Here’s an amalgam of newsworthy items we collected over the past few days. Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe takes a look at Boston University’s outstanding freshman class. Staying in the Hub of Hockey, the Boston Herald‘s John Connolly delivers his weekly notes, which leads off with the rebuilding efforts at Merrimack. Finally, Ken Schott of the Schenectady Daily Gazette reveals his list of the top 10 Capital District-area college hockey stories in 2008.