What's new
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Do people really believe these recent BU teams haven't had talent or impact freshmen? How many players need to come in and produce at a high level immediately and how often should a team expect to have an all-star freshmen? BU has had plenty of good players come through in recent years. You can't keep comparing everything to BC as if they are some sort of standard. They are an outlier. Especially from two years ago to now. Their best player decommitted from another program and brought them to a national championship which then helped lead to this years recruiting class. If Gaudreau doesn't move from NU to BC, BC does not have the team it has today.

Looking at BU's recent recruits, I can't understand why everyone is acting like they are a group of mediocre spot fillers.

O'Regan (led all freshmen in the league last year in points, though he would have been 2nd if Roy hadn't gotten hurt), Grzelcyk (3rd in points among all defensemen in the league last year), Maguire (Finished 3rd in the league last year in save % and is currently 2nd in the league this year with a .941 save % - that's with half of his games against teams ranked in the top 12), O'Connor (Currently has a .920 save % with 4 of his 5 games against top 10 teams). Oksanen is currently second in the league in points for a defenseman. Sure Rodrigues and Hohmann didn't put up numbers their freshman year, but they sure put up some good numbers last year (34 points each). Last year 3 of BU's top 4 point scorers were freshmen or sophomores (also 4 of the top 6). To me that doesn't seem like a problem with young talent. And again, this team is backstopped by two good to very good sophomore goalies. What this team needs is a top tier upperclassmen goal scorer (or two or three). Someone with confidence and experience who can take control and lead the team. BU hasn't had a senior with more than 31 points since Lawrence, Yip, and Higgins all did it in 2009. That is BU's problem. Not one single above average senior scorer in 4 years. As for this year's freshmen, why don't we give them some time to get up to speed with the college game? They've played 9 games and 6 of those have been against teams ranked in the top 12. BU has had a tough schedule, but they have 2 must win games this weekend. They need to go out and score some goals and get 2 wins. If they lose either of these games then maybe it's time to start questioning how competitive this team can be, but not after 5 of their last 6 games came against highly ranked teams and they played relatively well in all but 1 or 2.

Actually, I've been comparing the performance of BU's hockey teams versus those of BC for better than 40 years now. I'll do so until I'm toes up. For many of those seasons, BU was the outlier.
 
Last edited:
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

BC would be one or two titles up on us, as opposed to even, had it not been for the efforts of Turco and Lerg I believe.

Probably. And God knows what happens if not for Jimmy Howard going berserk (or simply being Jimmy Howard) in the 2004 semifinal.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Actually, I've been comparing the performance of BU's hockey teams versus those or BC for better than 40 years now. I'll do so until I'm toes up. For many of those seasons, BU was the outlier.

How about this:

You shouldn't keep comparing everything to BC as if they are some sort of standard because it is depressing.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

BU hasn't had a senior with more than 31 points since Lawrence, Yip, and Higgins all did it in 2009. That is BU's problem.

This is an interesting obvservation. Certainly having 10 players kicked out/arrested/quit/leave since then and also having 11 make an early exit to the NHL hasn't helped with that. That's something like a 48% graduation rate.

Recruiting recently has looked pretty solid with some nice commits the past 2 months or so but my concern looking at these guys, if I was a BU fan... a few kids from the midwest that could be very good (leave early or not show up at all?) and a few foreigners (who knows with these types) may continue that problem. Of course some of those players can come in and deliver the goods at just the right time like a Chuck Kobasew.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Especially from two years ago to now. Their best player decommitted from another program and brought them to a national championship which then helped lead to this years recruiting class. If Gaudreau doesn't move from NU to BC, BC does not have the team it has today.

Slow down a little here. BC was a dominant DEFENSIVE team down the stretch when they won it all in Tampa. BC also had some other very, very good forwards on that team. Gaudreau didn't do it all himself. I would argue York's success led to Gaudreau choosing BC. I don't think Gaudreau choosing BC led to other recruits doing the same. That ship has sailed. That was started with Marty Reasoner and hasn't stopped since.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Are you thinking of Jeff Farkas or Jamie O'Leary? Both hit iron in overtime in 1998.

No, I recall Andy Powers hitting the far post up high a few minutes before Michigan won. From low in the faceoff circle to goalie's left.
 
Last edited:
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

BU hasn't had a senior with more than 31 points since Lawrence, Yip, and Higgins all did it in 2009. That is BU's problem. Not one single above average senior scorer in 4 years.

Connolly had 42 points his Senior year. If Trivino hadn't been dismissed, he was well on his way to a great Senior year.

Great teams have balance between a strong, productive Seniors with very talented underclassmen who make an immediate impact. The 2009 BU team is the epitome of that. The 2012 team could've been.

But when one looks at the list of BU players who never made it to their Senior year post-2009 (regardless of reasons), it's a staggeringly long list of early departures, dismissals, etc.

2009
Strait
Wilson

2010
Bonino
Cohen
Shattenkirk
Saponari

2011
Glass
Warsofsky

2012
Trivino
Coyle
Nicastro
Chiasson
Clendening
Courtnall

2013
Cisse
Myron
Nieto
Privitera
Gill

Of course some of the early departures were not unexpected, but it's the surprises from the past 12 months like Gill, Myron, Cisse that I believe are hampering the program right now. Having said that, over the next 2 years, if the underclassmen develop, early departures are kept to a minimum, and the high-end talent arriving make an impact right away, the potential of those near-future BU teams is very high.
 
Last edited:
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Lots of good thoughts about the challenge with bringing in and retaining talent. I agree with whoever said that you need a mix of your solid 4-year players that develop well and become team leaders, along with the high-talent guys who may be gone after two years (Amonte, Wilson). When you get someone who fits both categories (high talent, stays for 4 years, a la Drury and Gilroy), well, that's just some extra gravy for you.

Hohmann and Rodrigues have had disappointing starts to the season, after showing some very strong development lat year. I think they will find their groove (especially Rodrigues) over the next few weeks. I also think that O'Regan is a high-talent guy who is just not clicking at the moment. Reminds me of Amonte having 5 goals halfway through his sophomore year on his way to 31. Baillergeon seems like the most skilled forward among the freshmen - maybe another Bonino-type who will have a good but not spectacular seaon, on his way to a nice college and pro career. I agree that Collier isn't where we probably hoped. We'll see if he adjusts to the speed over the season.

In Jack we trust! (Not that Jack):D
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Connolly had 42 points his Senior year. If Trivino hadn't been dismissed, he was well on his way to a great Senior year.

Great teams have balance between a strong, productive Seniors with very talented underclassmen who make an immediate impact. The 2009 BU team is the epitome of that. The 2012 team could've been.

But when one looks at the list of BU players who never made it to their Senior year post-2009 (regardless of reasons), it's a staggeringly long list of early departures, dismissals, etc.

2009
Strait
Wilson

2010
Bonino
Cohen
Shattenkirk
Saponari

2011
Glass
Warsofsky

2012
Trivino
Coyle
Nicastro
Chiasson
Clendening
Courtnall

2013
Cisse
Myron
Nieto
Privitera
Gill

Of course some of the early departures were not unexpected, but it's the surprises from the past 12 months like Gill, Myron, Cisse that I believe are hampering the program right now. Having said that, over the next 2 years, if the underclassmen develop, early departures are kept to a minimum, and the high-end talent arriving make an impact right away, the potential of those near-future BU teams is very high.

Good catch. I was looking at his assists by mistake. Still though the point remains that BU has had a serious lack of productive seniors. And your list of early departures clearly shows the problem. That's 11 extra players BU had to replace on top of graduating seniors. That's well more than a full extra recruiting class. BU gets good recruits, but there just aren't enough good recruits out there to replace this many players.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Connolly had 42 points his Senior year. If Trivino hadn't been dismissed, he was well on his way to a great Senior year.

Great teams have balance between a strong, productive Seniors with very talented underclassmen who make an immediate impact. The 2009 BU team is the epitome of that. The 2012 team could've been.

But when one looks at the list of BU players who never made it to their Senior year post-2009 (regardless of reasons), it's a staggeringly long list of early departures, dismissals, etc.

2009
Strait
Wilson

2010
Bonino
Cohen
Shattenkirk
Saponari

2011
Glass
Warsofsky

2012
Trivino
Coyle
Nicastro
Chiasson
Clendening
Courtnall

2013
Cisse
Myron
Nieto
Privitera
Gill

Of course some of the early departures were not unexpected, but it's the surprises from the past 12 months like Gill, Myron, Cisse that I believe are hampering the program right now. Having said that, over the next 2 years, if the underclassmen develop, early departures are kept to a minimum, and the high-end talent arriving make an impact right away, the potential of those near-future BU teams is very high.

I really don't see the losses of Cisse and Myron as a problem.

From the list, lets acknowledge even if we don't like it that after a championship you're going to see an exodus, so the 09 and 10 departures are just the price of doing business successfully.

Moving though Glass, Cisse, Myron, Privitera, Courtnall? What exactly are we missing here? Even Fidel Nicastro wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire defensively when he got booted. Sure on Coyle, Chiasson, Nieto and Trivino. Although it should be stated of that bunch only Trivino was a departure for reasons other than a guy trying to go pro which again is something all good schools deal with.

Terrance, I don't get the logic of not holding ourselves up to the program that's won 4 titles in a dozen years and plays up the road from us. That makes little sense. We shouldn't be holding ourselves up to Bentley in order to feel good. buoldtimer is 100% correct on this. Whatever happened to the concept of "if you want to be the best you must beat the best". Its far preferable to "everybody gets a trophy".
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

This stuff been beaten like a drum already the last 5 yrs (and 14/15 before that).

Just praying that ship has sailed and we ain't watching rush hour 2
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

Terrance, I don't get the logic of not holding ourselves up to the program that's won 4 titles in a dozen years and plays up the road from us. That makes little sense. We shouldn't be holding ourselves up to Bentley in order to feel good. buoldtimer is 100% correct on this. Whatever happened to the concept of "if you want to be the best you must beat the best". Its far preferable to "everybody gets a trophy".

You can't not compare to BC. They are the measuring stick, and we watched them get to where they are closely.

However, it's also good to measure against your own past to see actual improvement. Heisenberg uncertainty means we can't see where we are and where we're going at the same time, but I'm just waiting for it to feel right soon.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

You can't not compare to BC. They are the measuring stick, and we watched them get to where they QUOTE]

It's gotten so bad Comcast (or Fox) lists tonight's game as "Boston College at Maine"

I just saw that, but given that I didn't realize the game was televised until 10 minutes ago, I'm fired up! And that's a mistake I've seen many times...
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

I was wrong. This team is bad. Macgregor should be benched for that penalty. Completely inexcusable.
 
Re: BU 2013-2014: Ready to Quinn

I was wrong. This team is bad. Macgregor should be benched for that penalty. Completely inexcusable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top