Weekend Review

As I was walking out of the Whittemore Center on Saturday night, I thought to myself, "hey you know what, this was once heck of a weekend". Sure, BC came out on the wrong side of things on Saturday vs the Wildcats but when it came to 5 on 5 hockey this weekend, BC was the better hockey team, in fact, they played their best 5 on 5 hockey in a long, long time in both games this weekend. The loss on Saturday was a real tough one to swallow especially with the despicable calls made late in that hockey game. I try as hard as I can on the blog not to try and act like a BU person and rant about the officiating for 15 minutes but in all honesty, I think BC could have came out on the right side of the stick if not for some suspect calls. Anyways, I'll stop ranting. First off, I really liked the way all four lines played this weekend, whether it was on the regular sheet at Conte or the big ice @ The Whit. I thought each and every line had moments in which they created some odd man rushes and could have scored some goals. You could clearly see that with Johnny and Destry back in the lineup, everyone was a little bit more comfortable in their old roles, ones they have not been in since early November. Seeing all twelve forwards play like that vs a tough team like UNH is as big a positive as BC can take out of this weekend.

On the defensive side of things, everyone is certainly improving day by day. I thought freshman Travis Jeke took some big steps out there this weekend, especially in Friday's win. I liked the way Teddy Doherty and Pat Wey play when paired together. They're quickly becoming BC's go to D pairing and in order to get two wins this weekend, their solid play must continue. One problem that I'm sure the staff has already addressed is Mike Matheson's tendency to take so many penalties. If you ask me, he is without a doubt BC's best defenseman and when he is on the ice, anything can happen because of his terrific speed and playmaking ability. Not to mention he is also one of the main guys Coach Cav turns to when BC goes on the penalty kill. He cannot be in the box. When he is taking penalties, it kills this team and in order for BC to succeed in all phases of the game, he needs to be on the ice, not in the penalty box. Otherwise, I loved the way BC's defense competed this weekend. Yes, there were some problems and a turnover here and there but I thought for the most part, each and every guy stepped up his game this weekend.

As for the special teams, I thought the penalty kill was solid for the most part on both nights even though they gave up the eventual game winner on Saturday. Killing off two 5 minute majors in less than a week is no easy task and it is clear that the unit is getting better at every aspect in that part of the game. As for the power play, I'm not really sure what to say. It is quite evident that the addition of Johnny G has clearly helped the first unit but the bottom line is that they didn't score at critical junctures in Saturday's game. I look for both PP units to have a big weekend vs the Minutemen and Huskies.

Overall, it is pretty safe to say that this club is moving in the right direction. When it comes to 5 on 5 hockey, this team looks a whole worlds better than they did vs Yale and the Golden Gophers. If you ask me, BC was the better team when it came to 5 on 5 hockey this weekend and if they can stay out of the box, they will have a chance to win each and every game. On the injury front, many have asked about Patrick Wey after he suffered a wrist injury on Saturday. He is fine and did indeed practice full today.

Notes-

The school announced today that Coach Cav and Coach Brown will continue to lead the team as Coach York will remain out for this weekend. The school also said that the night to commemorate Coach York,, which was supposed to be Friday, will now be on a later date.

BC remained #2 in the USCHO poll.

The Eagles will host UMass on Friday before heading to Matthews Arena on Saturday to face the Huskies.