Boston University senior defenseman Kevin Schaeffer suffered a fractured orbital bone and some other small fractures when a group of individuals attacked several BU hockey players with a baseball bat, hammer, and billy club outside of an Allston apartment early on Sunday morning.
“The motive was retaliation for a bit of an altercation that took place earlier — like 15 minutes earlier — between one of our guys and two other guys that we don’t know,” Terrier coach Jack Parker said in a phone interview on Monday afternoon. “They were walking home, and it arose on the street. Those guys who were involved went home and then the guys went into a house down the street and came back with bats and hammers and whatever else — billy clubs.”
The Daily Free Press — the student newspaper at Boston University — broke the story on Monday morning, reporting that two men “jumped” Terrier captain Sean Sullivan and then hit Schaeffer in the face with a baseball bat.
“He’s out of the hospital,” said Parker. “He’s got a fractured orbital bone and some other small fractures of his face and head, eye closed shut.”
According to Parker, Schaeffer’s appearance is eerily reminiscent of Boston Red Sox slugger Tony Conigliaro, whose Hall of Fame trajectory was derailed when he was beaned in the face by a Jack Hamilton pitch in August of 1967, just before Parker became a BU senior, as Schaeffer is now.
“We don’t know what the eye damage is yet, but they have to wait till the swelling goes down. He looks like Tony Conigliaro — exactly like Tony Conigliaro.”
Fellow Terriers Sullivan and goaltender John Curry suffered minor injuries in the attack but are not expected to miss playing time. Schaeffer’s timetable for recovery is unknown at this time.
“We’ll have a team meeting today and talk about it,” Parker said of the incident, which occurred outside of 9 Wadworth Street in Allston. “A lot of guys were at the party and saw it all unfold, saw it happen in the flash of an eye. It all took place in 20 seconds to a minute: Guys coming up the street with baseball bats, cold-cocked a few people and left. Hit one of the lacrosse girls too — dislocated her jaw.”
The attackers fled the scene, heading toward Ashford Street. Parker remained hopeful that justice will be meted out to those responsible for the vicious assault.
“I’ll be interested in how the Boston Police follow up and take people to trial for accosting people with deadly weapons,” Parker said. “I’m sure they’ll be able to identify these people, and I’m sure there will be arrests made.”
