Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

Why? From what I saw on the DVR when I got home, the puck was sliding around in the crease and Shea was clearly tracking the puck and Madsen clearly pulled the puck out of the net...

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

You can blame whoever you want but HU is simply better than NU. We were chasing our tails all night and yes w/o the slashing penalty it could have gone either way...

Harvard played NU the way everyone since late November has been playing them...best checkers on whatever line ZAR is on...second best on Gaudette's...rolling out first and second lines v. Collier and Tanner "And We All Fall Down" Pond...it's a winning formula...

Someone called me out for calling out the horrible coaching decisions...but...come on...sometimes you have to double shift your top lines...and when you're sending out a player who is -15 to take d-zone faceoffs, something upstairs ain't clickin' right...

3rd period v Lowell may have been the worst NU period I have seen in decades.

Not that I blame you but the 3rd period against Notre Dame tops UML...Notre Dame you thought we had a chance...v UML you just sat back and waited for it to happen...

[scorer]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

You can blame whoever you want but HU is simply better than NU. We were chasing our tails all night and yes w/o the slashing penalty it could have gone either way, that said, based on talent and expectation this season has been a huge disappointment, to be fair we have had our undue share of injuries.

Sadly, agree with this season being a huge disappointment so far and that Harvard was the better team last night.

FWIW, per a good source, John Stevens will be back sometime next week and it's very unlikely that Pecararo will play at all this season.

Great to see Nolan back on the ice. Maybe there is a little hope that this team could make some impact in the HE playoffs.

[NU_Husky]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

Sadly, agree with this season being a huge disappointment so far and that Harvard was the better team last night.

FWIW, per a good source, John Stevens will be back sometime next week and it's very unlikely that Pecararo will play at all this season.

Great to see Nolan back on the ice. Maybe there is a little hope that this team could make some impact in the HE playoffs.

I still think the team CAN make noise in the playoffs, strictly based on offense. Ruck plays better against bad teams, so first round win should be attainable.

Re: Rossi asking where this team would be with goalies of the past, back in like late November I had posed the question on Twitter asking which goalie would you rather have, Rawlings or Ruck. I said Rawlings at that time, and triple down on it now. At least Rawlings had stolen games for NU- sure he had the 1 goal game followed by the occasional 4-5 goal game, but that's better than the consistently-allowing-4-goals show we have now.

[northeastern]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

quick.. let's hire Claude before he leaves town..

really.

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

FWIW, per a good source, John Stevens will be back sometime next week and it's very unlikely that Pecararo will play at all this season.

It's been known on this board for a while that Pec is a no go for this season.

FWIW, JS is day to day...he could be in against UMass...I was told yesterday that line was together in non contact drills on Sunday...

[NU_Husky]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

Gotta feel for Johnny. Captain, his last season, and he's had success in the Beanpot- watching that game yesterday must have been very tough for him. Hope he gets back soon, he's 4 points away from 100 I think. With at least 7 games left this year, it can easily happen. If anyone deserves it, it's him.

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

I still think the team CAN make noise in the playoffs, strictly based on offense. Ruck plays better against bad teams, so first round win should be attainable.

How they do from here on out is, IMHO, how the game gets managed by the coaches. We've had several winnable games slip from our grasp because of questionable decisions not the least of which is an abject refusal to shorten the bench in the third period...

Both last year and the year before, they started dressing 11 forwards mostly playing 9...there were games during their run last year where the Stevens line's TOI was insane...close to 30 minutes...

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

Gotta feel for Johnny. Captain, his last season, and he's had success in the Beanpot- watching that game yesterday must have been very tough for him. Hope he gets back soon, he's 4 points away from 100 I think. With at least 7 games left this year, it can easily happen. If anyone deserves it, it's him.

As fine of a Captain and player and gentleman our program has seen.

[PPGuru]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

The Video tells the story. Game after game. Same players make the same mistakes and get rolled right back out there. I know injuries have hurt this team and lack of depth makes it hard to bench players. But, ouch. First goal, the fluky one, Kurker has the puck all alone 15 feet inside the blue line and just fumbles it onto the stick of the H dman who flings it towards the net and Kerfoot...goal. Of course, then Kurker takes a bad penalty that leads to the second H goal. Kurker is also on ice for the third H goal. Speaking generally about many goals not just one on this particular night, I wonder about the defensemen. I know Shea and Davies are only Freshmen but their lack of physicality concerns me. Other dmen aren't much better. Looking at the goals the team allows, I'm struck by the lack of body play by dmen protecting the net front area. Last night, on the H PP goal, Davies does nothing to stop his man from walking out of the corner and get to Ruck. Shea was on for 3 goals last night. On the 3d and 4th goals he was on the outside of the play doing little or nothing to defend. I know the game has changed and smaller, puck moving dmen are the rage. The game hasn't changed so much that some nasty isn't needed in your dmen. Unfortunately, I'm not sure this is a trait that can be coached.

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

I'm not sure this is a trait that can be coached.

Not by the current coach, for sure. He was hired as a stop gap when Foley left unexpectedly. Three seasons later...

Davies made a lot of mistakes yesterday...putting aside the ones you've highlighted, none so glaring as the one when he was deep in O-Zone and all he had to do was cycle puck behind net to Nolan or around to ZAR...he inexplicably tries to fire it on net from a bad angle and ends up firing the puck out of the zone and down ice...

Shea had his worst game all year.

Still doesn't excuse how bad both Cockerill and Williams are game in and game out.

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

Well...I finally watched the post-mortem presser...he finally gets that he has only 5 or 6 forwards who show up to play every game?

Welcome to our season, Jim.

[PPGuru]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

Headed into the last few weeks of the season, does anyone else think the team can stil grab home ice in the first round?

[NU_Husky]

Headed into the last few weeks of the season, does anyone else think the team can stil grab home ice in the first round?

Yes. The UConn series will likely determine if we do or not. We are basically fighting them, Merrimack, and UNH for 2 home ice spots.

Our remaining schedule: UMass, UConn x2, @Maine x 2
Merrimack's: @ BC, @ UMass, Maine x2, @ Vermont x2
UNH: @Vermont x2, BU x2, UConn x 2
UConn: PC, NU x 2, UNH x 2.

So a lot of infighting between the four of us but I would say we have the easier schedule ahead. We have zero games against NCAA tournament teams where the others have either one or four. The series vs UConn will basically determine our placement. I would expect no fewer than 3 wins out of those 5 games. 4 is possible but a sweep at Maine is tough, and UConn is better this year than in the last two years when we've swept them.

[Gr8Sk8M8]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016-17 -- Great Expectations

UConn is better this year than in the last two years when we've swept them.

UConn has a player or two but, win wise, they've ridden their goaltenders...