June 15, 2009

BOSTON - The national champion Boston University men's ice hockey team has announced that junior Nick Bonino and senior Eric Gryba will serve as assistant captains for the 2009-10 season. The announcement from head coach Jack Parker follows the news of co-captain Brian Strait agreeing to terms on a multi-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, thus forgoing his final year of eligibility.

Bonino is the team's leading returning scorer, having tallied 50 points as a sophomore on 18 goals and 32 assists. He capped a thrilling rally in the national championship game by sending the game into overtime on a goal with just 17.4 seconds left in regulation. The Terriers are undefeated (32-0-3) in the last 35 games that Bonino has scored at least one point, dating back to Feb. 8, 2008.

One of the team's most improved players last season, Gryba is a veteran of 115 games, the second most of any player on next year's squad. The defenseman played in all 45 games in the 2008-09 campaign and tallied six assists to give him 12 career points (2g, 10a).

Strait, who was drafted by the Penguins in the third round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, served as an assistant captain for this year's national championship team. He leaves the program having tallied 23 points (5g, 18a) in 111 career contests.

Junior Kevin Shattenkirk will serve as the Terriers' lone captain this upcoming season, becoming the first junior to do so since Bob Smith in the 1961-62 campaign. The last junior to wear a 'C' at BU was Jack O'Callahan as a co-captain of the 1977-78 NCAA champion squad.