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Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:31 PM)

Hi everybody, and thanks for joining Inside College Hockey on The Show. It's Thursday, which means we're just a day away from college pucks, highlighted this weekend by Boston University vs. Boston College tomorrow night. BU head coach Jack Parker is shooting for his 700th career win, and we're lucky enough to be joined by his captain, Brian McConnell.

Brian McConnell

  (1:31 PM)

Thanks for having me. I'm ready to field some questions.

Mark (White Plains, NY)

Brian:Since BU bounced back strong from the bad opening weekend in Ohio, do you think the team will have any trouble leaving the losses in Colorado behind, especially with BC up next?And just how much does the team miss Boomer?

Brian McConnell

  (1:33 PM)

I don't think we'll have any problem leaving those losses behind. Obviously we have a big game coming up against BC, and another big game against Amherst the next night. Especially with them being Hockey East games -- we'd like to stay in first place.

Brian McConnell

  (1:34 PM)

As for Boomer, I think we do miss him a lot. He had a great start, and we don't have that many right-handed wings. It was nice to have him out there, and he was playing well with Chris Bourque and Pete MacArthur, so hopefully we get him back soon.

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:35 PM)

"Boomer" is Bryan Ewing, a talented freshman who is hurt right now for the Terriers.

John (Boulder)

Hey Brian - BU grad here (c/o 2000). Good luck on the season. For those of us away from Beantwon - who are some of the up and coming younger guys on the team to watch? Who do you think will make the biggest impact at BU during his career?Thanks and Go Terriers!

Brian McConnell

  (1:37 PM)

The freshmen are a big class, and a lot of them could have a big impact. Obviously Chris Bourque gets most of the attention, and he deserves it, not just because of his dad. He's a really skilled player, as everyone has seen. Also, Peter MacArthur has been off to a great start. He has real good hands and a great shot. I'm sure he and Chris together will put up a lot of points, along with Boomer, as I mentioned. Ryan Weston has been playing well for us, too. He's a guy who hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but deserves it. He's a big kid who can skate -- Brian McGuirk is another big guy who can really skate. They're really talented as a class and a good group of guys -- really fun to be around.

Druryfan Boston, MA

Is Parker's pending 700th win a distratcion at all and what do you expect the Walter Brown Arena atmosphere to be like tomorrow night? GO BU! BEAT bc!

Brian McConnell

  (1:39 PM)

I don't think it's been a distraction for us. Obviously we want to get it done for him as soon as possible, and it would be real nice to get it tomorrow night against BC. I'm sure the game is going to be pretty crazy and the fans will be pretty into it. We're winding down on the last couple of games at Walter Brown, so we want to make the most of them.

Wes, Medford, MA

what's more of a motivating factor tomorrow night: 1) Hockey East Game 2) Parker's 700th win 3) last BU/BC at Walter Brown?

Brian McConnell

  (1:41 PM)

I'd say it's a combination of all three. Obviously there's a great respect for BC, and at the same time we have a lot of respect for Coach Parker. I don't think you could script it any better than for him to get his 700th win against BC at home. But when you think aboutthe big picture the biggest thing for us is to get another win in Hockey East and those two points Friday night.

Jim Rowe (Omaha, NE)

Entertaining game I went to on Saturday at CC, do you think they are the strongest team you have played thus far? Think the outcome would have been reversed if the meeting had been in Boston?

Brian McConnell

  (1:42 PM)

They're definitely one of the stronger teams we've played thus far. That combined with us playing one of the worst games of the season made it such a lopsided score. I think it would have been a lot closer if we played at Walter Brown because that rink they play in is a big advantage for them. It's tough to get used to the Olympic-sized rink.

Todd (Burlington, VT)

Do you think that with this year's success that UVM has things going in the right direction to be competitive in Hockey East?

Brian McConnell

  (1:43 PM)

Definitely. I think they'll be a tough team to play three times a year. They're having a good year, and I think it's a school that will be up-and-coming now that they are joining Hockey East. We played them this year before they got on this run, but you could tell that they were going to be a pretty good team.

Rick (Short Hills, NJ)

Brian: Is the increased creativity shown by BU's offense due to a specific change in offensive philosophy or the arrival of a group of skilled freshmen? Or both? Do you expect there to be much of an adjustment to the larger surface at the new arena next month?

Brian McConnell

  (1:45 PM)

As a team we went into this year with the mindset that we needed to score more goals because last year we weren't being very creative. The addition of some talented freshmen has helped us along, and some of the older guys have been more creative and generating more offense. I don't think the new ice surface is going to be a big enough difference that it will really effect us.

Nick (NYC)

Hey Brian-Other than BU, of course, who do you guys look at as the premiere programs in the country this season?

Brian McConnell

  (1:47 PM)

Obviously BC, Maine and UNH just in our league are premier teams that are always going to be in the national tournament and the national polls. We've played some real good teams this year -- Michigan has a really good team, and obviously Colorado College and Denver are very good. We'll see how good Minnesota is in January when they come to play us. It's nice to be able to compare yourselves against the teams that are ranked 1 through 5 in the nation because it lets you know how good you are and where you need to improve.

Brian McConnell

  (1:48 PM)

One more, then I've got to run and turn it over to Nate.

Todd R. (NYC, NY)

Will the move to Agganis Arena change the BU's style of play? In your opinion, how has the NHL lockout affected college hockey if at all?

Brian McConnell

  (1:50 PM)

I think the lockout has gotten us a few more fans. People might turn on the TV on Friday and Saturday nights and catch some college hockey. But college hockey has a good enough base to begin with, so it hasn't been a big impact. The NHL obviously draws a lot more attention, but there are still a lot of loyal college hockey fans who will always follow the game closely.

Brian McConnell

  (1:50 PM)

Thanks everybody for your questions. I've got to run, but I appreciate your stopping in.

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:51 PM)

Thanks, Brian, for joining us. We'll talk a little more college pucks here for the next 10 minutes.

Thomas,Rapid City SD

Brian,will the Fighting Sioux get back to prominance soon?

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:51 PM)

Back to prominence? I don't think the Sioux have ever left ...

Chris (Detroit)

Hey Brian and Nate. where do you guys think is the leading state in hockey development TODAY? Michigan? Vermont? Massachusetts? ...

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:52 PM)

This is a great question, Chris ... on insidecollegehockey.com we do an annual report called "States of the Game" that looks at where college players are coming from. Minnesota leads the pack, if you're looking at pure numbers. Look for this year's report sometime in the next month.

Nick (NYC)

How should Michigan address it's fan "problems" (the obscenity)? Are college hockey fans today getting out of hand?

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:54 PM)

Every sport has to look in that mirror these days, Nick. I credit Red Berenson for really trying to address the problem personally ... at this point the fans really need to take it upon themselves to clean up their act, I think. And not just at Yost, but lots of rinks around college hockey.

Miah (Troy, NY)

Will RPI return to contending on the national championship scene any time soon?

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:56 PM)

A couple of good RPI questions here, so we'll grab this one. You've got to start on the league level, I think ... RPI may have a shot at the ECACHL title this year, but I think they'll make an even better run next year, with Kevin Croxton as a senior and Jordan Alford with a year of experience.

Nick (NYC)

Hey Nate-Do you think the Gophers' freshmen will be able to maintain this high level of play for a whole season?

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:57 PM)

One thing about freshmen -- they typically get better as the season progresses. So they probably will. As the year goes on, Minny will rely less on Kellen Briggs to bail out those three freshmen defensemen. Not that they look bad -- Alex Goligoski isn't just a top freshman defenseman in the WCHA, he's one of the best defensemen, period, that I've seen in that league this year.

Scott (Boston, MA)

BU hockey is not nearly as competitive as its Chestnut Hill rivals have been in a long time. What's wrong at BU? Has Jack Parker lost a step? Is it a recruiting issue?

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (1:58 PM)

Good question, Scott. Anybody else have some theories (I bet the Eagle fans do)? I think you had a few years there where the Terriers weren't bringing in the top-end skill guys that they had in the past. That changed with this year's freshman class with the guys Brian mentioned, and should get better with BU's new associate head coach, David Quinn. He's an excellent recruiter.

David (Lakeville, CT)

What do you think about the strength of the conferences this season? With UVM and Cornell and Colgate all in the top 15, the ECAC is starting to emerge as a competitive league in addition to the big 4 conferences. But the power still remains out west, mainly. Do you think that teams in the east are starting to gain on the powerful western teams?

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (2:00 PM)

If anything, David, this year the WCHA is pulling away from the other conferences. But I think you're right -- the ECACHL is closing the gap a little bit on Hockey East. It ebbs and flows, of course -- next year we could be talking about how six of the top 10 are from the East, but right now the WCHA is where it's at.

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (2:00 PM)

One more and we'll duck aside for the rest of The Show crew ...

Bangor Maine

Brain, Do you think the UMaine hockey team has turned things around after a slow start to the season, and can this team return to the Frozen Four

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (2:02 PM)

They certainly can get back there, simply because they've got the best goalie. Howard will keep getting better. I think Maine has turned the corner from their earlier inconsistency, although I would have liked to see them keep scoring goals -- they went from 14 in a weekend to a scoreless tie at Dartmouth last week. Maybe they'll get more offense going this weekend vs. Merrimack.

Nate Ewell, Inside College Hockey

  (2:02 PM)

Thanks, everybody, for your questions. We'll be back here next Thursday at 1:30 to talk about the best hockey going -- college hockey ...