BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

[Scarlet]

I was contacted about reupping on season/premium club tickets for the upcoming season by an Agganis "Account Executive." I told him I was no longer interested due to the poor schedule and I asked him to pass along my complaint and reason for refusing tickets. I assume $$ is the only way to get through to them - if that is even enough these days.... Nevertheless, I encourage everyone else to do the same.

No thanks. I look forward to my dinner in the Club Room.

[ericredaxe]

I agree, kind of a big overreaction on the scheduling. With the number of conference games plus the Beanpot every year, RHH every other year, then assuming you have to go on the road for at least some of the OOC games, how many "big" home series do you expect to get?

In the past few years before COVID we have seen Northern Michigan, Arizona State, Minnesota State and Denver, plus a sprinkling of some of the usual ECAC schools.

I acknowledge that apart from Denver these are not the "traditional" western rivals, but all were interesting new teams and for pairwise purposes all were TUCs.

I agree the Sacret Heart x2 is a bit of a dud that i'm not likely to schlep into Aggains for two nights in a row, but I assume that was a last minute add once Alaska (which would have been a very cool team to see that has never been to BU in my memory or time of following) backed out.

[defkit]

The schedule is disappointing. I won't get too excited about it, but to me it is a big deal to have some better opponents. Some of the best memories of games at WBA and HAA are because of who they were against. Obviously the 89-90 comeback win against #1 Michigan State. Peter Fish (yes, Peter Fish) shutting out Robb Stauber's Minnesota team. The crazy comeback against CC at HAA in one of the first couple years it was open (I think we scored a couple goals in the last minute or so, then lost in OT).

[defkit]

Do you really have to ask ?

I guess you are implying it was an academic issue? I do think it's a legit question, but maybe those more "in the know" know that changes this late are almost always academics.

[Sean Pickett]

While I'm not excited by the OOC games, I go to watch BU play and win no matter who the opponent is. And remember, Alaska was likely a replacement for Alabama-Huntsville. Also, it looks like BU will be only playing a single road game the final weekend of the regular season and they also should be playing a single game at Vermont.

Sean

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

I guess you are implying it was an academic issue? I do think it's a legit question, but maybe those more "in the know" know that changes this late are almost always academics.

Typically, incoming Freshmen hockey players arrive on campus during the Summer for classes and off-ice workouts. I'm aware of multiple instances in the DQ/Albie era where incoming Freshmen weren't admitted 'til very late in the process (around this time of year).

This is purely speculative, but Schmidt either didn't clear admissions or was still awaiting a decision, and decided not to wait any longer for BU.

[Rogie21]

Jeff Cox reporting "After leaving his post as an associate head coach at Boston University recently, Paul Pearl has landed on his feet. The Winthrop, Mass., native will be the new head coach at Cushing Academy." He added that Pearl had been rumored to be a candidate for the NU assistant job.

[BU Fan 84]

While I'm not excited by the OOC games, I go to watch BU play and win no matter who the opponent is.

Yes, yes, we know - everyone on this thread is a BU fan. The point is that a stronger schedule makes BU a better team. A terribly weak schedule makes them a worse team. BU will not be the team we all want them to be until they play a top-notch schedule.

[Harry Cleverly]

Yes, yes, we know - everyone on this thread is a BU fan. The point is that a stronger schedule makes BU a better team. A terribly weak schedule makes them a worse team. BU will not be the team we all want them to be until they play a top-notch schedule.

Playing a full Hockey East schedule and the Beanpot is far from a weak schedule, no matter who the nonleague opposition happens to be.

[Terrier86]

Playing a full Hockey East schedule and the Beanpot is far from a weak schedule, no matter who the nonleague opposition happens to be.

A few thoughts:
1- BU under Albie seems to play to the level of its competition, so why not increase the schedule pairwise/SOS?
2- if you're the best why wouldn't you want to play the best?
3- having a schedule that is HE and Beanpot-dominant leaves me wanting to play some of the top western teams so as to benchmark against teams you hope to play in the NCAA's.
4- with the BU recruiting strategy (which I disagree with) that is sooo 18/19 year old focused, I think going out west and getting a butt whooping from a more senior opponent is a good thing to waken up/break down some egos of some of our top-6 young forwards and top-4 young d'men (i.e. first-third round draft picks). A good butt whooping or two early was always something Jack Parker leveraged into a more scrappy team come Jan-March.

Just my two cents.

[ericredaxe]

BU Hardly plays a weak schedule. In the 3 years prior to this most recent COVID abbreviated Hockey East only schedule they have had the following OOC games against ranked teams:

#2 Cornell
#12 Harvard
#4 BC (Beanpot)
#12 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#11 Minnesota State (x2)
#11 Union
#7 Quinnipiac
#17 Arizona State (x2)
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#18 Harvard (Beanpot)
#16 Union
#14 Quinnipiac
#1 Denver
#7 Cornell
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)

How many OOC games against ranked teams do you expect them to be able to schedule? Not to mention a lot of these scheduling agreements come out way before anyone knows where a team will be ranked once the season gets going.

[Scarlet]

Not to mention they play the defending National Champs twice.

[Terrier86]

BU Hardly plays a weak schedule. In the 3 years prior to this most recent COVID abbreviated Hockey East only schedule they have had the following OOC games against ranked teams:

#2 Cornell
#12 Harvard
#4 BC (Beanpot)
#12 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#11 Minnesota State (x2)
#11 Union
#7 Quinnipiac
#17 Arizona State (x2)
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#18 Harvard (Beanpot)
#16 Union
#14 Quinnipiac
#1 Denver
#7 Cornell
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)

How many OOC games against ranked teams do you expect them to be able to schedule? Not to mention a lot of these scheduling agreements come out way before anyone knows where a team will be ranked once the season gets going.

Nice list ^. Counterpoint is that I think some people on here are over-valuing Hockey East competition in general. I went back and looked at SOS for the last decade (but threw out last year because of COVID). I found that almost always the top handful of SOS's did not come from HE but rather out west.

Here are the BU SOS's:
2019-20: 21st
2018-19: 17th
2017-18: 17th
2016-17: 9th
2015-16: 8th
2014-15: 18th
2013-14: 12th
2012-13: 16th
2011-12: 12th
AVG: 14th.

Pretty good but not overwhelming for what is historically one of the best handful of NCAA programs.

I still stand on my belief that you only get better by playing as good or better competition.

[Lemonade]

Nice list ^. Counterpoint is that I think some people on here are over-valuing Hockey East competition in general. I went back and looked at SOS for the last decade (but threw out last year because of COVID). I found that almost always the top handful of SOS's did not come from HE but rather out west.

Here are the BU SOS's:
2019-20: 21st
2018-19: 17th
2017-18: 17th
2016-17: 9th
2015-16: 8th
2014-15: 18th
2013-14: 12th
2012-13: 16th
2011-12: 12th
AVG: 14th.

Pretty good but not overwhelming for what is historically one of the best handful of NCAA programs.

I still stand on my belief that you only get better by playing as good or better competition.

You get better by playing better competition but you also lose more games. Given the parity of college hockey it has to be a balance of playing a few good out of conference teams so you stay high in the rankings. Whats the use of playing a loaded schedule and not making the tournament?

[Terrier86]

You get better by playing better competition but you also lose more games. Given the parity of college hockey it has to be a balance of playing a few good out of conference teams so you stay high in the rankings. Whats the use of playing a loaded schedule and not making the tournament?

I hear what you are saying... I'm going to keep on throwing out food for thought....

Ok, so if we take it in the context of making the tournament I would imagine, then, that the goal is winning the tournament. If the goal is winning the tournament, then you have to be at your optimized level of play. To be at your optimized play, I think you have to play against top flight competition/equal to or better than yourself. Darwinism of sorts, I suppose.

Another way of looking at it in the context of attracting the best players is that the best players want to play against the best competition. A piece of context that fits into this is the reality of the BU (and BC) team building model is to stock up on as many 18-19 year old blue chippers as possible knowing they will turn pro early. This places the bet that young, raw talent that infrequently plays against talent better than it before stepping onto campus/playing as talented and/or older and bigger players will be able to make the big step up quickly before they turn pro. That places a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to be great and fast teachers. I'm not sure this is the reality of the BU staffs of the last 5-10 years...

But now I'm in the weeds. LOL.