Re: UMass Lowell 2015-2016 Season Thread
It will be interesting to see which Lowell team we see tonight. From last weekend we saw something that has identified itself in several other games and especially showed through against NU. The first period was probably the strongest period we have seen from Lowell in a long time with the exception of the 70 seconds or so when they got hemmed in their own end and had the puck on their stick about 4-5 times before turning it over and getting scored on. The first period they were very physical and relentless on their puck pursuit and then they got what appeared to be tired. They then started chasing the game, stopped being physical and losing the battles on the walls. In their own end they were slow on closing on their checks and allowing NU to skate and cycle and get to net front. If you look at some of the inconsistency we have seen against the more physical teams they have played, you have seen an inability to play a physical and heavy game for 60 minutes. If you look at the make up of this team, the defence is not physical and do not intimidate opposing teams . The forward group are all smaller in stature and bring a similar skill set that doesn't include a a physical presence to the game. This team is not built for real physical play and thus they have struggled on their forecheck and getting to net front to score goals on second chance opportunities. On the contrary, when they attempt to play a real fancy and skilled game with no physicality, we see the numerous turnovers, soft passes and lack of taking pucks hard to the net.
If you watched the Beanpot final, you saw both Boston teams that were very skilled but made "hard" plays where passes were crisp, pucks were dumped deep with good puck pursuit and limited turnovers. Every opportunity they had, both teams took pucks hard to the net and always had passing options both above and below the puck. Tonight we will see a BU team that is has very good team speed, is very quick on the transition and activates it defence and generates a great deal of offence from their blue line in second wave attack and joining the rush. They are not a real physical team but one that is very quick on the forecheck and have very good sticks. Lowell's overall team defence will be very challenged tonight and it will be interesting to see the level of physical play they bring in attempting to neutralize BU speed.
It maybe cliche but as we approach this weekend and the weekend with BC, your best players have to be the best players in big games. Although Coach Bazin would not state this publicly, a challenge has to go out to the upper classmen and leadership group on this team that they need to step up. Nobody is questioning the character of this team but there needs to be a level of accountability in your play week in and week out. You cannot be on the ice and get scored on in the opening shift, you cannot make soft plays, you cannot take bad penalties, you cannot continue to stick handle in outnumbered situations and continue to turn the puck over and you have to make plays and score goals in high pressure situations and when the game is on the line. It is easy to put up numbers, points and be + player against the ASU and UMass alike but you need to step up in the big games. I anticipate this challenge has been given to this team and it will be interesting this weekend on how they respond.
Those are my observations.