BC Eagles 2020-21 - in memory of Steve Gerrish

[Beauty]

It seems in the last 10 years or so Jerry has valued the superstar guys much more than the three and four year type guys he’s had most of his success with. I think that if he had stuck with what worked for him BC would have been much more successful in recent times.

Agreed, they are soft. Where’s the Gannon/Greene line of 5 ft nothings, buzzing around effectively and consistently controlling opponent’s top lines with speed and dogged determination? The advantage, (other than opponents psychologically getting over being out worked), was lines 1, 2 and 3 playing against lines 2, 3 and 4. Created a mismatch by working their tails off. There’s been very little of that recently; they are recruiting all skill guys. Zero sandpaper and very little tenacity.

It was a great run, and to see them still getting top players and not producing results is sad. I feel for Jerry, but his place is no longer behind the bench. He’d be a tremendous ambassador for the athletic department and hockey program, I just hope he figures it out, or those close to him convince him.

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

in my mind, the performance over last 2 seasons has delayed those discussions.

incredibly important 12 months for this program.

Apparently his contract was renewed by Jarmond through 2021-2022.

Bigger discussion as always has to be whether BC will screw up the hire. There's a 95% likelihood they would.

[eaglekeeper]

First, there is no doubt that BC would have won it all last year with the two high end lines they had. They were also stronger on D. North Fakota had all their top players back, but they did not show me much and their goalie was good, but not great. No knock against their program, it’s just a year to year comparison.

Colby Cohen summed up the weekend well when he said that the game is now about having bigger, stronger and older teams. Physically, BC & BU could not match up this year.

Overall, college hockey is boring. I’m rooting for the only uptempo team left, UMass!!!!

Go Eagles!

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

It's a good thing Notre Dame got bounced because they would have embarrassed BC too.

[eaglekeeper]

BC is making a push to get older. They have 3 freshmen coming in next season, two are 20 years old and the 3rd will turn 20 in December. What we need is two, 6’4” defenseman via the portal. We’re too small on defense.

I expect Boldy will sign and maybe Knight. It’s possible that Helleson and Newhook sign, but it’s also very likely they return. BC has a very good goalie in Wilder. Grant Riley will come in next year if Knight leaves. That’s two solid goalies. They have two high end forwards coming in as well and a very highly rated defenseman. Transfer portal is going to become a very big part of building a roster at the blue blood schools.

Go Eagles!

[defkit]

First, there is no doubt that BC would have won it all last year with the two high end lines they had. They were also stronger on D. North Fakota had all their top players back, but they did not show me much and their goalie was good, but not great. No knock against their program, it’s just a year to year comparison.

Colby Cohen summed up the weekend well when he said that the game is now about having bigger, stronger and older teams. Physically, BC & BU could not match up this year.

Overall, college hockey is boring. I’m rooting for the only uptempo team left, UMass!!!!

Go Eagles!

This is the second time this "there is no doubt" comment, not sure if it was you the first time too. Hey, you can say BC had the best team going into the tourney if you want to, but it seems silly to say there is no doubt they would have won it. I mean, there are multiple upsets every year. And that trend toward the older teams doing better didn't start this year. BC would have been up against older teams last year too I'm sure.

Anyway, tough loss, I thought you guys would win tonight. Looks like both BU and BC fans are ready for coaching changes.

[eaglekeeper]

BC had a lot of upperclassman last year. It was the right combination of age and skill. This year we only had two seniors, one of which was Hutsko.

I don’t see Albie going anywhere. He is a good coach and a good ambassador for BU. I do expect JY to step down after next season. He will be 76 this summer. Hopefully, the big 4 return and BC wins the triple crown at the Garden in the 100th season of BC hockey!

Go Eagles!

[J.D.]

I was on board with the coaching change talk after the 2018-2019 debacle of a season. But not now. Makes no sense when they were a very good team the last couple years. It ain't happening. At this stage of the game, more of this is being run by the assistants anyway. Mike Ayers has been here the longest of those guys if you wanna start there. Is he solely in charge of goalies?

They've gotten back to being a tournament team and now the challenge is to tweak things and evaluate why you lost to a team like St. Cloud. This year's freshman class was a good one with no blue chip prospect. They brought in someone like Mike Hardman who would usually go elsewhere.

Keeper, you sure about Grant Riley? Only played 7 games this year and numbers aren't pretty. If Knight leaves I am pretty confident that they'll be in the portal market. Is Matthew Galajda returning to Cornell? *smiley face*

[J.D.]

Having said all that, I don't think there is a slam dunk replacement for York like Quinn seemed to be for BU. There are a LOT of options. I don't think Carvel would leave UMass. He has them in back to back FFs. He could be comfortable like Bazin at UML. But I would expect the NHL to show interest in Carvel. Most likely it will be someone in the BC family but if they go outside the family the guy I would be looking at is Eric Lang. To do what he has done at AIC is truly remarkable.

[J.D.]

Finally, BC is not alone. BU, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin etc are all trying to figure out the right mix of top end guys with 4 year players and your older freshmen mixed in.

[eaglekeeper]

Good call JD on your 4-2 prediction. Minnesota went out in similar fashion to end 100 storied seasons of Gopher hockey. All these older players with neutral zone traps and collapsing defense around their goalie has made college hockey a very boring sport to watch.

Go Eagles!

[Drew S.]

You play to win the game.

[eaglekeeper]

Carvel has good NHL connections. He would definitely leave UMass for BC to double his salary if he can’t get an NHL head coaching job. Rand Pecknal at QU is a strong candidate as is Nate Leaman at PC. Mike Cavanaugh and Greg Brown will be on the short list. Lots of good options.

According to Andy Powers, Mike Ayers is a highly respected goalie coach. I did not follow Grant Riley this year. I just remember reading about him getting high praise.

I really think BC can do very well in the portal every year. It’s a great way to reload with the better older players or late bloomers who want a chance at a championship. We don’t have a lot of competition in the East.

Would it surprise you if HEA tried to prevent players from transferring within the conference? I’m also wondering at what point the America East schools in HEA try to get HEA under the America East conference banner again. Give me a B1G East division with BC, PC, NU, UMass, UConn and PSU. 3 road trips and 3 home series with the western division for a 22 game league schedule.

Go Eagles!

[eaglekeeper]

“You play to win the game”

Give me a “B”
Give me an “O”
Give me an “R”
Give me a “ing”

BORING!!!

That Minnesota St v Minny game was painful to watch.

Go Eagles!

[Cross Check]

“You play to win the game”

Give me a “B”
Give me an “O”
Give me an “R”
Give me a “ing”

BORING!!!

That Minnesota St v Minny game was painful to watch.

Go Eagles!

You know what else is boring? Not being competitive.