Here's my take on Friday's game...
Boston College: This isn't the same BC team Vermont saw last fall. The frosh are now seasoned and scoring is pretty much spread across 4 lines, and all 4 lines can certainly fly. UVM will have a hard time with BC's depth at forward, as they can wear you down cycling and with speed and intensity.
It’s what did UMass in last week… their top 2 lines and D pairings got an awful lot of ice time and just couldn’t keep up over 60 minutes.
The D has me a little bit worried (including ‘team D’). They progressed so well over the season but didn’t have great series’s against UNH or UMass last weekend. Some bad turnovers and poor decisions with the puck in our zone could have been more costly than they were. They threw an awful lot of pucks into traffic when we had an open man on the far backside of the net with no pressure that way. I’m sure the coaching staff will have that straightened out this week.
Goaltending… No worries.
Vermont: What can you say about a team with their backs to the wall, in hostile territory, on the big sheet, and holding one of Hockey East’s top offensive teams to goose eggs two nights in a row to take the series?!!!! That’s pretty darn impressive stuff right there.
I didn’t see the games but can guess they did a great job of filling passing lanes and keeping UNH out on the perimeter. I heard the last 20 minutes or so of the final game and sounded like Madore was on his game. If VT can shut down UNH like that they can certainly do the same to BC (as they have shown already in 2 of 3 meetings).
Look out for a kid like McCarthy. He’s had some big games already against us, which always seems to be the case when a kid is recruited and then is playing for another team. The Eagles had better be paying attention when he’s on the ice.
Prediction: Vermont will certainly hit BC every chance they get to take them off their game and wear them down. BC is a far better team when they hit than when they try to just out-talent an opponent. Their speed is far more dangerous when they’re hitting. The team that wins the physical battle will win this game. That’s my 2 cents.