Well, that was something.
Drove out to Springfield in an absolute downpour. Coupled with the fog, visibility was a struggle and a sense of doom permeated the car. Cue ominous foreshadowing...
The Olympia Ice Center was basically a nicer version of Skate 3. It was also at least 20 degrees colder than outside. I was not prepared for that. It was the coldest arena I've watched a college hockey game in since the 04/05 scoreless tie at Brown. The arena had old Merrimack style bleachers on the far side and a balcony over the benches that had seat backs. Olympia struggles with the same problem Merrimack and Providence have - people walking in front of you if you're in the first few rows. A seemingly endless parade of the 75-100 on hand couldn't be bothered to take their seat before play started each period. Special shout out to the youth hockey dad who let his brood of children horse around and stand right in front of the glass on the far side during the first period. I'm sure seeing that section of the ice wasn't necessary.
As for the game - woof.
In a drastically similar situation to the Arizona State games, Lowell dominates possession and then gives up the first goal of the game on a brutal defensive end turnover.
Begin Rant
Lowell has to develop a sense of urgency in their own end. A large portion of goals they've given up this season, especially recently, come from getting the puck taken away one or more times by the opposing forecheckers. The Lowell players have a staggeringly inability to sense that danger is afoot and not a single player on Lowell this season has shown that they are capable of taking a puck and sending it 20 ft through the air into the neutral zone when circumstances dictate. It's like they're brainwashed automatons who are conditioned that they HAVE to set up each and every breakout exactly as it was drawn up by the coaches, turnovers be ****ed. They'll force the issue to the point of exhaustion, and then stand by incredulous as Boyle fishes the puck out of the back of the net. I think we're going to see more and more teams have success against Lowell until they either simplify the breakout to one or two passes and out or suddenly become aware of when they're in danger in their own zone and learn to clear the puck right away to alleviate pressure.
End Rant
Lowell didn't even up the score quite as quickly as they did against ASU, but they managed to draw even with Masters first of the game six minutes later. Lowell's second goal was another absolutely beautiful snipe by Dylan Zink.
Skating 4 on 4, Lowell again failed to clear the puck in their own zone and AIC put it past Boyle as the Lowell player was stepping out of the box for a SHG. Lowell would control possession and play for long stretches, but again they struggled to get a lot of quality chances. Playing keep-a-way with the puck for 30 seconds is great, but it doesn't mean a whole lot if it doesn't end with a shot on goal. I thought AIC did a much better job of creating offense off of the rush and second chance opportunities than Lowell did.
Louria would give Lowell the lead with a nice PP goal that I believed was he either tipped off a Masters shot or he himself shot and it hit off a AIC defender, because that puck definitely moved at a sharp angle.
The third period aged me 15 years. Lowell killed off an AIC penalty and then went on the PP themselves. It was a better PP than we saw against BU, and did score a goal on the night, but they failed to keep track of the AIC player coming out of the box and lost possession of the puck at the worst possible time. Kevin Boyle was not good tonight, although in all fairness he didn't get much help in his own zone. He did make a couple of really nice stops but they were few and far between.
AIC would take the lead at 7:53 and I don't remember a lot about the goal as I was trying to calculate the force needed to snap my own neck in despair.
Lowell took over from that point in the game, and the possession that they had demonstrated throughout the game began to pay off on the scoreboard. Masters second was a beautiful shot that beat the goalie clean. The game winner, with some 52 seconds left was jammed in after a scrum in front. AIC took their time out after the goal and after the timeout concluded they decided to take a look at the go ahead goal. The speed at which the goal was reviewed could best be described as "glacial", which was fitting considering I could no longer feel my fingers or toes. The goal stood, and Lowell managed to run out the clock. I was surprised Lowell wasn't called for a penalty with about 16 seconds left, as one of the Lowell players brought down an AIC player with all the grace of a Stone Cold Stunner, but the whistles stayed quiet. The AIC player was still down as the handshake line began.
All things considered Lowell takes the win and gets the hell out of Springfield. If Norm is going to fill the scheduled with cupcakes he better make sure the boys are ready to play. The lapses in the defensive zone were borderline horrific, and a better team would have pumped 6 or more by Lowell tonight. I didn't get to hear Norm's comments post game, I hope his disappointment was evident.
Zink, Masters and Dmowski all had good games. CJ Smith was everywhere but the scoreboard. Folin made me want to take up drinking, but the entire team was weak in the defensive zone so I don't want to blame any one player. Boyle has certainly had better nights.
On to Amherst.
