BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

[brassbonanza]

The sports gods absolutely refused to let a game of that high quality end in a shootout.

[Section 6, Row S]

Just finished watching this game on delay. Wow, one of the tightest games of all time and an instant classic! Both teams gave it their all and were committed to a defense first mentality. I thought we played better for the majority of the game. All 3 games against Northeastern seem to have been that way this year. I’m so relieved we won this in regulation. ( The Beanpot doesn’t need gimmick overtimes or shootouts) It had the feel of some weird bounce ending it, but it was an outstanding play instead. Armstrong to Peterson wouldn’t have been my first choice of the winning combo, but sometimes that happens in this tournament. Duplessis really is a very good goaltender and I’m so very proud of him and happy he’s getting some recognition. He’s played 4 games while Commesso is away and has 2 shutouts including the Beanpot Championship Game - wow!!

All of the championship wins over my years watching this tournament since 1990 have special meaning, but let me tell you #31 feels so sweet!

Good post, BU93. Something special about this one. Part of that is the drought (obviously) but also the crowd. In recent years, it seemed like the tournament was feeling stale but the building definitely had the old-time atmosphere tonight.

[Scarlet]

So according to the USCHO recap, BU now up to 14 in the PWR. I’m thinking not playing this weekend, which - what a crazy schedule fluke - is going to hurt them. Am I wrong?

Nice to see John Copeland step up last night with Vlasic out. Vinny was great, cool, calm and collected. Laughed when Billy Jaffe commented on it and something like “He’s playing like it’s a Wednesday.” I don’t understand how the NCAA can say a game like that is a regular game. If that had gone to a shootout it would’ve been a crime.

[hydrant]

.0103 between BU and ND(13 in PWR) while .0026 between BU and Clarkson (15 in PWR). Clearly a huge gap and going to be tough to get higher than 14. Need Umass to beat Uconn twice this weekend. If NU won yesterday they would've stayed at 14..... gap is pretty big to get higher than 14.

[Scarlet]

I hope they give Commesso one of the hats!! Been looking a bit to see if there's any tweets/photos/posts from him/Quinn/Warso/Young on the victory. Let me know if any of you find anything. Would love to see them mention it during Team USA's next game. When is their next game by the way? Is it tomorrow morning? I believe the women play for the gold tonight.

[J.D.]

I would disagree that that was one of the tightest games of all time. That was a dominant 1-0 win. Sure, NU finally had some chances when they pulled the goalie but until then it was only ever looking like a BU win. Maybe you won't have enough firepower up front to take on the beasts from the west but you skated circles around NU.

So who gets the credit for this turnaround? Albie or Pandolfo? *Smiley face*

[Lemonade]

Credit is due. The team has really pulled itself together and has been vastly improved from the start of the season. Whether it was players getting healthy or coaching or players buying in this is a totally different team than began the year. I absolutely love the commitment to defense - gone are the days of breakaways and endless odd man rushes. Players bought in and figured out defensive hockey wins games. You can win 1-0 instead of 7-6. Place was packed last night and BU played a great game. Keep it rolling!!!

[Scarlet]

I would disagree that that was one of the tightest games of all time. That was a dominant 1-0 win. Sure, NU finally had some chances when they pulled the goalie but until then it was only ever looking like a BU win. Maybe you won't have enough firepower up front to take on the beasts from the west but you skated circles around NU.

So who gets the credit for this turnaround? Albie or Pandolfo? *Smiley face*

I'll be a lone dissenter here. First off - appreciate the nice words. I was super nervous (what a surprise) throughout the game. I didn't think BU's passing was as crisp as it was against Harvard. Or even Providence. Some of their shots were haphazard, more so than last week. They also suffer from an inability to finish. Of course, that could be how Northeastern played in front of their goalie. I was worried about the amount of possession time and large amount of shots for BU with nothing to show for it vs. the very small number of shots for Northeastern. It always seems to be the case that a team with very few shots would wind up scoring while the other team just threw everything but the kitchen sink at the other goalie. Glad it didn't happen that way. I was also a bit concerned about over celebration of Peterson's goal because I didn't want them to assume victory. I've seen them give up quick goals after scoring a few times.

So, four games left in the season - two with BC, two with Maine. Can they keep this going? I hope the off weekend doesn't hurt them.

[hydrant]

Did Mastrosimone get hurt or benched yesterday? Felt I didn't see him out there for 15 minutes when they shuffled lines. Thought I saw Carrabes playing where Mastro was for that time.

[joen05]

I hope they give Commesso one of the hats!! Been looking a bit to see if there's any tweets/photos/posts from him/Quinn/Warso/Young on the victory. Let me know if any of you find anything. Would love to see them mention it during Team USA's next game. When is their next game by the way? Is it tomorrow morning? I believe the women play for the gold tonight.

Men play tonight (Tuesday) at 11:10 PM ET. Women play for the Gold tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11:10 PM ET.

[brassbonanza]

I don't believe Mastro was benched or hurt - no one last night played anywhere near poorly enough to deserve a benching.

It was a not-so-well-kept secret that numerous players were fighting a stomach bug last night. That's why Vlasic didn't play. Would not surprise me if those who were more unwell didn't get as many late-game shifts.

[buoldtimer]

Did Mastrosimone get hurt or benched yesterday? Felt I didn't see him out there for 15 minutes when they shuffled lines. Thought I saw Carrabes playing where Mastro was for that time.

According to Albie postgame, Mastrosimone was "struggling", therefore the line shifts to give him a different look.

[brassbonanza]

According to Albie postgame, Mastrosimone was "struggling", therefore the line shifts to give him a different look.

I suspect "struggling" may have been more of a reference to sickness. Both him and O'Brien looked a step behind. Jay was one I heard was borderline to play last night due to the stomach ailment.

[Terrier86]

Things are looking better. Getting guys back certainly helps and the system has tightened up, so their playing more consistently. Goaltending has been consistently much better than the first 4-6 weeks, too. I think Boucher leaving was addition by subtraction, too.

Here's the rub - goal scoring has gone up against lower PWR teams but this will be difficult against the better squads. From week one of the season, I thought goal scoring was going to be this team's Achilles Heel. I still think that's true, but the good news is that with the top of HE down this year there's a chance we could pull through.

But, man we're going to have to keep playing tremendously in our own zone and get excellent goaltending. Possible, but probable? Time will tell.

[defkit]

I don't believe Mastro was benched or hurt - no one last night played anywhere near poorly enough to deserve a benching.

It was a not-so-well-kept secret that numerous players were fighting a stomach bug last night. That's why Vlasic didn't play. Would not surprise me if those who were more unwell didn't get as many late-game shifts.

Just one man's opinion, but if there is one player that I feel is still a little bit in the mode we saw at the beginning of the season (not a lot of attention to the defensive game) it is Mastro. He has a lot of skill and he hustles when there is a chance to score, but he seems to be less committed in the defensive end. I could be wrong, and I hope I am.