Oct. 12, 2007

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The No. 8/9 Boston University men's ice hockey team will kick off the 2007-08 season in the Last Frontier with an appearance at the Nye Frontier Classic, hosted by Alaska Anchorage. The Terriers open with a match-up against Robert Morris on Friday before taking on the Seawolves in the tournament finale on Saturday.

Wayne State is the fourth team participating in the tournament. The team with the most wins over the weekend will be determined the champion, with goal differential serving as a tiebreaker.

Formerly the Johnson Nissan Classic, the Terriers will be making their second appearance in Alaska Anchorage's season-opening tournament. In the 1999-00 season, BU won the title, posting a 5-3 win over the host Seawolves and an 8-3 victory against Air Force. Chris Heron `00 was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The Terriers hold an overall record of 58-20-8 (.721) in their previous 86 season openers, most recently posting a 4-4 road draw against RPI on Oct. 14, 2006. Dating back to the 1989-90 season, the Terriers are 14-3-1 in their last 18 openers.

Robert Morris is in its fourth year at the Division I level and posted a 14-19-2 overall record last season, including a 9-10-1 mark in College Hockey America, good for third in the five-team conference. RMU fell to Alabama-Huntsville in the league title game.

The Colonials lost two of their top three scorers from a year ago, but return their scoring leader in senior Ryan Cruthers, who tallied 37 points on 17 goals and 20 assists a year ago. The vast majority of the team's regulars from last season, which included a stunning 4-2 victory over then-No.1 Notre Dame on Jan. 7.

RMU finished 22nd nationally in goals per game at 3.14 last year but its defense ranked 53rd (3.69). Senior Christian Boucher returns between the pipes after appearing in 24 games last season and posting an .899 save percentage. Derek Schooley sports a 34-49-7 record in his three seasons as the team's head coach.

The Terriers and Colonials will be meeting for the first time ever. Robert Morris will be just the second team from College Hockey America to face off against BU. The Terriers have also played Niagara, who they hold a 3-1 all-time record against.

Of the 99 goals scored by BU last season, 76 of them were scored by players on this year's roster. Four of the top five goal scorers are back, including seniors Pete MacArthur (16 goals) and Bryan Ewing (9), along with juniors Chris Higgins (13) and Matt Gilroy (9).

Junior defenseman Matt Gilroy, who earned second-team All-America honors last season, was named to both the Inside College Hockey Preseason All-America First Team and the All-College Hockey News Preseason First Team. Senior forward Pete MacArthur earned a spot on the All-CHN Preseason Second Team, while freshman Kevin Shattenkirk was selected to the INCH Preseason All-Rookie Team.

The Terriers welcome seven freshmen to their roster this season, including four forwards, two defenseman and a goaltender. Defensemen Colby Cohen and Kevin Shattenkirk, along with forward Nick Bonino, were all selected in last summer's NHL Entry Draft and forward Colin Wilson is projected as a top-10 pick in next year's draft. The incoming class was ranked second in the country by Inside College Hockey.

Terrier head coach Jack Parker enters his 35th season at the Terriers' helm with an overall record of 762-389-93 (.650). His record in the previous 34 season openers is 25-7-2 (.765).

Parker has led his teams to a 84-32-3 (.718) record in regular-season tournaments during his 34-year career, winning 30 titles.