Providence.... again and some links

The Eagles take on Providence Friday night in a Beanpot tune-up at Conte Forum. This is the second time BC has played the Friars this month, and the third time they have played in the last 30 or so days. So to say these guys know each other would be an understatement. What should you know about the Friars? They are currently in last in Hockey East. They have won only 9 games all year. Matt Bergland is still their top scorer, and Alex Beaudry is one of the streakiest goalies in the league not named Milan. Still, these guys did something BC has not been able to do much of this year: beat BU. The keys to Friday's game:

1. Get alot of shots on Beaudry.
   
2. Score the first goal, then score the second
3. DON'T TAKE THE FOOT OFF THE GAS! FINISH!
4. Worry about the Beanpot Saturday morning.

BC does these 4 things, I can't see why they lose.

Prediction: BC 5 PC 2

Some links:
- BC is currently # 14 in the USCHO Poll and the INCH poll. They are also 12 in PWR, putting them in the field of 16, but a few losses away from being on the bubble.
- The Globe started the Beanpot talk early. Apparently BC is the favorite. We'll see.

This weekend is huge for the Eagles' postseason chances. They can't afford to fall any further behind UNH. Hopefully the horrible games (and officiating) ended last weekend.

Tough Weekend

It was a tough weekend for the Eagles, as they had some really bad breaks that translated into two losses. To make matters worse, UNH swept their weekend to pull 5 points ahead in the Hockey East standings. Let's look at what happened.

Friday BU5-BC4 (OT)

The game Friday night started off bad, got a little better, then ended in a gut-wrenching OT loss. BC got themselves in a 2-goal hole early in the third period after jumping out to a 2-1 lead. The third period was one of the most exciting and frustrating periods of hockey BC has played all season. The refs decided to put the whistles away, allowing BC to get back into the game and tie it. Then, with 38 seconds left in regulation, they decide to call a trip on Cam Atkinson to give BU the man advantage going into the extra frame. I'm not going to argue with the call, just the timing of it. The refs had let the guys play rough for a majority of the third, and some of the abuse BC's forwards were taking was ridiculous. To call that trip when other blatant penalties were ignored was silly. Needless to say, BU scored on a seeing-eye goal about 1 minute into OT. Should never have happened, but when have we ever not seen BU score bull shit goals to win or tie games (see NCAA championship game 2009). But, I digress.

The biggest problem BC had in this game other than the fact that BU was breaking up their passes in the neutral zone was that they could get no one in front of Milan to knock home rebounds. It looked like Milan was wearing rubber pads the way the puck was bouncing off him, yet there was no BC guy anywhere near any of them. BC had 40+ shots on net and lost. That can't happen this late in the year.

Likes and Dislikes:
Like - The amount of shots, BC leaving it all on the ice, agressive play, another line scoring goals (Kreider's line played great ), Milner standing up and playing tough despite the score.
Dislike - Refs, no one collecting rebounds, letting BU's rough stuff get into their heads.

In the end, this is a loss and it costs us at least a point in the standings. BU now sits at 6th, and if the season ended today, BC gets BU in the first round of the playoffs. That is not good. The players looked dead out there as the game ended, which would explain Saturday.....

BU 5 BC 4 (OT) Box

Saturday UML 3 BC 1

This one was doomed from the start. BC and BU beat the Bejeezus out of each other the night before, and UML was looking to rebound from a bad weekend last week. Not good for BC.

Despite all this, the two teams skated to a 0-0 tie for the first period. UML opened the scoring with a tally by Scott Campbell late in the second period, and the 1-0 score would hold for the rest of the stanza.

That's when all the craziness happened. 20 seconds in, BC gets a Ben Smith goal disallowed when it was ruled he knocked it in with his hand. A few minutes after that, another BC goal is disallowed. Dumoulin appeared to score, but the ref ruled the net had come dislodged. Now, to me it looked like UML goalie Carter Hutton had knocked the net off its moorings, which would have allowed the goal, but referee Jeff Bunyon had other ideas. I like Bunyon. I think he calls a good game. But this was a horseshit call and it eventually would cost BC the game. If the BC staff does not send some type of protest to Hockey East this week I will be severely disappointed. Officials should not have as big a hand in the outcome of games. I mean, this is not the NBA here folks.

Well, BC did actually tie the game on a Ben Smith goal, but UML scored on a clean break 5 minutes later to take the lead. Then, just when you thought, "OK, looks like Lowell might just get out of here with a win they actually earned, " another bullshit call screws BC yet again. What looked like an icing by a UML defender with BC's goalie pulled was never called, allowing UML to score the empty net goal and end the game for BC. Not the zebras' best weekend, lets just say that.
UML 3 BC 1 Box

All in all, not a good weekend. Ugly to say the least. But, the bright side is that BC still sits in a home ice position and they look good in the Pairwise at 12. So, a good weekend this week will put them right back in a position to make a run at this thing. Providence is coming to Conte on Friday, and then we have round 1 of the Beanpot next Monday against Harvard. Trophy Season has begun, and even though this young team has some weaknesses (closing tight games, defending bigger forwards), they look like a strong team. The road does not get easy after Providence, as the rest of their schedule is against the top teams in the league. We'll see what this team is made of in the next few weeks.

A Preview of a HUGE Weekend

This is the one that should have been marked on the calendar for weeks. BC has been working up for a big weekend since their dismal performance in Denver. Well, the heart of the conference season hits them head-on in the form of back-to-back dates with last year's Hockey East finalists, BU and UMass-Lowell. Here's a look at both games:

Friday - BU @ BC

We have previewed the Terriers before, but here is a Cliff Notes version of what BC needs to do to get some revenge for their loss just two weeks ago at Fenway Park:

1. Keep traffic away from the front of the net - all of BU's goals last time were from the crease.
2. Play your game - If BC plays their game (speed and precision) they will be able to get pucks past Milan.
3. Stay out of the box - BU is going to play physical. BC can get pulled into retaliating and getting away from what they want to do (see Maine last week). Stay disciplined, and you win this game.

The ice will be better. There will be no snow. It won't be 20 degrees. There will be a bigger, more vocal, pro-BC crowd (hopefully). The students are back and basketball stinks right now, so this is the perfect storm of good things for the Eagles going into this game. They get to Milan early and take advantage of a vulnerable Terrier squad, but its still BC-BU so the game is closer than it should be.
Prediction: BC 3 BU2

Saturday: BC @ UMass-Lowell

This game is the bigger of the two, surprisingly. UML is sitting in fifth place right now, battling with Maine for the last home ice spot. They are also coming off a tough weekend where they lost both ends of a home-and-home with archrival UMass. They are ripe to pull an upset. Last year, the Riverhawks made it all the way to the finals of the Hockey East tournament before losing a heartbreaker to BU. They looked to have a better ending this year, as they returned all six of their top scorers from last year, and in the early going it looked good, as they won seven of their first ten games (losing only one outright).

The Riverhawks have one of those rare luxuries: two fantastic goalies that can be relied on to win the big one in Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton. Hutton sits in the top ten nationally in save percentage, while Hamilton is right behind him. It will be tough to get pucks past these guys, but the shots will be there. UML's defense is not as strong as they were last year, evidenced by the fact that both goalies sit only a few percentage points north of .500.

Offensively, UML is lead by top scorer Kory Falite, who has a 11-9-20 line for the year. Their power play is also not as strong as last year, when they were near the top of the league. Chris Auger is their go-to guy on the PP, but he has only 1 goal on the year, so BC can afford to play a bit more physical if necessary.

They have the home ice advantage, but last year notwithstanding, BC has had a pretty good run of success at Tsongas Arena. Don't get me wrong, I think UML will be a tough out Saturday night. They seem to get up for the Eagles in their barn, and the crowd will be overwhelmingly pro-Lowell. I still like Lowell to make some noise in the late going this season, but BC is on a roll right now.
Prediction: BC 4 Lowell 2

A look at the polls and a little "bracketology"

The Eagles are back in the swing of things after a 3 game slide, and they were rewarded with a jump in the polls:

USCHO - 11th
INCH - 9th
USA Today - 10th

Their PWR puts them at 9, well into the field of 16 if the tournament started today. Speaking of PWR and tournament fields, what would the field of 16 look like at this point in the season? The best way is to look at the PWR and figure it out. The top 16 in the PWR at this point looks like this:

1 Miami
2 Denver
3 Minnesota-Duluth
4 Wisconsin
5 Ferris State
6 St. Cloud State
7 Union
8 Bemidji State
9 BC
10 UMASS
11 Colorado College
12 North Dakota
13 Vermont
14 Michigan State
15 UNH
16 Yale
Air Force leads Atlantic Hockey, but are lower in the PWR, so they would replace Yale here. Sorry Bulldog fans.

There are four regionals in the NCAA hockey tournament: Northeast (Worcester), East (Albany), Midwest (Fort Wayne), West (Minneapolis). The top four seeds are placed where they would be closest to home, providing good attendance and a slight home field advantage. The seeds should be placed like this:
Miami - Midwest
Denver - Northeast
Minnesota-Duluth - West
Wisconsin - East
The rationale here is that Miami is the top seed, so they get preferential treatment, while UMD playing in Minneapolis makes sense. Unfortunately, that means Denver and Wisconsin must travel, but what can we do. The rest of the field fills in quite nicely, setting up 1 vs 16, etc. It looks a little like this:

Midwest Regional
1. Miami
2. Bemidji State
3. BC
4. Air Force

Northeast Regional
1. Denver
2. Union
3. Colorado College
4. UNH

East Regional
1. Wisconsin
2. Ferris State
3. North Dakota
4. Vermont

West Regional
1. Minnesota-Duluth
2. St. Cloud State
3. UMASS
4. Michigan State

On the bubble: Yale, Lake Superior, Cornell

So, a first round date with last year's Cinderella looms for the Eagles.... this week.

Tomorrow, we'll look at a HUGE weekend for BC.

On Fire

BC has turned around from their 3 game slide. That's for sure. With two big wins this week (4-1 over Providence Tuesday and 6-1 over Maine Friday) the Eagles are right back in the hunt for another Hockey East title and a return to their rightful places in the NCAA tournament. Here's a look back at both games:

Tuesday- BC 4 PC 1 Box
The Eagles were reeling when the PC Friars skated into town for a rare Tuesday night Hockey East showdown. Having lost three in a row, including a heart-breaking setback at Fenway Park against BU, BC was looking to right the ship and get re-focused on the Hockey East regular season title. Providence proved to be the right remedy for what ailed BC, as the Eagles came out flying to pepper PC goalie Alex Beaudry with 22 shots in the first period. Two of those shots found the back of the net, as Cam Atkinson and Brian Gibbons scored early on in the first to give BC a 2-0 lead at the break. Most shocking was the fact that the BC defense, which had been roughed up in their 3-2 loss to BU just a few days before, surrendered only one shot on freshman goalie Parker Milner.

PC would get closer and wake up a bit in the second, creeping back in the shot differential and scoring their lone goal on a rush by Matt Bergland. BC kept up the pace on Beaudry, and put two more in the net in the third as Joe Whitney and Matt Lombardi scored to make the final margin 4-1.

In the win, Milner made 15 saves, while Beaudry stopped a whopping 41 in the loss.

Friday- BC 6 UM1 Box
Friday night, BC faced a tougher opponent in Maine. The Black Bears had been hot of late, upsetting Colorado College to win the Florida Classic and posting a 4-2 win over a decent Merrimack team the week before. BC wasted no time in showing Maine that this was not their night, as Barry Almeida scored on the first shift 35 seconds in to give BC a 1-0 lead. Maine held tight, making goalie John Muse work, but could not even the score in the first.

The second period brought more of the same, as BC goals from Ben Smith (on the power play) and two from Cam Atkinson to widen their lead.

A fifth goal from Joe Whitney caused Maine coach Tim Whitehead to pull starter Shawn Sirman early in the third, and it seemed like Maine might find some life when they started to play a bit more chippy and get into BC's heads (for people unfamiliar with UMaine hockey, this is a bigtime M.O. for the Black Bears whenever they play BC). Seeing that the overly physical play was getting to the Eagles, BC coach Jerry York called a time out to settle his troops. The move worked, as BC held tough the rest of the way, adding a Jimmy Hayes tally to finish the game with a 6-1 score.

The three stars Friday night in my opinion: 1. Cam Atkinson (2-1-3) 2. John Muse (25 saves, 1 GA) 3. Joe Whitney (1-1-2)

I can't say enough about this top line. They factored in 6 of BC's ten goals this week. Sounds to me like the sleeping giant has awaken.

Up next, a rematch with BU.... we'll see what happens.

Some thoughts on Frozen Fenway and looking ahead

Its been a busy past few days, but I have finally digested the happenings from Fenway and I think I can break it down to a list of 4 things:

1. The atmosphere was incredible. I have never been to outdoor hockey before, but this was awesome.It was also freezing, but the snow added to the atmosphere. It did not help BC though.....
   
2. The weather and ice conditions did not favor BC's open passing/speed attack.
3. Muse was not as bad as the stats show. He had some bad rebounds, which is where BU scored all three goals.
4. BC NEEDS to put a big guy in front of the net. Having 3-4 opposing players around your goalie and poking at him is inexcusable. Something needs to be done about this or teams will continue to do this.

Call me a loser. Tell me I'm making excuses. The weather ABSOLUTELY had an effect on the outcome of this game. It is no coincidence that BC didn't start getting going until the snow stopped. The good thing about this is that, hopefully, it won't snow in Conte Forum the rest of the season. A great game, no doubt, but it also exposed something with the rebounds in front of the net as well. This happened multiple times against Denver and it reared its ugly head again Friday night. This needs to be fixed or other teams are going to copy this. We'll see what Providence and Maine do this week....

Speaking of the Friars, I previewed them just before the break. Nothing has really changed about these guys, as they have not won a game since BC beat them on their ice a few weeks ago. Keys to the game? Simple. Play your style of hockey, and for Chrissakes, KEEP THE OTHER GUYS AWAY FROM THE GOALIE!!
Prediction: BC 4 PC 1

The one that got away.....

Ouch. That one really hurt. Once again BC blew a two goal lead, only this time it was in the third period as they fell to Denver 4-3 at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. This is the second straight game where the Eagles had a pretty sizable lead only to see it evaporate into a loss.

The Eagles did everything they needed to do early on, getting lots of shots on DU goalie Marc Cheverie, and it paid off in the first two periods. BC opened the scoring with a goal in the first period by Joe Whitney a few minutes after John Muse made the save of the game on a short-handed bid from DU. Tommy Cross made it 2-0 late in the second, and it looked like BC was on their way to a big upset. Denver started to make it interesting with an early third period goal by Rhett Rakhshani (one of two on the night for the Denver captain), and suddenly we're sweating this one. The Eagles got the 2 goal lead right back on a shorthanded goal by Brian Gibbons (the first BC SHG of the year.... yeah that surprised me too). Then the fun began....

I'm still not sure how the hell this happened, but suddenly Denver scores on a face-off (a Muse specialty). From then on BC played scared. They could not clear pucks out of their end, and when they did they iced them. They just could not sustain any type of offensive rush. A scrum in front of the net late in the period did not result in a whistle, allowing Rakhshani to somehow push the puck past Muse to tie it up with about 5 minutes left. Now, how one can score without a stick befuddles me, but there you have it. Just one of those crazy things that happens when the refs decide that all of a sudden when the puck gets frozen in front of the net they are not going to blow the whistle. (I'm not bitter, really. BC blew this one on their own without any help from the stripes). Future Bruin Joe Colborne put Denver ahead for good with the game winner about 2 minutes later, and that was that.
Denver 4 BC 3 Box

The two losses in Denver will certainly push BC out of the top 10 this week, and that is probably deserved. This team has turtled alot this year late, unable to finish off good teams. They come out on fire to start games, but often struggle to finish late. This is ok right now, since it is still early on in the season, so I am not too worried at this point. They have a few huge series coming up in the second half of the season, and they will need to finish strong against good teams like UNH and UMass Lowell to stay where they are in the Hockey East standings. Right now they are safely in the field of 16, but a lot can change.

The next game is huge. BU is starting to hit their stride, evidenced by a 7-3 whitewashing of UMASS Saturday night. BC will need to stop the Terrier rush before it gets too much steam, or I fear this BU team can climb the standings fast. When your rival is down, you need to keep them down. Fenway will be a awesome Friday night, but it will be better with a BC win. Weather is calling for a good chance of snow and temps in the 20's, so bundle up if you're heading out to the game. See ya there!

Upsets continue and some good news

The holiday tournament upsets continued last night as BC blew an early 2 goal lead to fall to St. Lawrence 5-2 at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. Call it a post-holiday hangover, call it a rookie goalie having his first bad game, call it what you will. Bottom line is that it was a loss to a mediocre team on neutral ice. With BC's PWR being #2 prior to this loss, it doesn't mean a whole lot. A win tonight against Denver will make it all a small bump on the road back to the NCAAs. Box

Some good news yesterday, as Team USA announed their picks for the 2010 men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team and former Eagle Brooks Orpik will be representing the USA in Vancouver in February.

BC Freshman Chris Kreider will be playing tonight, but not with his Eagle teammates. He will play for USA in the World Junior Championship quarterfinals against Finland. The tournament will be over by Tuesday and Kreider should be back for BU at Fenway next weekend.

Its been a rough couple of weeks for BC sports, but 2010 is just beginning and we've got lots of hockey left to play. Happy New Year to all the Eagle fans out there!