Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest
Honestly the 2 extra against Umass was BC right for playing well all year. This just jumped off the schedule at me. I would say UNH had a harder end of year schedule, but it all evens out in the end. I had not noticed the schedule earlier in the year other than UNH's strange 5 out of 6 at home or 5 out of 7 on the road stretches that seemed really odd.
As for NU I would be surprised if NU wins. BC is the best team I have seen all year and I said that on some other thread around here somewhere. However, NU does the right stuff style wise to give BC a challenge. I see NU as "BU" style but with harder working and faster players (this year). That means an agressive "finish your checks" (hit the D-man after the puck is long gone) forecheck which will attack the one place I see a weakness in the BC "model". It seems that style of play - slowing the transition to the forwards - is what BC has the hardest time with in the last few years under York. If it gets clean to the forward you can be in a world of hurt. I haven't seen enough of BC against this style this year to see if there D-men get tense, but it looked like that a bit during the Beanpot.
I just hope for a good weekend of games.
Well, that would explain why BC wasn't in first place until the end of they year and UNH was... and the gap between the two (was it 5 points at one time? I can't remember) closed as the schedules evened out.
Honestly the 2 extra against Umass was BC right for playing well all year. This just jumped off the schedule at me. I would say UNH had a harder end of year schedule, but it all evens out in the end. I had not noticed the schedule earlier in the year other than UNH's strange 5 out of 6 at home or 5 out of 7 on the road stretches that seemed really odd.
As for NU I would be surprised if NU wins. BC is the best team I have seen all year and I said that on some other thread around here somewhere. However, NU does the right stuff style wise to give BC a challenge. I see NU as "BU" style but with harder working and faster players (this year). That means an agressive "finish your checks" (hit the D-man after the puck is long gone) forecheck which will attack the one place I see a weakness in the BC "model". It seems that style of play - slowing the transition to the forwards - is what BC has the hardest time with in the last few years under York. If it gets clean to the forward you can be in a world of hurt. I haven't seen enough of BC against this style this year to see if there D-men get tense, but it looked like that a bit during the Beanpot.
I just hope for a good weekend of games.