BU '23-'24 Season: Pandomania

[brassbonanza]

UND went bar down three times. Absolute lasers is correct. The last one was a seeing-eye shot that somehow didn't hit anyone or anything and found the net. For comparison, I doubt Drew Commesso stops more than maybe one of those shots, if that.

And whoever said it above, yes, the UND guy didn't actually get a shot off on the OT goal. Caron poke checked the puck off his stick, it went up off Lane's glove, over his shoulder and back into the net.

 

[Terrier86]

Two general thoughts from the weekend games:

1. UND looked better than us; seemed a bit more dangerous than us on the offensive side of the ice. Our top 6 forwards can stand up to/surpass most teams but our bottom 6 don't generate enough grade A opportunities. Hopefully that improves before March.

2. We certainly became spoiled with Jake and Drew between the pipes. Going into the season, most of us feared that G would be the weak spot and here we are. If point #1 improves we could win a lot of 5-4 or 4-3 games or have to win in OT or shootouts. If the D'men can improve their in-zone coverage then less games will be white knuckle affairs.

Bottom line, the coaching staff is going to have to coach up this team quite a bit across all three layers to be a threat for the FF. Might be stating the obvious. Jay and crew have that task identified this and hopefully they pull it off.

 

[J.D.]

He definitely has a rebound and control problem.

This is true. I saw a lot of the two games this weekend. It seems like every single save he makes is an adventure.

 

[ericredaxe]

All in all a solid weekend - this looked like two high end teams duking it out - it almost felt if we played them 10 times it would go 5-5. Getting the game to OT was big and should help a bit in the pairwise long term.

I continue to share concerns about the goaltender situation. Does anyone recall the circumstances of Duplessis leaving? It feels like he would be our #1 goaltender right now.

was looking forward to the Celebrini / Hutson 3 on 3 show in OT. Bummer we never were able to get possession.

The rink was marginally more full last night as compared to Friday. Box score saying 4,968. But where are the students? It would seem a school of 20+k could get more than half a section of kids to show up for a Saturday night game against a unique / ranked opponent. - I would have guessed that 108 should have been mostly full?

Traffic - even on a Saturday was rough. 1:20 to drive the 37 miles to Agganis. I’m sure this plays a factor in attendance too.

I tried the meatball sub last night. Decent - but I’d steer people to the chicken parm. On par I’d say the concessions are doing better with quality / service overall as compared to the past couple of years. Kudos to that.

 

[RoughEmUp]

I tried the meatball sub last night. Decent - but I’d steer people to the chicken parm. On par I’d say the concessions are doing better with quality / service overall as compared to the past couple of years. Kudos to that.

They've set the bar so low, edibility is now a pleasant surprise.

 

[BUPhD]

Not sure why North Dakota traveled with two different jerseys.

that hit on Macklin was horrific. And laughing that North Dakota called for a review of BU’s goal for offsides and it was called back. Well played.

Cheaper to check an extra bag than plug quarters in a laundromat?

 

[BUPhD]

My thoughts after catching up on these two. The defense in front of Caron is getting settlers down but the rebound control is an issue for them and that’s causing some chaos.

They’re definitely capable of playing the whole sheet for the whole clock against top shelf teams.

The OT goal last night was an example of why hockey is often called “the flukiest of flukey sports”. The puck just defies the expected physics sometimes and jumps off the ice weirdly

 

[SJHovey]

Not sure why North Dakota traveled with two different jerseys.

It actually dates back to the very end of the Dean Blais era at UND, when the black jersey was added as an alternate third jersey. They don't wear them very often, but tend to only break them out when they are playing what might be considered a "big" or important game, or one where they feel like they really need a win.

The fans like them, and the players seem to like them, so they'll be brought along for certain series. I guarantee you that if UND had won Friday, they'd have worn the greens again Saturday.

 

[Lemonade]

All in all a solid weekend - this looked like two high end teams duking it out - it almost felt if we played them 10 times it would go 5-5. Getting the game to OT was big and should help a bit in the pairwise long term.

I continue to share concerns about the goaltender situation. Does anyone recall the circumstances of Duplessis leaving? It feels like he would be our #1 goaltender right now.

was looking forward to the Celebrini / Hutson 3 on 3 show in OT. Bummer we never were able to get possession.

The rink was marginally more full last night as compared to Friday. Box score saying 4,968. But where are the students? It would seem a school of 20+k could get more than half a section of kids to show up for a Saturday night game against a unique / ranked opponent. - I would have guessed that 108 should have been mostly full?

Traffic - even on a Saturday was rough. 1:20 to drive the 37 miles to Agganis. I’m sure this plays a factor in attendance too.

I tried the meatball sub last night. Decent - but I’d steer people to the chicken parm. On par I’d say the concessions are doing better with quality / service overall as compared to the past couple of years. Kudos to that.

I heard for a reputable source that Duplessis left because he felt he would put up better stats and have more success in front of a more structured defense and at this point it looks like a very smart decision. He has aspirations of playing pro hockey and the BU system isnt conducive to goaltender success (as we have recently witnessed). Duplessis now has a 1.53GAA and a .937 in front of Quinnipiac vs BU current goalie of a 3.61GAA and a .885.

 

[Scarlet]

I guarantee you that if UND had won Friday, they'd have worn the greens again Saturday.

I was actually wondering this. And I totally get the third jersey thing. I just thought it odd during a regular season away game to travel with two. Apparently it worked for them!

 

[ericredaxe]

I was actually wondering this. And I totally get the third jersey thing. I just thought it odd during a regular season away game to travel with two. Apparently it worked for them!

Logistically, wouldn't they be traveling with 2 sets anyway? Or do the equipment managers find a place to launder them while on the road? As someone joked below, they aren't putting quarters into the hotel washing machine

 

[defkit]

I would guess that team have more than one "copy" of their primary uniforms. I don't know, it just seems reasonable that they wouldn't rely on being able to do laundry during the trip. Then again, a smelly jersey might be a good weapon

 

[Harry Cleverly]

I heard for a reputable source that Duplessis left because he felt he would put up better stats and have more success in front of a more structured defense and at this point it looks like a very smart decision. He has aspirations of playing pro hockey and the BU system isnt conducive to goaltender success (as we have recently witnessed). Duplessis now has a 1.53GAA and a .937 in front of Quinnipiac vs BU current goalie of a 3.61GAA and a .885.

What a load of rubbish.

 

[BU93]

My impressions over the first 8 games is we will need to work and progress to a point where we play complete games in all phases. We are certainly not there yet, especially on the defensive side of things. This is the way of BU hockey (most of the time) and how I have observed it over the last 30 years plus. Rarely do we have a team that jumps out of the gate at 9-1( I always wish they do, of course !) This team will be very good this year. They have the pieces. They don’t give up down goals. It’s a fairly challenging schedule to start the season this year. I’m trying to remain patient while the coaching staff does their work and the young players get their experience. If we remain steady here in the first half, we should be fine at the end. Great second halves and strong finishes are also hallmarks of very good BU teams. I think this will be one of those types of seasons.

 

[brassbonanza]

I heard for a reputable source that Duplessis left because he felt he would put up better stats and have more success in front of a more structured defense and at this point it looks like a very smart decision. He has aspirations of playing pro hockey and the BU system isnt conducive to goaltender success (as we have recently witnessed). Duplessis now has a 1.53GAA and a .937 in front of Quinnipiac vs BU current goalie of a 3.61GAA and a .885.

That is not the story I've heard from multiple places.

 

[Lemonade]

That is not the story I've heard from multiple places.

Well then what is the story that you heard? The story I heard makes absolute sense.

 

[brassbonanza]

Well then what is the story that you heard? The story I heard makes absolute sense.

To sum up the accounts I was told, it was a playing time decision on Vinny's part. Q offered more than BU.

I've seen narratives floating that BU "let him go" or even so far as cut him - my understanding is those are completely false and the staff wanted him to remain in the program. But Q offered an opportunity for more PT.
​

 

[mookie1995]

Logistically, wouldn't they be traveling with 2 sets anyway? Or do the equipment managers find a place to launder them while on the road? As someone joked below, they aren't putting quarters into the hotel washing machine

would imagine that being one of the best hockey arenas on earth, haa has laundry facilities. especially if they wish to draw top flight competition into town to play the terriors.

 

[Lemonade]

To sum up the accounts I was told, it was a playing time decision on Vinny's part. Q offered more than BU.

I've seen narratives floating that BU "let him go" or even so far as cut him - my understanding is those are completely false and the staff wanted him to remain in the program. But Q offered an opportunity for more PT.
​

Well that's in summary what I was told. Vinny left for a better situation....more playing time and better team structure and chance for improved numbers and success.

 

[brassbonanza]

Well that's in summary what I was told. Vinny left for a better situation....more playing time and better team structure and chance for improved numbers and success.

That's not what your post said. You wrote he left because he felt he'd put up better numbers behind a better and more structured defense.

To my knowledge, there is zero truth to that.

Your post made no mention of playing time. Those are two very different things.