I did play at this level and while I agree with you all that it’s not completely his fault. The bigger issue is this these are not kids, they are grown men, most of whom, are far older and wiser than any avg. college students, as all have been playing competitive hockey for nearly 2 decades, devoting 20 to 40+ hours a week since they were 5, some for 9 moths or more out of every year.
This was a choke, and the truth is that your guy O’Connor let in a lot of bad goals this season, especially in big games this year but Jack and Rodriguez bailed him out, tonight they couldn’t.
I have degrees form both NU and BU and while its hard for you to swallow, you have to be honest and call a spade a spade a spade. These were not defensive lapses, these were 2 goals that any starting MIAA MA Varsity HS Hockey Goalie could likely have saved!
However, you add the pressure of a big game and this kid folded like a deck of cards on the strip in Los Vegas on any given Saturday night. That said, it's good for HE and college hockey in general that it's just not another BU or BC win. Nice job PC!
If you think this is pressure, you think about the fact that every night every NHL goalie feels the same pressure knowing that a poor performance is one bus stop back to the AHL. O’Conner isn’t an NHL caliber goalie and Gillies is. Period! The truth hurts!