BU: '22-'23 Season: Sail The Boats

[J.D.]

One lesson learned here for Nate Leaman. Hold on to your timeout/challenge for a play like that one. He couldn't challenge because he already lost one earlier.

[Jofa]

Skoog deserved the comeuppance even if it is too harsh. As soon as that happened the I knew it was him. He is over the line chippy and selfish. This is the worst possible matchup for BU it’s like playing a Minnesota St or another “veteran” heavy Western team

[Lemonade]

Or stop dangerous full-speed hits to the back of a student who is still 10 feet from touching the puck. (Clip at 18 seconds) (And who ended up breaking his hand and missing the rest of the game)

https://twitter.com/i/status/1637103679919595521

my sarcasm didn’t come through. Not surprised on the suspension.

[Lemonade]

I agree. This came right after the McCarthy collision I believe. Watching it back i am not surprised he is suspended. If that is correctly called a major maybe BU isn't playing tonight.

They did miss the McCarthy trip that led to his injury. Overall I think the refs let them play.

[Rover]

They did miss the McCarthy trip that led to his injury. Overall I think the refs let them play.

Agree. The problem for McCarthy was he got tripped when the hit happened. They should have called that when it got reviewed. Otherwise I thought the refs were consistent and I give them credit for calling the penalty in OT against PC even though it was obvious. That won't always get called in that situation.

Also didn't Skoog miss a wide open net earlier in the game? He wasn't good and BU needs more out of it's upperclassmen.

[J.D.]

I never saw a trip on that play but even if there was it's not really the same as not calling a major on Skoog. That was just a really stupid decision by him especially with the game in the balance. Merrimack is pretty similar to Providence but has better goaltending. Fully expecting a 2-1 grind where BUs talent wins the game.

[Bomber]

Also didn't Skoog miss a wide open net earlier in the game? He wasn't good and BU needs more out of it's upperclassmen.

This team is 65% upperclassmen, and yet they all played like rookies last night. The two seniors who are in my doghouse are Skoog for his dirty play and O’Brien for not being anywhere near the player he was when he got here. Perhaps he’s banged up. We need more from him tonight.

[Scarlet]

Face offs were an issue for me last night. Or rather the lack of wins. Skoog did not have a good night in the face of circle.

[brassbonanza]

Skoog entered this season coming off the same broken collarbone injury Case sustained last night. Happened in the offseason during a camp he was at, so there's that.

[RENCEB]

It's an interesting question for Pandolfo. Do you go all out to win tonight and potentially run some guys into the ground including Fensore or do you take your chances rolling 6 D and accept whatever happens. The way I see it you guys have locked up a spot in Manchester or Bridgeport and might be better served to take a cautious approach tonight.

I'm a Merrimack fan and I approve this approach (although there is no way that it happens!)
Skoog only got 2 for that hit? Wow. While it might not have been worthy of a suspension, it sure looked like a major.

[J.D.]

I'm a Merrimack fan and I approve this approach (although there is no way that it happens!)
Skoog only got 2 for that hit? Wow. While it might not have been worthy of a suspension, it sure looked like a major.

Well I think that's why he was suspended. It's not the only time a major is missed in a game and then a player gets a suspension after the league reviews it. He very well could have gotten a major and then maybe BU loses the game because of it. He also injured the player as a result of the hit which is always going to make it worse.

[Tater]

Well I think that's why he was suspended. It's not the only time a major is missed in a game and then a player gets a suspension after the league reviews it. He very well could have gotten a major and then maybe BU loses the game because of it. He also injured the player as a result of the hit which is always going to make it worse.

“Because he didn’t get a major last night” would be an asinine reason to issue a suspension. They are different levels of punishment/accountability. Hopefully this wasn’t a part of their decision making process. Agree on the injury making it look worse. Also the timing soon after the McCarthy injury makes it look worse. Makes it look retaliatory even though I don’t think that was the case.

[chickod]

It's an interesting question for Pandolfo. Do you go all out to win tonight and potentially run some guys into the ground including Fensore or do you take your chances rolling 6 D and accept whatever happens. The way I see it you guys have locked up a spot in Manchester or Bridgeport and might be better served to take a cautious approach tonight.

Yeah, it's a tough thing to determine. As a player, you want to win. Not to mention that championship teams win championships. I think it's difficult to intentionally "back off." The COACHES may be thinking "Let's just get through this because there are bigger and better things ahead and we're banged up," but I can probably guarantee the players aren't thinking that way. Or I hope they're not. The way I look at it, you have to play the game anyway so why not win? What's the "benefit" of just showing up and losing? You're pretty much expending the same effort and it's probably MORE likely someone gets hurt if they're half-a**ing it.

[J.D.]

“Because he didn’t get a major last night” would be an asinine reason to issue a suspension. They are different levels of punishment/accountability. Hopefully this wasn’t a part of their decision making process. Agree on the injury making it look worse. Also the timing soon after the McCarthy injury makes it look worse. Makes it look retaliatory even though I don’t think that was the case.

Refs missing a major/game misconduct in real time and the league suspending a player for the following game happens all the time. It's been that way for years.

[chickod]

Also the timing soon after the McCarthy injury makes it look worse. Makes it look retaliatory even though I don’t think that was the case.

I agree it probably wasn't retaliatory (although I said out loud as I watched it that everyone is going to think exactly that). BUT...they need to calm down. I said this in November. This team plays on the edge and I'm not sure why they are like powder kegs...it seems as though they are just ready to explode anytime anyone lays a finger on them. I thought it would improve as the season went on but obviousy it hasn't. If they haven't been reigned in by now, it's not gonna happen. It's almost as if you have all these draft picks and they act as though you're not supposed to touch them. If and when they play a Western team, are they going to start a brawl the first time someone smashes them into the boards? Because you know that's coming. If they can't handle the rough play they're not going anywhere. I DO think this is their weakness. They have trouble against teams that are all over them - and you can be sure Merrimack will do exactly that tonight. And if they don't score first it only gets worse. I want to see them absorb the hits and get the puck to the net instead of trying to fancy-dance around the defense. Someone mentioned poor stick handling. Well they handle the puck too much. MOVE IT to someone else. That's how you break pressure. Stretch the ice and make the defense back off. Don't dangle with it and try to make individual moves. This is where I think having all this high-end talent hurts...they have a tendency to play as individuals and not enough as a team. You don't make the perfect play all the time.