UNH Wrap-Up (Late)

It has been almost a whole week since my last post, so I have had a bit of time to digest this past weekend and the (sorta) controversy that took place Friday night. For those who didn’t see it, NESN’s color guy (a former Eagle player who will remain nameless on this site), ripped into Coach York for not pulling Milner late in the OT and going for the win to force a winner-take-all game Saturday for the Hockey East title. First, let me say that the more disappointing thing was the BC defense taking a little snoozie and allowing a 3-0 lead to evaporate. After that, a tie, while giving UNH the title, meant a whole lot more than losing. I will explain after my likes and dislikes on the weekend:

Friday: BC 3 UNH 3

Saturday: BC 3 UNH 2

(BTW, I almost got the outcomes exactly. Go me)

Likes:

- Sustained offensive pressure. The BC offense (with the exception of one period Friday) put a lot of shots on UNH goalie Brian Foster. They scored 6 goals, but should have had more. Still, great pressure.

- Muse coming back to save the day Saturday night. This is your veteran guy…. Use him.

Dislikes:

- Defensive lapses. That third period Friday looked terrible. It looked like a bunch of sleepwalkers holding sticks. That can’t happen down the stretch.

- Turnovers. UNH thrives on turnovers. They scored most of their goals on… turnovers. I know this is a young team that is going to make mistakes. They just need to make fewer of them, or they will get burned once the NCAAs start.

Now, on to the rationale for a tie Friday. If you look at the season series with UNH as a whole, BC took 4 of 6 points. Taking 4 of 6 from the eventual league winner is pretty damn impressive. Would 5 of 6 and a regular season championship look better? Yes, but if UNH somehow gets an empty-netter in that game and wins, there is no way BC passes Bemidji State for that #4 spot in the PWR. Getting the #1 seed is waaay more important to BC than a Hockey East regular season title. Besides, UNH now has to potentially face Maine in the semis, while BC gets BU.

Lastly, the thing that pissed me off more than the open questioning of the call was when “CJ” called out York and said Jack Parker would have gambled to go for the win. How dare he! Compare York to Parker! Any self-respecting BC alum would NEVER utter those words.

Well, the tournament is set. We’re ready to play for trophies now, so lets see what this group can do. I’ve got a feeling we’re in for a great ride. A preview of the Hockey East Tournament will be up later tonight, hopefully.