And for the first time in several years, the Boston College hockey team is out of Pairwise contention. They are still technically ranked (#22) but short of a miracle (read winning the Hockey East championship) the Eagles will be sitting at home come March 27-28 and will neither be staying close to home (Manchester) or getting shipped out west for any tourney.
Coming into this season, the Eagles will full of hope. Pre-season number one, the return of Hobey Baker-hopeful Brock Bradford, defending national champions with much of the same cast. Sure they had lost Gerbe but getting Bradford back along with a talented group of young freshmen was supposed to make up for that. Losing Brennan would hurt but gaining 2nd round draft pick Tommy Cross and Massachusetts player of year Edwin Shea was supposed to make up for that. But the funny part is that it didn't.
Without Gerbe, the offense has sputtered. There have been so many line combinations I don't even know who is on the ice half the time. Bradford has been good but with no stellar talent around him he has not had the opportunity to show his skill. There is no player on the team who is a threat to score every time they step on the ice. From Marty Reasoner to Brian Gionta to Patrick Eaves to Brian Boyle to Nathan Gerbe (not to mention some complements like Ben Eaves, Tony Voce, Chuck Kobasew, and Krys Kolanos), there has always been that guy that other teams feared. Not now. Bradford seems unable to create his own plays. Joe Whitney has taken a significant step backward and Ben Smith has been invisible. Benn Ferriero has skill buy until recently was invisible as well (though he had at least three golden opportunities Saturday night that just did not go his way. The explosiveness of years past is sorely missing this year and it means that no one is playing on their heels against BC. No one is afraid of their offense.
Without Brennan, the defense if lacking direction. I think some of this lays in the constant swapping of defensemen all year long. These are just kids and as such, when they get sat down for a game or two, when they get back in there they are going to play a little tight afraid that the slightest mistake is going to get them yanked out of the lineup. I have mentioned before in this space that Nick Petrecki's over-aggressive style was getting the team into trouble and Saturday night was no exception. Tied 1-1 late in the first, Petrecki levels Danny Dries at center ice but it allows Bobby Butler and Phil DeSimone to break in 2-on-1 with Sneep back and DeSimone makes a fabulous play to wait out John Muse and score to take a 2-1 UNH lead with only 4 seconds left in the period. A major turning point in that game. I appreciate the energy level and the need to be physical but when playing UNH you need to be aware that they are always thinking about the odd man rush. That is their bread and butter. Trying to lay out a guy when it's 3-on-2 late in the period and leaving a clearly struggling Carl Sneep all alone at the end of the period in a tie game was simply poor decision making on Petrecki's part. And not the first time. Nick Petrecki makes this team a better team when he is on the ice; but I will not be upset should he leave for the NHL after the season.
I don't mean to heap the problems on only a couple players. The entire team has just been a disaster this year. The power play doesn't shoot (and gets victimized having forwards playing the point), all the defensemen have had serious turnover issues, the effort has been just play lacking some nights (Feb 13th v. UMass-Lowell comes to mind). Unless something changes starting Friday against Providence, BC needs to start thinking about next year because in a couple weeks, that's all they'll have left.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The B's are almost complete
Watching the Bruins last night I came to realize that they were in desperate need of a few thinks. Not to get any more injuries (check), have Patrice Bergeron put the puck in the back of the net (check), have Phil Kessel start scoring goals (not so much), and get a quality win (check). Last night's resounding 5-1 victory provided a "Yes" to most of those questions and the one that did not get answered came remarkably close.
Phil "the Thrill" Kessel has been in a bit of slump since returning from a bout with mononucleosis. He has shown much of his jump but less of his touch. The last two games have suggested that its only a matter of time. Andy Brickley often talks about players doing things the right way and eventually they will be rewarded. We saw this with Michael Ryder early in the season when he wasn't necessarily putting all the pucks in the net but he was making good decisions and playing hard with Krejci and Wheeler and getting quality opportunities. Then he went on a torrid streak when it looked like every shot he took was going in. This is what happens to good goal scorers.
Phil has been getting opportunities. Last night he streaked up the side, was found on a beautiful pass from a teammate and broke in alone only to be stoned by Cam Ward. A similar thing happened toward the end of overtime against the Nashville Predators. Kessel has shown this year that he has the ability to be a top scorer in this league and like all good scorers, he keeps doing things right the lamp will start lighting for him. The Bruins need to keep believing that because a dangerous Kessel is a key to them making it far in the playoffs this year.
Phil "the Thrill" Kessel has been in a bit of slump since returning from a bout with mononucleosis. He has shown much of his jump but less of his touch. The last two games have suggested that its only a matter of time. Andy Brickley often talks about players doing things the right way and eventually they will be rewarded. We saw this with Michael Ryder early in the season when he wasn't necessarily putting all the pucks in the net but he was making good decisions and playing hard with Krejci and Wheeler and getting quality opportunities. Then he went on a torrid streak when it looked like every shot he took was going in. This is what happens to good goal scorers.
Phil has been getting opportunities. Last night he streaked up the side, was found on a beautiful pass from a teammate and broke in alone only to be stoned by Cam Ward. A similar thing happened toward the end of overtime against the Nashville Predators. Kessel has shown this year that he has the ability to be a top scorer in this league and like all good scorers, he keeps doing things right the lamp will start lighting for him. The Bruins need to keep believing that because a dangerous Kessel is a key to them making it far in the playoffs this year.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Weekend observations
Here is my latest edition of quick hitting points over the weekend.
- The Bruins look to be back on the winning track. Despite that disappointing OT loss to the Devils on Thursday they still did not play a bad game and they have followed that up with two solid efforts in back-to-back nights against the Rangers and Canadiens. They are now only 14 points away from their entire point total from last season and there are still 2 and a half months of games to play.
- On the same topic, Tuuka Rask looked great against the Rangers on Saturday. Unlike some, I'm not going to get carried away and say that it is time to trade Fernandez and just go with Rask and Thomas for the rest of the season but his play certainly makes it easier to part with one of those guys in the off-season. He got a little skittish at the end of the game when he knew that the shutout was in his grasp (watching him scramble for that last puck as time was running out kinda reminded you that though a professional, he's still just a kid) but he held on for a great victory both for himself and his team. Next year, he probably splits time with whoever gets kept (odds are on 2-time All-Star Thomas right now) and maybe even takes up to 50% of the load by the end of the year. More quality contribution from the youth in the Bruins organization.
- The BC hockey team was once again disappointing at Providence. Their biggest problem, not shooting the puck. At one point during the game they possessed the puck with good cycling, and forechecking in the Providence end for over a minute and came away with zero shots on net. One of the biggest problems is the lack of shots from their defensemen. With the exception of Petrecki, the defensemen seem to treat the puck like a hot potato, looking to get rid of it the minute it hits their sticks. This team needs to take more shots from the point, even if they are getting blocked. At least make the other team think about that possibility. When you look at the Bruins you realize how much more potent their power play became after Savard scored a couple of those tough angle, roof shots. The other teams began to respect Savard's shot and that became another option. The BC defensemen need to be a option of this team to succeed for the rest of the season. They yo-yo's out of the tourney for a day but Maine's win over UMass last night got them back in...for now.
- Speaking of the rest of the season, tonight begins this season's Beanpot. BU is the prohibitive favorite (as they should be) but watch out for Harvard. At least twice I have seen an outclassed Harvard team shock their first round opponent (1998, 2008) but I wouldn't count on that happening tonight. BC needs the win over Northeastern to solidify their tenuous hold on 14th in the PWR (much like the BCS, the only rankings that really matter - why basketball doesn't develop it's own version of this is beyond me). I will have my impressions for you hopefully later in the week.
- Finally, the Big Game (otherwise known as the Super Bowl). That was a great contest last night, it's just too bad that that interception and the Cardinals inability to tackle a massive defensive lineman for 90+ yards ended up really making the difference in that game. Taking nothing away from Santonio Holmes (possibly one of the most disgusting catches in Super Bowl history) and the Steelers, Arizona threw that game away between their penalties and turnovers. I great season for them (considering how earlier in this space I mentioned they didn't even belong in the playoffs) and a big congratulations to both teams for turning what could have been a terrible game into something worth watching.
- The Bruins look to be back on the winning track. Despite that disappointing OT loss to the Devils on Thursday they still did not play a bad game and they have followed that up with two solid efforts in back-to-back nights against the Rangers and Canadiens. They are now only 14 points away from their entire point total from last season and there are still 2 and a half months of games to play.
- On the same topic, Tuuka Rask looked great against the Rangers on Saturday. Unlike some, I'm not going to get carried away and say that it is time to trade Fernandez and just go with Rask and Thomas for the rest of the season but his play certainly makes it easier to part with one of those guys in the off-season. He got a little skittish at the end of the game when he knew that the shutout was in his grasp (watching him scramble for that last puck as time was running out kinda reminded you that though a professional, he's still just a kid) but he held on for a great victory both for himself and his team. Next year, he probably splits time with whoever gets kept (odds are on 2-time All-Star Thomas right now) and maybe even takes up to 50% of the load by the end of the year. More quality contribution from the youth in the Bruins organization.
- The BC hockey team was once again disappointing at Providence. Their biggest problem, not shooting the puck. At one point during the game they possessed the puck with good cycling, and forechecking in the Providence end for over a minute and came away with zero shots on net. One of the biggest problems is the lack of shots from their defensemen. With the exception of Petrecki, the defensemen seem to treat the puck like a hot potato, looking to get rid of it the minute it hits their sticks. This team needs to take more shots from the point, even if they are getting blocked. At least make the other team think about that possibility. When you look at the Bruins you realize how much more potent their power play became after Savard scored a couple of those tough angle, roof shots. The other teams began to respect Savard's shot and that became another option. The BC defensemen need to be a option of this team to succeed for the rest of the season. They yo-yo's out of the tourney for a day but Maine's win over UMass last night got them back in...for now.
- Speaking of the rest of the season, tonight begins this season's Beanpot. BU is the prohibitive favorite (as they should be) but watch out for Harvard. At least twice I have seen an outclassed Harvard team shock their first round opponent (1998, 2008) but I wouldn't count on that happening tonight. BC needs the win over Northeastern to solidify their tenuous hold on 14th in the PWR (much like the BCS, the only rankings that really matter - why basketball doesn't develop it's own version of this is beyond me). I will have my impressions for you hopefully later in the week.
- Finally, the Big Game (otherwise known as the Super Bowl). That was a great contest last night, it's just too bad that that interception and the Cardinals inability to tackle a massive defensive lineman for 90+ yards ended up really making the difference in that game. Taking nothing away from Santonio Holmes (possibly one of the most disgusting catches in Super Bowl history) and the Steelers, Arizona threw that game away between their penalties and turnovers. I great season for them (considering how earlier in this space I mentioned they didn't even belong in the playoffs) and a big congratulations to both teams for turning what could have been a terrible game into something worth watching.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
