The Dog Days of Winter

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.

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The “Tiger 4″ are set to return

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.

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Did it Work?

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.

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They Came. They Saw. They Conquered.

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.

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