Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

[BUT09]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

No one has mentioned this, but offensive player of the game has to go to Zach Cohen. He must've created about 15-20 scoring opportunities on his own last night, even though nearly every one ended in nothing because of a whiff or a missed connection somewhere. But he was skating his butt off all night and deserves praise as such.

Maybe Parker should threaten to kick almost everyone off the team. It certainly helped up Zach Cohen's game.

 

[slurpees]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Maybe Parker should threaten to kick almost everyone off the team. It certainly helped up Zach Cohen's game.

Could this be what started the Ross Gaudet express? Though I'm not sure what he would've done to get kicked off the team besides not be as good as Yip, Higgins, McCarthy, Lawrence, et. al. as a freshman.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Typically if a defenseman is pinching, they don't do it at the blue line. He wasn't skating towards the puck down the boards (at which point his partner would/should have pulled back into the neutral zone to compensate), he was on the blue line. That far back, with the puck and BC coming towards him and his partner not falling back, no defenseman with a brain "pinches". If he was 100% he maybe gets burned a little and is a step or two behind - the BC player blew past him before he even moved.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. O.M.G. Are you serious with this?

Defensemen pinch at the blue line. That is the definition of pinching, whether standing still trying to hold the line or skating in from further away.

It's a split second decision you have to live with there. You can't go to pinch and then back out with no speed with a guy going by you with a head of steam. He made the decision and got caught. He might have best been served reaching out and grabbing Almeida for an obvious penalty but BC wasn't converting odd-man rushes so I think he made the right call trying to hold the boards. Credit Almeida for putting the puck past him, not an easy play, these Dmen are ridiculously good at not letting pucks get through them when they are set up to hold the line on the boards.

Back to the original point, his injury or inability to skate as well as he otherwise would healthy had nothing to do with it. It was a mental mistake. I would need to see it again to see how big of a mistake it was on Cohen, depending on the read of the guys in front of him and who should have rotated back. If he had all 3 forwards deep, then it's a monumental mistake. If he had a high forward that didn't get back for him, it's also on that forward.

 

[BU Hammer]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

I like Cohen, Zach that is.

Not a great skill set, but has developed nicely over his career. Strong on his skates now and should try to copyright the wraparound...

I think Nick Bonino might have something to say about that...

 

[BU Hammer]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

I think Bonino already has.

...and I should read to the end of the thread before commenting...

 

[BUT09]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. O.M.G. Are you serious with this?

Defensemen pinch at the blue line. That is the definition of pinching, whether standing still trying to hold the line or skating in from further away.

My point was he didn't make the decision, whether it was just a stupid play or his not being at 100%, he just stood there. The decision to pinch would have him moving towards the puck, not standing still on the line. A defenseman should NEVER be standing still on the blue line when the puck is coming towards them - you move in deep (at which point you are pinching, and you are NOT ON THE LINE), or you back away.

I play defense. Not nearly as well as anyone on any of these teams, obviously, but I have studied the position.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Look, we're really splitting hairs here. It's a pinch for crying out loud. It's on the boards inside the blue line. It's a pinch. Doesn't matter if he's moving up the wall or not.

A defenseman should NEVER be standing still on the blue line when the puck is coming towards them - you move in deep (at which point you are pinching, and you are NOT ON THE LINE), or you back away.

I agree you don't want to be standing still on the line but at that point it is what it is. Bad decision to pinch? Yes. Should he have backed out sooner? Yes. All mental mistakes.

FWIW, I was talking mostly of the Shatty (I'm speaking in BU pet names... please accept me!) one where Almeida got by him and scored.

 

[defkit]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Haven't caought up on the game thread yet, but my primary thoughts:

- Millan: may be the best 4 goal game I've ever seen from a goalie. Just phenomenal.

- Warsofsky: pure sweetness

- Shattenkirk: Oooops. Save for his goal, he had a terrible game. Witness:

On BC's first goal, after Gryba made an ill-advised diving poke attempt at the blue line and headed for the bench, the replay clearly showed Shattenkirk looking for an offensive opportunity off the bench for a couple seconds before charging back into the zone (remember we were still shorthanded). If he simply charges to his defensive zone responsibilities, he may be in position to help keep the flutterer out of the net.

BC's second goal - his weak backhand clearing attempt hits a BC stick, and after a few more seconds of panic in their own zone, Sneep scores.

BC's fourth goal - we all saw the ill advised pinch attempt.

A great player, but at a crucial time, he had a poor game. Hopefully he will rebound.

- Any word on Chiassion? He sure crushed his head against the glass, and given his concussion earlier in the year, I doubted he would return. Though he did, he seemed very tentative to me.

- Overall, the game was way too wide open, clearly favoring the team with better speed.

While I'm disappointed in the result, I actually feel better about our chances down the stretch than I did going into the game. I really expected a BC blow-out, and we nearly took it to OT.

 

[SPIN CONTROL]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Does anyone know if Fidel found his jock strap yet after Kreider schooled him on that 3rd goal?

 

[BUT09]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

- Millan: may be the best 4 goal game I've ever seen from a goalie. Just phenomenal.

Completely agree. If anything, I almost think his play lately has been BETTER than last season. Last season he was playing with a great defense in front of him - he has been left out to dry this year, and lately he's been coming up huge.

 

[SteveF]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

to me, millan is easily up there with jimmy howard and ty conklin for goalie i least want to see at the other net in a big game. he's given up 8 goals to BC in the last two games and i still think he was the star of each game.

 

[Rover]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Brandon Yip scored twice last night (#'s 10, 11). I know he had a real nice season last year, but did anyone see this coming?

Not too surprised. Yip showed a lot of skill at BU and a little bit of a mean streak. Funny how he wasn't nearly as heralded as his classmate Lawrence, who should enjoy a nice career playing in Europe. Getting hurt his sophomore year I believe takes away from people's impression of his total career but he was a solid player who could make some moves around the net.

Onto other matters: Agreed on Millan looking sharp the last few games. He just plays at a higher level when he's on that anything Rollie can give you.

Regarding Colby Cohen, I will say he's playing a ton better out there. He's offense is picking up beyond just slappers from the point, and he's cutting down on stupid mistakes in his own end (I think he has it down to one ever game or two ). I suspect he's realized that he's playing for a contract now...

 

[defkit]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

Does anyone know if Fidel found his jock strap yet after Kreider schooled him on that 3rd goal?

The good news is that Shattenkirk was similarly undressed by JVR early in his freshman season, so we know the ability to learn from ones mistakes is valid...but yeah, that was a sick move. Millan didn't give Kreider much room wide, but he needed another two inches on that leg.

 

[smyler3]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

I thought it was a great game, and a real nice effort by the Terriers. I have no doubt that the team we saw in the first half of the season would have completely folded at 4-1 (maybe even at 3-1).

That said, I am continually frustrated by this team's seeming allergy to the slot area. Again last night, they took numerous opportunities to skate or pass the puck AWAY from the slot (aka "prime scoring area"). Chris Connolly and Vincent Saponari continue to be prime culprits in this endeavor.

 

[25 N Countin']

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

The good news is that Shattenkirk was similarly undressed by JVR early in his freshman season, so we know the ability to learn from ones mistakes is valid...but yeah, that was a sick move. Millan didn't give Kreider much room wide, but he needed another two inches on that leg.

Sometimes, great players just make great plays.

We saw that with both Kreider and Warsofsky last night. David couldn't quite match Kreider's pretty, but he came pretty **** close.

 

[slurpees]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

The good news is that Shattenkirk was similarly undressed by JVR early in his freshman season, so we know the ability to learn from ones mistakes is valid...but yeah, that was a sick move. Millan didn't give Kreider much room wide, but he needed another two inches on that leg.

I actually thought Kieran could've had that one. He didn't bite on Kreider's shot fake, stayed square, but just moved laterally too slowly and Krieder was able to sneak it around his skate.

Sometimes, great players just make great plays.

Thanks Madden

 

[Terrier520]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

I think the most amazing part about Kreider's goal was his ability to find that one inch to put it. He didn't even hit the post, but found it. There wasn't that much room, and with his momentum, I don't know how he found that spot (without elevating). Wha an amazing goal.

I thought, live, that Millan saved it. Just wow.

 

[BU Hammer]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

I think the most amazing part about Kreider's goal was his ability to find that one inch to put it. He didn't even hit the post, but found it. There wasn't that much room, and with his momentum, I don't know how he found that spot (without elevating). Wha an amazing goal.

I thought, live, that Millan saved it. Just wow.

Millan actually got his big toe on that one, he was just a bit too far in his own cage. He said postgame that, because Kreider started so low in the zone, Millan was forced to start the play from too far back in his cage, and he was caught flat footed because of his positioning on the play. He seemed to think that if Kreider had been coming in from more of a straight on angle, he can make that slide quickly enough to get his full leg on the backhand and keep it out.

So far as Millan's play is concerned, it's amazing that his save percentage is still at .885 for the season. I don't think you can say that he's been better than last year unless he can repeat Monday's level of play a few times. Last year, he had a few performances that I put in the same class as Monday's (HE finals and Regionals vs. UNH stand out). That said, he's back to playing like one of the top-10 or so goalies in the country (at the least), and that should be more than good enough to help BU keep winning.

His play is definitely having an effect on the mental state of BU's defenseman, too -- a few people around the team have admitted as much.

That Kreider goal was absolutely filthy, though. Watched the replay a few times today, including on the NESN replay, and good God, Nicastro never had a chance.

Sorry for the novel of a post

 

[Terrier520]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

I don't think that his move to get past Nicastro was THAT impressive... I've seen many good defensemen get undressed and look that foolish (not that I'm calling Nicastro that good at this stage). What really impressed me was that he basically made a 75 degree turn on a dime -- I don't think anyone expected him to make that move -- and THEN take the perfect shot, tucked beautifully inside the post.

On Edit: Apparently, the move WAS to get past Nicastro. But the forehand/backhand movement was what was great.

 

[Federal League]

Re: Boston University 2009-2010 Season Thread III: From the Beanpot until the end...

The key to the whole play was how much speed Kreider had. He was simply flying. If he's going a little slower, maybe Nicastro doesn't have to pivot as early, and maybe Millan gets to the post in time.