Hi everyone, I guess it’s time for another update at the ol blogerroo here.  I have to say that again, I’m impressed with the level of play that BU has exhibited recently.  While the results haven’t been spectacular (2-1-2) in the last 5 games, things are definitely looking up.  I would’ve posted earlier, but I was actually pretty upset about the Dartmouth loss, and decided to hold off for a bit.

Anyway, since I’ve last posted, the Terriers have lost to Dartmouth College (3-2), Defeated Merrimack (6-4), and tied Boston College (2-2).  I’ll try to reflect a bit on each game, as well as what’s been going on recently.

First, some news… Karson Gillespie is out for the long run, and I think this could end up being a pretty good thing for us.  Brett Bennett has displayed decently strong play in the past few games.  Dartmouth was a bit of a downer, but he played very well against Boston College.  It will help his development to know that the team is playing better in front of him.  I just hope it continues.

Dartmouth

This one really ate at me.  We dominated play for a majority of the game.  Boomer Ewing scored one of the sweetest goals I’ve seen in a while.  After two periods, we had the lead, and I couldn’t have been happier.  Then it started to fall apart.  A good PK by Dartmouth and some hard work from them tied the game.  They then took the lead when defenseman Brian Strait wasn’t able to control a puck in the defensive zone, leading to a puck that got stuffed between the pads of Bennett with only a minute and a half left in the game.  It was terrible.  A game that should have been a win turned into what should have been a tie, then a loss.  Blah.

I didn’t get to see the Merrimack game, so I can comment on that one too much.  I am concerned that after taking a 5-1 lead, we gave most of it up and needed an empty net goal in order to ice the game.

Boston College

This was a very good game, though I’m not happy with the tie.  From the get go, BU was the stronger team.  We won all the battles to loose pucks, and kept the puck in the offensive zone for extended periods of time.  It looked like a very dominant team, a team that shouldn’t be 7-11-2.  However, BC’s fresman phenom goaltender John Muse kept them in the game.  I’ll give him credit, he played an incredible game.

Boston College also played hard, and scored some good power play goals.  That was the difference between a win and a loss.  BU didn’t have what it took on the power play, a problem that has persisted for several seasons now.  We need to have a much stronger showing on the power play.  Besides moving the puck really well, we’re not getting anyone in front of the net, and not placing our shots well.  If we can improve on this, we should be able to make a turnaround.

Besides this, I thought that BC played  pretty dirty game overall.  Their players were pulling on sticks, taking cheap shots, and doing whatever they could to instigate problems.  I’m not sure if this is the way that Jerry York is training his team to play, but it’s not a style of hockey that I enjoy watching.  Yes, hitting and contact are parts of the game, and it can get emotional, but it gets pretty ridiculous when players go out there intentionally trying to draw penalties.  I’ll take Nathan Gerbe as an example.  He is one of the most talented players on the ice by far, but for some reason he still feels the need to play dirty.

Just take a look at what he did to Kevin Schaeffer last year as an example.  Cmon… pulling a guy on top of you just to get a penalty call?  Joe Bertangna, why don’t you review these things?

Huge series against UNH this weekend.  More to come.

The Terriers head up this weekend to Cold Maine to take on the Black Bears of UMO.  I’ve always wondered why they called themselves the Black Bears, yet their fans always say “M-A-I-N-E Go BLUE!”.  It doesn’t make sense to me… perhaps a Maine fan can explain it to me?

Anyway, the Black Bears play in historic Alfond Arena, and I figured I’d give a bit of background on this great facility. I really like the way it looks from the outside, like a bunch of snowy mountains.

Seating 5712 fans, this arena definitely gives the Bears an advantage, especially since their fans are such Maine-iacs.  I’ve seen their fans come out for the Hockey East Tournament, and I’ve been very impressed.  Their band is also pretty good, with a lot of energy.

Open in 1972, they increased the seating to its current capacity in 1992 in order to bring the basketball teams back to the Alfond.

The Alfond also offers great views, and additionally has 13 skyboxes which are available for their games.  There are virtually no obstructions to the ice.

I’ve never personally been to the Alfond, but I’ve heard great things about it, and how hostile they can be towards opposing fans.  I love it.  I can’t wait till the day I can make the trip, and I will make it one day. Until then, I hope BU takes them down this weekend.  Should be a very interesting matchup.

Some of you have probably seen this before… there is one college hockey game in there. Enjoy :-).

I’m still in shock about this one, which is why I didn’t write anything for it yet. I thought that we had this one in the bag, but a fluke goal makes it a tie. I don’t know how many of you were at the game, or had the angle on the shot that I did (Sec 102, Row 3). The shot was taken pretty much in front of me. Here’s the culprit:

Erg. If you weren’t there, he pretty much was trying to dump in the puck, and floated it towards the net. Someone, I think Kevin Shattenkirk, was skating in front of Karson Gillespie. The puck floated over their heads, and into the back of the net. Karson never moved, leading me to think that he didn’t ever see the puck. He kinda shrugged and had a “What could I do?” look on his face. It didn’t seem to hurt his confidence, but it was a killer if you’re a Terrier fan.

Overall, I think we had a pretty solid game. I don’t like how we seem to give up goals as soon as we gain a lead. It must’ve happened at least 5-7 times this year already. I think the problem is being too happy with themselves once a goal is scored. Often times the same line stays on after they score, and end up giving it right back. I don’t think that happened this time, but the trend is there.

Also, not to say that the goaltending has been particularly spectacular, but I haven’t been too disappointed with Karson’s play given the time he has been playing, and his performances earlier this season.  You can see that improvement has been made, and his play has been much better as of late.  He’s still no John Curry, but you can see that he is getting into position much better, and even stopped a few breakaways.  That has to make the defense more confident, which should help their play in turn.

So overall, I guess I can accept this tie, and an overall split in the series with Vermont.  I think that we should really have won the series, given that we dominated play, especially late in the game.  However, we didn’t lose, and that is important.  Now we need to transition our high amount of shots into more quality chances.  With improving goaltending, we are already looking like a better team moving into the second half of the season.

At the Alfond this Saturday, against a struggling Maine team.  We’re gonna need this one for momentum going into UNH the next week.

BU Hockey has started up again, so I should probably try to get back to a more regular posting schedule here.  There has been one game, which was on Sunday night.  I know that I probably should have posted then, but a lot of things have come up, like the New Year… I was too busy out there celebrating.  Of course, for Terrier fans, there was more to celebrate, as the boys managed to pull out a win in their first game of the second half of the season.

BU 5, Merrimack 2

A big win by the Terriers showed us a lot of what we’ve been used to so far this year.  A lot of offensive capability, and some still shaky goaltending.  There’s not a ton to complain about, as a win is a win, but there is still a lot of improvement to be made if this team is to make it in the postseason.  Coming into this game, BU and Merrimack were tied for last place in Hockey East, so we knew that one of the teams was going to come out with a bit more confidence, and luckily, it was the Terriers.

Before I go on a bit more about the game, a note about the cancelled Dartmouth game.  That really messed things up for me, haha.  I ended up having the wrong tickets, and had to run back to the car in order to get the right ones.  I figured that I would only miss about 3 minutes of the game when I arrived.  Having to run back for the tickets made me about 10 minutes late.  As I was rushing to get in, I heard the crowd roar.. a good indication that BU has scored.  OK, so it’s going to be 1-0, right?

Wrong.  When I got there, the score was 3-0 and I have to say that I was thoroughly shocked.  Not so surprised that they scored that many goals, but that the team seemed to come out with some kind of fire after the disappointing first half, and the suspensions that they had to deal with.  The returning “Tiger 4″ looked extremely good in their return, as did Jason Lawrence.  I think he is playing the best hockey of his career at BU, and is very welcome after a disappointing 2006-2007 season.

On to something that did piss me off.  The hit from behind called on Ryan Weston.  This really made me angry for a couple reasons:

• It wasn’t Weston.
• The hit was not that vicious.
• The Linesman, behind the ref, was the one who made the call.  And he made it late, after he saw the player on the ground.

This is something that needs to be addressed.  I know that sometimes you have to make the call, but this was not one of those times.  I am glad that the penalty was changed from a DQ to a Misconduct, but it was still excessive.  Good thing Weston will be back for Vermont this weekend.

I won’t be late this week, I promise.

Phew.  Looks like I’m not going to miss a game after all.  The Thursday evening tilt against Dartmouth was postponed due to inclement weather, though I’ve heard rumors that its because the smart boys didn’t get on their buses early enough to make it to Boston.  I’m not complaining, hopefully when the Big Green do make it to Boston (Jan 15), they’ll be facing an invigorated Terrier squad that is ready to play.  At this point in time, who knows which team will show up.

That being said, this leaves the Terriers with about 3 weeks of no game time hockey.  This is good for those players that are nursing injuries, and for the “Tiger 4″.  They’re not missing any games, after all.  However, I do wish that the game against Dartmouth were played so that the guys wouldn’t have such a long layover between games.  It can be difficult to stay in game mode when you have so long between contests.  I’m sure that none of the players are complaining, but it is a long wait.

The best part about this wait is that it gives the guys time to find that focus that they need to succeed for the rest of the year.  I hope that they will take some of this time to bond together as a team.  Maybe not go out and get hammered together (I hope at least the Tiger 4 will think before doin this), but take the time to really get to know each other.  It seems that part of the problem with the team this year is that the chemistry is not there.  I’ve said it before, we have a ton of individual talent, and while that kind of talent will get you recruited, its not the kind of talent that will win games at this level and beyond.  It’s all about gelling with your team and getting the job done together.  We need to find this in order to succeed.

So here’s to hoping that this is found.  No game data or information to report until they start up again, so I’ll post some player information and other hockey related stuff until then.  I’m really anxious to get the games started up again.

It was inevitable of course.  JackPa wouldn’t take away the whole season, right?  Anyway, you can read about it over at the Daily Free Press.  The guys basically got a month off, and McGuirk lost the captaincy as a result.  It was a pretty big slap on the wrist for them, and I’m sure that it won’t happen again.

The big question now is whether the damage as been done or not.  Without these four, the Terriers gave a lackluster performance in Lowell and another against the United States U-18 team.  They did not play horribly, but you could definitely tell that something was missing.  The return of these 4 on Dec. 30 against Merrimack will provide a boost, no doubt, but will it be enough?

Have these guys gotten fired up enough to help carry them to the Hockey East postseason and beyond?  This team has been the model of inconsistency all year.  I try and think positive, thinking that they will have enough to make it, but it’s hard to keep thinking that way.  There are no easy games left anymore.  Must win takes on a whole new meaning.  I just hope that these guys can find what they know is already there.  These guys are GOOD.  Now they just have to be good together.

Dartmouth is tomorrow night.  Go BU.

I know that some of you have come by here looking for a bit of news on the Terrier’s recent suspensions.  Do I have an opinion on it?  Of course I do.  I think it was an extremely dumb thing for the players to do.  For anyone who doesn’t know, the “Tiger Four”, Brian McGuirk, Dan McGoff, Bryan Ewing, and Brandon Yip have all been suspended indefinitely from the team.  The speculation is that the guys were drinking when they shouldn’t have been.  While they are old enough, it did violate a team rule on when they could, and thus they have been suspended.  Parker discussed it in greater detail after the recent game against the U-18 team.

In light of the suspensions,  several things have occurred.  First off, Pete MacArthur has been named captain of the team, in a move that looks to be permanent.  Ryan Weston and Matt Gilroy have been named assistant captains.   Parker is hoping that this will provide some much needed leadership both on and off the ice.  Of course, in addition to the suspensions, we have a couple players injured as well, with Jason Lawrence still recovering from a separated shoulder, and Colby Cohen suffering a broken finger at last weekend’s Boston College game.  This leaves the Terriers with 18 skaters, and 3 goaltenders, the basic minimum to bring a team onto the ice.  Ryan Mognahan, Victor Saponari, Craig Sanders and Steve Smolinsky have all seen ice time as a result of these losses.

Well, did it work?  Yes and No.  The Terriers lost a heartbreaker to UMass Lowell on Friday night, 4-3, after taking a quick lead, with Chris Higgins scoring in the first minute.  Adam Kraus got the start in goal, and while he looked a bit shaky, he is trying to make a statement for getting more ice time.  Following this loss, the boys defeated the United States U-18 team at home on Saturday night. While it really was men against boys, I really wasn’t that impressed with our effort.  There were several guys playing hard, including MacArthur and Kielt, but the overall effort still does not seem to be there.  I only hope that the energy MacArthur exhibited on the ice duirng the game will translate into results with the other players.  That was the main positive coming out of the weekend.  Our goaltending situation is still in shambles.

Who knows when these guys will be back.  They deserved what happened, making a boneheaded decision when the team is already struggling.  They have not helped our cause, and were rightfully punished by Parker.  When they return, I hope that they will realize the opportunity they have, playing at Boston University.  It may be a down year, but they still have a chance to turn it around.  McGuirk and the rest of the “Tiger Four” had better make it worth it, and then they’ll have a real reason to drink.

Next game is at Agganis on Thursday.  I have to miss my first home game this season, so if someone wants to write about it, please let me know and I will post your recap here.

This is what the Boston College Eagles did to my Terriers this weekend.  An ugly loss at Conte Forum, 6-2, and a heartbreaker at home, 4-3.  Saturday’s game was significantly closer than Friday night, but it was still kind of ugly.  A trio of Eagles teamed up to really take us down this weekend.  Who were those three?  Why none other than Nathan Gerbe, Ben Smith, and goaltender John Muse.

There is a lot of heated debate over at USCHO as to the dirty hitting, flopping, and whack penalties that may have been called.  While some or all of this may be true, it doesn’t make any excuse for what happened.  A huge game at MSG last week with a huge wn should have been a stepping stone here for the boys.  They should have been able to get up for these games, but instead they came out flat.  You can’t make excuses for this.  With the winter break soon approaching, the Terriers currently stand a 3-9-2.  Three wins in two months is pathetic.

Were there bright spots to the weekend?  You could say that there were.  Matt Gilroy took 10 shots on Saturday, and picked up a goal and an assist.  Brandon Yip notched a couple of power play goals.  We actually scored FIVE power play goals on the weekend.  Normally, that’s great.  But when you pair that with NO even strength goals and three shorthanded goals, it just doesn’t work out.  Those three SHGs went to everyone’s favorite, Nathan Gerbe.

So what now?  I honestly don’t know.  Parker sat McGuirk, Weston and Gryba on Saturday, which was done to make a point, but at the same time, I think we needed those guys.  Our team was really up, but didn’t seem to be able to take care of things on our own zone.  Those three guys are great defensive players and I think that they would have helped out greatly.  Two games this coming week, against UMass Lowell, and an exhibition against the US Under 18 team.  Every game counts at this point.  This was a down Boston College team, and we couldn’t take them.  Who knows what Parker has in mind now.

I’m trying to look at it positively.  The new Terrier philosophy is “Get your losses out of the way early”.  I hope that’s what it is.

Corny post title, I know. How about that Red Hot Hockey game over at Madison Square Garden!!! For you BU fans out there reading this, I know that you’re really happy about it. I know because I was ecstatic and I was there! A quick start and solid overall game by the Terriers led to a 6-3 victory over the Big Red of Cornell University. While the crowd was highly partisan towards Cornell, our contingent was strong, and the Terriers made it all worth it.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much Red and White at an arena for a hockey game before. It reminded me of something that you’d see at a college football game, where everyone is sporting their team colors. Of course not everyone was rooting for the same team, but you couldn’t really tell just by looking. Overall, the presentation of the event was awesome. The Garden, BU, and Cornell did an excellent job of planning this, minus some of the issues that people had with seating. I personally didn’t have a problem with it, but I wasn’t planning on sitting in the middle of the student section. For those of you who did plan on it, I know that you were probably disappointed, but trust me, it was worth it just to be there for this game.

On to the game itself now! BU looked strong right from the faceoff, holding Cornell shotless for quite a while. Of course, two consecutive tripping penalties offset that, but the PK was pretty solid on the extended 5 v 3. Quickly afterwards, freshman Joe Pereira scored his first collegiate goal to make it 1-0. Within the next 3 minutes, the Terriers would make it a 3-0 lead, a lead that they would not relinquish. Strong play by both teams through the next two periods made it an even game, but the damage had already been done, and the Terriers skated away with the victory.

Some comments I did have on things about the game, perhaps not completely related to hockey. Cornell has a passionate fan base, and I admit that I was extremely impressed with their exclamation of “Red!” during the national anthem. I wasn’t too impressed with the creativity in the fans though, I expected better. Reading on the boards at USCHO shows that they couldn’t really get anything organized, which is ok, since it was a huge venue when you compare it to Lynah. I do, however, have few comments on Cornell fans after the game. There was a girl on the way out who was complaining that we (BU) “plagiarized” all of the Cornell chants, and that the band plagiarized all of the Cornell’s songs.  Well…..

•  If you’ve been to ANYTHING other than a Cornell game, you’d see that a lot of student sections do the same traditional chants.
• On the same point, a lot of Hockey pep bands play the same traditional songs.  I actually thought that the BU band played more variety when it came to the music.

So I don’t know what she was getting it.  I think she was being a sore loser. :-).  Anyway, I also did not appreciate the Red Sox Suck chant after the game, especially with so many Cornell fans saying that they were being good sports after the game.  It wasn’t even a student that started that one, it was an adult… so….

One more thing, my Best Band Ever post has been pretty popular… for Cornell fans.  No one is leaving a comment, but all the hits are coming from some sort of email list.  Hey guys, I still stand by that.  I think that the BU band is better than the Cornell band, especially after this weekend.  More variety does help.  Cornell had a bigger band, so saying that they were louder does nothing for me.  Here’s hoping that this happens again!

Overall, it was a great experience, and the Terriers are in a good position coming into BC weekend.  Hope you guys are as excited about this as I am.  I’ll see you at Agganis on Saturday.