Re: UMass Lowell 2014-2015 Season: The March to March
what the eff was boyle doing on that 2nd goal
OK - I'll bite and take a guess was to what was going on inside Boyle's head in this mini break-down. The below break down is taken from the angle of the TV camera in the replay highlights that boblav1 provided in a youtube link below.
1. There was a two on one break. The puck carrier for Maine had the puck just as he was entering the right circle (Boyle's left). The UML defenseman (I think it was Suter) was attempting to play the puck and was on his way over to close in on the puck carrier. Boyle was already out of his crease (to his left) trying to close out the angle on the puck carrier.
2. At the same time, Vesey (the eventual scorer for Maine) was streaking down the middle - closer to the other circle and about 1-2 steps behind his teammate who had the puck.
3. The Maine puck carrier who was over in the right circle passed over to Vesey. At this time both Boyle and Suter? shifted over to cover the new puck carrier (Vesey). Boyle seemed to over commit to his right. Suter too. My guess is that Boyle expected Suter to stay with original puck carrier and made the decision to go low and block the anticipated shot from Vesey in the opposite corner (Boyle's right, our left). Especially since that side of the net was completely wide open at that moment in time.
4. With momentum carrying both Boyle and Suter to their right, Vesey slid back across to the middle of the ice (from his left to right) and had a wide open net for his first collegiate goal. Vesey's mom and dad were in attendance and I was happy that they had the chance to see this in person.
In a situation like this - should the defenseman have stayed with original puck carrier and continue to cover that side of the ice? If Suter did so, then maybe Vesey would not have had such a wide open shot.
A 2 on 1 is tough to cover, and I think there should have been better communication between Boyle and Suter... at least with regard to the expected location each player should cover. Boyle should not have completely overcommitted when moving to cover the other side of the net - and gone down like he did. My guess is that he took a guess as to Vesey's location and did not realize Vesey had room to cut back across the middle.
Bottom line - both Boyle and Suter could have played that 2-on-1 better. Also, give Vesey some credit too for being smart enough to cut back against the grain at that time.
