Bruins on ice at BU as they wait for NHL season

[January 09, 2013]  BOSTON (AP) -- Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg drove by the TD Garden on Tuesday morning on his way to Boston University, where a handful of his teammates have been skating to keep in shape while waiting for the NHL season to start.

"I got a really good feeling imagining going out on the ice and getting excited about being able to play again," he said. "I'm so excited to be here."

After spending much of the NHL lockout playing in his native Germany, Seidenberg flew back to Boston on Monday after hearing that NHL players and owners had reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement that would end the lockout after almost four months. The NHL players association must still vote to ratify the deal; both sides are hoping to officially open training camps later this week to prepare for a 48- or 50-game season that would start Jan. 19.

"Every day I was sitting on my computer, looking at the news, looking at the rumors," Seidenberg said. "I was hoping for something to happen."

Seidenberg joined about a dozen NHL players on the ice in a practice run by former BU star Mike Grier. Among the Bruins taking part on Tuesday in the two-hour workout were goaltender Tuukka Rask, defenseman Johnny Boychuk, and forwards Shawn Thornton and Brad Marchand.

Lucic said he opted not to sign with a foreign team, choosing instead to recover from the last two, long seasons.

Now, he said, he knows he has some catching up to do.

"It was rest that I feel I needed," he said. "I've built up a lot of nagging injuries that I've been trying to take care of. Hopefully, I'll feel better this season."

The Bruins, who won the Stanley Cup in 2011, lost in the first round to Washington last season.

[Associated Press; By JIMMY GOLEN]

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