FanPost

Silk Suspended, Roster Keeps Dwindling

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Hockey East announced a one game suspension for freshman forward Brendan Silk, stemming from a headshot in last Saturday's game against Providence. Silk will miss Friday's penultimate regular season game against Vermont.

Silk's suspension compicates an already dire roster situation for the Eagles. Kevin Hayes is out for the year; Patch Alber is out for at least the remainder of the regular season; Patrick Wey is likely out for this weekend's games, and Stephen Whitney left Saturday's game with an injury and did not return.

If Whitney and Wey can't go on Friday, BC will dress only 16 healthy skaters, two fewer than the limit. Of those 16, forwards Cam Spiro and Peter McMullen have a combined 22 games between them this season and McMullen has hardly seen the ice when dressed. Additionally, defenseman Colin Sullivan has been used sparingly since his return from a concussion more than a month ago, with forward Danny Linell seeing more time on defense than Sullivan during Wey's absence last Saturday.

BC has had issues with scoring depth most of the season, lost freshman Frank Vatrano before a single game was played this year, have had injuries piling up since Alber went down in the Mariucci Classic over the hoildays, and have some crticial players slumping an an inopportune time. Things are reaching a critical mass now, with fewer healthy players than there are roster spots and forwards taking regular turns on the blueline while the top of Hockey East gets even more crowded. Even so, Coach York didn't hesitate to further shorten his bench last Saturday, piling huge minutes on his remaining top guns while playing a late afternoon tilt following a game the previous night. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the further depleted ranks this weekend with BC jockeying for final seeding position in advance of the playoffs.