Re: BU Terriers vs. Mercyhurst Lakers; East vs. (hmmm, East?)
A couple of observations about Saturday's game.
Two great in-game coaching moves by BU. The second, pulling the goalie to get a 6 on 3 in the third period. Almost backfired with an empty net goal, but the got the goal they needed during the 6 on 4. Merychurst responded with a goal 10 seconds later, but more coaches need to be more aggressive with pulling the goalie. Many wait way too long at the end of the game and they also need to take advantage when a penalty results in a face-off in the other end in the third period.
The best coaching move BU made was calling their time out after Mercyhurst went up 2-0. Most coaches refuse to use their time out in the first period, but here it worked great. After the time out, all the offensive momentum Merychurst had built up was gone. Better to call the time out then and possibly prevent the game from getting out of hand, then save it for when you think you might need it later in the game.
What BU failed to do was take advantage of the loss of momentum. While Mercyhurst was not flying down the ice with the same intensity after the time out, they still applied the pressure. SOG on that period ended up 10-2, with shot attempts something like 17-5. And that is really the key to this Mercyhurst team: pressure. BU could barely carry the puck out of their zone when on the power play, much less even strength. They dialled back the pressure in the second because they didn't need it, or maybe the got a little complacent since they had a many goals as the other team had shots.
And that is why I think Merychurst is the number 1 seed in this tournament. Yes, they have the talent to score a lot of goals, but many of those chances are generated by the pressure they bring, and most teams can't handle it.
A couple of observations about Saturday's game.
Two great in-game coaching moves by BU. The second, pulling the goalie to get a 6 on 3 in the third period. Almost backfired with an empty net goal, but the got the goal they needed during the 6 on 4. Merychurst responded with a goal 10 seconds later, but more coaches need to be more aggressive with pulling the goalie. Many wait way too long at the end of the game and they also need to take advantage when a penalty results in a face-off in the other end in the third period.
The best coaching move BU made was calling their time out after Mercyhurst went up 2-0. Most coaches refuse to use their time out in the first period, but here it worked great. After the time out, all the offensive momentum Merychurst had built up was gone. Better to call the time out then and possibly prevent the game from getting out of hand, then save it for when you think you might need it later in the game.
What BU failed to do was take advantage of the loss of momentum. While Mercyhurst was not flying down the ice with the same intensity after the time out, they still applied the pressure. SOG on that period ended up 10-2, with shot attempts something like 17-5. And that is really the key to this Mercyhurst team: pressure. BU could barely carry the puck out of their zone when on the power play, much less even strength. They dialled back the pressure in the second because they didn't need it, or maybe the got a little complacent since they had a many goals as the other team had shots.
And that is why I think Merychurst is the number 1 seed in this tournament. Yes, they have the talent to score a lot of goals, but many of those chances are generated by the pressure they bring, and most teams can't handle it.