BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

[Agganis]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Parker was still able to "absorb" these losses and maintain an elite program. What has change? (not speculating...just throwing it out there)

In terms of winning percentage and NCAA tournament qualification the past 3 years (including this one) are the best 3 consecutive years by BU since 1995-96 through 1997-98.

If anything the change is BU is now better at "absorbing" these losses than in the final decade and a half of Parker IMO.

 

[Tater]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Which, of course, begs the question: Parker was still able to "absorb" these losses and maintain an elite program.

One Frozen Four in Parker's last 15 years constitutes an elite program? Could've fooled me.

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

The attrition, especial mid-season, during Parker's 09-10 through 12-13 years was significant and in the case of one team, left them barely able to dress a full roster. The most frustrating part at the time was so many of those that left were not for lack of playing time or roster space. Cisse, Coyle, Myron, Glass, Privitera, Saponari - all left for attitude/off-ice/didn't like his spot issues, and all did so very abruptly. The teams he was left with there were hardly elite.

 

[smyler3]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

I think Sean's greater point is that the "leaving early" thing is not anything new...it's been going on for a long time. Which, of course, begs the question: Parker was still able to "absorb" these losses and maintain an elite program. What has change? (not speculating...just throwing it out there)

Piling on a bit here, but...WTH is your definition of 'elite'? Never losing? 18 & 19 year olds not making mistakes?

 

[chickod]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Piling on a bit here, but...WTH is your definition of 'elite'? Never losing? 18 & 19 year olds not making mistakes?

Got what I was looking for...some early-week "stimulation" for the thread. But seriously, not "never losing" (that's ridiculous). Yes, the one "Frozen Four" since '95 I know is a bone of contention...but there were several near misses and the program was always considered one of the best in the country. There are only four schools with more national championships:

<table>
<tr>
<td>Michigan - 9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>North Dakota - 8</td>
</tr
<tr>
<td>Denver- 7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Wisconsin - 6</td>
</tr
</table>

My only point was this. Yes, there were approximately similar numbers of players "leaving early." But there seemed to be more consistency with the rest of the roster - more stability and not as much turnover. Maybe I'm wrong (and I'm sure Sean will have the data) and my memory is not quite correct. But who's job is it to mitigate this?

Look at Penn State this year. They were #1 for a good part of the season. Lately, they have dropped off the map. So is it "overconfidence?" "Lack of motivation?" Not continuing to work hard? Teams suddenly realizing that they have to take them seriously? There are so many intangibles, and all I'm asking is if GQ has done a reasonable job of managing these, given the expectations. I'm really not trying to be "critical" as much as just searching for opinions. I think most of us can agree the team has seemed to have "underachieved." But if you don't agree with that assessment, feel free to comment!

EDIT: I should have said "One 'Frozen Four' in PARKER'S last 15 years" instead of 'one Frozen Four since '95'

 

[chickod]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

And admittedly, a lot of this is just "impatience" with the fact that it's a long season and they can't play "well" every night. In reality, only time will tell and the important games are yet to be played. Let's see what happens this weekend and how they respond. It's hard to envision not getting to at least the HE semis, which would probably lock up a #2 NCAA seed. They seemed to play two good periods Saturday night, so hopefully things are trending in the right direction. Another point to consider is that "elite" players tend to play better (are more into the game) when the bright lights are on - so let's see if that is the case here. And, to that point, I wonder how much the Beanpot has lost its lustre, especially with a larger percentage of the roster from outside Massachusetts? In other words, I'm not sure that the "performance" in the Beanpot final is necessarily an indicator of how this team will play in other "big games." But we're about to find out...

 

[buoldtimer]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

It wasn't any one thing. In some cases, there were some attitude issues (the Lappin brothers). In the case of Matt Pesklewis, it was an injury. Overall, it was addition by subtraction because the team improved dramatically the following season. It was too bad about Pesklewis though; he was a good guy who played hard every shift.

Matt Pesklewis references are rare, indeed.

 

[ericredaxe]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Let's not lose sight of the fact that we are 4-2-1 in our last 7 games with the two losses being to top 10 teams.

 

[chickod]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Let's not lose sight of the fact that we are 4-2-1 in our last 7 games with the two losses being to top 10 teams.

Absolutely true. I'm just commenting on the apparent "lack of focus" for large chunks of games (see Merrimack games, Lowell game, Harvard game, most of 1st UNH game). Not saying that this can be avoided...perhaps in today's game where every game seems to have more importance because of the PWR, we are losing sight of the fact that the most important games are yet to come and maybe that focus will "improve" as we move towards the end of the season.

 

[Tater]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Let's not lose sight of the fact that we are 4-2-1 in our last 7 games with the two losses being to top 10 teams.

True, and we shouldn't lose sight of that. However, playing that game, BU is 4-4-1 in the last 9 including 2 bad losses to Merrimack. In the 2 losses to top ten teams you mention, BU was not even competitive. We can all see with our own eyes that BU has not been playing up to their potential as of late.

The second half of Saturday's game does leave us some optimism and I hope the offensive improvement can be sustained. On the other hand, going from a solid defensive team to giving up 14 goals in the last 3 games is a bit alarming. Not much time to put it all together and this weekend might be a good barometer of where this team is going.

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Re: Penn State - they got up to #1 by playing a laughable OOC schedule. They're 5-7-2 against teams currently with a winning record. They're 3-4-1 against the other top B1G (OSU/MN/WI) teams with two to play. They didn't fall off primarily because of coaching, motivation, etc. They fell off because their standing was inflated by playing bad teams. When they finally played good teams and lost, their RPI and other PWR comparison points did not have a strong foundation to sustain those losses thus they fell.

Edit: For reference, BU is 10-5-2 against teams currently with a winning record. Against the other "top" teams in the conference (BC/UML/ND) BU is 4-1 with two to play.

 

[Tater]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Re: Penn State - they got up to #1 by playing a laughable OOC schedule.

Combined with playing 14 of their first 19 at home.

 

[chickod]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

For reference, BU is 10-5-2 against teams currently with a winning record. Against the other "top" teams in the conference (BC/UML/ND) BU is 4-1 with two to play.

Exactly what I am postulating. We know the talent is there, so this seems to indicate that it has been more a matter of focus (losing two to Merrimack, etc.). That's why I'm saying that all our questions will be answered, because every game from here on out is a "big" game. We'll see how they do on the big stage. My guess is you won't see any more games where they "disappear" for long stretches of the game.

The real question in all this is how realistic is it to expect 100% focus and effort (I know that sounds sacreligious) in some of these games? As I recall, there wasn't all this consternation before the PWR became such a big thing. Now, has been mentioned before, you're afraid to even use your backup goalie because it might cost you "points." The real objective should be to play well and peak at the end of the season. It's hard to do that without experimenting. I almost want to blame the current system as much as anything else. If you truly feel as though you can win with less than 100% effort, then that's what you are likely to give - especially in some of these early season games. That's kind of why I am not a fan of the "objectification" of everything in sports. Quantifying EVERYTHING takes something away from the game. You can't be perfect every night. How many of us never have an off day in our jobs? It's human nature. But because the "work days" in college sports are fewer, each game is given more magnitude and a higher profile. The insane escalation in the sheer volume of statistics, as well as the never-ending media availability (internet, WatchESPN, etc.) doesn't help matters any.

The Herb Brooks warning "You don't HAVE enough talent to win on talent alone" isn't heeded against some of these opponents. My guess is that won't be the case in the playoffs. Let's hope so...only time will tell.

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Exactly what I am postulating. We know the talent is there, so this seems to indicate that it has been more a matter of focus (losing two to Merrimack, etc.). That's why I'm saying that all our questions will be answered, because every game from here on out is a "big" game. We'll see how they do on the big stage. My guess is you won't see any more games where they "disappear" for long stretches of the game.

The real question in all this is how realistic is it to expect 100% focus and effort (I know that sounds sacreligious) in some of these games? As I recall, there wasn't all this consternation before the PWR became such a big thing. Now, has been mentioned before, you're afraid to even use your backup goalie because it might cost you "points." The real objective should be to play well and peak at the end of the season. It's hard to do that without experimenting. I almost want to blame the current system as much as anything else. If you truly feel as though you can win with less than 100% effort, then that's what you are likely to give - especially in some of these early season games. That's kind of why I am not a fan of the "objectification" of everything in sports. Quantifying EVERYTHING takes something away from the game. You can't be perfect every night. How many of us never have an off day in our jobs? It's human nature. But because the "work days" in college sports are fewer, each game is given more magnitude and a higher profile. The insane escalation in the sheer volume of statistics, as well as the never-ending media availability (internet, WatchESPN, etc.) doesn't help matters any.

The Herb Brooks warning "You don't HAVE enough talent to win on talent alone" isn't heeded against some of these opponents. My guess is that won't be the case in the playoffs. Let's hope so...only time will tell.

I don't disagree with your arguments, many of which are totally reasonable questions. I only disagreed with using Penn State as a comparison to BU, two very different scenarios.

 

[chickod]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

I don't disagree with your arguments, many of which are totally reasonable questions. I only disagreed with using Penn State as a comparison to BU, two very different scenarios.

Fair point.

 

[wysi]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Matt Pesklewis references are rare, indeed.

Yeah, there's a guy I hadn't thought of in three decades.

 

[BU Fan 84]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

My only point was this. Yes, there were approximately similar numbers of players "leaving early." But there seemed to be more consistency with the rest of the roster - more stability and not as much turnover.

These sentences are a great example of why I don't pay much attention to chickod's posts.

 

[mookie1995]

Let's not lose sight of the fact that we are 4-2-1 in our last 7 games with the two losses being to top 10 teams.

Let's hope the boys don't face any top 10 teams come tournament time then!!!

 

[Sean Pickett]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

What was the deal with 88-89?

It wasn't any one thing. In some cases, there were some attitude issues (the Lappin brothers). In the case of Matt Pesklewis, it was an injury. Overall, it was addition by subtraction because the team improved dramatically the following season. It was too bad about Pesklewis though; he was a good guy who played hard every shift.

My count is actually off by one, as Chuck Beauchain was on the 89-90 pre-season roster, but he didn't dress for a single game and I don't know if remained on the team the entire season. Of the others I believe Ville Kentala graduated as he returned to Finland and played in the SM-liiga. Steve Shaunessy only played 11 games in 88-89 before leaving BU to sign a pro-contract with the IHL Muskegon Lumberjacks. Bryan LaFort was cut from the team as I believe was Jack MacDougall.

As for Matt Pesklewis, we were at the game and my wife still despises Yale for shattering Matt's kneecap and ending his career. If fact, she brings it up every time we play Yale.

Sean

 

[Scarlet]

Re: BU 2017 Season Thread II: Terriers rising

Ville Kentala

His claim to fame? Scored the first goal ever at Conte Forum. /useless knowledge

And I keep mixing up Matt Pesklewis and Matt Radoslovich (sp?)

Also, Sean - should I expect my Girl Scout cookies to be delivered this Friday???