From: BC Interuption
by A.J. Black
There are three things you can count on in life: death, taxes, and Boston College hockey kicking butt. That's exactly what BC did last weekend. Forget the fact that the Eagles are without 6 of their starters from last year, and forget the fact that John Muse is no longer with the team. This team is already showing they are ready to to contend again. This time led by Chris Kreider, Tommy Cross, Steven Whitney and a whole new cast of characters.
Friday's game against the Michigan State Spartans was dominated by Boston College 5-2. Early goals by Patrick Brown and Chris Kreider gave them the early edge, and was finished off by goals by Steven Whitney and Barry Almeida. In between the pipes Parker Milner did a fantastic job saving 22 of the 24 shots he faced.
On Saturday freshman Johnny Gaudreau, Steven Whitney and Pat Mullane accounted for 9 points in Eagles' 6-2 win against third ranked North Dakota.
BC Coach Jerry York was very happy about the play of his line, "That line in particular was really dominant on the ice," York said. "Earlier in the season we were trying different combinations and they all seem to move pucks very well. There are a lot of similarities in the way they play."
It was a big win for the Eagles on the road against a very good Fighting Sioux team. BC again looked fast and quick, and continue to bring the speed game to college hockey. It's only two games into the season, but it is pretty clear that Boston College is going to put an excellent product on the ice.
Jerry York of course was his usual cool, calm self, "There are six trophies available to us this year." "We got the first one. It's kind of a steppingstone - they all get bigger as the year goes on."
Boston College will return to the Heights with a bevy of hardware both individually and collectively as a team. Goalie Parker Milner, Patch Alber, Bill Arnold,Tommy Cross and Chris Kreider were all named to the Ice Breaker All-Tournament team, while Kreider will be returning with the Ice Breaker MVP. Freshman Johnny Gaudreau was named Hockey East rookie of the week for his 4 point performance against North Dakota.
BC was rewarded with #1 rankings in both major weekly polls - USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. They climbed above North Dakota who they defeated, Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio) who both lost their opening games, and Denver who hadn't played yet. Nothing to get too excited over, but any good BC news at this point is more than welcome.
BC very difficult schedule continues this Friday as they host Denver this Friday at Conte Forum. Hopefully unlike football, this will be a rocking crowd and another BC victory.
16 comments:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/877625-ncaa-hockey-the-top-25-us-college-hockey-players-in-the-nhl#/articles/877625-ncaa-hockey-the-top-25-us-college-hockey-players-in-the-nhl/page/12
Not bad, Stats and Carle made the top 25.
I hope Gwoz has a better game plan for BC than he did last year - they ran us right out out of the rink.
Would like to see a real devotion to gap control this weekend from DU.
Huge challenge for DU this weekend but also a great early season opportunity for this team to prove its mettle. Can't wait for the puck to drop.
Haven't heard anything about radio broadcasts this year. Will the Pios be back on the Ticket?
They really just need to adhere to this one particular motivational tactic:
MOVE YOUR FEET!!!
Nothing bad happens when you MOVE YOUR FEET!!
BC had an incredible amount of skill and upper-class leadership last year and, particularly at that early part of the season, was undeniably far more "ready" than a DU team that was still coming to grips with the losses of Rakhshani, Ruegsegger, Colborne, Wiercioch, and Cheverie.
On Friday night, DU skated with BC in the first period and even had a couple of early chances that they didn't bury. BC scored late in the first and poked a softy past Murray about a minute into the second that seemed to deflate DU. Then, the floodgates opened, and BC scored three more goals in the second, to take a 5-0 lead into the third.
Salazar made it somewhat interesting with a couple of goals in the 3rd, (including one on an absolutely wicked backhand that snuck its way into about an inch-and-a-half of open space) but by then, it was out of reach.
In an early showing of what would become a disturbing facet of the 2010 season, DU was a craptastic 0-for-8 on the power play against BC on Friday...and a staggeringly awful 0-for-9 on Saturday.
Aside from the continued power play woes, DU played much better on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Pioneers were forced to play from behind all night, as a BC breakaway less than two minutes in gave them the early lead. Brittain played well in net, but DU's offense couldn't transition well against BC's neutral zone defense, and their defense had troubles keeping BC forwards out of shooting lanes.
Recall that after the sweep, people were talking about BC being a team with no real weakness, and having the potential of winning upwards of 30 games last year....
Anyway, regarding this year, obviously, a great amount hand-wringing and consternation is being devoted to the goaltending situation for DU. And rightly so. But to me, the outcome of this weekend depends almost equally on the ability of DU's young defensemen to adapt to the speed of the college game.
Mayfield showed flashes against McGill and the U18s, but he's still thinking instead of reacting. Same with Didier and LaLeggia. Makowski is going to have to step up in his sophomore year and be more of a force out there and Lee and Ryder need to remain steady.
Another important consideration for DU will be secondary scoring. Everyone knows Zucker and Shore can score. But, DU will need consistent production out of its second and third lines in order to be successful. If opponents with the skill of BC or BU only have to neutralize one line, it will be a long weekend for the Pios...
Also, going a combined 0-for-17 on the power play is not - cannot be - an option....
I don't know about radio, but CBS Sports Channel on cable is carrying the DU/BC game Friday night nationwide ... or so I read somewhere :-)
Pios are back on the Ticket 102.3 FM for every game.
To Ring of Fire:
Makowski did step up last year, you seem to imply he did not. He did make the all-rookie team, incase you forgot.
Out of the freshmen defensemen, I thought LaLeggia played the best during the exhibitions; He has some obvious offensive gifts. Mayfield was OK, I liked that he would clear people out and knock them on their ass but he needs to avoid the unnecessary penalties. Didier obviously missed one of the games, so we have a smaller sample on him, he was average last weekend but looked OK on some shifts.
GO PIOS!!!
@ anon 2:30:
My mistake. I did not mean to imply anything other than my assertion that Makowski needs to continue to improve upon what was undoubtedly a stellar freshman campaign. Additionally, with 4 freshmen presumably amongst the nightly compliment of defensmen, he also needs take on more of a leadership role on the ice.
See, last year, he was paired with defensemen that all at at least a year of experience on him, so some of his "freshman-ness" could be minimized by having a more seasoned partner out there with him. Now, assuming he's paired with one of the freshmen, he's the seasoned partner and, as such, will have to assume a leadership role on the ice.
It's not that I don't think Makowski can do all of this...because his play last year has certainly given me reason to believe that he can. It's just something worth keeping an eye on, particularly early in the season.
Can't wait til Friday.Friday night lights has nothing on hockey season.Ice time baby!Fun to see the new boy's in preseason but now it's show time.Curious to watch the new Bennett.Didn't see him at forward ,only D.From what I saw,solid passing,kept it simple,drew some penelties,seemed to make good decisions.anybody else?Anybody know his size?Also Liked Laz ,LOONEY and Laleggia.Hope we are the kind of team no one wants to play.Lets get it on!
Nothing better than the potential to see DU be 0-2 to start the season. GO BC!!!
What school of logic did u go to? Of course every team has the potential to go 0fer at any given point in the season on any given week!Just like the experts said BC would pound CC last year.
What school of logic did u go to? Of course every team has the potential to go 0fer at any given point in the season on any given week!Just like the experts said BC would pound CC last year.
And, losing to BC would only make us 0-1. 6:57, you need to also be rooting for BU.
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