West Haven’s Pereira helps Terriers bounce back
TAMPA, Fla. — The New Haven area is represented in the NCAA men’s hockey Frozen Four on both sides of the bracket: Hamden’s Quinnipiac is in one half, and West Haven native Joe Pereira is in the other.
Pereira rejoined his alma mater last summer, becoming associate head coach of Boston University under fellow alum and longtime NHLer Jay Pandolfo. They’ve helped lead the Terriers to a matchup Thursday against topseeded, top-ranked Minnesota in the national semifinals.
“We wanted to kind of reestablish the culture and expectations, and the results would take care of themselves again,” Pereira said.
“I’ve been learning from Jay, from being around Jay. He’s a great coach, but a better leader, the way he controls the locker room. Managing a team is a lot different than coaching players.”
Pereira played on BU’s last national champion in 2009. After a solid amateur tryout with the thenBridgeport Sound Tigers in 2011 after his senior season, Pereira played one full pro season, coached a year of club hockey at Sacred Heart, then became an assistant coach at UConn.
He’d been with the Huskies for nine years before going home, in a collegiate sense at least.
“(Huskies coach) Mike Cavanaugh is an awesome coach, a great person, a really close friend,” Pereira said. “To be a part of BU, it was time to help get this place back where it was before.”
The Terriers and Minnesota were set to play Thursday’s first semifinal at Amalie Arena at 5 p.m. Quinnipiac and Michigan were to follow at 8:30.
Metsa’s return to Frozen Four
Quinnipiac captain Zach Metsa said Wednesday that this is not his first Frozen Four in Tampa: He said he was here in 2016 when the Bobcats lost to North Dakota in the final.
“It’s cool to be back and see a different side of it,” Metsa said. “Obviously from a player’s perspective, they pull out all the stops to make us feel pretty special.”
How do you pronounce Quinnipiac, again?
How to pronounce the name of that school in Hamden, yeah, three Frozen Fours later, it can still be a question at this time of year. During the Bobcats’ press conference Wednesday, deputy athletic director Sarah Fraser was called on to drop a “QUIN-ih-pee-ack” for the assembled media.
From the dais, Metsa suggested that the faster you say it, the harder it is to mess up.
‘The Goat’ is on board
Minnesota brought a couple of Hobey Baker finalists, a deep and talented group, and, oh, the only man to have his number retired there.
Gophers coach Bob Motzko said that John Mayasich, U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer and 1960 Olympic gold medalist, told him earlier this season that if Minnesota made it to Tampa, Mayasich was coming with them.
“And his son reached out and said, ‘where does he meet you?’” Motzko said Wednesday.
Mayasich, 89, played for the Gophers in the early 1950s, when Americans didn’t get much of a look from the NHL, and his high school, college and international career are all stellar. His No. 8 has been out of Minnesota circulation for over 20 years.
Work it on out
Boston University defenseman Domenick Fensore, asked Wednesday about first-year BU coach Jay Pandolfo, said that the coach was in at 7 each morning to work out.
“Six,” Pandolfo corrected to Fensore’s chuckling apology and laughs from around the room.
Moderator Dave Fischer later asked how many of the media were working out at 6 that morning. There were no takers.