school.”

On an entirely different note – is it exciting or nostalgic that you and your younger brother Jake will both be playing in this championship tournament for the last time in your college careers?

“It’s extremely exciting! Obviously, we are both seniors, so we want to take our teams as far as we can. He has had a tremendous career [at Minnesota-Duluth], so we are both grateful to have the opportunity to have the chance to win another championship, and just go as far as possible. I think that’s the way both of us would like to go out.”

I bet your parents are absolutely thrilled to have both their sons in the championship tournament, especially since you’ll get to play in your home state of Minnesota.

“They are, absolutely. It’s back home for me, so they don’t have to travel far for it and I have a lot of friends and family down there who will be at the game, so it will definitely be an exciting homecoming to say the least.”

Any final thoughts on what you would like to do after walking across the stage in a cap and gown this May? 

“I would like to keep playing as long as possible, as long as I have the opportunity to. Where and when I am not so sure, but wherever that may take me I am going to explore those opportunities and then later on down the road I would love to get into coaching. That’s further on down the road, so we’ll see.”

Finally is there any chance we could see you behind the bench next season? 

“[Laughing] Yeah, yeah, that’s something I might have to talk to Coach about in my exit meeting.”

Mar 10 2012

Hockey East Quarterfinals: Boston University 4, New Hampshire 2

By Elizabeth Thomas 

BOSTON, MA – The Boston University Terries managed to keep their Hockey East playoff hopes alive, thanks to a 4-2 victory on Saturday against University of New Hampshire.

“I am not only happy with the outcome, but happy with how we played compared to last night.  We look like we were actually skating tonight to try and win a Hockey East championship,” said BU head coach Jack Parker.

BU’s offense notched their first goal midway through the opening period on a power play when junior Alex Chiasson and freshman Alex Privitera connected with senior co-captain Chris Connolly at 8:05 to provide the Terriers with a 1-0 lead.

UNH answered roughly two minutes late with a strike from senior Stevie Moses to tie the game, 1-1.

However, the Wildcats equalizer didn’t exactly propel them with enough momentum, as BU responded with a body-slamming goal by sophomore Sahir Gill late in the second period, which gave the men dressed in red and white a 2-1 advantage heading into the third period.

Once in the third session, UNH’s junior Connor Hardowa evened the score at 2-2.

The Wildcats then attempted to build off their matching strike, but couldn’t, and instead watched BU’s sophomore Matt Nieto and junior Ryan Santana double the Terriers lead.

“It was very defeating. [Boston University’s] transitions were just so good tonight. We were just always playing catch up,” said UNH’s Hardowa. “We have to basically come back and play desperate hockey, starting from when we wake up in the morning to the first shift in the game.”

BU and UNH will return to the ice on Sunday for a win-or-go home matchup, which will send the victor to Causeway Street for next weekend’s conference semi-finals. The Terriers have experienced the third game of a best-of-three series over the past six consecutive seasons.

“Its 1-1 and we still have a great shot at winning tomorrow,” said UNH Head Coach Dick Umile. 

Feb 14 2012

60th Boston Beanpot – Leftovers From Boston University

Jack Parker and the Boston University Terriers hockey team fell to Boston College in the 60th Boston Beanpot on Monday, 3-2 OT! (Photo Credit: NESN.com)

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA – Leftover thoughts and quotes from the Boston Beanpot, and again, in case you missed it, Boston College’s sophomore center Bill Arnold netted the game-winning goal with 6.4 seconds remaining in the extra frame to secure the win for the Eagles.

Here is what the Boston University Terriers had to say after their dramatic loss on Monday at the TD Garden.

* Despite the loss, head coach Jack Parker was pleased with his team’s performance. “I was really pleased with my team. I loved how hard we competed [on Monday], and wasn’t much to choose from either one, but somebody’s got to get a winning goal, but four periods, 80 minutes of hockey and six seconds left we gave one up.”

* Parker also talked about both goaltenders, too. “I thought both goalies played extremely well. I thought both teams played well on the penalty kill and the power play. In general, it was a really well executed, hard fought game. I thought the crowd was obviously into it as well.”

* Also, Parker talked about the competitive nature of both squads, who’re currently chasing University of Massachusetts (Lowell) for the top spot in the Hockey East standings. “Neither one of us are in first place in our league. We’ve got to go play Lowell next week, and they’re in first place in our league, so it’s a real battle for everything that’s going on here down the stretch for home ice, for the top-eight, and then if you get in the playoffs, who do you want to play? There’s a tough draw no matter who you get, so it’s a long way to get to another championship, that’s for sure.”

* Finally, Parker commended his team’s play, especially in overtime. “In the overtime, I played all four lines, and BC was only playing three lines, and I thought we might tire them out, [but] we didn’t. We started to get to them a little, and obviously they got the winner.”

* When asked about his overall thoughts on the contest after it concluded, BU senior co-captain Chris Connolly chirped, “We definitely took a strive forward in our effort, [and] that was playoff hockey at its best. Those are the types of games you play in March and April, and we’ll be well prepared for them when we see [BC] down the road.”

* Sophomore Garrett Noonan, (sadly, no relationship) was questioned about what it’s like to score two goals in a Beanpot championship, and he answered by saying, “It feels alright, pretty good, but obviously I wish the result was different. The goals are nice, but I feel like we could have won that game.” Noonan is from Norfolk, Massachusetts and played high school hockey for Catholic Memorial.

Oct 8 2011

BU Beats Up UNH, 5-0

By Brian Willwerth 

BOSTON, MA – If the Boston University Terriers keep playing like this all season, they’re going to be tough to beat.

Kieran Millan stopped all 35-shots he faced, as the Terriers defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats, 5-0, Saturday night before a crowd of 5,148 at Agganis Arena.

The teams played a scoreless first period, due to the stellar play of goaltenders Millan (BU) and Matt DiGirolamo (UNH), but the opening 20-minutes featured several glittering chances on both ends, but both goalies were up to the task.

However, the Terriers got on the board early in the second period on the power play, and when UNH’s Kevin Goumas was in the box for hitting from behind. Wade Megan took a beautiful centering pass and put it pass DiGirolamo to make it 1-0.

Then, exactly two and a half minutes later, they doubled their lead when Corey Trivino took a pretty pass from the wing from Chris Connolly, and knocked it home to make it 2-0. At the other end of the ice, Millan made the advantage stand up, as he stopped all 18 Wildcat shots – including several from the point-blank category.

“Overall, I thought both goaltenders played great,” said BU head coach Jack Parker, who said it could’ve easily been a 4-3 game after two periods.  “All of our players played extremely well… All in all, pretty good deal.”

In the third, Matt Nieto picked up a loose rebound in front off a shot from the point and beat DiGirolamo to make it 3-0.

“That third goal was a killer for us,” said UNH head coach Dick Umile. “I don’t think we played as well as we’re capable of playing in our defensive zone.”

Alex Chiasson added an empty-netter to make it 4-0, and then Kevin Gilroy scored on a wraparound to cap off the scoring.

As for Millan, he tied BU’s all-time record for wins, (62) and hopes to break the record in his next start too.

“It’s pretty nice,” said Millan.  “It’s pretty nice to tie it up in the first game, with a game like that.”

For BU – Saturday was also a rarity in its long, storied hockey history. It was the first time the Terriers’ season opener, home opener and Hockey East opener all happened on the same night since 1989, which is pretty cool, right?

The Terriers travel to Providence next Friday night to face the Friars, while the Wildcats will play at Northeastern, also on Friday too.