Re: UNH WildcatS 2012-'13: The Dawn of New Prominence
The Wildcats came up short today against the Eagles. Too many costly turn-overs and a little weak on the puck. The team needs to generate more chances off the rush but right now are disjointed, settling for outside shots and not able to outnumber teams on the attack/entry. A couple late penalties didn't help and gave BC some momentum when it seemed UNH were starting to come on.
While the 'Cats certainly made some mistakes, the game was closer than the 4 - 2 (5 - 2 with the empty netter) might indicate. There were times when they dominated play, and generated good chances. Horn blew a shot past Boyles in the first that hit the post about as squarely as I've seen. That puck goes in, we've got a different game. In the second, a couple of very near misses on redirects that just skittered wide.
Defensively, they have some tightening up to do. They have to clear the bodies from in front and not allow multiple whacks at loose pucks.
They didn't back down in the third, but were plagued by consecutive penalties, and couldn't maintain momentum.
I think the take away from the weekend is that on Saturday, they all stuck to the game plan, moved the puck well, took away BC's time and space, and played smart, unselfish hockey. Not to say that they changed radically on Sunday, but they appeared to be a little fatigued, and when they got behind, instead of moving the puck quickly to create open spaces, they held on a fraction longer, and tried to do a little too much individually. All in all, though, I see a team that has the tools - they just need to trust the mechanics.
I was disappointed in a couple calls the officials made. In one instance Hitchcock was on the boards in the offensive zone on a prolonged UNH attack. BC's Jackie Young very blatantly cross checked her in the neck / jaw area. I mean, no ifs, ands, or buts about her intention, yet she gets just two minutes. What message are you sending there?
At the end of the second, Blake Bolden was defending against Jonna Curtis' breakout rush along the boards. Whether Curtis was
completely facing the boards I can't say, but she sure as S*^$ wasn't facing Bolden when Bolden ran her into the boards. I thought that was a hit from behind that should have been called for the major. Bolden gets two for checking, Curtis gets 6 - 8 weeks in a sling. BC is skilled and fast enough to not have to play the goon game. Bad Eagles.