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BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

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Scoop85 said:
As a Cornell fan who has seen all 8 MSG games (last night was the 1st time I wasn’t in the arena), I was taken aback at how lackadaisical and undisciplined BU looked in its defensive zone. And if the Commesso from last night is the US’s best option for World Juniors, we’re in a heap of trouble.

As I think back to the BU teams from a decade ago, the drop-off in quality seems dramatic. Since the team is still loaded with high NHL draft picks, either some of these guys are not what they’re cracked up to be, the coaching is inadequate, or a combination of those things.
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Lackadaisical and undisciplined in dzone yet place all the blame on the goalie is hysterical. They have been poor on defense almost all year - breakaways, odd man rushes, not clearing out front. Put Tuukka Task in net and he ain’t doing much better. World juniors team will play structured defense with Leaman as a coach and thats a successful recipe for winning. BU has a system and coaching issue. Run and gun hockey with this roster isn’t working. No discipline, too many penalties and massive breakdowns in the dzone is the hallmarks of this team. They play so soft in the dzone and don’t play tough nor block shots and leave the goalies out to dry a lot.

Cornell is decent but nothing special. They are close to the top tier teams.
 
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Lemonade said:
Lackadaisical and undisciplined in dzone yet place all the blame on the goalie is hysterical. They have been poor on defense almost all year - breakaways, odd man rushes, not clearing out front. Put Tuukka Task in net and he ain’t doing much better. World juniors team will play structured defense with Leaman as a coach and thats a successful recipe for winning. BU has a system and coaching issue. Run and gun hockey with this roster isn’t working. No discipline, too many penalties and massive breakdowns in the dzone is the hallmarks of this team. They play so soft in the dzone and don’t play tough nor block shots and leave the goalies out to dry a lot.

Cornell is decent but nothing special. They are close to the top tier teams.
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How does my saying that I was surprised by BU’s lackadaisical and undisciplined play “place all the blame on the goalie”? In any event, since Commesso is supposed to be an elite goalie, expecting him to make a quality save or two doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Regarding Cornell, you may be right that the Big Red is “nothing special.” Games at North Dakota in January will truly tell us where the Big Red falls in the college hockey hierarchy.
 
Scoop85 said:
How does my saying that I was surprised by BU’s lackadaisical and undisciplined play “place all the blame on the goalie”? In any event, since Commesso is supposed to be an elite goalie, expecting him to make a quality save or two doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Regarding Cornell, you may be right that the Big Red is “nothing special.” Games at North Dakota in January will truly tell us where the Big Red falls in the college hockey hierarchy.
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i am going on a limb and going to say you have only seen BU play once this season.
 
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Scoop85 said:
How does my saying that I was surprised by BU’s lackadaisical and undisciplined play “place all the blame on the goalie”? In any event, since Commesso is supposed to be an elite goalie, expecting him to make a quality save or two doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Regarding Cornell, you may be right that the Big Red is “nothing special.” Games at North Dakota in January will truly tell us where the Big Red falls in the college hockey hierarchy.
Click to expand...

i am going on a limb and going to say you have only seen BU play once this season.
 
Commesso isn't the problem but he's a good not great goalie. Of course he's probably shell shocked from all the breakaways, odd man rushes, and uncovered forwards at the far side of the net that he faces every game. I remember when Albie said he was going to be a special goalie at the start of last year. Hey coach, how about letting the kid earn it first?

Yeah, yeah we're like 1-6-2 in our last 9 games, but in moral victories we're a sparkling 5-4 or 4-5 depending on how you view the Cornell game. We should petition the NCAA to make moral victories count instead of actual wins and then we can justify signing Albie to that contract extension that he richly deserves. ;)
 
Lemonade said:
Let’s see 3 tip ins, a seeing shot thru screen and a breakaway where a guy walked around defense. One crappy goal off an awful turnover. Did you even watch the game?
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I did. I was generally referring to his collective performances to date. Stats don't lie. His GAA is amongst the worst in the league and perhaps the nation. I think some of those tips are saved by a John Curry, Sean Fields, Kieran Millan, O'Connor, Maguire even Rollheiser his over all stats are not nearly what any BU goalie has ever needed to be competitive in this league at this point in the season. Sorry my hockey mind tells me he won't be stealing a game that's what I am saying. He's serviceable. However, if Jack were around, I think he would already be riding the pine. I see him out of position, tentative in the crease and not following the puck. I have been watching and playing for 45 years. Maybe he needs a few section 8 weeks to rest his head as his job is 70% mental. Have you looked? He has a .887 save %. That currently ranks 49 out of 50 NCAA goalies with at least 33% of the total minutes between the pipes. I had to go back nearly 5 decades to find a worse % for a BU starter, granted there have been a lot worse who split time or were backups. Sorry to upset the very PC BU apple cart but we are approaching the break and it needed to be said. It's the real elephant in the room. Albie can't be blamed for this issue but he can be blamed for not having a plan B. However, trust me, this issue is in the back of his mind. If Albie survives another season, he needs to fix it. It happens, NU put the handwriting on the wall to politely allow their last gollie to realize his full potential elsewhere..at Union. HE isn't for everyone.
 
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Commesso had a rough night last night, but he remains very low on the list of problems this program needs to fix.

#1, and the only one that matters, remains firing the coach. As I've said before, anything else is window-dressing the problem. This must be done immediately - but it won't.
 
RossiRules said:
I did. I was generally referring to his collective performances to date. Stats don't lie. His GAA is amongst the worst in the league and perhaps the nation. I think some of those tips are saved by a John Curry, Sean Fields, Kieran Millan, O'Connor, Maguire even Rollheiser his over all stats are not nearly what any BU goalie has ever needed to be competitive in this league at this point in the season. Sorry my hockey mind tells me he won't be stealing a game that's what I am saying. He's serviceable. However, if Jack were around, I think he would already be riding the pine. I see him out of position, tentative in the crease and not following the puck. I have been watching and playing for 45 years. Maybe he needs a few section 8 weeks to rest his head as his job is 70% mental. Have you looked? He has a .887 save %. That currently ranks 49 out of 50 NCAA goalies with at least 33% of the total minutes between the pipes. I had to go back nearly 5 decades to find a worse % for a BU starter, granted there have been a lot worse who split time or were backups. Sorry to upset the very PC BU apple cart but we are approaching the break and it needed to be said. It's the real elephant in the room. Albie can't be blamed for this issue but he can be blamed for not having a plan B. However, trust me, this issue is in the back of his mind. If Albie survives another season, he needs to fix it. It happens, NU put the handwriting on the wall to politely allow their last gollie to realize his full potential elsewhere..at Union. HE isn't for everyone.
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Stats absolutely lie for a goalie. They are the most misleading stat in sports. 20 clear shots from the point and the goalie has a 1.00 save percentage and looks fantastic. A goalie that faces breakaways, odd man rushes and tons of power plays looks like crap stat wise. You haven’t seen all the games and make assumptions - many of us have seen all the games and seen the endless breakdowns in the dzone. I read that UMass didn’t allow an odd man rush all last weekend. Pretty easy to put up great stats playing great team defense. What a concept.
 
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Rover said:
Commesso isn't the problem but he's a good not great goalie. Of course he's probably shell shocked from all the breakaways, odd man rushes, and uncovered forwards at the far side of the net that he faces every game. I remember when Albie said he was going to be a special goalie at the start of last year. Hey coach, how about letting the kid earn it first?

Yeah, yeah we're like 1-6-2 in our last 9 games, but in moral victories we're a sparkling 5-4 or 4-5 depending on how you view the Cornell game. We should petition the NCAA to make moral victories count instead of actual wins and then we can justify signing Albie to that contract extension that he richly deserves. ;)
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Fluery went from a Vezina winner 3 months ago in Las Vegas to crap in Chicago. Team in front of you matters. Goalies cant do
it on their own And need help….and a coach.
 
Lemonade said:
Stats absolutely lie for a goalie. They are the most misleading stat in sports. 20 clear shots from the point and the goalie has a 1.00 save percentage and looks fantastic. A goalie that faces breakaways, odd man rushes and tons of power plays looks like crap stat wise. You haven’t seen all the games and make assumptions - many of us have seen all the games and seen the endless breakdowns in the dzone. I read that UMass didn’t allow an odd man rush all last weekend. Pretty easy to put up great stats playing great team defense. What a concept.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with some of what you say but I think he doesn't have the x factor...and those stats do mean everything, those stats are what get you a job in every level of this game from Jr hockey right to the NHL. Find me a guy with under a .890 save percentage who was a starter for more than a season at a top program when that program was successful. Not to worry because the new transfer portal rules makes it easy to find qualified candidates with experience, who will be chomping at the bit to play at BU. I think he had a year of COVID hockey and somehow was a starter on the national development team for 2 years, he's a local kid so who knows how he got to BU. However I think he's a big part of the issue. I hear alot of complaining on this site of the need for a return to glory days of BU hockey. Hockey success starts with the goalie, he needs to keep you in every game and occasionally steal a game. Forget about the odd man rushes..and questionable D. Do you see him stealing an occasional game. Like John Curry and the goalies I mentioned could. Think about the goalies you had when you were in the hunt for a national championship every year..most of them never played a minute in the NHL, but trust me their stats were among the best in college hockey. We will see as the season progresses but let's face it 4 wins and it's December???
 
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RossiRules said:
I don't disagree with some of what you say but I think he doesn't have the x factor...and those stats do mean everything, those stats are what get you a job in every level of this game after Jr hockey right to the NHL. Find me a guy with a .860 save percentage who was a starter in college for more than a season. Find me a guy under .900 in pro hockey. New Transfer portal rules makes it easy to find qualified candidates with experience will be chomping at the bit to play at BU.
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Levi is a great example of inflated stats as he played in front of a loaded team canada team where an orange cone would have had a .950 save percentage. NU also has played a pretty easy schedule to boot. Levi plays in front of a structured team with what has recently been called the best dman in college hockey in jordan harris. You think that helps? Toss Levi in a BU jersey and he would have the same stats as the Bu goalies.
 
Lemonade said:
Levi is a great example of inflated stats as he played in front of a loaded team canada team where an orange cone would have had a .950 save percentage. NU also has played a pretty easy schedule to boot. Levi plays in front of a structured team with what has recently been called the best dman in college hockey in jordan harris. You think that helps? Toss Levi in a BU jersey and he would have the same stats as the Bu goalies.
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It's 4 wins, 44 in the Pairwise and it's December and they aren't getting rid of Albie anytime soon. So we will see.
 
brassbonanza said:
Commesso had a rough night last night, but he remains very low on the list of problems this program needs to fix.

#1, and the only one that matters, remains firing the coach. As I've said before, anything else is window-dressing the problem. This must be done immediately - but it won't.
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Commesso was better last season. But I don't place much blame on him for this season.

I think I'd give Duplessis at least an occasion start. Is Abel still around? Did he ever figure out high shots? If so, I might give him a start, too.

I have no problem starting Commesso, but he shouldn't be an automatic this season.

Is Albie "One OT Win in Nine Games" O'Connell going to keep telling us how good practices have been and that he likes how the team competes? Yikes!
 
RossiRules said:
I don't disagree with some of what you say but I think he doesn't have the x factor...and those stats do mean everything, those stats are what get you a job in every level of this game from Jr hockey right to the NHL. Find me a guy with under a .890 save percentage who was a starter for more than a season at a top program when that program was successful. Not to worry because the new transfer portal rules makes it easy to find qualified candidates with experience, who will be chomping at the bit to play at BU. I think he had a year of COVID hockey and somehow was a starter on the national development team for 2 years, he's a local kid so who knows how he got to BU. However I think he's a big part of the issue. I hear alot of complaining on this site of the need for a return to glory days of BU hockey. Hockey success starts with the goalie, he needs to keep you in every game and occasionally steal a game. Forget about the odd man rushes..and questionable D. Do you see him stealing an occasional game. Like John Curry and the goalies I mentioned could. Think about the goalies you had when you were in the hunt for a national championship every year..most of them never played a minute in the NHL, but trust me their stats were among the best in college hockey. We will see as the season progresses but let's face it 4 wins and it's December???
Click to expand...

Basically he de-committed from UNH to 'follow his goalie coach' is what UNH fans were told...? BU seemed pretty happy to have him...
 
RossiRules said:
I don't disagree with some of what you say but I think he doesn't have the x factor...and those stats do mean everything, those stats are what get you a job in every level of this game from Jr hockey right to the NHL. Find me a guy with under a .890 save percentage who was a starter for more than a season at a top program when that program was successful. Not to worry because the new transfer portal rules makes it easy to find qualified candidates with experience, who will be chomping at the bit to play at BU. I think he had a year of COVID hockey and somehow was a starter on the national development team for 2 years, he's a local kid so who knows how he got to BU. However I think he's a big part of the issue. I hear alot of complaining on this site of the need for a return to glory days of BU hockey. Hockey success starts with the goalie, he needs to keep you in every game and occasionally steal a game. Forget about the odd man rushes..and questionable D. Do you see him stealing an occasional game. Like John Curry and the goalies I mentioned could. Think about the goalies you had when you were in the hunt for a national championship every year..most of them never played a minute in the NHL, but trust me their stats were among the best in college hockey. We will see as the season progresses but let's face it 4 wins and it's December???
Click to expand...

How much longer do you think that will be the case (transfers and recruits)? Also, does anyone have insights about departures over the Christmas break? I have no information, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were, and I'm not referring to the coach here.
 
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