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Northeastern 2022-23: Unfinished Business - Great Expectations

Split-N said:
But let's not worry about that until the time comes. Today is a day to bask in the glory of a fourth Beanpot in five years. Yes, it's OK to feel good.
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Amen. The downs of December quickly faded into a long forgotten memory after that final stop by Levi. I'm proud to say that watching him challenge three potential NHLers with the game on the line and not budging an inch........chills.
 
Thiessen'sBetter said:
4 out of 5 is awesome but obviously disappointing to end it in a shootout. Thought it was a very even game, that could have went either way. If they play like they did these last two Mondays going forward they still have a lot to play for and will be a tough out in March

Biggest development for me has been the development of the freshmen defensemen. Hunter McDonald is awesome and Dorrington and Borgesi are coming on as well. Thought Colangelo was really good tonight, still definitely need more from Jack Hughes.
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mcdonald has been awesome and has been a lot of fun to watch but He and the rest of the dcore need to work on responsibility with the puck in their own end. We let opposing fore checkers really get all over us and have trouble getting it into the neutral zone. The offense needs to start from them, and I’m not sure how you improve that at this point in the season. Great to see struble jump deep into the play in the second goal.

Offensively Hughes has been a big disappointment but he has made some good defensive improvements. He blocked 4 shots last night (more than anyone) and his scrappiness has allowed him to force turnovers. Offensively thought he is a ghost town. He is 1-1-2 in his last 8 games and only has 5 shots in those games.

Other highly touted talent has struggled as well. Colangelo, who had a great game last night, has also really struggled to get on the board. Lund, except for his knack of getting assists against UConn (4 in 3 games) has been mega dry. It’ll be interesting to see if the mid game pairing switch holds and we see choupani doing work on the top line.

I think it’s unlikely though. While I’ve ripped on the coaching a little this year (mostly in regards to power play execution and motivation) I think they must have looked at our recent opponents and Harvard and said we need to be greasy in front of the net. Moving choupani up gave the top line more net front presence. I’ve never seen Fontaine spend that much time near the crease. Hats off to home for establishing presence and having the hands to finish.
 
Wow! This team takes "bend but don't break" to a new level. Levi put these guys on his back with 42 saves but props also to UVM's Gabe Carriere, who always seems to play well vs NU. With BU losing yet again, NU regains first place in the HEA standings.
 
Split-N said:
Wow! This team takes "bend but don't break" to a new level. Levi put these guys on his back with 42 saves but props also to UVM's Gabe Carriere, who always seems to play well vs NU. With BU losing yet again, NU regains first place in the HEA standings.
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Yeah but we are in trouble in the pairwise. It's possible we have to win HE to make the tourney now. Those 3 losses on the road to SH, Union and Bentley are crushing and the remaining schedule just can't really move us much even with winning out. That's why scheduling is so important even a win against those teams might not be as good as a loss or a tie against a top 15 ranked team. I wish HE would schedule more inter league play during that December break. I hate the pairwise and really wish the tourney adopted a World Cup approach with the more competitive conferences receiving more auto bids. Looking at the standings and the remaining schedule it's entirely possible HE only gets one team in. I can't ever remember that happening since 1984. It's too bad because the tourney could go on without the best goalie in the nation right now. Tonight Levi absolutely was locked in.
 
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RossiRules said:
Yeah, but we are in trouble in the pairwise. It's possible we have to win HE to make the tourney now. Those 3 losses on the road to SH, Union and Bentley are crushing and the remaining schedule just can't really move us much even with winning out...
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Up to 15 from 16 in the USCHO poll and up to 14 from 15 in the USA Hockey poll. But the PWR is the only thing that counts, and I have to agree with Rossi that getting there remains an uphill climb, even if they win out (which they should). And considering the way some of the outliers have been playing in recent weeks, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if there's an upset winner of the tournament championship and the autobid that goes with it. And that's without considering upsets in some of the other conference tournaments. So PWR 15 may well not be good enough.
 
A couple of wrinkles that could help in the PWR. Michigan State has a .500 record right now and has completed their regular season. If they should lose their next game in the playoffs, they'd be under .500 and ineligible for the NCAA. Notre Dame is at .500 right now. They are at Michigan for two this weekend. If they split with Michigan, they'd be in the same position as MSU. If they get swept by Michigan, they'd need to win three playoff games to be eligible for the NCAA.
Also, a little hard for me to explain in depth but if/when NU wins a game against UMass this weekend, it flips one of the 'games against other Teams Under Consideration' factors in NU's favor and helps their PWR formula.
 
CHN Probability Matrix has us at 41% to make tournament and Playoff Status has us at 46% but a 99% chance if we win out and then lose in the HE final. So yeah, on the wrong side of a weighted coin flip. That said, there's no one we can't beat in the league so we should just say screw all those numbers and go win the tournament.
 
Not hockey but still of interest: Northeastern baseball plays the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers Friday (2/24) 1 p.m. NESN.
 
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Big games this weekend against a troubled Flagship that has historically given us fits. I haven’t been super high on our team this year, but we have some serious momentum and some players that look on the verge of breaking out (or at least playing up to our expectations). Struble, colangelo, Lund, choupani all starting to play some really solid hockey. Would like to see some more from Hughes and a bit more discipline in general (havnt seen any improvement since keefe’s statement) , but overall good looks.
 
I'm here at the Mullins. Refs didn't call anything on the go ahead goal their were two perhaps 3 penalties. However we look like crap...this was such a trap game, Sr night. Maybe it's for the best but if Levi isn't lights out they just lose. UMASS isn't that good so it's a big disappointment..I think this is likely the NCAA killer. New goalie in the UMASS pipes looked good. Still we had our chances. Very engaged UMass team with motivation to win this one at home with several players on the team from the national championship team. I would say it was really chippy hockey and we will need a better effort tomorrow night. I also think we lose HE with BU playing VT. I think a deep run in the HE tournament now won't help us we need to win it.
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Even with last night's solid shutout win, NU is down to 17 in the PWR, thanks to Friday night's debacle. Even with a sweep of Lowell next weekend, they'll have to make a run in the HEA playoffs and likely will need some outside help.

I just don't get how this team can shine against the BUs and Harvards but play so lackluster against the bottom feeders.
 
Split-N said:
Even with last night's solid shutout win, NU is down to 17 in the PWR, thanks to Friday night's debacle. Even with a sweep of Lowell next weekend, they'll have to make a run in the HEA playoffs and likely will need some outside help.

I just don't get how this team can shine against the BUs and Harvards but play so lackluster against the bottom feeders.
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I was wondering if Ryan St Louis is coming back to the Northeastern next year? He's listed as uncommitted on the USHL website...Thank you.
 
Split-N said:
Even with last night's solid shutout win, NU is down to 17 in the PWR, thanks to Friday night's debacle. Even with a sweep of Lowell next weekend, they'll have to make a run in the HEA playoffs and likely will need some outside help.

I just don't get how this team can shine against the BUs and Harvards but play so lackluster against the bottom feeders.
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I was at the UMASS game the winning UMASS goal was scored with non calls of at least two penalties. It was senior night and UMASS plated very physical. NU is likely done if they don't win HE tourney. The season was lost in Dec with those losses against Union, SHU and Bentley. Last nights game was not as one sided as the score may indicate. I think they play to the level of their competition and really can't dominate anyone. If Levi is on the top of his game they win. However are they really good? Not really. I really think the Western teams are all alot better than HE teams this season. I have seen QU play 2x. They have a gear that I have not seen in any HE team this season. So it is what it is.
 
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