UMass Recap

A little late with this one, but given the awesome hockey we saw in Vancouver, I needed to take a break and digest it all....

Last Friday night BC beat UMass 2-1 on a Chris Kreider goal in overtime to, at the time, keep pace with UNH for a big showdown on the last weekend of the season. When BC finally won Friday, the Wildcats were mounting a comeback at Northeastern to force a tie and make this weekend's series a bit tougher for the Eagles. We'll take a look at the Hocey East playoff race next time, but back to the game Friday night:

Likes:
- Joe Whitney delivers. As I called in the preview, Whitney was due for a good night. Early in the second period, there it was. Whitney scored BC's first goal to give them a lead they then coughed up with a bad second and (most of) third period.
- Milner. The rookie looks to be pushing the veteran Muse for prime time minutes as we head to tournament.

Dislikes:
- Lines 2-4. Because UMass has such a powerful top line, BC was forced to counter with their checking line time and time again. This meant a slowdown in the offensive production. We will more than likely see this again in the upcoming series with UNH, as they too have an explosive set of skaters.
- Penalties. This was a great game to watch, as the refs put away the whistles for most of the game. The only problem: both penalties were called on BC. It was like an NBA game for chrissakes.

All in all, a great game and a huge win. The win puts BC firmly into the top 10 teams in the country, and it locked up a home ice spot for the Hockey East playoffs. Just in case you were wondering, BC is 11-2 at home this year, and 7-6-2 on the road. Home ice is going to be important.

Also, congrats to Parker Milner who was selected as Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week AND Goalie of the Month. The future looks bright between the pipes.