Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread II: Still got a pulse, time for CPR
Really slow night at work = exploitation of the multi-quote function.
buoldtimer upthread mentioned his disappointment with the whole sophomore class. I couldn't agree more. Millan, while he's been ok recently, has regressed. Warsofsky has been fine, but I haven't really seen anything in the way of improvement. Trivino, as has also been mentioned, shows flashes here and there but he's largely invisible out there. Connolly has been a major disappointment this year, probably the biggest regressor last night's nice gritty goal aside. He seems to have an uncanny knack for skating and passing the puck OUT of scoring areas in the offensive zone.
And Vinny Saponari. What a joke. He's the softest player I've seen in some time and has no business on the first line.
Millan- You pretty much nailed it. To be fair, though, if anyone was expecting him to repeat last year's numbers, that was simply an unrealistic expectation. Obviously, no one expected his numbers to plummet as much as they did in the first half, though.
Warsofsky- I think he's been better than fine. I don't think there's been any dropoff from last year to this year. He may not be better than last year, but he's still one of the best d-men in the conference in my opinion.
Trivino- Pretty much agree. He's certainly been better this year than last, but I think it's fair to expect much more from a 2nd-round pick.
Connolly- This one I don't agree with. Obviously, he had been in a drought up until his goal last night, but I think for the majority of this season, he's been the 2nd-best forward after Bonino. He's also one of the true leaders of this team, as a sophomore. I'd be surprised if he isn't wearing at least an 'A' next season.
Saponari- Can't agree with this, either. There's a lot of things you can criticize Vinny for, but I don't see how being soft is one of them. He's one of the hardest workers on this team along the boards, in the corners and below the goal line. If you wanna criticize him for shooting wide, not burying rebounds, etc., go right ahead, but I just don't see how you can call him soft. Also, his passing has been very good all season.
All of that said, I think the Pereira-Megan-Gaudet line has been the team's best by far in '10. So we've got that going for us.
Someone I know is writing a story on that line for Tuesday's Freep.
I agree that the sophomore class is a huge disappointment this year, but I wouldn't say that it has anything to do with Chris Connolly. Connolly is often the player behind breakouts, and his goal last night was a prime example of why he is valuable to this team. He's one of the only players on the squad that consistently crashes the net, and like Joe Pereira, his speed sparks the offense. If anyone has a knack for passing the puck out of the scoring areas, it's Vinny Saponari.
That said, Corey Trivino seems to have come back after break with a fire lit under him. He was all over the ice last night and playing the most physical game I have ever seen him play. His speed is really showing now, and I think he's one big game away from a breakout.
Agree on Connolly. See above. As for Trivino, he has one point in 2010. I personally haven't noticed anything more from him than what he showed in the first half. I think smyler's assessment was more accurate- he does show the fire you're describing... sometimes. Then it goes out for the next couple shifts.
Mookie,
Don't lay this on me buddy. My 2 point comment was first talking about the post holiday record related to the fact we needed 4 points playing Prov and Mack this weekend to have a legitimate shot at a home seed in HE. I said nothing about the NCAA tournament....you did.
On the NCAA tournament topic you brought up, there is one way this team goes to the tournament....it wins HE and getting a home seed would help with that. My point was that with the 2 teams played this weekend this team needed to sweep because 2 points next weekend against BC and NH would have represented a weekend of not backing up. If they split next weekend after picking up 8 points out of the break, they'd be pushing toward that number 4 slot in HE.
Mookie, when you say something dumb, man up!
Although winning 12 of 13 isn't entirely impossible (BU has gone on similar runs in the past), I agree with you that this team's No. 1 goal right now should be to get home ice in the HE playoffs. With HE being as much of a crap shoot as it is right now, and BU being only 5 points out of home ice, there's no reason to think that can't happen.
well you didn't make that point.
is that what the season is all about?? home ice for hea qf?? if you have a thought to finish in your post, do it. if i'm supposed to assume a "2 pt weekend" coming up is the cure to get home ice then everything will fall into place.......
that's something i aint.
I don't think collegefan was trying to say that home ice was all that matters. I think he was trying to say what I just said above- make that your goal and then worry about what lies beyond when the time comes. Also, like cf said, home ice would make it easier to achieve any goals beyond the end of the regular season.
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