Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

[grantfan]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

Shortie was a 2-1 and Milner never had a chance.

Yeah, but it feels a lot better to blame the goalie, a goalie not named Muse, a freshman, no less, so we can keep thinking the team is great.

 

[Zudnic]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

if you have fios the game will be on channel 301

 

[SteveF]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

Yeah, but it feels a lot better to blame the goalie, a goalie not named Muse, a freshman, no less, so we can keep thinking the team is great.

nice to see you finally getting a grasp of the roster. although since you previously identified half the team as soft freshman; i'm not sure this wasnt just a lucky guess.

 

[Zudnic]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010


"Rest assured I was on the internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world."

Well, that sucked. They played OK but couldn't do anything right in the last 15:00.. DU really walked all over them.

0-2 is not how I expected to come out of this weekend. We need to root for SLU to fall out of TUC and hope this loss doesn't hurt too much.

Let's hope this lights a fire under the arse (as SLU should have) and they pound BU on Friday. At least that'll count in the league.

 

[vellnueve]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

None of last week's results matter if BC wins Hockey East... Definitely should have come out of the weekend 2-0, but I don't think it's panic time.

 

[sterlippo1]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

yes, but BU smoked UMass and we crashed and burned out west........not how we wanted to go into fenway on friday night. I'm shocked that after the nice first half, this is how they started the second.

 

[Chris_NH]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

The guy doing the radio play-by-play for the Denver game said that BC doesn't play outside of Massachusetts until MARCH!

 

[Kenny]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

If the BC momentum bus comes to a screeching halt, but it's on snow packed roads in the Rockies, does anyone hear it? (Pathetic I know, but after 2 days of shoveling, it was the best I could do)

Ouch, get them home and focused on BU.....quickly!

From the game early in the season against UNH until now, this team has struggled with closing out games. Will this be their achilles?

Some other thoughts and questions for the new year:

Are we going to see the World Junior Chris Kreider in the second half?
Is this team a year away from doing big things and raising banners?
Is one goaile going to emerge down the stretch?

Should make for an interesting season, the fun is just beginning.....

 

[joegrav]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

None of last week's results matter if BC wins Hockey East...

False. Last night's game easily could have made the difference between a 1 seed and a 2 seed if BC goes on to win the conference.

Is one goalie going to emerge down the stretch?

It sure looks like Jon Muse emerged last night. What a game he had. He absolutely kept BC in the game with a few ridiculous saves. He even made a high glove save. Despite the tough loss I'm very encouraged by Muse's night.

 

[Puck Swami]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

BC was very impressive to these eyes. Young, fast and talented. BC skated DU straight out of the building in the first, and the shorty in the third was also a gutty play on the road. Gibbons and Muse were terrific. BC got a little tired and worn down in the third. That's pretty typical for a young team at altitude, and Denver was a top 5 team playing as hard as they possibly could in third at home.

In short, BC gave Denver all they wanted and then some. York will use this tourney as a great teachable moment, and I would not be surprised to see this young BC team in Detroit by season's end as they mature and find their identity. Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[FiveHole12]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

Kenny...
The World Juniors 'light the lamp' Kreider would be nice.
I think this team has a legitimate shot at some banners, perhaps a year away from the big one. Still need some polishing... we'll see how they progress from here.
Agree with Superfan Joe... Muse is the man. He stood on his head last night, and although some of the saves were of the 'dang, how did that not go in' variety, the Denver loss had nothing to do with John Muse. He kept us in it in the 3rd.

I was able to watch the third period of the Denver game. Wow!
I thought the Eagles had secured the win after Gibbons shortie put us up 3-1, but it just seemed to light an even bigger fire under Rhett Rakhshani's butt. Holy mackerel, that kid and his linemates took over the game and refused to be denied.

That being said, the young Eagles did a great job and were able to play with, and outplay at times, a very good, experienced Denver team. Good learning experience for the frosh as they won't see a line like Rakhshani's (or a team like DU) in Hockey East. It's how they respond to the disappointing loss that will define where they go from here.

From what I've seen to date, I think this team responds with fire in their belly. I'm not worried... this Eagles team is still experiencing some growing pains, but they're going to be fine.

 

[jdevoejr]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

I agree Muse stood on his head at times but I can't get that first DU goal out of my head. By any definintion it was a softie and shouldn't have happened. Any word on the Wey injury?

 

[Arafel]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

I agree Muse stood on his head at times but I can't get that first DU goal out of my head. By any definintion it was a softie and shouldn't have happened. Any word on the Wey injury?

When I interviewed Jerry last night, he said Wey has a broken wrist.

 

[Zudnic]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

I think this team responds with fire in their belly.

They do?

1/2 vs Denver: Go into 3rd pd up 2-0, give up 4 to lose 3-2. Blow momentum by giving up a goal right after a supernifty SHG.
1/1 vs SLU: Give up a SHG, immediately yield three more in a 10:00 span
11/21 at Maine: Get two quick goals to go up 3-2 to start the 3rd, give up the tying goal right afterwards.
11/27 vs Clarkson: With a 6-3 lead with ten minutes to go, give up two to give Clarkson a shot.
11/6 at UNH: Give up 3 in the 3rd to wipe out a 4-1 lead.

It looks to me like this team has a hard time holding leads in the 3rd. They need to develop their killer instinct.

To put a more positive spin on it, this feels like what happened in Jan 2008, when they had that extended midseason swoon and everyone was questioning Brennan's leadership. Hopefully someone will step it up and they can start closing out opponents.

Gotta tell ya, I don't see the fire in the belly yet.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

As usual, Swami's got it right. BC looked terrific, well deserving of the #5 ranking, but ran into a team, and especially one guy, who just refused to lose. In a mirror image circumstance, with BC having trouble closing the deal on Saturdays, you'd be saying "it's about time," and against a quality opponant to boot.

Muse did give up a softie (Chevy had one deflected in by a teammate) but apart from that looked absolutely superb. That save he made with his right hand under his body was other worldly. A circumstance where DU posters were saying "how did that not go in?" I saw it on replay over and over and I STILL want to know how it didn't go in.

You guys will be fine. Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[FiveHole12]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

They do?

1/2 vs Denver: Go into 3rd pd up 2-0, give up 4 to lose 3-2. Blow momentum by giving up a goal right after a supernifty SHG.
1/1 vs SLU: Give up a SHG, immediately yield three more in a 10:00 span
11/21 at Maine: Get two quick goals to go up 3-2 to start the 3rd, give up the tying goal right afterwards.
11/27 vs Clarkson: With a 6-3 lead with ten minutes to go, give up two to give Clarkson a shot.
11/6 at UNH: Give up 3 in the 3rd to wipe out a 4-1 lead.

It looks to me like this team has a hard time holding leads in the 3rd. They need to develop their killer instinct.

To put a more positive spin on it, this feels like what happened in Jan 2008, when they had that extended midseason swoon and everyone was questioning Brennan's leadership. Hopefully someone will step it up and they can start closing out opponents.

Gotta tell ya, I don't see the fire in the belly yet.

'fire in the belly'... meaning, I think the teams response will be positive, as opposed to a 'whoa is me, the season is lost' attitude.

We could look at every single game from the beginning of the season to the present, and bring out all the negatives this team has experienced. Guaranteed, the list will be a lot longer than the one listed above.

But here's a fact... the last time before last night that this team collapsed in the third period in a losing effort was in November at UNH. They went 8-1-1 since that game until this weekend. I saw some fire in the belly over that span of games, as I did last night vs DU after the SLU loss. If you don't see any fire, then all I can say is... have you been to the eye doctor lately?

Remember... a very young team here. They proved last night they can play with the best in the country.

 

[BCHF]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

Very tough weekend for the Eagles all the way around.

Tremendous effort on Saturday night falls a little bit short...but the bad taste should serve them well down the road.
St. Lawrence taste being "not ready to play = ugly outcome".
Denver taste being "inability to close out with lead = gut wrenching loss".

I think loss of Wey is disappointing as he is the kind of kid that pretty much goes unnoticed unless he makes a mistake. That said he contributed as a strong physical presence in the defensive zone that "ate" minutes. He did the little things like blocked shots, won puck battles, moved bodies out from in front for improved goalie vision, transitioned out of the defensive zone, etc.
Lyles and/or Albert will be given the chance to contribute.

Strong Fenway Park performance will go along way towards relighting the prospect of good times ahead for this club.

 

[J.D.]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

Not sure who on the board was out there, but I returned from Denver yesterday afternoon. Certainly a disappointing two games...

St. Lawrence--not sure what was going on here. Weren't playing well, but were up 2-0. Then some mental mistakes lead to a SHG and another as a penalty expired. SLU tried dumping the puck in the BC zone, but Cross knocked it down. Problem is it went right to an SLU player leading a 2 on 1...goal. If Cross lets it go into the zone and chases after it, nothing would have come of it. Things just fell apart after this. Nobody was sharp. BC bench was looking for an interference call off the faceoff on SLU's GWG, but it went uncalled. The performance in general was not good enough.

Denver--a better performance, but it was clear to me who the better team was. Muse was great thru 40 minutes, but BC simply didn't play well enough in the 3rd. DU deserved it. When it was 3-2 I said to my buddy there's no way they're gonna hold this lead if they keep losing faceoffs/icing the puck.

Long season, but hopefully this isn't a flashback to last year in terms of blowing leads. BTW, Anthony Maiani was the best player I saw out there all weekend. He would fit in perfectly if at BC. What a player.

Another positive was the BC crowd Saturday night. Couldn't believe the "Let's Go Eagles" chant that erupted throughout. Easily the loudest chant I've heard at a road venue.

Magness is unique. They have a carving station that serves up roast beef, turkey and ham. The seats behind the goals go up higher than any arena I've seen.

Denver itself--quiet. Not what I was expecting. The nightlife was rather dull, but we still found some decent spots. Head to the Tilted Kilt if you're ever in the area. Also, Choppers was the only place in town with the NHL Network it seemed. We were able to catch the 3rd period of the US-Canada game. The Nebraska-Omaha team was also there...

It was a long layoff. The SLU game was by far more disappointing, but having two goal leads in both games and coming away with nothing is cause for concern...

Denver Pioneers--best team I've seen this year. It will be difficult for someone to beat them in the tourney. I was also thinking how BC has played CC, Minnesota, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota in the tourney under York, but never Denver...

 

[joegrav]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

I thought I heard a "Let's go Eagles" chant on the broadcast but I assumed it was in my head, and was just "Let's go Pios"

 

[Puck Swami]

Re: Boston College Hockey 2009-2010

I thought I heard a "Let's go Eagles" chant on the broadcast but I assumed it was in my head, and was just "Let's go Pios"

I would say somewhere between 100-200 BC fans were in the house. There apparently is a sizable contingent of BC alumni living in Colorado, plus those on ski vacations. Superfan shirts were in evidence. There was also a nice turnout of SLU and UNO fans, too. Without the DU students on campus, it makes it much easier for visiting fans to make more noise.