So...What Happend to Eagles in Orono ?

Well the two games this weekend were certainly both heartbreakers as Maine was just able to sneak by the  Eagles by scores of 4-3 in OT and 7-4 (with two empty netters) on Saturday. I thought BC did a lot of good things well such as getting the offense going again and sustaining some pressure on Maine. Going into the weekend however, BC had two things they had to do. Not take penalties and prevent the first line of Diamond-Abbott-Flynn from dominating the game. Well the Eagles failed in these two things as they really just gave both games right to the Black Bears. Both games definitely could have been won by BC but crucial mistakes down the stretch in both games were killers. Steven Whitney (who I thought had a great weekend as a matter of fact) made a big mistake when he got the first penalty late in the third on Friday which was soon followed by Pat Wey's stupid cross checking penalty 10 seconds after Whitney went to the box. Yes, BC made mistakes but give all the credit in the world to Tim Whitehead and the Black Bears as they were able to capitalize on what it seemed every single power play they got. BC learned a very valuable lesson this weekend, when you play great teams like Maine, you cannot make the slightest errors.

Now everyone is saying "Well BC is done" and "This team can't beat the elite's" I got news for you people, it is not easy winning in that barn vs that team. This BC team is not dead yet, as they MUST sweep UNH this weekend to keep pace with BU (the Terriers have a tough weekend vs Maine) this week. I am not worried about this team when they are playing at Conte but on the road, it seems that this team is struggling. The goaltending issue is now at an all season high as neither Chris Venti or Brian Billett had a very solid start this week and Coach York says that Parker Milner is not hurt and it was a coaches decision for him not to start. Will Milner get another chance ? I think so and maybe he will even get a shot on Friday vs UNH. I think it will be a lot easier for any one of these guys to play at home. I mean look at the last couple road games, @ Joe Louis vs Michigan, @ UMass, and @ Maine x2, none of those are easy places to get wins. I hope that one of these guys can step up this weekend and help this team stay in the Hockey East race with 4 points.

Trust me, this BC team is not done. Look, things get a little easier here with games vs UNH, Northeastern (in the grandaddy of them all), and Vermont so yes, this BC team is still alive for the Hockey East regular season championship and a NCAA #1 seed. Do they have work ? Sure they do but trust me if they can get four points vs the Wildcats on Friday and Saturday, this team is right back on track.