Jay Octeau

Jay Octeau (March 24, 1965 - June 27, 2022) was an American retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for Boston University. Octeau was a depth player for the Terriers as a freshman but his defensive work helped BU to the top defense in the country and the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. Unfortunately, the team squandered a 3-goal advantage in the second game of their quarterfinal match and were knocked out in triple overtime by eventual champion Bowling Green.

Octeau transitioned into a more prominent role as a sophomore. While Octeau's point production more than doubled, he missed a few games during the season so he could play for the United States at the 1985 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He couldn't help the team finish better than 6th and returned to the Terriers, only to find the team's defense languishing, allowing almost a full goal more per game than they had the year before. The Terriers finished second in the newly formed Hockey East but they were kept out of the national tournament when a lower-seeded Providence won the conference title.

For his junior season, Octeau continued to improve his offensive numbers by leaps and bounds. The team had a better year as well, capturing the Hockey East title and earned the top eastern seed for the 1986 NCAA Tournament. Octeau was an All-American for the year despite not appearing on either all-conference team. The Terriers, meanwhile, weren't able to keep pace with Minnesota and surrendered 11 goals in 2 games. They were swept out in the quarterfinals. BU flagged in Octeau's senior season, dropping back to the middle of the conference. It was the only season with Octeau that the Terriers didn't win at least 20 games or a single postseason game.

The following year Octeau began his professional career but the results weren't favorable. Other than just a single game, Octeau spent his time in the IHL. He only appeared in half the team's games and ended up retiring after the year.

Statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular Season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Mount Saint Charles Academy RI-HS 2393241—————— 1983–84 Boston University ECAC Hockey 2716720————— 1984–85 Boston University Hockey East 382141642————— 1985–86 Boston University Hockey East 418273547————— 1986–87 Boston University Hockey East 375232840————— 1987–88 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 10000————— 1987–88 Flint Spirits IHL 3818912————— NCAA totals 143 16 70 86 149 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1985 United States WJC 6th 7 1 2 3 2

Awards and honors Award Year AHCA East Second-Team All-American 1985–86