New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

UNH has been on top of Hockey East all season long and I dont think theyve beaten BC in the postseason since 1997.

Apparently October and November are not part of the season. I'm not sure when UNH took over the #1 spot, but they haven't exactly been "running away" with the league (obviously, as BC still has a chance to take the RS title). It's more like UNH has been doing their thing, with virtually no challengers for the title. Maine's run came too late, BC might miss by a point. It's not like UNH has been crushing teams all season.

Would there be pressure for the #1 seed in the league (assuming UNH gets it) to bring back some hardware that they rarely win? Probably. More than BC would be facing.

I would hope that UNH plays with the attitude that they've overachieved to even be in that position and forgets about all that "UNH never wins" malarkey (much like they did in Manchester last year). Back in November, I think it would be tough to find any but the most optimistic UNH fan that would have expected the team to even have home ice in the quarters, let alone one of the top two seeds.

Of course, this whole discussion is pointless. UNH needs to win three games in order to meet BC at the Garden. If that happens, then I'll worry about who is feeling more "pressure". I don't think it's a lock that UNH will even make the Garden, let alone the Finals.

The RS title could very well be the only hardware UNH wins this year. It's no Beanpot, but I'd take it.

[sterlippo1]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

Do not forget 1998 at the Garden FF, which I believe was our best shot at a title.

and what about BC's shot that year, hitting the post twice in OT against Michigan..........still having nightmares about that one

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

I thought only Darren Haydar could do that

I remember that game! Well, I don't remember which game it was, but I remember the play. Haydar was in front of the bench with the puck, passed it off, and went for a change. The play resulted in a goal, and he was awarded the 2nd assist.

[UNHhockey29]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

I remember that game! Well, I don't remember which game it was, but I remember the play. Haydar was in front of the bench with the puck, passed it off, and went for a change. The play resulted in a goal, and he was awarded the 2nd assist.

The game was Nov. 30, 2001. Happy 17th birthday to me.

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

One thing I have not seen mentioned yet is how the circumstances this year are eerily similar to those of 2003. It was the last weekend of the regular season, with second place UNH needed at least three points to win the season series against BC and get the number one seed in the tournament. In the Friday game at BC, UNH was down 3-2 in the last minute. UNH had pulled their goalie (Michael Ayers) and scored with 42 seconds left when Colin Hemingway beat the immortal Matti Kaltianen (Just curious, was he the third goalie for the Finns in the Olympics?) as one of the greatest draft picks in Bruins history backed into his own net. The tie gave UNH the opportunity they needed, and the next night they seized it, beating BC 4-1. UNH went on to win seven more games in a row, including the Hockey East final, before succumbing to Thomas Vanek and Minnesota in the NCAA final.

This year the situation is reversed of course. BC on the road on Friday, needing not a tie, but a win, to have a chance to capture the number one seed. The Eagles can, of course, win since they're probably the best team UNH has faced since Cornell in early January. However, I can't see Foster turtling into his own net like Matti did, so BC will have to find some other way to replicate UNH's performance of 7 years ago.

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

However, I can't see Foster turtling into his own net like Matti did, so BC will have to find some other way to replicate UNH's performance of 7 years ago.

I can't see BC melting down like UNH did in Buffalo either, so it's all good. "succumbing" was a nice word, though. Nuclear Meltdown, Succumbing... same thing.

[Gibber]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

Do not forget 1998 at the Garden FF, which I believe was our best shot at a title.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that 1999 was probably their best shot...

[Aerman]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

I can't see BC melting down like UNH did in Buffalo either, so it's all good. "succumbing" was a nice word, though. Nuclear Meltdown, Succumbing... same thing.

Did you watch that game? Despite being amongst the best UNH teams of the last 20 years (4th IMO), they were not comparable to Minny. It was amazing that game was tied as late as it was. I think "succumbed" covers it very aptly.

[Aerman]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that 1999 was probably their best shot...

Check

[J.D.]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

And BC folks (in which I count myself); Who starts in net? How does our D look (that question below got interrupted by the "pressure" tangent)? What are the pairings? Offense is our stronger suit, but what did UMass do to stem that, and can UNH replicate it?

Well, I'm gonna say Milner, but really have no idea. This potential goaltending "controversy" is the #1 story Hockey East fans don't know about.

All things considered, the defense has held up nicely. If this team falters, however, it will most likely because they don't have quite enough back there.

Recent pairings were:

Samuelsson-Wey
Cross-Sneep
Dumoulin-Shea

UMass did a lot of things well. First of all, they didn't take a single penalty. They played hard and smart. Did a lot of simple things out there. I would have to say UNH could replicate that, but don't know if they'd be playing the same style as UMass. It's usually a high flying affair with these two teams.

The lone exception I can think of was a H.E. game in Boston UNH up 4-0 (maybe 4-1) B.C. clearly couldn't skate with UNH. BC switched to the trap against a UNH team that was clueless about beating a trap. BC wins, it worked so well BC doesn't come out of the trap the rest of the year and wins it all, 2 years ago.

Does B.C. trap this year?

Not sure if you're remembering all that correctly. If you're talking about the 2008 HE semifinal, BC ended up outshooting UNH by a good margin. And BC still had a lot of talented forwards on that team. Not sure they would have started trapping when trailing 4-1. You might have a case for BC trying to trap BU in last year's semifinal when up 1-0, but I don't buy it in a game they were down 4-1. To ask if they trap "this year" is misguided. I'm sure all teams trap at some point. BC is an attacking team that's coming at you with four lines.

[UML]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

I'll be watching these games very closely.

[TonyTheTiger20]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

First of all, they didn't take a single penalty.

Minor correction: UMA definitely took some penalties, but none were called.

Kreider getting hauled down from behind in the 3rd period while coming up the boards comes to mind.

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

Not sure if you're remembering all that correctly. If you're talking about the 2008 HE semifinal, BC ended up outshooting UNH by a good margin. And BC still had a lot of talented forwards on that team. Not sure they would have started trapping when trailing 4-1. You might have a case for BC trying to trap BU in last year's semifinal when up 1-0, but I don't buy it in a game they were down 4-1. To ask if they trap "this year" is misguided. I'm sure all teams trap at some point. BC is an attacking team that's coming at you with four lines.

Not sure if they went to a true "trap" but after UNH blew them out of the water in the first period, BC made a major change in strategy, to which UNH had no answer.I remember it being mentioned after that game, but can't remember where (just read the game thread, no mention, and I can't find the UNH thread for that year). Reading the game thread was quite a hoot, though; what a game.

I distinctly remember this game, because it was Good Friday. Very rare to watch the 1st period, then leave for church; listen to the 2nd period; leave church, listen to first OT, then watch the last to OTs back at home.

As to the last sentence in your post; they usually are, and it makes a highly entertaining, up and down hockey game, especially at the Whit. Probably why NESN picked it up.

[sterlippo1]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

Not sure if they went to a true "trap" but after UNH blew them out of the water in the first period, BC made a major change in strategy, to which UNH had no answer.I remember it being mentioned after that game, but can't remember where (just read the game thread, no mention, and I can't find the UNH thread for that year). Reading the game thread was quite a hoot, though; what a game.

I distinctly remember this game, because it was Good Friday. Very rare to watch the 1st period, then leave for church; listen to the 2nd period; leave church, listen to first OT, then watch the last to OTs back at home.

As to the last sentence in your post; they usually are, and it makes a highly entertaining, up and down hockey game, especially at the Whit. Probably why NESN picked it up.

that was the game BC actually won twice on overtime right??

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Boston College - March 5/6

that was the game BC actually won twice on overtime right??

*sighs*

The refs got the call right. You won anyway. Can we move on?