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

[mookie1995]

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

... What to expect next weekend??

what are the odds of UMass getting 4pts in orono and BU not getting >1 vs NU?!?!?

 

[BUterror]

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

what are the odds of UMass getting 4pts in orono and BU not getting >1 vs NU?!?!?

The way things went this weekend with BU and USA hockey (why did it have to be crosby) I am a little worried

 

[smyler3]

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

The Terriers are now 1-3 since Trivino got hurt. And have not been playing as well as they were prior to him getting hurt. While he may not have been the superstar of the team, I think his getting hurt screwed up the lines and that has screwed up with how the team had been playing. If that makes sense.

*sigh*

That was not pleasant to watch. What to expect next weekend??

the problem with that statement is that it didn't have to screw up the lines that much. Just move Popko up to his spot and bingo you have another defensive forward there. Slide another 4th liner into the 4th line and we're done.

All that said, though, I'm not sure the lines are what got them this weekend. They flat just didn't play well.

 

[quiddlet]

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

I don't care if winning Hockey East is the only way we're making the NCAAs (and at this point it definitely is), we're not going to the third page.

BU hasn't visited another arena for HE quarterfinals since before Agganis opened... last time it happened the number 8 Terriers knocked off the number 1 Eagles in three games at Conte. The year before BU visited PC (???!!!) for a two game sweep.

I still think BU will pull out home ice this weekend, but UML/UVM need to split... the real tragedy yesterday is we gave up control of our own season.

All hail the hockey gods!

 

[Federal League]

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

I don't care if winning Hockey East is the only way we're making the NCAAs (and at this point it definitely is), we're not going to the third page.

BU hasn't visited another arena for HE quarterfinals since before Agganis opened... last time it happened the number 8 Terriers knocked off the number 1 Eagles in three games at Conte. The year before BU visited PC (???!!!) for a two game sweep.

I still think BU will pull out home ice this weekend, but UML/UVM need to split... the real tragedy yesterday is we gave up control of our own season.

All hail the hockey gods!

I will be so ****ed if BU has to go to Orono. BC or Lowell, fine (I don't think there's any way BU can end up at NU). I wouldn't even mind going back to Burlington. But for the love of God, please do not send me to Orono. It's forever far away, there's nothing to do there, I have to sit on crappy and uncomfortable bar stools in the press box, and I still can't see anything whenever the fans stand (which is like every time there's a Maine rush up ice). Plus, I'd have to get a hotel room because I don't know anyone at UMaine, and I'm broke. Alright, rant over. And yes, I realize I probably just jinxed us.

 

[BUT09]

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

I will be so ****ed if BU has to go to Orono. BC or Lowell, fine (I don't think there's any way BU can end up at NU). I wouldn't even mind going back to Burlington. But for the love of God, please do not send me to Orono. It's forever far away, there's nothing to do there, I have to sit on crappy and uncomfortable bar stools in the press box, and I still can't see anything whenever the fans stand (which is like every time there's a Maine rush up ice). Plus, I'd have to get a hotel room because I don't know anyone at UMaine, and I'm broke. Alright, rant over. And yes, I realize I probably just jinxed us.

BU doesn't help out with you guys getting to games/staying? That blows.

 

[Federal League]

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

BU doesn't help out with you guys getting to games/staying? That blows.

We're independent of BU, so no. Even if they offered it, we probably wouldn't take it, for various reasons.

 

[Rover]

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

They didn't even try this weekend. Not even a little.

Millan looked like he was playing on roller skates both games. Talk about being out of position and fighting off the puck.

Parker left him in way too long Friday.

What happened with the lines? I know Trivino is hurt but why change every single line up?

Whatever mojo they had against maine was completely lost...as is this season.

Unfortunately Parker has had the same outlook as the team, which is to ride last year's championship for far too long. Between him and the captain/assistants/seniors, a really poor showing. No excuse for this team not to get home freakin' ice at the very least this year.

 

[Federal League]

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

Unfortunately Parker has had the same outlook as the team, which is to ride last year's championship for far too long.

Incorrect. There were times during the first half when I though maybe some of the players were dwelling on last year, but it never even entered my mind that Parker was.

 

[BUT09]

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

Unfortunately Parker has had the same outlook as the team, which is to ride last year's championship for far too long. Between him and the captain/assistants/seniors, a really poor showing. No excuse for this team not to get home freakin' ice at the very least this year.

What is the difference if they get home ice? With the inconsistency this team has shown, do you really think they have a chance at getting anywhere past the quarterfinals? Once it is one-and-done, I honestly don't see them with a shot.

 

[TommyNoblesIsLife]

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

Incorrect. There were times during the first half when I though maybe some of the players were dwelling on last year, but it never even entered my mind that Parker was.

Watching as a fan, I'd agree that you definitely get the feeling that Parker isn't hard enough on them/is kind of riding the championship a bit. I feel they should have been pretty much on lock-down Saturday after their performance Friday night, and although I don't see how this team would go too far into the HE tournament, I feel there's no reason why the team could not have gotten home ice.

I don't think this far into the season (with the way the Hockey East standings are) it's okay to be satisfied with yesterday's game. Sure, they played a good game and they played better, but that's not good enough. They do not have the will to win from top to bottom. Parker doesn't have it, the captains don't have it, and the team doesn't have it. They're okay with losing as long as they're playing well, and that's not good enough. There is no excuse for getting swept by a ninth place team, no excuse for losing two games to Providence, no excuse for struggling with Merrimack and Northeastern. I don't see why Parker should escape the blame.

 

[BU Hammer]

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

What is the difference if they get home ice? With the inconsistency this team has shown, do you really think they have a chance at getting anywhere past the quarterfinals? Once it is one-and-done, I honestly don't see them with a shot.

True, but the plus side to one and done hockey is that a team with a high ceiling can, potentially, get hot and run off a few wins in a row. We've seen that BU can play with just about anybody when it's on its game, though that's yet to be seen sans Trivino.

I think, generally, when you have an inconsistent team like BU, you worry more about being able to get up for three games in a row for a series. If it's a one game series, you have to think effort/focus etc. are going to be much less of a factor -- you have to be really distracted to fail to show up with your season all riding on one game.

Then again, this is one of the most unpredictable teams I've ever really followed, so there's that...

 

[BUT09]

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

True, but the plus side to one and done hockey is that a team with a high ceiling can, potentially, get hot and run off a few wins in a row. We've seen that BU can play with just about anybody when it's on its game, though that's yet to be seen sans Trivino.

I think, generally, when you have an inconsistent team like BU, you worry more about being able to get up for three games in a row for a series. If it's a one game series, you have to think effort/focus etc. are going to be much less of a factor -- you have to be really distracted to fail to show up with your season all riding on one game.

Then again, this is one of the most unpredictable teams I've ever really followed, so there's that...

Very true. My fear is just that without an "Oops" game to wake them up, they could find their season over before they know it.

 

[buoldtimer]

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

Watching as a fan, I'd agree that you definitely get the feeling that Parker isn't hard enough on them/is kind of riding the championship a bit.

Could someone who is reasonably close to the BU players comment on this statement, please? I'm not close to them. I rely upon the comments I read in the postgame reports, blogs, pregame interviews on BU radio, etc.

From what I've read and heard, it's difficult to agree that JP is too easy on the players. I'm unaware of another D1 coach who publicly criticizes his players as consistently as he does. I'm not saying he's wrong to do this, it's meant to be an objective observation. Having closely followed the BU program for many years, I speculate that it would require a complete transformation of personality for Parker to ever be too easy on his players.

 

[TommyNoblesIsLife]

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

Could someone who is reasonably close to the BU players comment on this statement, please? I'm not close to them. I rely upon the comments I read in the postgame reports, blogs, pregame interviews on BU radio, etc.

From what I've read and heard, it's difficult to agree that JP is too easy on the players. I'm unaware of another D1 coach who publicly criticizes his players as consistently as he does. I'm not saying he's wrong to do this, it's meant to be an objective observation. Having closely followed the BU program for many years, I speculate that it would require a complete transformation of personality for Parker to ever be too easy on his players.

I think I used the wrong phrase there. What I meant to say is that Parker is willing to settle for things this year that I don't think he would have in the past. He calmed quite a bit after heart surgery and coaches differently now than he did in the seventies and early eighties for sure, but he is definitely still very hard on his players.

What I disagree with is him being satisfied with yesterday's game. Of course he was upset they didn't get the W, but overall he was happy with the effort and happy with the way the team played. When you're in fifth place in Hockey East and get swept during the second to last weekend of the season by a ninth place team, I don't feel you should be happy with your team. If this was the first half of the season, fine, but it's not.

The Terriers are not guaranteed a playoff spot, Northeastern has been a tough opponent for BU all year, and they've put themselves in a position where they're relying on other teams to get themselves in a good postseason position. I am very concerned about them in quarterfinals because they have only had one weekend all season where they were able to completely control an entire weekend of play (Maine). How is this team supposed to win 2 of 3?

I think Jack Parker's expectations for this team are lower than they were at the beginning of the year (reasonably so), but to be satisfied with yesterday's game does not make a whole lot of sense to me.

 

[Federal League]

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

Watching as a fan, I'd agree that you definitely get the feeling that Parker isn't hard enough on them/is kind of riding the championship a bit. I feel they should have been pretty much on lock-down Saturday after their performance Friday night, and although I don't see how this team would go too far into the HE tournament, I feel there's no reason why the team could not have gotten home ice.

I don't think this far into the season (with the way the Hockey East standings are) it's okay to be satisfied with yesterday's game. Sure, they played a good game and they played better, but that's not good enough. They do not have the will to win from top to bottom. Parker doesn't have it, the captains don't have it, and the team doesn't have it. They're okay with losing as long as they're playing well, and that's not good enough. There is no excuse for getting swept by a ninth place team, no excuse for losing two games to Providence, no excuse for struggling with Merrimack and Northeastern. I don't see why Parker should escape the blame.

1) There's a 90% chance you're saying all of this just for the sake of arguing with me.

2) I wasn't saying that Parker should escape all blame; I was just saying that from watching practice every week and talking to him multiple times a week, I never got the sense that he was resting on his laurels.

3) At the risk of sounding even more like a Parker apologist, what else do you want him to do? He's tried everything to motivate this team. He's yelled and screamed at them a la 1970s Parker. He's gone the disappointed parent route. He's called out his captains. He's taken stuff away from them. He's intervened in their pregame routines. He's shuffled the lines time and again. He even changed the freaking intro video! He's also done the exact opposite. He's gone the "We lost, but I really liked how we played" route. He's shown the utmost confidence in his team at times. He tells players they played great games even though they didn't get on the scoresheet. He has literally tried everything. Perhaps the only thing he could've done more of was benching stars (Colby Cohen is the only everyday player who's been benched this year).

Then again, this is one of the most unpredictable teams I've ever really followed, so there's that...

And this is one of the most unpredictable leagues I've ever followed. Every team has had hot streaks and every team has had cold spells. No one has been consistent all year long. Hence the reason nothing other than PC missing the playoffs has been decided yet. I've been doing my power rankings fairly regularly, and it's pretty much impossible to rank this conference. Other than BC (who I've had pretty high all season) and PC (who I've had pretty low all season), no one has been consistently at the top, no one has been consistently at the bottom and no one has even been consistently in the middle.

I didn't believe in UNH, but I've been impressed every time I've watched them play. I didn't believe in UVM, but this weekend changed my mind. I didn't believe in NU, but I've been impressed the 3 times I've seen them play. I did believe in UML, but they haven't shown much. I did believe in UMass, but they've dropped like an anchor. These playoffs are gonna be a lot of fun.

Very true. My fear is just that without an "Oops" game to wake them up, they could find their season over before they know it.

If Friday night wasn't an "oops" game, I don't know what is. That was the worst game I've seen BU play this season.

 

[Federal League]

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

I think I used the wrong phrase there. What I meant to say is that Parker is willing to settle for things this year that I don't think he would have in the past. He calmed quite a bit after heart surgery and coaches differently now than he did in the seventies and early eighties for sure, but he is definitely still very hard on his players.

What I disagree with is him being satisfied with yesterday's game. Of course he was upset they didn't get the W, but overall he was happy with the effort and happy with the way the team played. When you're in fifth place in Hockey East and get swept during the second to last weekend of the season by a ninth place team, I don't feel you should be happy with your team. If this was the first half of the season, fine, but it's not.

The Terriers are not guaranteed a playoff spot, Northeastern has been a tough opponent for BU all year, and they've put themselves in a position where they're relying on other teams to get themselves in a good postseason position. I am very concerned about them in quarterfinals because they have only had one weekend all season where they were able to completely control an entire weekend of play (Maine). How is this team supposed to win 2 of 3?

I think Jack Parker's expectations for this team are lower than they were at the beginning of the year (reasonably so), but to be satisfied with yesterday's game does not make a whole lot of sense to me.

He can still yell. Ask BU Hammer. Also, you didn't even see the game yesterday, live or on TV. BU dominated 5-on-5 play throughout. Special teams were a different story, but I thought BU played very well for the most part. If I was Parker, I'd be encouraged, too.

Plus, as many people have pointed out before, everything Parker says to the media he says for a reason. I guaratee there are times he tells us he liked his team's effort when he really didn't. I guarantee there are times he tells us he's disappointed when he's really not. It's not just about him letting everyone know how he feels; it's also about getting his team to feel the way he wants them to feel. Judging by Sunday's press conference, he wants them to feel upbeat right now. He wants them to be confident in themselves. Sometimes that might be more important than expressing how he truly feels.

 

[quiddlet]

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

Sorry to interrupt the fight..
Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but would I be right to assume Friday is senior night? Doesn't seem like there's another possibility..

Hopefully Gryba, Zach, and Popko will be out looking for a good send off. I think it was pointed out in the Hockey East by the numbers thread or w/e that if we lose Friday we absolutely can't get home ice. Not sure how the math works out that way, but I trust that thread.

 

[slurpees]

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

He can still yell. Ask BU Hammer. Also, you didn't even see the game yesterday, live or on TV. BU dominated 5-on-5 play throughout. Special teams were a different story, but I thought BU played very well for the most part. If I was Parker, I'd be encouraged, too.

Plus, as many people have pointed out before, everything Parker says to the media he says for a reason. I guaratee there are times he tells us he liked his team's effort when he really didn't. I guarantee there are times he tells us he's disappointed when he's really not. It's not just about him letting everyone know how he feels; it's also about getting his team to feel the way he wants them to feel. Judging by Sunday's press conference, he wants them to feel upbeat right now. He wants them to be confident in themselves. Sometimes that might be more important than expressing how he truly feels.

And that's how he should want them to feel right now. This isn't the time of the season to be brow beating. We actually did play quite well in the first two periods save two awful penalties and subsequent PK's. Where I disagreed with him was that I thought we sucked in the 3rd, looked disjointed and out of rhythm.

 

[Federal League]

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

Sorry to interrupt the fight..
Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but would I be right to assume Friday is senior night? Doesn't seem like there's another possibility..

Hopefully Gryba, Zach, and Popko will be out looking for a good send off. I think it was pointed out in the Hockey East by the numbers thread or w/e that if we lose Friday we absolutely can't get home ice. Not sure how the math works out that way, but I trust that thread.

Friday is Senior Night. And yes, BU needs to get at least 3 points this weekend to get home ice because BU needs to get at least 1 more point than both UML and UVM this weekend in order to get home ice, and since UML and UVM are playing each other, there's no way for both of them to only get 1 point. So, BU needs 3 points and a UML-UVM split, or 4 points and no UML-UVM sweep.