BC Women's Hockey 2023: Back In Contention

[Njjasper14]

Gotta say, looked good on Sat. I know it's Stonewall, but dominant 7-0. Solid lines, with a superstar 1st line. Team looks like they gel.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

In other good news for bc. They pickup a nice commitment for 2025 from high profile recruit Ava Thomas who plays for the Philadelphia Jr Flyers U19 team. Very nice pickup for them.

[Fathead]

Two games with Clarkson should provide something of a benchmark on where this team stands. Likely losing both but the question will be how competitive the games are.

[Njjasper14]

Two games with Clarkson should provide something of a benchmark on where this team stands. Likely losing both but the question will be how competitive the games are.

100% agree...goalies not tested in scrimmage I assume being 7-0. That will be key for them...

[jimmywallstreet]

I’ve got high hopes for BC this season and believe they have actually removed some of the hype distractions of previous seasons. They have added players who play the game with a “team” mentality and who know how to score. Smigliani, for example, knows how to win and certainly knows how to play against Clarkson having seen them over a dozen times while playing for Colgate.

[Fathead]

Mixed bag in first game. First period was bad but after the team got their sea legs, it was pretty even the last two periods. Had some chances that they didnt finish. Clarkson overall is bigger and faster and deeper. Hopefully BC can put a few in the net today.

[reggiedunlap9]

jimmywallstreet you still have high hopes after the Clarkson weekend ? Now they go to Wisconsin for 2 games. Then UConn for 2 games. Is it possible for BCWIH to start the season off at 0-6 ? How much longer is the AD going to allow this ship to continue to sink.

[Fathead]

They will start 0-4 no doubt. The key metric will be when they play UCONN. Better effort on Saturday but simply not crisp. Poor passing, poor fundamentals. Players on the wrong side of the puck, losing assignments, etc. It will be worse against Wisco but hopefully that prepares the team for conference play. Lack of depth is a big issue.

[reggiedunlap9]

Fathead Isn't that all on the coaching ? Its been like this for 6-7 straight years and it continues to get worse. The only good news is that Hockey East looks abysmal and they could actually finish in the top 3

[Fathead]

Fathead Isn't that all on the coaching ? Its been like this for 6-7 straight years and it continues to get worse. The only good news is that Hockey East looks abysmal and they could actually finish in the top 3

Yes but they are correctable, that is the key. These first 4 games are difficult to evaluate because the talent level is disparate (again a recruiting issue). And I agree that HE is bad. It has fallen well behind the WCHA and ECAC. This team needs to focus on being the best it can be in the HE. Its not competing for the national tournament (which is an issue in itself that you have identified).

[reggiedunlap9]

The lack of recruiting and the inability to keep players at BC for 4 years in the root of the problem. The problem is only getting worse because top players around the country no longer want to come to BC. They know that they wont develop and likely will never play in an NCAA tournament game. How could a top player possibly choose BC over a Wisco, Minnesota or OSU if they want to play at the highest level ? The program has fallen off a cliff and everyone wants to pretend like everything is fine.

[MAHOCKEY FAN]

Yes but they are correctable, that is the key. These first 4 games are difficult to evaluate because the talent level is disparate (again a recruiting issue). And I agree that HE is bad. It has fallen well behind the WCHA and ECAC. This team needs to focus on being the best it can be in the HE. not competing for the national tournament (which is an issue in itself that you have identified).

They are correctable but the best players are doing it right when they get to college!

[jimmywallstreet]

I’m optimistic about the players coming in this year and have witnessed numerous teams with tons of talented players never reach their true potential because they didn’t play as a collective group. It probably motivated some of the remaining BC players when Bilka and Barnes went to OSU. And one thing to remember… Having Bilka and Barnes at OSU didn’t guarantee victories against Colgate

[jimmywallstreet]

I’m optimistic about the players coming in this year and have witnessed numerous teams with tons of talented players never reach their true potential because they didn’t play as a collective group. It probably motivated some of the remaining BC players when Bilka and Barnes went to OSU. And one thing to remember… Having Bilka and Barnes at OSU didn’t guarantee victories against Colgate

[TonyTheTiger20]

Thought we looked awful to start against Clarkson but there may have been a little something to the Knights going into their 2nd full weekend as we did improve as the game went on. All in all though obviously a bad weekend.

Wisconsin is going to be tough but will be interested to see what kind of fire they play with against them... hopefully a little extra pep in their step.

I agree UConn is going to be a better benchmark. Northeastern just split with Penn State and got outshot in both games, followed by a weekend in which they had comparable results against LIU (6-0 and 2-0) that BC had against Stonehill (7-0). I don't think the league ends with any teams in the top ten at the end of the season and am pretty sure whoever wins the league is going to have needed the autobid to get into NCAAs.

BC didn't look great against Clarkson but the league as a whole is so bad that I do think winning WHEA is something realistic to shoot for.