There is still a buzz circulating through Burlington that is an aftereffect of Vermont’s run to the 2009 Frozen Four. The Catamounts already have a passionate fan base, but the town’s denizens and campus coeds have picked their intensity up a notch for the 2009-10 season.

Senior Brian Roloff has goals in both of the Catamounts' wins thus far.

The team is certainly noticing.

“Obviously, we created quite a buzz last year, but I’d say that people are more aware and on top of our season starting this year,” senior forward Brian Roloff said. “Just walking around the athletic facility, it just seems like everyone knows who we’re playing and what’s going on with the team, so that’s certainly exciting to see that people are following us.”

Vermont’s early-season play has been another cause for excitement around the team’s rink. The Catamounts split their opening-weekend series at top-ranked Denver which, despite blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of the first contest, is a pretty successful road trip. UVM backed that up by beating Boston College, 4-1, Sunday at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

Most notably, the Catamounts have been firing offensively, scoring 14 goals in three games. Roloff, who coach Kevin Sneddon said will drive the UVM offense this season, is one of five players on the team with two goals. During Vermont’s two victories, Roloff’s line has accumulated four goals and four assists, and he is definitely backing up Sneddon’s beliefs.

“I certainly would expect us to score more than we have the last couple of years just from a standpoint that it wouldn’t be a surprise if any line on the ice scored,” Roloff said.

Roloff wasn’t worried about Vermont’s defense, even after the Catamounts allowed nine goals in the two games against Denver. He chalked that up to a combination of early-season mistakes that won’t be an issue once the season progresses and the defense tightens up, which has been a staple of Sneddon’s winning formula during his seven seasons in Burlington.

This season, obviously, is already off to a different start. Vermont is coming off of its most successful campaign since entering Hockey East in 2005, and with a good chunk of the team back in Burlington, the goals are even higher this time around.

“I’m very happy with how we come back,” Roloff said. “There was a group of guys who stayed up here this summer, and you get a sense that there is some unfinished business. Certainly, we were happy with last season, but we didn’t get to our goal. We got a taste of it last year, and that just made everyone much more hungry for it this year.”

The NHL’s Central Scouting Service has released its early-season listing of the top North American players eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from Canadian Junior A leagues and U.S. high school and prep school ranks.

Players are divided into four cagetories: A-rated players are predicted to be selected in the first or second round of the 2008 draft; B-rated players are considered potential mid-round selections; C-rated players are plotted as late-round picks; players CSS scouts haven’t seen enough to form an evaluation fall under the limited viewing category.

Next month, Central Scouting will release its list of draft-eligible collegians to watch as well as ratings of the top 25 prospects from the United States Hockey League and the U.S. National Team Development Program. The Central Scouting Service mid-term rankings appear in January.

The list below contains only those players who have verbally committed to college programs. The full prospect list can be found at NHL.com.

Intrigue abounds in this, the season’s first full weekend of the regular season, assisted by the 2009-10 debuts of some familiar teams.

Jay Barriball and Minnesota open the 2009-10 season at North Dakota this weekend.

1. Minnesota at North Dakota (Friday-Saturday): Beyond the rivalry, this series intrigues me because I have no idea what to expect from the Golden Gophers. I wouldn’t be surprised if North Dakota beat ‘em by six goals, nor would it shock me if Minnesota won by six (on second thought, that would shock me just a little). There are so many questions-Who replaces Stoa? How will the heralded newcomers fare? Which Alex Kangas shows up this season?-that anyone who says he or she has a handle on the Gophers is lying.

As was mentioned in this week’s INCH Podcast, North Dakota may not have the one dominant, dynamic forward like a Zach Parise or Jonathan Toews, but the balance across all four lines is impressive. Brad Eidsness is a capable goalie, but he seems like the college hockey version of Kyle Orton-you don’t have to win the game for us, but don’t lose it.

2. Miami at New Hampshire (Friday-Saturday): The RedHawks’ month-long death march continues this weekend with a pair at the Whitt. On paper, it seems as if UNH, which dropped a 3-1 decision at Rensselaer last Saturday, doesn’t match up well with Miami-the RedHawks should be able to wear the Wildcats down with their superior depth-but I’m more interested Miami’s focus. My feeling is the RedHawks are really locked in on a) putting April’s NCAA championship game loss behind them and b) proving to everyone that it’s behind them. That said, since Dick Umile has been behind the Wildcat bench, UNH has never started a season with two losses.

3. Michigan State at Maine (Friday-Saturday): Yeah, we know Maine isn’t what it once was. But did you see Michigan State last season? There were times the Spartans barely resembled a hockey team. These are important games for MSU if it wants to continue rebuilding its confidence-winnable road matches against a quality opponent in a hostile environment. The Black Bears, meanwhile, need to bounce back after two losses to a better-than-you-think Union team last weekend. The return of no. 1 goalie Scott Darling from a two-game suspension for violating the school’s student-athlete code of conduct will provide a boost.

4. Boston College at Vermont (Sunday): Even though Denver rallied in the third period to win, Vermont was impressive in its season opener at Magness Arena Friday, then beat our preseason no. 1 team the next night. The Catamounts’ top two lines, in particular, looked very sharp. How they match up against a relatively untested BC defensive corps will likely decide the game. Also, John Muse, the Eagles’ goaltender, took a step back last season after an outstanding freshman campaign. His return to form is critical to his team’s success.

Also: Former BU goalie Brett Bennett makes his debut for Wisconsin against Colorado College tonight … high-scoring forward Mike Connolly returns from a two-game suspension for Minnesota Duluth in its series with Minnesota State … can Union get a win at St. Cloud State? … fresh off wins against Army and UMass Lowell at home, Nebraska-Omaha visits Colgate … Alabama-Huntsville can pull off another road upset when it visits Air Force.

Feels good to be back, doesn’t it?

We’re trying something different this season in order to get more of a national feel to our early-week coverage before delving into the conference stuff as the weekend nears. Every week, the First Shift will feature INCH’s national Player of the Week, Stick Salute, and Bench Minor. We’ll also take a lighter-hearted look at the weekend that was in our Say What?, Rankings Outrage, and Tweet of the Week segments.

This is a work in progress, to be sure. But unlike Phil Cuzzi, we promise not to miss anything.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
RICH PURSLOW Nebraska-Omaha Jr. | F | Greenlawn, N.Y.His Statistics: 2 GP, 2-2-4, +3 vs. Army and UMass LowellHis Impact: If the results from this past weekend’s Icebreaker Tournament in Omaha are any indication, Dean Blais’s tenure as the Mavericks’ head coach should be, at the very least, exciting. UNO, which ranked 42nd in the country in scoring offense last season with an average of 2.45 goals per game, exploded for 10 goals in wins against Army and UMass Lowell.Purslow, the Icebreaker MVP, led a balanced scoring attack with a goal and an assist in each of the Mavs’ two wins. He helped set up Terry Broadhurst’s game-winning goal in Friday’s 6-4 decision against Army and sparked UNO’s come-from-behind triumph against the RiverHawks Saturday with a first-period goal less than three minutes after UML jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage. His Runners-Up: Dan Bakela (Bemidji State); Mike Cichy (North Dakota); Scott Greenham (Alaska); Brayden Irwin (Vermont); Dan Morrison (Canisius); Eric Lampe (Quinnipiac); Cameron Talbot (Alabama-Huntsville). The INCH Player of the Week is presented by The INCH Shop
STICK SALUTE	Good on the hockey fans in the Rochester area (7,421 of them, to be exact) for showing up at Blue Cross Arena for Saturday’s Colgate-RIT tilt. The game turned out to be a real treat—the Raiders’ Austin Smith scored a shorthanded goal in the third period to give his team a 3-2 victory. The building’s primary tenant, the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans, averaged a little more than 4,000 fans in 40 home dates last season.
BENCH MINOR	The opening weekend wasn’t a high-water mark for the CCHA’s upper echelon. Most notable (and by notable, we mean cringe-worthy) were Notre Dame’s 3-2 loss to Alabama-Huntsville at the Joyce Center Friday, Michigan’s shutout loss to Alaska in Anchorage that same night, and Ohio State’s pair of losses to visiting Quinnipiac, a team picked to finish in the bottom third of ECAC Hockey.
SAY WHAT?	“I’m not one who’s going to make a lot of changes when things are working.” — UNO coach Dean Blais to the Omaha World-Herald’s Chad Purcell following the Mavs’ Icebreaker Tournament championship game win Saturday. But when things aren’t working—especially for a goaltender—Blais gets out the hook quicker than Tony LaRussa. UNO senior Jeremie Dupont learned as much against Army and UMass Lowell, allowing six goals on 20 shots in just under 54 minutes of work. Sophomore John Faulkner earned both wins in relief.
RANKINGS OUTRAGE	It’s early and it’s gonna take a while for the national polls to sort themselves out. That said, we’re not sure how Boston College, the 12th-ranked team in this week’s USA Hockey Magazine/USA Today poll, earned one first-place vote. By the way, 27 teams received at least one vote in the same poll. The Alaska Nanooks, who beat Michigan and Mercyhurst at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, were not one of them.
TWEET OF THE WEEK	@HackswithHaggs: God bless the dude at Angels stadium wearing a Whale T-shirt while waiting in line for a hot dog. What are the odds?

THE SKINNY

Boston College coach Jerry York pointed to a pint-sized problem that proved to be the most difficult for his team to overcome last season while attempting to defend its national championship—the early departure of leading scorer Nathan Gerbe.

A year later and just a few miles down Commonwealth Ave., Boston University coach Jack Parker is dealing with a similar issue. His Terriers are forging on without Colin Wilson, the smooth-skating power forward who could dominate a shift and lift his linemates because of his playmaking ability. BU has plenty of talent returning—particularly, Hobey Baker candidate Nick Bonino—and is still the best team in Hockey East, but the Terriers have to find some other scorers if they don’t want a demotion from the penthouse to the doghouse.

Parker has recently spent time seeking the advice of Don Lucia, who led Minnesota to national championships in 2002 and 2003, and George Gwozdecky, who guided Denver to titles in 2004 and 2005. Parker, who is entering his 37th season on the BU bench, has won three national championships. He followed his first two with productive seasons in 1978-79 and 1995-96, but the Terriers fell short of the title each time.

Because of this, Parker is studying former champions and drawing upon previous experiences with the hope of finding the recipe to repeat.

“What we’re concerned about—that was a problem most of the other years—was the fact that we were still pretty impressed with ourselves from the year before,” Parker said. “I’d settle for either one of those years as far as the number of wins, but the quality of the games and the way we were focused at the end was not there for us. That’s a long way out. We’ve got to make our team better during the course of the season and then worry about what happens in the playoffs later on.”

BREAKTHROUGH TEAM

UMass Lowell was listed in this same exact spot last year, but for a different reason. The River Hawks were coming off of a seventh-place finish in Hockey East in 2007-08, and were expected to challenge for home ice for the first time in a few years.

They missed out on hosting a playoff series but they did indeed grow, as the River Hawks were the most improved team between October 2008 and March 2009. Lowell cashed in by making a valiant run to the Hockey East championship game before falling short to Boston University, 1-0. Nearly everyone is back in 2009-10, and contending for a league title is a realistic possibility.

“Those were really good tangible experiences we had,” Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald said. “I don’t think we were overly excited about [the way 2008-09 ended]. It was disappointing, quite frankly. We thought we deserved a little bit better. I like that attitude in our team. I think that comes from having strong leadership. Not only do we have a lot of seniors and upperclassmen, but we’ve got the right guys, guys that hold each other to a high standard and are accountable. And we understand that last year means zero today. I think our team feels confident about our style and how we play, and they’ve seen the results.”

PRIMED FOR A FALL

Brad Thiessen is gone, leaving Northeastern with questions to answer.

Brad Thiessen, the 2008-09 Inside College Hockey Goaltender of the Year, left Northeastern after his junior season to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ organization. The only player in Northeastern history to be named Hockey East Player of the Year was the driving force behind the Huskies’ run to the NCAA tournament, NU’s first in 15 years. Thiessen’s .931 save percentage was the best in the league and fourth nationally, and his 2.12 goals-against average was third in Hockey East and 12th in the nation.

Most importantly, Thiessen made 1,195 saves last season, more than any other player in the nation. He lifted a defense that allowed high amounts of shots and an offense that struggled to find the back of the net, as the Huskies were ranked 24th in the nation with 2.95 goals per game. Northeastern had 18 games last season in which it scored two goals or less and managed to come away with four wins and four ties because of Thiessen, who was the only Husky to play between the pipes in 2008-09.

Northeastern will give the keys to junior Mike Binnington and freshmen Chris Rawlings and Bryan Mountain (cue the puns). The Huskies return a good chunk of their scorers in junior forward Wade MacLeod (14 goals and team highs of 21 assists and 35 points last season), sophomore forward Steve Quailer (10-15-25), sophomore forward Alex Tuckerman (8-14-22) and junior forward Tyler McNeely. However, Northeastern lost forwards Ryan Ginand (led the team with 20 goals and second on the team with 32 points) and Joe Vitale (second with 20 assists and third with 27 points).

Unless the Huskies have another Thiessen in waiting or learn how to consistently score four goals, they won’t have enough to repeat their second-place performance from 2008-09.

PRESSURE TO PERFORM

Boston College junior goalie John Muse has started all 81 of the Eagles’ games over the last two seasons, but his role will take a big hit in 2009-10. Muse is coming off of hip surgery to repair a torn labrum, and he spent eight weeks on crutches over the summer. Jerry York classified Muse as “day-to-day” once the season starts, and it’s a positive sign that he played in BC’s exhibition game last weekend.

Muse has a 43-25-13 career record with a .913 save percentage and 2.44 goals-against average, and he was the Eagles’ rock in net during their national championship run in his freshman season. Without Muse, York will rely on sophomore Chris Venti and freshman Parker Milner. Venti relieved Muse for 7:56 of a game against Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot last season and stopped all three shots he faced. It was the only time in the Muse era someone else was between the pipes for BC.

Even when Muse is healthy enough to return, he won’t play every game, according to York. Boston College missed the NCAA tournament last season for the first time since 2002 and is already faced with the challenge of trying to return to the national spotlight. There will be a tremendous burden on Venti and Milner to provide the effort the Eagles need while Muse is sidelined.

TOUGHEST ACT TO FOLLOW

Boston University’s insanely improbable comeback to beat Miami, 4-3, in overtime in the national championship was a remarkable way to end the season. Surely, the game belongs in the conversation among the greatest of all-time, but that’s a debate that could last forever.

Vermont defeated Air Force in an overtime thriller to advance to the Frozen Four last season, just one of many memorable postseason contests involving Hockey East teams.

What cannot be debated were the dramatics that overtook the string of games involving Hockey East teams that wound down the 2008-09 season. After an exciting first round of the league playoffs, UMass Lowell erased a two-goal deficit to shock Northeastern, 3-2, in overtime in the Hockey East semifinals. In the following game, Boston University scored three third-period goals in 44 seconds to top Boston College, 3-2. Less than 24 hours later, the Terriers took a 1-0 thriller against Lowell in the league championship.

In the first round of the NCAA tournament, New Hampshire stunned North Dakota with a tying goal with one-tenth of a second remaining in the third period before winning, 6-5, in overtime. A day later, BU knocked out UNH, 2-1, by scoring the game-winning goal with 15 seconds to play. (In a 3-2 defeat, Northeastern surrendered two goals to Cornell in the game’s final four minutes, including the decisive tally with 18 seconds remaining.)

Then there was Vermont, which downed Air Force, 3-2, in double overtime to reach the Frozen Four. After a boring national semifinal between Miami and Bemidji State, BU and Vermont geared up for another thriller. The Catamounts erased a 2-0 deficit and took a 4-3 lead midway through the third period before the Terriers rallied with a pair of strikes in 1:13 to capture a 5-4 victory. Two nights later, Boston University scored two extra-attacker goals in the game’s final minute and then beat Miami 8:13 into the extra session.

Last year was a celebration of Hockey East’s 25th anniversary, and the teams certainly made it one to remember.

BEST PLAYER

Boston University lost five of its six leading scorers from last season. The one remaining is junior forward Nick Bonino, who turned down the Anaheim Ducks to return to the Terriers. Bonino had 18 goals and 32 assists last season—one more goal and six less assists than Colin Wilson—and he centered one of BU’s top two lines.

Bonino said he gained 5-10 pounds of muscle over the summer—he definitely looks bigger than last year—and spent time working with a skating coach in Connecticut, so his skills have elevated as well. Bonino is an early-season Hobey Baker candidate, and Jack Parker believes his assistant captain is a key to going back-to-back.

“When we didn’t lose Bonino, I thought maybe we’d have a good chance because he’s the key guy on our offensive end this year, no question about it,” Parker said. “Nick Bonino is a Hobey Baker candidate. He’s an All-America candidate, and he’s an All-Hockey East candidate. Nobody knows that because the most recognition he got last year was Honorable Mention All-Hockey East, and I think he had five less points than Colin Wilson last year, and he had more goals than Colin Wilson. And he was without question our best all-around defensive forward as well. Amazing. I think he’s as good a player as there will be in college hockey. When he didn’t sign [with Anaheim] this summer, I thought, ‘Boy, that’s a big boost to us maybe having a chance to have a good year this year.’”

BEST NEWCOMER

Boston University freshman Alex Chiasson is 6-foot-4, 195 pounds and a second-round NHL draft pick. He’s got good skills around the net and should have the ability to score on his own, but he’ll really see a spike in his numbers because he’ll be playing with so many other talented scorers. When asking people around Hockey East which freshmen will make the biggest contributions, Chiasson’s name seemed to come up the most frequently.

UNSUNG PLAYER

For good reason, forward Viktor Stalberg garnered much of the attention in Vermont last season, when the Catamounts put together their most consistent season as a Hockey East team and eventually wound up in the Frozen Four. Stalberg is gone, but his former centerman, Brian Roloff, is back for a senior season.

Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon credited Roloff for driving that line with his speed and puck-handling ability, and he had 10 goals and 19 assists as a junior, explosive numbers after tallying seven goals and 16 assists in his first two seasons combined. Expect Roloff’s progression to continue this season.

THREE BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Can Boston University repeat as national champions?

2. How will UMass Lowell handle its most significant preseason expectations of the decade?

3. Can Merrimack return to the postseason?

MARK IT DOWN
Five things you can take to the bank in Hockey East this season

1. They’ll play hockey outside. Boston University and Boston College will take their rivalry to a new level when they meet at Fenway Park on Jan. 8. The event sold out in hours.

2. UMass Lowell will be strong on special teams. Assuming not much changes due to the lack of roster turnover, the River Hawks ranked second in Hockey East last season for fewest penalty minutes (500, 13.2 per game), first in penalty kill (87.8), second in power-play percentage (19.2) and tied for first in short-handed goals allowed (two).

3. Maine has an interesting goaltending situation. Scott Darling emerged as Maine’s top goalie during his freshman season, but a slow finish hurt his overall statistics. He was 10th in Hockey East with a 2.76 goals-against average, 11th with an .895 save percentage, and he had a 10-14-3 record. Shawn Sirman enters with a nice resume from the Ontario Junior Hockey League, and he is INCH’s second-rated freshman goalie in the country. If Darling improves as expected and Sirman backs up his hype, the Black Bears will have their best 1-2 punch in quite some time.

4. Boston College will rebuild. BC has the third-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to Inside College Hockey, and that’s a good thing in Chestnut Hill because you won’t know many of the returning Eagles. Gone are forwards Brock Bradford, Benn Ferriero, and Andrew Orpik and defenseman Nick Petrecki, among the team’s other top blue liners. The Eagles have some good talent, but their success will hinge on some bounce-back years from senior forward Ben Smith and junior forwards Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney.

5. James Marcou will score, and he’ll gain national attention if UMass wins. The junior forward was fourth in Hockey East last season with 47 points (15 goals, 32 assists), and he was second with 1.21 points per game. Marcou was the league’s leading scorer among all non-BU players, so he had that going for him, which was nice.

Miami, which fell just short of a national title in April, is the 2009-10 preseason favorite according to the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason poll, released Monday by USA Hockey. Miami collected four first-place votes and 457 points in the poll.

Denver ranked second after accumulating 455 points and the most first-place votes (13). Defending national champion Boston University claimed the No. 3 spot (438).

To view the complete poll, click here.

JOE WHITNEY

Boston College

Jr. | F | Reading, Mass.

Joe Whitney welcomes his brother to the Heights in 2009-10, and hopes to lead the Eagles to the kind of success he enjoyed as a freshman.

Key statistics: As a freshman riding shotgun with Nate Gerbe on the power play, Joe Whitney notched 40 assists and amassed an impressive 51 points. Once Gerbe went pro with the Buffalo Sabres following BC’s 2007-08 NCAA championship, Whitney endured a bit of a sophomore slump. Without Gerbe’s finishing touch, Whitney ended up with only 15 points in 36 games. Eagles coach Jerry York attempted to spark his playmaker, and even shifted Whitney back to the defense position for a handful of games last season to take advantage of his smooth passing skills and instincts for the game. Whitney went from recording the second-highest assist season for a freshman in the history of the BC hockey program to a forward that didn’t even crack 10 assists as a second-year player.

What He Does: Whitney is a playmaking wing who likes to have the puck on his stick, and the 5-foot-6, 164-pounder is at his very best when he’s given both time and space to operate offensively. Part of York’s thinking in temporarily placing Whitney on the blueline was his overwhelming knack for manning one of the points on BC’s power play. Whitney had five power-play scores as a freshman, but was down to only one PP strike as a sophomore. Whitney doesn’t have the strongest shot in the world and isn’t a speed merchant on skates within Hockey East, but he thinks the game as well as anyone on the Eagles roster. Whitney’s biggest need is a partner on his line with the ability to consistently finish as Gerbe clearly had when Whitney enjoyed his bountiful freshman season.

The Bigger Picture: Whitney’s younger brother Steve will join the Eagles as a freshman this season, and arrives on the Chestnut Hill campus with an even more outsized reputation than big brother Joe. It could be a prudent move for York to get a gauge on the on-ice sibling chemistry early, and potentially move the explosive scoring brother duo onto the same line. The 18-year-old younger Whitney brother won an Independent School League championship with prep school Lawrence Academy last winter, and then scored more than a point-per-game for the Omaha Lancers during a quick 12-game audition at the USHL level. Joe feeding the puck to Steve could be another sibling story (Brian and Steve Gionta, Brooks and Andrew Orpik) to travel through the Eagles pipeline under York’s tenure.

Boston College coach Jerry York on Whitney: “You can’t teach what he has. He has able to see people out on the ice and he’s almost like a point guard in basketball with the way he can set things up and know where players are - without staring at them. His head is always up on the ice, and that’s a rare trait and a pretty remarkable one to have as a player.”

Special contributor Joe Haggerty wrote this story for InsideCollegeHockey.com. Follow Haggerty at twitter.com/HackswithHaggs

CASEY WELLMAN

Massachusetts

So. | F | Brentwood, Calif.

Casey Wellman was a free-agent invitee to the Nashville Predators summer development camp in July.

Key Statistics: Hockey East’s top scorer among freshmen in 2008-09, Wellman earned conference All-Rookie Team honors after posting 11 goals and 22 points in 39 games. He finished second among Minutemen in scoring and shared the team lead at plus-10.

What He Does: The well traveled Wellwood grew up in California, went to high school in Michigan and played junior hockey in Cedar Rapids. He had little trouble acclimating to Hockey East, thanks in large part to his size, speed and physical conditioning.

The Bigger Picture: Wellman gave UMass a solid secondary scoring threat last season. With the graduation of No. 1 center Cory Quirk, head coach Don Cahoon has the option to pair Wellman with the dynamic James Marcou or keep those two as a 1-2 punch. Early signs point to a top line of Wellman, Marcou and T.J. Syner that could be among the league’s best.

Wellman, in an online chat this summer, on his OT goal to beat Boston College in November: “After the goal I was fighting for air under that huge pile. Once that cleared, it was an unbelievable feeling. I will always remember that, it was the greatest moment of my hockey career so far.”

STEVE QUAILER

Northeastern

So. | F | Arvada, Colo.

Steve Quailer will have an increased role - and perhaps a new position - after the graduation of Ryan Ginand and Joe Vitale.

Key Statistics: Qualier earned Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors and was the Huskies’ rookie of the year after posting 10 goals and 25 points, good for third and fourth on the team, respectively. The Montreal Canadiens’ third-round pick in 2008 returns as the club’s second-best offensive threat behind junior Wade McLeod.

What He Does: At 6-foot-3 and just 185 pounds as a freshman, Quailer might look like the teen who sprouted up too quickly. His hockey sense and skill level have helped him overcome any awkwardness, and he can utilize his reach effectively along the wall and in front of the net.

The Bigger Picture: Head coach Greg Cronin’s teams are known for off-ice dedication, and Quailer has been a weight-room regular to put muscle on that tall frame, staying on campus for the first half of the summer. The Huskies will expect much more from him as a sophomore, including a potential position switch to center. There he’d have added defensive responsibilities and need to take faceoffs, but his intelligence on the ice should make the transition easier - and could make him even more dangerous offensively with more room to work.

Northeastern assistant coach Sebastien Laplante on Quailer: “He was a relative unknown a few years back playing midget hockey in Colorado. He did a very good job adjusting to the USHL and, again, a very good job stepping in as a freshman here. He’s a very smart kid on the ice and that allows him to make those leaps from one level to the next.”

Fenway Park and Hockey East held a press conference Thursday to confirm plans for a Jan. 8 doubleheader at the storied baseball stadium. One week after the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers play in the NHL’s Winter Classic, a 4 p.m. women’s game between Northeastern and New Hampshire will precede a 7:30 p.m. men’s game between Boston College and Boston University.

“We are very excited to bring college hockey to Fenway Park in this once in a lifetime event. It’s great for the growth of the sport, as we have seen what the Winter Classic has done for the NHL and its fans,” Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna said.

The game between the Eagles and Terriers features the last two NCAA champions. It will mark the 248th meeting in the all-time series, which dates back to Feb. 6, 1918. BU leads the all-time series with the Eagles, 123-106-17.

NESN will broadcast the men’s game live from Fenway Park across New England. In addition, NESN will broadcast a pregame and postgame around the event.

The event will mark the first ever women’s college outdoor game and it marks the third men’s outdoor game in the modern era. On October 6, 2001, Michigan and Michigan State played the first college outdoor game with 74,544 fans watching at MSU’s Spartan Stadium. On February 11, 2006, Ohio State and Wisconsin attracted 40,890 fans to the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic at Lambeau Field.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Sept. 17, beginning at 12 p.m. at tickets.com/fenwayhockey. Tickets for the doubleheader will start at just $5.