DURHAM — There may be no college hockey team in the country that needs a strong start more than Boston University.

The 11th-ranked Terriers skated onto the Whittemore Center ice Saturday night against No. 15 University of New Hampshire looking to wipe away the stench of a series of off-ice incidents that have tarnished one of the storied programs in the country.

The trouble seemingly started last season when two of the team’s top players, Corey Trivino and Max Nicastro, were charged with sexual assault within months of each other. Both were kicked off the team; Trivino pleaded guilty to the charges, while charges against Nicastro were dropped. In between, another of the team’s key players, Charlie Coyle, left the program in midseason to play junior hockey after his academic eligibility for the second semester was called into question.

Still, the Terriers managed to make it to the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament — knocking out UNH in the quarterfinals — and reach the NCAA tournament before losing to Minnesota in the first round.

It appeared long-time coach Jack Parker — the third winningest coach in hockey history — survived the scandal relatively unscathed. That was before another bombshell hit last month when the Boston Globe released details of a report by a BU task force commissioned in February after the second assault charge.

The report painted the program as a collection of players who were given special treatment, took advantage of women, were academically suspect and not properly supervised. In particular, an incident involving a celebration by the players inside Agganis Arena after they won the national title in 2009 depicted nothing short of a drunken sex orgy.

Parker remained as hockey coach, but his title as executive athletic director was stripped. Now, as he begins his 40th season as head coach, Parker faces the challenge of not letting this black mark tarnish his legacy.

Winning this season will go a long ways toward that goal.

The Terriers were 1-0 going into Saturday’s game and looked sharp in their 4-2 win over Providence to open the season.

College hockey is one of the few college sports in Boston that have managed to carve out its share of headlines in a city otherwise preoccupied with its pro sports teams. There are few events more popular than the Beanpot and the presence of two of the most powerful programs in the country, Boston University and Boston College, help keep the sport in the spotlight.

But that spotlight also brings scrutiny and it probably doesn’t help Parker and BU that the Eagles and their own legendary coach, Jerry York, are the defending national champions and preseason favorites to win Hockey East.

Interestingly enough, the Terriers were facing a UNH team Saturday whose own storied coach, Dick Umile, is trying to get his team back into the NCAA tournament after missing it for the first time since 1996. BU has won more games at the Whittemore Center than any opposing team and swept last year’s regular season against UNH, which was playing its Hockey East opener.

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Jim Fennell may be reached at jfennell@unionleader.com.