Well it's been a tough 2 weeks, 2 points out of 8 during that stretch.....and those two points were a supreme gift.
Just a few observations and general thoughts.
1. Recruiting/Scoring What is going on with recruiting this year? Where are the future scorers to augment the Freshman class? I know we only have three seniors moving on.......but we definately need some additional offensive dynamics and skill. It does not appear that those gaps in scoring and skill are being addressed by the current level of recruiting. I think our reliance on non-USHL recruits in the prior 3 classes (Soph - Senior) has limited our success the last few years. This years recruiting class seems like a success, as Freshman are at the top of our scoring leaders. We were riding high with success (3 HEA championships, NCAA Tournament appearances) and could not convert that success into recruiting wins. Kind of disapponited to know the Northeastern has 4 of the top 7 USHL scorers being added to their lineup next year, or that even Merrimack has 5 projected NHL draft picks on their current list of recruits. With the prowess of BC, BU, Providence and now UMass-Amherst in recruiting, plus the strength of UCONN and perenial powers like UHN and Maine we are destined to fall further behind in the HEA hierarcy. I applaud the success of the academic achievements of the hockey program but count me as somewhat disappointed as to where we are hockey wise. Ww are no longer NCAA tornament worthy which is now the bar to guage success as are appearances in the HEA final four. It's sad to realize that we have only one player currently with 10+ goals, last year we had 3, the year before that 2, while in the freshman year of the current senior class we had six (6) 10+ goals scorers and then freshman Kenny Hausinger had 9 that year. Generally when the program had success we had 5-6 plus 10+ goals scorers. Who functions as the offense coach, the sad state of our offense is the pitiful nature of our power play....slow in puck movement, woeful in finding space within the defenses we face and just failing to generate shots......not even good scoring opportunities.
2. Defense/Team speed. The defense was continually beaten by Amherst this past weekend. Does our system structure need revamping? is coaching up to speed? Is the skill set or desire lacking? We were continally beaten to pucks and outhustled this past weekend as evidenced by the large shot disparity by UMass-Amherst these last two games. In a word it was brutal. As a cynic, it appears that UMass-Amherst now plays with the grit and determination Lowell was known for. Lowell has now become what UMass Amherst was....overmatched, outhustled, out skilled, out-coached and out-recruited. A sad role reversal.
3. Goaltending Kudos to Tyler Wall. He has been immense. He alone however cannot save us. Hopefully the goaltenders in the mix next year will have a similar skill set as Wall, as if not the season is going to be a long one and the Tsongas Center is going to become a much quieter place.
We are now close to the phrase....better luck next year.
