Re: Wisconsin Hockey Vol. XXVI: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Tolerate The BTHC
So I had the misfortune of traveling out to Boston this weekend and attending both games.
I'll try to keep it as concise as possible ...
Friday was a beatdown of epic proportions. If I hadn't traveled to get there and had to scrap to get the tickets, I'd have walked out mid first period. It was that bad. I was truly embarrassed to be there in my jersey and it was awkward and uncomfortable. There was just never a time they had a chance in that game. Not one. (Giving credit where it's due, the BC fans couldn't have been nicer. From start to finish people were friendly and talkative. Really great.)
That being said, and I know it sounds ridiculous with that score, but both Peterson and Miller played well - Miller was especially impressive. The score would have been even worse without some seriously spectacular play by both of them. The defense was truly non-existent on Friday. As mentioned above, some of that had to do with UW having no idea how to handle quick transitions, but a lot of it had to do with just plain lazy play and poor puck handling that led to turnovers and odd-man rushes that left the goalies out to dry. They just literally had no chance. Miller made a couple of saves on one-on-ones that were mind-boggling. A BC fan near me was giving me a hard time for standing and applauding Miller in the third, but when I pointed out he was a walk-on and that the score would be about 14-2 without him, the guy shut up.
We knew they Badgers weren't going to stage a comeback after the first period, but had hoped that Eaves and this veteran leadership we've been hearing about would light a fire at period break, but BC came out and scored two goals in the opening minutes of the second period and it was like "so much for that." The biggest disappointment on Friday was less about the product on the ice (though that was **** poor) but the lack of fight and cohesiveness. They looked like they'd never played together before, which is bad for any team, but was especially galling from this team where we keep hearing about the large senior class, etc ...
One thing we both thought separately was that in past years, other Badger teams might have turned chippy and goonish in that situation. We were happy to see this year's team hold it together and not start cheap-shotting out of frustration. It's a small thing, but was a positive to take away from a game that had few.
Chuck wasn't wrong above when he said that Saturday's game sounded different. Though the scores look similar, the product on the ice Saturday night was vastly improved. There wasn't the apparent "laziness" of poor passes, lack of hustle to pucks and crappy puck handling. They looked much sharper. They had shots on goal! I'm not entirely sure how to reconcile that with the final score, though. You can justify Friday's beat down with the play. Saturday's bad beat is almost worse because they team looked legit and together, but still couldn't stop BU from hanging 7.
Oddly enough, at least two of BU's goals on Saturday can be put on Peterson. He was five-holed both times and the puck dribbled between his knees into the net. Clearly that's not the quality we're used to from Landon, so I'm not going to write him off based on one game, but it was a bit surprising after the way he held up to the onslaught the night before. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bit of a hangover.
Whereas Friday was a start to finish problem, Saturday was more a death but a hundred paper cuts. The small cracks were exposed, but the team overall looked better. It's a paradox, but I walked out of Saturday feeling both better and worse. It was great to see the team show fight after Friday and not be totally beat down. The first period and a half were pretty great. They were getting shots. They were having good-looking PP on the road. They had the puck in the zone. They were organized and efficient. But they gave up some stupid penalties. They gave up odd-man rushes. Peterson had some mental lapses. They gave up seven goals. They didn't play a full 60.
I'm trying to reserve full judgement until I see more games. I don't want to make excuses, but I also wonder about fatigue - mental and physical - by the end of Saturday's game. It's just the second weekend. Clearly we were over-rated. Clearly there are things to fix as the season moves forward. But it's October. I'm choosing to look at Saturday and see that they didn't lie down and play as horribly the second day as the first as a step in the correct direction.
Anyway, those were just my observations being in the building - back to work for now.
So I had the misfortune of traveling out to Boston this weekend and attending both games.
I'll try to keep it as concise as possible ...
Friday was a beatdown of epic proportions. If I hadn't traveled to get there and had to scrap to get the tickets, I'd have walked out mid first period. It was that bad. I was truly embarrassed to be there in my jersey and it was awkward and uncomfortable. There was just never a time they had a chance in that game. Not one. (Giving credit where it's due, the BC fans couldn't have been nicer. From start to finish people were friendly and talkative. Really great.)
That being said, and I know it sounds ridiculous with that score, but both Peterson and Miller played well - Miller was especially impressive. The score would have been even worse without some seriously spectacular play by both of them. The defense was truly non-existent on Friday. As mentioned above, some of that had to do with UW having no idea how to handle quick transitions, but a lot of it had to do with just plain lazy play and poor puck handling that led to turnovers and odd-man rushes that left the goalies out to dry. They just literally had no chance. Miller made a couple of saves on one-on-ones that were mind-boggling. A BC fan near me was giving me a hard time for standing and applauding Miller in the third, but when I pointed out he was a walk-on and that the score would be about 14-2 without him, the guy shut up.
We knew they Badgers weren't going to stage a comeback after the first period, but had hoped that Eaves and this veteran leadership we've been hearing about would light a fire at period break, but BC came out and scored two goals in the opening minutes of the second period and it was like "so much for that." The biggest disappointment on Friday was less about the product on the ice (though that was **** poor) but the lack of fight and cohesiveness. They looked like they'd never played together before, which is bad for any team, but was especially galling from this team where we keep hearing about the large senior class, etc ...
One thing we both thought separately was that in past years, other Badger teams might have turned chippy and goonish in that situation. We were happy to see this year's team hold it together and not start cheap-shotting out of frustration. It's a small thing, but was a positive to take away from a game that had few.
Chuck wasn't wrong above when he said that Saturday's game sounded different. Though the scores look similar, the product on the ice Saturday night was vastly improved. There wasn't the apparent "laziness" of poor passes, lack of hustle to pucks and crappy puck handling. They looked much sharper. They had shots on goal! I'm not entirely sure how to reconcile that with the final score, though. You can justify Friday's beat down with the play. Saturday's bad beat is almost worse because they team looked legit and together, but still couldn't stop BU from hanging 7.
Oddly enough, at least two of BU's goals on Saturday can be put on Peterson. He was five-holed both times and the puck dribbled between his knees into the net. Clearly that's not the quality we're used to from Landon, so I'm not going to write him off based on one game, but it was a bit surprising after the way he held up to the onslaught the night before. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bit of a hangover.
Whereas Friday was a start to finish problem, Saturday was more a death but a hundred paper cuts. The small cracks were exposed, but the team overall looked better. It's a paradox, but I walked out of Saturday feeling both better and worse. It was great to see the team show fight after Friday and not be totally beat down. The first period and a half were pretty great. They were getting shots. They were having good-looking PP on the road. They had the puck in the zone. They were organized and efficient. But they gave up some stupid penalties. They gave up odd-man rushes. Peterson had some mental lapses. They gave up seven goals. They didn't play a full 60.
I'm trying to reserve full judgement until I see more games. I don't want to make excuses, but I also wonder about fatigue - mental and physical - by the end of Saturday's game. It's just the second weekend. Clearly we were over-rated. Clearly there are things to fix as the season moves forward. But it's October. I'm choosing to look at Saturday and see that they didn't lie down and play as horribly the second day as the first as a step in the correct direction.
Anyway, those were just my observations being in the building - back to work for now.
