Re: Bentley Falcons 2013-2014: No offseason. No excuses.
Bentley at Harvard should be a great take. I'm fascinated by Harvard this year because they're one of the few teams I hit on the head last year. I had said, unpopularly, that I thought Harvard's top four finish two years ago was a little bit of smoke and mirrors because they didn't "beat" teams moreso than "didn't lose" to teams. And when I did see them they didn't impress me.
I'm going to say that Harvard for the Bentley game will be very dangerous. It's the first game of the year again, and the Crimson have a TON to prove. That makes them very dangerous, and I really feel like the young guys will come in and play hair-on-fire hockey. Donato is always known for coaching a team to be physical away from whistles (you can take this to mean getting away with illegal plays), but it works when it's cranking. I'll be very interested, especially since it'll be a "Home" game in comparison to the Maine trip and definitely in comparison to UNO.
Again, on a personal standpoint, I can't wait for the BU game. It's going to fulfill so many thrills of mine like NU did last year. I grew up going to games at Walter Brown and at Matthews. To be able to work a game in Matthews and not get thrown out like I did when I was an undergrad going to see UMass-Dartmouth play Wentworth was a huge thrill. To beat NU in their barn was a bigger thrill for me personally. But BU is one of those holy grails. I remember chanting at WBA and I remember everything about it. Ryan Soderquist, who is a local guy, once told me that he was excited because he really wanted to coach against Jack Parker and that uniform (granted, that's different now that Jackie's gone, and we're actually disappointed). I can't wait to get up into the press box and get to call a game against Bernie.
Maybe it's super cheesy, but that game at BU means a ton to the coaches and to people like me. That isn't lost on the players since they all know what BU means, and that will make it big to them as well. It'll also be a litmus test to see if Bentley can handle the biggest of stages like when they played at Michigan. The difference? This is their back yard.
Sadly, will miss Bentley at Hahvad again this fall, but will definitely be at Agannis for Bentley - BU on December 13th. Will be on Katahdin over Columbus Day weekend, so cannot face a return drive to Orono so soon, where strangely as a UNH alum I have never been to a game. Interesting that Soderquist will be up against new coaches for these two NC games this year.
Bentley at Harvard should be a great take. I'm fascinated by Harvard this year because they're one of the few teams I hit on the head last year. I had said, unpopularly, that I thought Harvard's top four finish two years ago was a little bit of smoke and mirrors because they didn't "beat" teams moreso than "didn't lose" to teams. And when I did see them they didn't impress me.
I'm going to say that Harvard for the Bentley game will be very dangerous. It's the first game of the year again, and the Crimson have a TON to prove. That makes them very dangerous, and I really feel like the young guys will come in and play hair-on-fire hockey. Donato is always known for coaching a team to be physical away from whistles (you can take this to mean getting away with illegal plays), but it works when it's cranking. I'll be very interested, especially since it'll be a "Home" game in comparison to the Maine trip and definitely in comparison to UNO.
Again, on a personal standpoint, I can't wait for the BU game. It's going to fulfill so many thrills of mine like NU did last year. I grew up going to games at Walter Brown and at Matthews. To be able to work a game in Matthews and not get thrown out like I did when I was an undergrad going to see UMass-Dartmouth play Wentworth was a huge thrill. To beat NU in their barn was a bigger thrill for me personally. But BU is one of those holy grails. I remember chanting at WBA and I remember everything about it. Ryan Soderquist, who is a local guy, once told me that he was excited because he really wanted to coach against Jack Parker and that uniform (granted, that's different now that Jackie's gone, and we're actually disappointed). I can't wait to get up into the press box and get to call a game against Bernie.
Maybe it's super cheesy, but that game at BU means a ton to the coaches and to people like me. That isn't lost on the players since they all know what BU means, and that will make it big to them as well. It'll also be a litmus test to see if Bentley can handle the biggest of stages like when they played at Michigan. The difference? This is their back yard.