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BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

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defkit said:
I guess you are implying it was an academic issue? I do think it's a legit question, but maybe those more "in the know" know that changes this late are almost always academics.
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Typically, incoming Freshmen hockey players arrive on campus during the Summer for classes and off-ice workouts. I'm aware of multiple instances in the DQ/Albie era where incoming Freshmen weren't admitted 'til very late in the process (around this time of year).

This is purely speculative, but Schmidt either didn't clear admissions or was still awaiting a decision, and decided not to wait any longer for BU.
 
Jeff Cox reporting "After leaving his post as an associate head coach at Boston University recently, Paul Pearl has landed on his feet. The Winthrop, Mass., native will be the new head coach at Cushing Academy." He added that Pearl had been rumored to be a candidate for the NU assistant job.
 
Sean Pickett said:
While I'm not excited by the OOC games, I go to watch BU play and win no matter who the opponent is.
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Yes, yes, we know - everyone on this thread is a BU fan. The point is that a stronger schedule makes BU a better team. A terribly weak schedule makes them a worse team. BU will not be the team we all want them to be until they play a top-notch schedule.
 
BU Fan 84 said:
Yes, yes, we know - everyone on this thread is a BU fan. The point is that a stronger schedule makes BU a better team. A terribly weak schedule makes them a worse team. BU will not be the team we all want them to be until they play a top-notch schedule.
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Playing a full Hockey East schedule and the Beanpot is far from a weak schedule, no matter who the nonleague opposition happens to be.
 
Harry Cleverly said:
Playing a full Hockey East schedule and the Beanpot is far from a weak schedule, no matter who the nonleague opposition happens to be.
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A few thoughts:
1- BU under Albie seems to play to the level of its competition, so why not increase the schedule pairwise/SOS?
2- if you're the best why wouldn't you want to play the best?
3- having a schedule that is HE and Beanpot-dominant leaves me wanting to play some of the top western teams so as to benchmark against teams you hope to play in the NCAA's.
4- with the BU recruiting strategy (which I disagree with) that is sooo 18/19 year old focused, I think going out west and getting a butt whooping from a more senior opponent is a good thing to waken up/break down some egos of some of our top-6 young forwards and top-4 young d'men (i.e. first-third round draft picks). A good butt whooping or two early was always something Jack Parker leveraged into a more scrappy team come Jan-March.

Just my two cents. :)
 
BU Hardly plays a weak schedule. In the 3 years prior to this most recent COVID abbreviated Hockey East only schedule they have had the following OOC games against ranked teams:

#2 Cornell
#12 Harvard
#4 BC (Beanpot)
#12 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#11 Minnesota State (x2)
#11 Union
#7 Quinnipiac
#17 Arizona State (x2)
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#18 Harvard (Beanpot)
#16 Union
#14 Quinnipiac
#1 Denver
#7 Cornell
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)

How many OOC games against ranked teams do you expect them to be able to schedule? Not to mention a lot of these scheduling agreements come out way before anyone knows where a team will be ranked once the season gets going.
 
ericredaxe said:
BU Hardly plays a weak schedule. In the 3 years prior to this most recent COVID abbreviated Hockey East only schedule they have had the following OOC games against ranked teams:

#2 Cornell
#12 Harvard
#4 BC (Beanpot)
#12 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#11 Minnesota State (x2)
#11 Union
#7 Quinnipiac
#17 Arizona State (x2)
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)
#18 Harvard (Beanpot)
#16 Union
#14 Quinnipiac
#1 Denver
#7 Cornell
#13 Northeastern (Beanpot)

How many OOC games against ranked teams do you expect them to be able to schedule? Not to mention a lot of these scheduling agreements come out way before anyone knows where a team will be ranked once the season gets going.
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Nice list ^. Counterpoint is that I think some people on here are over-valuing Hockey East competition in general. I went back and looked at SOS for the last decade (but threw out last year because of COVID). I found that almost always the top handful of SOS's did not come from HE but rather out west.

Here are the BU SOS's:
2019-20: 21st
2018-19: 17th
2017-18: 17th
2016-17: 9th
2015-16: 8th
2014-15: 18th
​​2013-14: 12th
2012-13: 16th
2011-12: 12th
AVG: 14th.

Pretty good but not overwhelming for what is historically one of the best handful of NCAA programs.

I still stand on my belief that you only get better by playing as good or better competition.
 
Terrier86 said:
Nice list ^. Counterpoint is that I think some people on here are over-valuing Hockey East competition in general. I went back and looked at SOS for the last decade (but threw out last year because of COVID). I found that almost always the top handful of SOS's did not come from HE but rather out west.

Here are the BU SOS's:
2019-20: 21st
2018-19: 17th
2017-18: 17th
2016-17: 9th
2015-16: 8th
2014-15: 18th
​​2013-14: 12th
2012-13: 16th
2011-12: 12th
AVG: 14th.

Pretty good but not overwhelming for what is historically one of the best handful of NCAA programs.

I still stand on my belief that you only get better by playing as good or better competition.
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You get better by playing better competition but you also lose more games. Given the parity of college hockey it has to be a balance of playing a few good out of conference teams so you stay high in the rankings. Whats the use of playing a loaded schedule and not making the tournament?
 
Lemonade said:
You get better by playing better competition but you also lose more games. Given the parity of college hockey it has to be a balance of playing a few good out of conference teams so you stay high in the rankings. Whats the use of playing a loaded schedule and not making the tournament?
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I hear what you are saying... I'm going to keep on throwing out food for thought....

Ok, so if we take it in the context of making the tournament I would imagine, then, that the goal is winning the tournament. If the goal is winning the tournament, then you have to be at your optimized level of play. To be at your optimized play, I think you have to play against top flight competition/equal to or better than yourself. Darwinism of sorts, I suppose.

Another way of looking at it in the context of attracting the best players is that the best players want to play against the best competition. A piece of context that fits into this is the reality of the BU (and BC) team building model is to stock up on as many 18-19 year old blue chippers as possible knowing they will turn pro early. This places the bet that young, raw talent that infrequently plays against talent better than it before stepping onto campus/playing as talented and/or older and bigger players will be able to make the big step up quickly before they turn pro. That places a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to be great and fast teachers. I'm not sure this is the reality of the BU staffs of the last 5-10 years...

But now I'm in the weeds. LOL.
 
Terrier86 said:
I hear what you are saying... I'm going to keep on throwing out food for thought....

Ok, so if we take it in the context of making the tournament I would imagine, then, that the goal is winning the tournament. If the goal is winning the tournament, then you have to be at your optimized level of play. To be at your optimized play, I think you have to play against top flight competition/equal to or better than yourself. Darwinism of sorts, I suppose.

Another way of looking at it in the context of attracting the best players is that the best players want to play against the best competition. A piece of context that fits into this is the reality of the BU (and BC) team building model is to stock up on as many 18-19 year old blue chippers as possible knowing they will turn pro early. This places the bet that young, raw talent that infrequently plays against talent better than it before stepping onto campus/playing as talented and/or older and bigger players will be able to make the big step up quickly before they turn pro. That places a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to be great and fast teachers. I'm not sure this is the reality of the BU staffs of the last 5-10 years...

But now I'm in the weeds. LOL.
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying but I think playing in Hockey East alone prepares you for the tournament as UMass just proved since they didn't play any out of conference. Play a HE schedule and sprinkle in a few decent games, a few really good games and you have a good mix.
 
Rogie21 said:
Jeff Cox reporting "After leaving his post as an associate head coach at Boston University recently, Paul Pearl has landed on his feet. The Winthrop, Mass., native will be the new head coach at Cushing Academy." He added that Pearl had been rumored to be a candidate for the NU assistant job.
Click to expand...

As I said before, Paul Pearl is an intriguing guy!
 
defkit said:
I guess you are implying it was an academic issue? I do think it's a legit question, but maybe those more "in the know" know that changes this late are almost always academics.
Click to expand...
No I was implying it’s a coaching issue wish there pando news would have been released earlier ... I guess this is what one would call lame duck
 
Have to think Pandolfo is coming to be a potential head coach right? Usually don't see guys leave the NHL to become a college associate.
 
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