Re: Nescac 2013-14
MEDIOCRE PERFORMANCES BY THE POLAR BEARS AGAINST TWO OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE EAST
I watched the Bowdoin games against Middlebury and Williams on NSN. As a Bowdoin fan, I was disappointed not so much by the Polar Bears' losses but by HOW the Polar Bears lost.
Let me state first of all that I give full credit to Middlebury and Williams. I was very impressed with both teams. Middlebury has tremendous speed and skill, enough to compensate for any goaltending shortcomings. The Panthers dominated most of the game, and overpowered the Polar Bears in overtime. Bowdoin's goaltender Max Fenkell stole the tie for the Polar Bears. Williams was equally impressive. As I'd said in an earlier post, I thought that last season the Ephs lacked creativity on offense. I don't think this is the case any more. They made some very nice plays in defeating the Polar Bears 5-2 this afternoon. The Ephs' freshman class appears very strong.
For Bowdoin to be successful this season, the Polar Bears need to quickly address several issues. Here are a few:
1. This edition of the Polar Bears is severely prone to defensive breakdowns. These are mental errors, and not exclusively the fault of the defensemen (or, rather, the backs, in Bowdoin's unique system). The forwards also need to attend to their defensive responsibilities.
2. Bowdoin was terrible on faceoffs. The Polar Bears must have lost about 70% of the faceoffs. Against Williams two lost faceoffs resulted in goals by the Ephs.
3. Too many penalties. Bowdoin has taken twenty minutes of penalties in two games. This is like playing a full period shorthanded. Being physical is fine, but the Polar Bears take too many penalties of the less-than-smart variety.
4. Questionable leadership by the senior class so far. The Polar Bears appear to be missing guys like Tim McGarry and Dan Weineger who made the team better just by their presence on the ice. (How does one replace two All Americans?) Harry Matheson did score a nice shorthanded goal against Williams, but Ollie Koo, Colin Downey and Jay Livermore--three of my favorite Bowdoin players--were basically invisible for most of the weekend. I was particularly disappointed in Downey's play, because I think Downey has terrific offensive skills and great hockey sense. But not this weekend... Bottom line: Bowdoin needs its talented seniors to play better. These players have won two NESCAC titles and played in two national tournaments.
The Polar Bears must do some serious regrouping before taking on the White Mules of Colby next weekend.
Re. the NSN broadscasts
The picture quality was fine in broadcast from Middlebury. We were promised more professional announcers than in the past, but the person who worked the Bowdoin-Middlebury game sounded more like a Middlebury student (though I'm sure he wasn't one), constantly complaining about alleged lack of penalty calls against Bowdoin and supposedly missed offsides. (I actually thought that the officials in both games were solid.) Though Bowdoin's Erik Bertin had played regularly since the beginning of the game (as a member of a trio of backs that also included Ryan Carney and Jay Kourkoulis), the announcer stated in the third period that "we're seeing Erik Bertin for the first time." The announcer was unprepared and too focused on Middlebury.
The camera work in the Williams broadcast was absolutely terrible and the graphics were distracting. The NSN banner often obscured the nets. The announcer, however, was very well informed and very well prepared. Special kudos to the Williams undergraduate who did the color commentary. The young man was not only knowledgeable but very fair. He made sure he commented on both teams, and had some very nice words about the Bowdoin players. He represented Williams College well. I remember making the same remark about the fairness of the Williams announcers in the 2011 playoff broadcasts. Maybe it's something they add to the water in Williamstown.
