Should be a much better rematch than last year with players out like JG out. BC has much more speed and depth this year to match the Gophers this coming series. I'm impressed by the depth on D and on the lines.
NCAA Champs 2012, 2010, 2008, 2001, 1949, Hockey East Tourney Champs 2012 #11, Beanpot Champs 2016
Said this in the Gophers thread and thought it worth repeating here. It will be interesting to see how the Gophers play against a team that (from everything I hear) will be able to match the speed and skill of this Gopher squad. Both teams are really fast and really skilled, and both squads thrive off of a quick transition game. My guess is turnovers will play a big factor in the outcome of these games. As will special teams. Gophers haven't looked as sharp as I would like on either their PP or PK yet, which is somewhat expected with so much youth in the lineup. One area I think the Gophers have a distinct advantage is in net. Not that Demko or Billet (sp?) aren't outstanding goaltenders, but because they don't have the experience at this level that Wilcox has and they are playing on the road.
Get ready for some race track hockey. This weekend (win or lose) is going to be a blast to watch!
How about a BC fan gives strength and weaknesses run down? How does Ian M look, for example.
Ian McCoshen is solid and gives BC more offensive with his goal scoring potential so far. I have never seen so much depth and skill on D that even Doherty has to sit out. IMO, Doherty should be playing as he is a natural D whereas Linell is a converted forward.
The other D are senior MacLeod, Matheson, Santini, Savage, along with Linell. Sometimes Matheson tries to get cute and he makes a mistake now and then.
Like UM, BC is one of the youngest teams in the division I and I see a lot potential and by March, York usually has them in sync and greased.
Watching the the UM/BSU game the Gophers have some solid freshmen forwards too like Cammarata. This will be an early test and valuable experience for both teams.
I think eventually Demko will win the job but for now they're rotating.
The forwards, you have vets Arnold and Johnny Gaudreau, Hayes, Quinn Smith and Patrick Brown. BC along with depth has much more speed and size to protect JG from being ganged up on.
The new BC forwards : Gilmour, Calnan, Fitzgerald, M. Gaudreau, and Austin Cangelosi had a big weekend. Richardson is small and fast but was sitting this weekend with all that depth.
Right now inexperience is there but the talent is there to overcome it as indicated in 2 games with RPI and Wisconsin.
I was quite surprised #2 Wisconsin was blown out by not only BC but by rival BU too.
How about a BC fan gives strength and weaknesses run down? How does Ian M look, for example.
I believe McCoshen already has 2 goals in 3 games and they were against Michigan and UW, so not exactly the weak sisters of D-1. Big difference this year vs last is that BC has its full compliment of players and have basically replaced the 2 or 3 non-scholarship freshmen D-men you saw last year with studs like McCoshen and Santini. Gaudreau, Hayes and Arnold are the three returning forwards that can really score, while the others are more grinder/role player types. BC has 4 talented freshmen in the lineup at Forward, Cangelosi, Fitzgerald, Calnan and Gilmour all of whom come in with juniors experience and all of whom are already 19, so they are a bit more prepared for D-1 than some of our more recent freshmen recruits. Talent wise, BC is stacked, but many of the players do lack D-1 experience and they obviously did not play well in front of a hostile Michigan crowd, though that could have been first game jitters. No clear cut goalie as of yet, though both look pretty good, but do lack experience.
A discussion on the Gopher boards has been the question of whether existing returners and frosh can make up for the departure of some serious firepower from what was a near championship caliber team last year... NHLers Bjugstad, Haula and Schmidt. Its looking like a possibility of a yes. The rest of the team while being gutted is formulated by serious talent (Warning, Rau, Marshall, Reilly) which have had some superb mentors. Freshmen of Fasching, Kloos and Cammarata are way above typical freshman output. This shouldn't be too much of surprise as they were largely 'lights out' scorers coming in.
That said, even their toughest test against UNH...was a single night at home against a team that couldn't hold off Michigan at home either. The true tests are on their way. This weekend is the first.
Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens
If you'd like to save the time and hassle of traveling, sure.
Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens
I predicted a BC sweep before the season, but that's before I saw how fast this Gopher team gelled. I'm predicting a split. BC wins on Friday and the Gophers on Sunday.
I predicted a BC sweep before the season, but that's before I saw how fast this Gopher team gelled. I'm predicting a split. BC wins on Friday and the Gophers on Sunday.
I almost never do predictions, but I'll go out on a limb and say the Gophs keep it closer than the BADgers did.
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